I have a few questions about my 2.3 liter F23A4 engine. Firstly, how much oil does it take to raise the level on the dipstick from the bottom mark to the top one? I am trying to figger out how much oil my engine burns (it has 196 k miles on it...). Since the last oil change 320 miles ago the oil level has gone down about 3 mm.

Secondly, the engine makes a cyclical knocking sound when it's still cold. I am attaching a recording of what it sounds like. Could anyone give me some ideas as to what the problem could be?

Finally, when the engine is idling, and I unscrew the oil cap, I can feel some air coming out with the palm of my hand. The same happens when I pull out the dipstick - the air comes out of the dipstick hole. What does that indicate?
Thanks a million in advance!

 

the oil marks on the dipstick is approximately 1 quart between the two marks. the air from the oil cap could be leaking valve or valve seats (same thing practically) or worn valve guides. of it could be nothing at all. the oil pump pumps oil up into the head (valve train) so you will feel a little flow there with the engine idling. air in the dipstick...well the crank is spinning so you have windage. i dnt see an issue there. now if you have bad piston rings you will have blow by. which is alot more windage than normal. 190 k on the motor COULD be time for a rebuild although i usually can get them to about 250 k or 300 k before a rebuild. i dont do the h motors or used low mileage motor thing here. its all the real deal 100 percent full rebuild in this shop. but as to your mileage it realy depends on the maintenance history and the oil youre using. go to castrol high mileage at least if youre not on castrol full synthetic already. and since your car is about a 93 or 94 (i'm guessing) then you could just run on 10w-30. you should at least check compression and the block with a compression gauge and block tester. maybe even a leak-down test. dont spend too much money trying to tune it up since you will probably need a rebuild in 60 k miles or less anyways. spend your money on that. make sure you have a good timing belt at least though. a rebuild in my shop would cost about 17-19 hundred with all new parts and labor and machine work. a timing belt only would cost about 450 parts and labor. so if you were in my shop i would tell you to eveluate the situation...450 for another 60 k miles or an extra 13-15 hundred (i would have the exact cost) for the full rebuild and 250-300 k miles on a rebuilt engine. and thats only if i knew you were due for a timing belt. i keep all my customer service records so i dont recommend **** they dont need.

 

sorry i cant open the sound file. a youtube video would have been better because i dont know how to work all the programs in my computer. and i had it custom built from dell for 1800 bucks LOL. i at least know how to watch the youtube videos people post on here LOL

 

Thanks a lot Rick! As regards blow-by, in that case I would have real exhaust gas coming out the dipstick tube, right? Which I don't, it seems like what's coming out is just clean air, so that's a good sign.
I use AGIP 10w-40 semi-sinthetic oil, I guess I shouldn't switch to anything heavier...
My compression is in the 206-213 psi range across the board, which is probably a little over the norm. I suppose I have some carbon build up in the cylinders that makes the compression higher...
17 hundred for a rebuild sounds great, I wish I could give you this job, but I live overseas, so that would be a logistical challenge. LOL. Over here they charge about the same amount, but it's such a terrible gamble because mechanics here are very incompetent and don't have the right equipment...

 

BTW, one other thing. I suppose I should begin to look for new parts for the rebuild. Now, I have found a full gasket set on Ebay for 50 dollars + shipping, which is very cheap in my opinion. What is your take on its quality? I suppose you have dealt with a lot of gasket sets from various manufacturers in your shop. This particular set is manufactured by Mizumo Auto. Here is the link - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/98-01...item3ca459ea18

 

if you plan to rebuild your engine idk. as far as gaskets go i use felpro complete gasket kits for rebuild but i also but a dealer (honda) head gasket. its cheaper that way. i only use honda head gaskets, timing belts, balancer belts, distributor caps, distributor rotors, and oil pumps. where are you located?

 

Good point about a Honda head gasket. It would suck to pump all that money into a rebuild and then end up tearing the engine apart again because of a bad head gasket... I am located in Belarus, it's in between Poland and Russia.

 

damn i know about where that is LOL. i wonder if i could ship an engine to you LOL. i have a customs broker i use for sending engines to canada from the US but IDK if i could send it there to you. i do have some engines but you would have to buy that engine for 350 since it would probably be cheaper than sending your engine to me and it would save you the down time but IDK what it would cost in shipping. a guess would be like 700 bucks for shipping but thats a guess. i would get a book and consider rebuilding the motor yourself after you have a machine shop do the block, head and crank. have them tell you the new sizes. probably 10 over on the cylinders and crank. and make sure your head is not warped beyond the service limit. i dont think it is. you'll need a few tools too LOL. i know i could ship you the parts but you could probably find them closer to you already for about the same price as i would have to charge. damn i didnt think they had many cars up there LOL i read about that railroad they have through there. takes like 3 days or somethin from russia to poland. dont they sell amber to tourist in poland? and dont they still operate steam locomotive trains there caled dahanns? they were manufactured in china up till the year 2000. hell!! china was still manufacturing the pacard car called big red or some name like that in the 80's LOL. but that would be my suggestion to save you a big cost LOL

 

LOL no, the steam engine trains are already gone, they operate some electric and diesel trains down here now but they don't look much better then the steam ones.. And there are quite a lot of cars here now, mostly used ones from Germany and USA. Mine is an Ohio manufactured Honda 2001, I paid 7,300 dollars for it because in this freaking dictatorship you have to pay import taxes on everything including imported cars... The same car probably costs about 2 grand in the US... Crap...
Anyway, let me check with a guy who ships used parts from the US how much it would cost to ship an engine and I will do the math. Is it a rebuilt engine you have for 350?

 

its a core that needs to be rebuilt. it might run okay but IDK the miles on it and its intended for a rebuild. would prefer to rebuild the motor for you so that you dont import it there still needing a rebuild and so that you get a good motor. its gonna cost the same to send it there rebuilt or not, but the quality of the work will be the best. youll just have to bolt your p/s bracket and pump, alt bracket and pump. ac bracket and pump, balancer/crank pulley, and motor mounts, trans, axles, and radiator hoses, fuel lines, intake, exhast, etc. youll get the engine valve cover to oil pan complete, rebuilt and assembled.

 

Right, so we are looking at 350 for the core plus circa 1700 for the rebuild plus shipping and import taxes. I think that would be too much for me. I guess I will try to find a local shop and pray that they will do the job properly... But in any case I will have to find all the parts on my own to save some money, so I will look on Ebay and maybe locally. But thanks for you technical expertise!

 

yeah no problem. i would too. you looking at 1850-2050 estimates plus shipping and import fees. ask people about specific machine shops you plan on using. follow their customers out to the parking lot and ask about their experiences with the shop. you want good reveiws from the customers LOL. be carefull on e-bay. people sell dumb stuff sometimes. you will need to look for the correct pistons and and bearings and rods. the rods are usually just refurbished. when we do rebuilds we swap out the rods because there are sources we simply swap rods with since they have them already refurbished and ready to install. you wil only find new rods in a dealer or in an aftermarket performance rod. the correct pistons can only be ordered after the machine shop tells you the size depending on how much they too off or i you tell em a specific size like 10 over or 20 over. if you say 10 over you have to be sure they can do 10 over. youre better saying 20 over if you wanna get the pistons and bearings ordered asap but you will be removing more than you probably need to. and you will still need to pay for imported parts from e-bay right? hit me up with a PM if you need advice on a part or something

 

this is old but that is a rip off. I can get engine rebuilds for 1000 out the door. All great quality and mechanics are pro's and hell of friendly. They allow you to sit there with them if it isnt too busy and learn from them as long as you give them some room and everything.