So my car consumes oil, not a new story around here.
I've tracked down and fixed a few of the noticeable issues.
My compression test results were unfortunately written on a piece of paper I cannot find right now, however, they were all over 200, and all within the 205-215 range.
The spark plugs are pretty heavily coated in oil, and the exhaust is very dark.
The car does not "smoke". Without having done a leakdown test (yet), I am inclined to believe its blow-by, and therefore a ring issue.
I am consuming on average a quart a week (approx. 300 miles driven/week).
If I drive harder it will be more like 3 quarts/2 weeks.
Oil is not leaking enough to make it to the ground, although I find oil on the engine, which appears to be coming from the cam seal area by the dizzy.
The PCV valve I have not checked yet, but will this weekend.
The dipstick tube is not loose, and the area around it is oil free.

Ok, enough rambling.
I don't have access to another car right now, and I don't want significant periods of downtime for my car. Basically anything I do has to be doable in a 3 day period.
Would you at this point take the head off, replace the rings, and the other "wear" items (seals, o-rings, gaskets, etc), and be done?
Would it be better to just wait until I can have the car down for longer and do it differently?
What would you do in this situation?
(I am assuming its the rings....the leakdown may tell a different story.)

Thanks for any input!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by andyt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So my car consumes oil, not a new story around here.
I've tracked down and fixed a few of the noticeable issues.
My compression test results were unfortunately written on a piece of paper I cannot find right now, however, they were all over 200, and all within the 205-215 range.
The spark plugs are pretty heavily coated in oil, and the exhaust is very dark.
The car does not "smoke". Without having done a leakdown test (yet), I am inclined to believe its blow-by, and therefore a ring issue.
I am consuming on average a quart a week (approx. 300 miles driven/week).
If I drive harder it will be more like 3 quarts/2 weeks.
Oil is not leaking enough to make it to the ground, although I find oil on the engine, which appears to be coming from the cam seal area by the dizzy.
The PCV valve I have not checked yet, but will this weekend.
The dipstick tube is not loose, and the area around it is oil free.

Ok, enough rambling.
I don't have access to another car right now, and I don't want significant periods of downtime for my car. Basically anything I do has to be doable in a 3 day period.
Would you at this point take the head off, replace the rings, and the other "wear" items (seals, o-rings, gaskets, etc), and be done?
Would it be better to just wait until I can have the car down for longer and do it differently?
What would you do in this situation?
(I am assuming its the rings....the leakdown may tell a different story.)

Thanks for any input!</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'd start by removing valve cover and replace all rubber seals, if theres traces of oil where spark plug wires connect to spark plugs then its you spark plug rings, what seems minor can cause major oil loss. and replace pcv valve while you're at it.. and i'd recommend oem for pcv valve.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by andyt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The spark plugs are pretty heavily coated in oil, and the exhaust is very dark.
The car does not "smoke". !</TD></TR></TABLE>

If it doesnt smoke at all I would say your prob isnt that bad. The oil is not making it to the chamber. Check your gaskets, replace your plug seals and the cam seal.

 

Preventative Maintenance - Valve cover and spark plug gaskets, PCV valve, new plugs with a 0.040 gap, cap, rotor, wires, fuel filter. I would perform that, like walker said, the problem doesnt sound bad at all.

 

I was in the same boat as you. Couldn't afford to not have a car for longer then 3 days. Rings were shot. I was going to order a new OEM shortblock, install over a long weekend, and sell the original to recoup some of the funds. My car was never a show specimen so I wasn't worried about having original numbers.

But it meet its' fate before this could happen.