Down 4 quarts of oil!

[tetsulo]

I completed the first 500 miles on my Golen Stroker today. (I picked it up last Tuesday) I've been considerate and haven't asked too much out of it yet. On the way home this afternoon I noticed that my oil pressure was low. I pulled into a Jiffy lube as soon as I could. To my surprise, the dipstick registered no oil whatsoever. When they pulled the filter and drained the pan about 2 quarts came out.

Sometimes when I start the truck (not necessarily when it's cold) a puff of bluish smoke will come out of the exhaust -- but that's all. It does not appear to be smoking under acceleration.

I'm running Valvoline 20w50 as recommended by Golen Engine Service. I replaced all hoses and the radiator and pressure bottle (1990 Jeep Comanche) with the new engine.

When looking under the hood today I noticed that the pressure bottle seemed darker than it was. I let the truck cool off and pulled the cap off the pressure bottle. There are some black deposits on the inside of the bottle. However, there doesn't appear to be oil floating in the coolant. The deposit seems more like a rubbery compound rather than anything else -- flashing off the inside of the hoses or something? Grease or flux from the new radiator? I would think if the headgasket were bad I would split/blow a hose or the pressure bottle. Temps on the truck seem to sit around the first notch on the gauge -- the one below the 210. I've seen it go another half towards the 210 in stop and go traffic.

I have a 180degree thermostat, a hesco hi flow water pump and a 3 core copper radiator.

I also spent 30 minutes under the truck while it was on a lift looking for any obvious leaks -- there were none to be seen.

Is this normal or excessive for engine break in? If normal, how long will this last?

Sorry for the lengthy message but I'm trying to answer as many questions as possible in advance.

Matthew

 

[JJacobs]

The blue smoke on startup indicates the valve seals aren't doing their job, possibly because of the valve guides being loose. Oil could also be making its way up past the rings, but then I'd expect a steady fog of oil smoke. Either way you have oil getting into the combustion chambers.

As for the appearance of the coolant.. find a shop with an exhaust sniffer. Put the probe above the coolant bottle and hope it doesn't detect hydrocarbons. If it does.. head gasket.

Four quarts in 500 miles is not normal, sorry.

 

[tetsulo]

I'm gonna have it looked at on Friday...I'll ask them about the valve seals/guides.

I'll have them check the coolant as well.

There couldnt possibly be 4qts of oil in the coolant, and it seems to me it would smoke like an old steam engine to burn that much oil while driving in such a short time frame.

I'm really hoping that maybe someone was asleep at the switch and didn't put enough oil in to begin (Shame on me but I never checked) with, but I doubt that is the case.

Matthew

 

[Dr. Dyno]

I'm really hoping that maybe someone was asleep at the switch and didn't put enough oil in to begin (Shame on me but I never checked) with, but I doubt that is the case.

He he, don't be surprised if that's the case after all. If your engine really did consume 4 quarts of oil in 500 miles, the coolant would either be full of oil or your engine would be smoking like a chimney. A little bit of oil consumption is normal for the first ~3000 miles until the rings seat so a light puff of blue smoke upon start up shouldn't cause any alarm.
I think you should just change the oil & filter and make sure the pan is filled up properly this time. Then monitor the level on the dipstick as you add more miles and you'll know for sure if your engine really is consuming oil.

 

[tetsulo]

Well, I had the truck in at the mechanic's today (not who built the engine). Plugs 1 and 2 had heavy white deposits on them -- 3 thru 5 were ashy white and #6 was dark.

So, bad valve seals in one and two and running rich on #6?

Replaced the plugs with new plugs, will drive the truck normally next week and return for another check up.

http://www.4x4review.com/quads/tech/SparkPlugs.asp

1 and 2 look like Excess deposits
3 thru 5 look like Normal
6 looks like dry fouling on this page