oil consumption

[DLK]

Busy weekend taking the Wayfarer to a family reunion today - gorgeous weather here in Twin Cities today. My many cousins range in age from 58 to 83 so my 1950 Dodge should bring back a few memories... Back in 1950 my Dad (who would be 100) was driving a 41 DeSoto. Tomorrow we are going to a car club event that will probably put 180 miles on the car.

I have one major concern with my rebuilt engine. I have about 2,000 miles on the rebuild and the car is burning AT LEAST a quart of oil every 500 miles. No blue smoke (or any smoke I can see) but that seems like way too high for a rebuilt engine. So what is the likely cause - main bearings? I suppose I should do a compression test and see if there are any ring issues. There is a slight oil leak with the new rear main bearing seal but nothing that would account for this.

[Plymouthy Adams]

have you in any manner defeated the scavenger tube by wrong positioning or installing a PCV without proper internal baffling? What position is the oil filler cap/filter installed..those with cut cap vent must point toward firewall..look for evidence of positive crankcase pressure at gasket seams for blow-by..cannot understand why you would think main bearings would be a reason for oil loss...

 

PS as a wrench for Ford dealership in mid 70's...one quart in 500 was considered normal and usual...we know better but that was their ruling...

Edited July 16, 2016 by Plymouthy Adams

[greg g]

What do your spark plugs look like? Other than the rear main area, is there any evidence of other leaks? It is possible new rings have not yet seated. You might want to do a compression test both dry and wjet to see what your readings are.

[TodFitch]

What do your spark plugs look like? Other than the rear main area, is there any evidence of other leaks? It is possible new rings have not yet seated. You might want to do a compression test both dry and wjet to see what your readings are.

 

+1 to all this.

 

From experience, it doesn't take much of a visible leak to get to losing 1qt every 500 to 1000 miles.

[Don Coatney]

Quick test for bad rings is to stop after driving several miles and leave the engine running. Remove the oil fill tube and look for blow-by. If you see and smell smoke coming from the tube you most likely have a ring problem. If it is clear as in the picture below most likely the rings are OK.

 

[dpollo]

A quart in 500 miles may be excessive but it will take some rings several thousand miles to truly seat and in the meanwhile you are assured of good upper cylinder lubrication,

 

Another thing that I learned from a long time Ford Mechanic who now has a 48 Dodge is that some engines burn the top quart out of the crankcase then the consumption is less.,,,  as if the crankcase was overfull.   See if it does not "hang in there" at the add-oil mark.

[rb1949]

Sharp looking car. Enjoy driving so others can enjoy looking.

[DLK]

A quart in 500 miles may be excessive but it will take some rings several thousand miles to truly seat and in the meanwhile you are assured of good upper cylinder lubrication,

 

Another thing that I learned from a long time Ford Mechanic who now has a 48 Dodge is that some engines burn the top quart out of the crankcase then the consumption is less.,,,  as if the crankcase was overfull.   See if it does not "hang in there" at the add-oil mark.

We have one guy in the car club that swears these flathead engines will burn off the first quart and you can run them a long time without dropping another quart. I am just reluctant to risk driving the car 2 quarts low.

I will try some of the suggestions here once I have some free time - thanks guys for the help.

At the reunion yesterday bringing my car lead to a discussion of everyone's first car. One cousin had a 52 Belvedere and another started with a 55 Dodge. The oldest "first car" was a 29 Chevrolet.

[Plymouthy Adams]

We have one guy in the car club that swears these flathead engines will burn off the first quart and you can run them a long time without dropping another quart. I am just reluctant to risk driving the car 2 quarts low.

I will try some of the suggestions here once I have some free time - thanks guys for the help.

At the reunion yesterday bringing my car lead to a discussion of everyone's first car. One cousin had a 52 Belvedere and another started with a 55 Dodge. The oldest "first car" was a 29 Chevrolet.

My hat is off to the gentleman "if" he indeed bought it new......

[dpollo]

You can monitor the oil level by watching the pressure gauge when going around corners.  The pressure will drop

momentarily when the pickup pulls in air.  This usually occurs at 2 quarts  down.  No real harm done unless you are racing.

[mlozier76]

You can monitor the oil level by watching the pressure gauge when going around corners.  The pressure will drop

momentarily when the pickup pulls in air.  This usually occurs at 2 quarts  down.  No real harm done unless you are racing.

 

I can attest to this absolutely being true. I made the mistake of not checking my oil last year on a 2 hour road trip and found that my oil pressure began to seriously dip (down to 5psi or less) while going around corners.  Found that I was about 2-1/2 quarts low.  Ever since then, I keep a very close eye on my oil levels and gauges. I burn so much oil right now because my rings are bad, that I keep a case with me for long road trips.  I'm working on building up a different motor to put in her, this winter or coming spring, hopefully. I don't want to take her off the road until I wear her out and she doesn't wanna give me any more.

[medium_jon]

On 7/17/2016 at 11:08 AM, kope49 said:

I will try some of the suggestions here once I have some free time - thanks guys for the help.

Hey @kope49 has the oil consumption leveled out? 

[DLK]

17 hours ago, medium_jon said:

Hey @kope49 has the oil consumption leveled out? 

It is still more than in should be on a rebuilt engine.  I probably get 700-800 miles to a quart.  With the amount I drive it's not a big deal.  To be honest most of it is probably leaks - I need a pan under the car in the garage.  It doesn't smoke at all - before the rebuild it looked like a mosquito control vehicle going down the road.

[medium_jon]

Thanks greatly for the update @kope49  good to know it leveled out some

[Fernando Mendes]

On 16/07/2016 at 4:27 PM, Don Coatney said:

Quick test for bad rings is to stop after driving several miles and leave the engine running. Remove the oil fill tube and look for blow-by. If you see and smell smoke coming from the tube you most likely have a ring problem. If it is clear as in the picture below most likely the rings are OK.

 

Good and quick test.

[Don Coatney]

2 hours ago, kope49 said:

It is still more than in should be on a rebuilt engine.  I probably get 700-800 miles to a quart.  With the amount I drive it's not a big deal.  To be honest most of it is probably leaks - I need a pan under the car in the garage.  It doesn't smoke at all - before the rebuild it looked like a mosquito control vehicle going down the road.

How many miles do you have on the rebuilt engine? Are the new rings fully seated? Oil leaks on these engines are common. If a poll were taken my guess is that most folks like myself keep a hunk of cardboard on there garage floor underneath the engine.

[keithb7]

Oil leaks over here too!  No smoke. I tightened up my oil pan bolts. That helped a bit. I suspect the two o-rings between the engine block and torque are leaking on my 53 L6. Was thinking I may pull the engine. New o-rings,  and new rear seal while its out. New pan gasket and cross my fingers. Yup. Cardboard under it in the garage.

[iowa51]

Oil leak in my recently (less than 500 miles) rebuilt engine. Oil spots not in the center of the car but near the front edge of the driver side door about a foot in. Don't know where it is leaking but seems to be running down the frame rail to the lowest spot and dripping there.

[greg g]

Are you sure it is engine oil?  That location suggests brake fluid from master cylinder.  Or could it be the line feeding the oilpressure gauge?  I have several leaks mostly the valve Gally covers from being overtightened in the past.  I use puppy training pads instead of cardboard.  Easy to place and dispose of and you can easily see the color of the fluid.  My dad had several flathead Mopar cars.  He always ran them with the oil level just at the add mark on the dipstick, adding a pint or so whenever it went below the add line.  Speaking of dipsticks, there were two or three different ones, is yours correct for your engine.  How much oil are you putting in your engine to begin with? My service manual calls for five QTS.  Plus one when changing the filter.

[greg g]

I have also noticed a diminished volume, and number of leaks since my last oil and filter change.  The refill was Shell Rottella 15w40.  Wonder if it has seal conditioners in its formula?  I previously have been running Traveler All Fleet 15w40 from tractor supply.

[DLK]

On 8/2/2017 at 2:29 PM, Don Coatney said:

How many miles do you have on the rebuilt engine? Are the new rings fully seated? Oil leaks on these engines are common. If a poll were taken my guess is that most folks like myself keep a hunk of cardboard on there garage floor underneath the engine.

Don -

Mopars in general at least through the 80's it seems are oil leakers - wouldn't you agree?  I had a Duster with slant six that leaked significantly and have had several K-Cars and early Minivans with 4 cylinder engines (2.2 and 2.5) and all of them were leakers after 40-50K.   I have 81K on my 2014 Town and Country with the 3.6 and it doesn't leak a drop (or burn even half a quart between changes either). 

I have about 2,500 miles on the rebuild.  The shop that reassembled the engine did not do a good job with gaskets.  I replaced the valve cover gasket (under the exhaust manifold) because of obvious leakage and it looks like the oil pan gasket leaks too.  I can't tell how much of the leakage is from the rear main seal but am sure that is part of it too and harder to address.

I suppose I could do a compression test but since the engine runs smoothly and has so much more power since the rebuild I haven't bothered to.