I have oil in my intake manifold and intake ports. I noticed that my spark plugs are wet with oil on the threads. Could it just be the valve, which i have and am replacing tomorrow. do i need a catch can as well?

 

If your pcv system is stock, there will be some oil residue inside the intake since it vents the crankcase to the intake manifold. Get your self a catch can setup that vents to atmosphere (*DISCLAIMER* this isnt technically legal and you may get in trouble with your local law enforcement).

They have intake manifold cleaners like (amsoil powerfoam) that you spray while the engines running. It cleans the intake, flushes all the crap through, and burns it out the exhaust. Good stuff.
Does it run OK? Does it seem to use any oil?

 

pcv is stock. yea it's using about 1/2 quart every 500 miles. motor has about 1500 miles and it's tuned. i broke it in using the engine brake method. i was worried it may be the valve seals. i pulled the header and intake manifold. no oil on the exhaust side just the intake side. I figured it's sucking oil from somewhere because it has oil in the intake manifold as well. it sarts up fine and seems to run well. i pulled the plugs and it seems like it's detonating because i can see metal on them. common sense tells me that oil makes it difficult to have and efficient and right combustion. so it lowering my ocatane!? my compression is 12:0 exactly and im on 91 octane.

 

High crankcase pressures can do that. Put a crank vent system on there and see if it helps.
1/2 a quart every 500 miles, Hmmm. Perhaps its still breaking in a little, but probably not...
Its possible the oil residue is there from break in and just hasnt cleared itself out yet. Since its all apart, clean out the intake and intake ports really well.
BUT BEFORE THAT, Metal specs on the plugs? Get your tuner to look at your car.
Yes burning oil will increase the chance fo knock.

 

12:1 is difficult to tune on 91 and usually requires a couple degrees less timing especially if you have cast pistons. you're correct about oil lowering your octane but a quart every 1000 miles isn't super excessive. did you make sure they checked the guides when they did your valve job? oem valve guides have been the cause in two local oil burners

 

Wow, Isnt checking the guides like the first thing you do before you even think about a valvejob? Sloppy guides cause sloppy valvejobs dont they?

 

New bronze valve guides and seals. Crank vent system and catch can the same thing?

 

ok so i pulled the pcv valve and plugged the intake manifold port. i did a wot 1st and 2nd gear pull and it was smoking alot! it didn't throw out any oil from it being opened. then i put the new pcv valve and did another 1st second gear pull and a little less smoke. but when i got back it was smoking a lot under idle. put back the old pcv valve and it stopped smoking at idle. but still smokes in vtec. Now im guessing that its not the PCV system that is putting the excessive oil in the intake manifold and intake ports. Would a leak down help me out?

 

Crank vent/ catch can is the same thing...
What your describing does not sound good my friend. How credible is the person who "built" it? Its really sounding like the bottom end might need to be opened up again..
No a leakdown wont help you out.

 

so there is no oil in the exhaust ports, if it where my rings wouldn't there be oil there?
They place that built the motor do more V8 builds, but have, and do build a good amount of honda motors. He told me that if i thought i was the valves stems or guides to take the head off and bring it to him and he'll redo them. also i just made a better observation and im burning more like a quart every 500 miles.

 

Any oil residue in the exhaust manifold? Generally speaking if your burning that much oil, theres usually signs of extensive carbon and oil build up all through the exhaust. Ive even seen them leak at the exhaust joints.
By removing the recirculation system of the stock pcv system, your not going to introduce oil vapors back into the intake (evidence of oil in your intake system).

Heavy smoking under WOT is usually a sign of the rings not doing their job. If hes willing to "redo" the head for free, see if hell also do the same if its the block.

BTW- whats the rest of the setup? Cams? Pistons?

Oil really can only get in 2 ways. The rings or the intake (via valveseals/pcv hose).
If you have big cams, was the retainer to valvestem seal checked? Does the oil seem to get dirty rather quickly? Is there any gaskets leaking or starting to leak? Bad rings also can indirectly "force" seals and gaskets to leak...

 

Toda 82mm forged pistons Rocket m22x cams and valve train, aem cai, jdm 4-1 header stock throttle body and intake manifold. No oily residue in the header just dry carbon build up. As far as the retainer to valve stem seal im not sure, but he knew the specs of the cams.

Let me make something clear, the toda pistons where from a previous build and he supplied the rings (total seal). He said he was 99% sure that they would seal up so i trusted him. i offered to buy a set from toda ($200.00), but like i mentioned he said the total seal would work fine.
cylinder 1

cylinder 2

cylinder 3

cylinder 4


as you can see there is oil on the threads and not really the spark plug itself. Those are metal flakes on the spark plugs right?

 

Really hard to tell. They do to me look like they are a little lean though...
I assume the used pistons and the cylinder bores were all properly measured?
What does your builder think?

 

he's sure it sucking oil from somewhere and thinks i need a catch can. He wants to see it in person though, but I don't really want to drive the car to him 60+ miles away. Especially if its detonating. Its a machine/ performance shop, so im sure he did all of that. he knew the pistons where used and hes the one who did all the machine work to the block. i guess im going to have to put my car on a trailer and take it to him.

 

here is vids of the intake and exhaust ports.

 

Try a crank vent system first...Its worth a shot before tearing into the bottom end.
As far as driving goes, You could retard base timing a few degrees to drive it safely. Then have your tuner resynch it with w/e tuning software he uses...Good luck!

 

Today i set the timing back 3 more degrees on the distributor. My tuner is burning me a chip as well. thanks for your help pyro! as far as a vent couldn't i just let my stock pcv vent to the atmosphere or should i buy a catch can better?

 

That one little tiny hose is not enough. Plus it goes through the pcv valve which is super restrictive unless you remove it. Try the block vent fittings with a catch can. Ive had good luck with those myself.

 

i ordered a catch can today and Monday I'm going to get a plug for the stock pcv hole. i found the part number for the h22 fittings and will order those from honda. I'm going to pick up some of that amsoil power foam stuff as well. Thanks again for the help. hopefully it turns out well.

 

that's ash build up. what was the toda spec on piston to wall clearance and did he follow it? those rings are highly suspect. at any rate you have oil burning in the mixture which is what the white ash and black soot are.

you appear to have the deposits plug

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_su...qs/faqread.asp

i've found while setting PWC loose is great for power and boosted apps, it's also a great way to create an oil burner with a short ring life.

 

the piston to wall clearance was factory spec. .001-.003 is factory i think. we put mine at .002. Those Toda pistons have a high silicone content. it does look very similar to the deposit plug on the ngk website. well if it is the rings or the stems the guy said he would rebuild it as long as i bought the rings and bearings. i'm going to try the catch can and go from there.

 

hang on. factory spec is for a cast piston, not a forged piston. you should be following toda's specs. 4032 is the low expansion aluminum used in piston making. mahle makes one of the lowest expansion pistons in the game that's coated all to hell and back to keep the aluminum temps down. even it calls for .0025 you MIGHT be okay with .002 but if it's too tight and the piston expands to crowd out the oil you just scuffed the **** out of your cylinder walls and fried the rings. this could be the reason the rings never seated in the first place. if the piston is too tight no oil is on the wall and you create a lot of friction until it wears free. i have no clue what metal toda uses but if it's 2618 .002 is absolutely too small and if it's 4032 .002 is still under any spec i have ever seen for a 4032 piston

if you order toda rings this time, ask them where the piston should be set up for PWC

 

Im going through the same thing write now. But im H series and Im running the skunk2 pro2 cams and valve train with CP pisons. Not sure if that would make a difference. What did you do to fix this problem? Im going to be getting catch can set up soon to see what it does. I want to know what else would cause this besides the PCV system.

thanks