292 using/leaking a quart every 30 miles

[Elephanthead]

What are the usual suspects for this much oil leakage/usage? It looks to be a later model 292, electric choke, hei distributor, where is the oil leaking out of? does the rear main seal on these leak that badly, side inspection covers, valve cover? Should I buy gaskets or use the right stuff? I don't notice any smoke and the thing runs like a beast, just always needs oil. The emission stuff is not plugged off or hooked to a pump if that makes a difference.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

if its a hi-milage engine its worn out and alot of blow by. do a compression test and see what you,ve got.
jmo
bob

[mr48chev]

Yep to wnat bcowanwheels said. Check for blowby and then check the pcv valve to make sure it is working.

Lots of blowby means pressure getting past the rings and an overhaul is due. Plugged pcv valve just doesn't get the fumes and pressure out of the crankcase and contributes to leaks.

I'd run down to the local carwash (if you don't have a pressure washer) and wash the engine compartment and engine really well and then check for leaks. If it is going through oil that fast I don't think you will have to look too hard to find the leak or leaks.
On engines this old you can expect to have to deal with leaks as a normal part of maintenance.
I'd plan on changing the valve cover, side cover, and pan gaskets along with changing the front and rear seals.

[Elephanthead]

Well shiznet, it's not worth rebuilding, I don't get a pool of oil on the driveway so it must be rings. I guess I treat it like a two stroke and buy oil by the 55 gallon barrel.

[El Jay]

What kind of oil are you using?
If you want to buy a few more miles you could go to something like a straight 50 wt. racing oil.

I'm almost, but not quite, embarrassed to admit this, but I used to have a Vega, fun little car to drive. But towards the end it was using so much oil, I mixed 50 wt racing oil with 90 wt gear lube (I got the gear lube free) 50%/50%.
I DO NOT recommend doing this!

[Dark Knight]

check the rear of the valve cover. These old sixes have a bad habit of leaking there.

[Tx Firefighter]

That big of a leak sounds like an oil pressure sending unit or guage tube. Look on the passenger side of the engine right above the rear side cover. They will leak like crazy when they fail.

[El Jay]

I'm just sitting here ruminating.

I'm beginning to wonder if he meant 300 miles, instead of 30 miles?

If he was leaking that much there would be huge spots under the truck & the bottom of the truck would more than "well lubricated".
And if there was that much blowby how far could he run before fouling plugs?

[boilrman]

I had a v8 do the same thing. Only I fouled 2 plugs in the #8 cylinder within that time frame as well. Didnt smoke at all. tore it down, reringed the pistons, new bearings on the crank and pistons and slapped it back together. ran like a champ. Not the best way to do it, but definitely a budget saver.

[westofb]

I also had similar prob with 350 crate motor with less than 1000 miles on it, it would use a quart about every 40 miles. It was clean with no visible leaks, fouled plugs, or smoking exhaust. Thought I had a bum engine, took off the intake and is was sucking oil from lifter valley. Just to try it, put in new gasket and no more oil loss, I thought that it was weird to burn that much oil with no smoke in the exhaust. I know this is a little off the subject, but perhaps engine is not as bad off as you think, I would check pcv valve first (real cheap). Not really sure what else it would be on a 6 banger...never messed with them too much....good luck with your truck!

['68OrangeSunshine]

I had a similar gripe on my last 292 after about [only] 200,000 miles. Besides the obvious ring blow-by -- on disassembly we found that the harmonic balancer was out of balance and had worn a groove thru the timing gear cover on the high side. Around town it was allright, but when I ran it on the freeway, the higher oil pressure forced the oil out the hole. I noticed it was always a quart low after 60 miles on the road at speed.
The 292 can't handle high RPMs in stock form. It was designed as a work truck engine. Five grand is redline. One symptom is the HB "walking".
I was on the 50 weight diet, myself. My new L6 runs SAE 30.

[special-K]

It could be leaking "only" under pressure,so it won`t leak when parked or maybe not at idle.But,you`d have drips and it would be wet from the leak-back.If you`re burning that much you`d see smoke and your tail end would have dirt stuck to it.The tail of your exhaust pipe would be wet and black,as well as any bodywork nearby.

[Elephanthead]

I am thinking the leak is coming out of the rear passenger side, it only comes out when running, since the brakes didn't work when I got it, this is my first real driving, and it is 30 miles. I am convinced it is not blow by, it uses way too much. To cover all my bases I am regasketing the valve cover, inspection covers, examining and or replacing oil sending unit. I parked on a dry spot after driving a long way and enough oil had collected on the block to drip and give me an idea where it came from.