Riddle me this Mechanic Man?

[BigBlocksRule]

I re-read the thread and I think RS72Z might be absolutely correct - if you have a loose rocker stud, it'll allow it to suck oil into the intake, and will be worse for a bit immediately after you add oil which you said had happened...

[savatreatabvr]

You may be right but isn't a valve seal or guide more likely to go out than having a loose rocker arm stud? I'm off today so I'll pull the valve cover and check the studs and oil passages for blockage. Now shouldn't every rocker arm stud have around the same number of threads showing above the nut?

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

I re-read the thread and I think RS72Z might be absolutely correct - if you have a loose rocker stud, it'll allow it to suck oil into the intake, and will be worse for a bit immediately after you add oil which you said had happened...

[Desert1957]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

I re-read the thread and I think RS72Z might be absolutely correct - if you have a loose rocker stud, it'll allow it to suck oil into the intake, and will be worse for a bit immediately after you add oil which you said had happened...

rocker stud holes on big blocks are dead end holes, meaning there is no vacuum at the bottom of the hole.

If you want an easy test try this , warm the engine to operating temp or a fair road test , pull the PCV valve out and away from the valve cover, hold the engine rpm at about 2000, watch and feel whats coming out of the valve cover grommet , if you can see oil vapors. Its motor time , if you can feel a steady flow of air pushing out of the hole its motor time.

Desert

[savatreatabvr]

So there's no possible way a loose rocker arm stud could cause oil to leak into the cylinder, right and when you say "motor time", are you meaning time to rebuild or replace the motor?

Originally Posted by Desert1957

rocker stud holes on big blocks are dead end holes, meaning there is no vacuum at the bottom of the hole.

If you want an easy test try this , warm the engine to operating temp or a fair road test , pull the PCV valve out and away from the valve cover, hold the engine rpm at about 2000, watch and feel whats coming out of the valve cover grommet , if you can see oil vapors. Its motor time , if you can feel a steady flow of air pushing out of the hole its motor time.

Desert

[Desert1957]

Originally Posted by savatreatabvr

So there's no possible way a loose rocker arm stud could cause oil to leak into the cylinder, right and when you say "motor time", are you meaning time to rebuild or replace the motor?

Yes, without getting to technical, I will try to explain why 454's like to wear them selves out faster then any other V8 Chevy made.

It has to to with their stroke, 454's have a long crank stroke with makes great engine torque and power, but the dark side is the connecting rod through its cycle has a very bad angle at the piston pin causing severe side loading on the cylinder wall.

this side loading forces the piston up and out which makes for an extreme load on the outside of the cylinder wall. This is the reason they don't like to be revved up like a small block.

IMO a 454 can't go 200 or 300,000 miles like a 350 due to this design, without premature cylinder and piston ring problems.

If you are not sure on the history of your engine I would recommend a cylinder leak down test, this will tell you what percentage of leakage is going by the piston rings or worn cylinders, anything over 30% will causing oil consumption. Extreme oil usage and smoking.
Normal engine is 5-10% leakage.

If the leakage is low, look for things such as Valve Guide wear, leaking intake gaskets, fuel pump diaphragm etc.

I hope this was written so you can understand what you may be facing.
Hopefully its not bad news, If the engine is quiet,(no Knocking) there are a few things you can do.

1. use a heavier weight oil(not synthetic) Castrol high mileage
2. add a an of engine restore or what ever oil supplement you prefer
3. drive conservatively NO full throttle blast
4. run a hotter spark plug

one other problem that engine have burning oil causes detonation ( or pinging) under acceleration, this is also hard on the pistons.

Hope this helps.....

Desert

[savatreatabvr]

I always heard a 454 can't handle being redlined to many times, now it makes since! Yeah, I'm sure my 454 has high miles but it doesn't knock or ping and still seems pretty tight so I'll try thicker oil, maybe some Marv Myst oil and hotter plugs, I really appreciate your post, I learned alot and it was written well, thanks again!

Originally Posted by Desert1957

Yes, without getting to technical, I will try to explain why 454's like to wear them selves out faster then any other V8 Chevy made.

It has to to with their stroke, 454's have a long crank stroke with makes great engine torque and power, but the dark side is the connecting rod through its cycle has a very bad angle at the piston pin causing severe side loading on the cylinder wall.

this side loading forces the piston up and out which makes for an extreme load on the outside of the cylinder wall. This is the reason they don't like to be revved up like a small block.

IMO a 454 can't go 200 or 300,000 miles like a 350 due to this design, without premature cylinder and piston ring problems.

If you are not sure on the history of your engine I would recommend a cylinder leak down test, this will tell you what percentage of leakage is going by the piston rings or worn cylinders, anything over 30% will causing oil consumption. Extreme oil usage and smoking.
Normal engine is 5-10% leakage.

If the leakage is low, look for things such as Valve Guide wear, leaking intake gaskets, fuel pump diaphragm etc.

I hope this was written so you can understand what you may be facing.
Hopefully its not bad news, If the engine is quiet,(no Knocking) there are a few things you can do.

1. use a heavier weight oil(not synthetic) Castrol high mileage
2. add a an of engine restore or what ever oil supplement you prefer
3. drive conservatively NO full throttle blast
4. run a hotter spark plug

one other problem that engine have burning oil causes detonation ( or pinging) under acceleration, this is also hard on the pistons.

Hope this helps.....

Desert

[notyo_cheez]

Suction on the PCV is a good sign, as for the fouling plug(s) I would borrow a compression gauge and check the cylinders. That's just me.

I owned a '76 Monte Carlo a long time ago that would smoke a little after start-up, told it was the valve guides heading south. Never did anything about it, only drove it for about 3 years and ran okay and the plugs weren't abnormally fouled. Had an Olds 455 where the previous owner put Splitfire plugs in and a couple of them had anti-fouling caps on them, changed them all for platinums and ran much better. Didn't burn or leak oil at all, not sure why the no-fouls were there.

Try cheap and simple stuff first. Change your oil and substitue one quart of Marvel Mystery Oil for the crankcase oil, drive it normally and watch your levels. After a month do it again. It worked for my grandpa.

[savatreatabvr]

Excellent advice, thank you!

Originally Posted by notyo_cheez

Suction on the PCV is a good sign, as for the fouling plug(s) I would borrow a compression gauge and check the cylinders. That's just me.

I owned a '76 Monte Carlo a long time ago that would smoke a little after start-up, told it was the valve guides heading south. Never did anything about it, only drove it for about 3 years and ran okay and the plugs weren't abnormally fouled. Had an Olds 455 where the previous owner put Splitfire plugs in and a couple of them had anti-fouling caps on them, changed them all for platinums and ran much better. Didn't burn or leak oil at all, not sure why the no-fouls were there.

Try cheap and simple stuff first. Change your oil and substitue one quart of Marvel Mystery Oil for the crankcase oil, drive it normally and watch your levels. After a month do it again. It worked for my grandpa.

[ramz]

I had the same issue, I changed out the spark plugs and about 1month later it looked like your picture. It would run good until the spark plug clogged up again. One mechanic told me valve seal but I took to another mechanic and it replaced the EGR valve.

[savatreatabvr]

Unfortunately I don't have a EGR valve, it's a 1973!

Originally Posted by ramz

I had the same issue, I changed out the spark plugs and about 1month later it looked like your picture. It would run good until the spark plug clogged up again. One mechanic told me valve seal but I took to another mechanic and it replaced the EGR valve.

[savatreatabvr]

I also noticed when I pulled the fouled plug there was oil on the outside of the plug hole. Could the piston be blowing oil past the threads of the spark plug or the head be cracked right at the spark plug threads, I know it's far fetched but I thought I'd ask?

[tucsonjwt]

In my experience, wet oil on plugs means bad rings. Any blue smoke out the tailpipe? There should be some?

[savatreatabvr]

I must not have been clear, the oil is on the "spark plug threads" and the "outside" of the engine. I guess I kinda answered my own question, common since says any liquid will take the path of least resistance especially under pressure.

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

In my experience, wet oil on plugs means bad rings. Any blue smoke out the tailpipe? There should be some?

[raws67]

Have you tried hooking up a vacum gauge to see what kind of readings you are getting?

[BMERDOC]

It is oil consumption. Your next step is a compression and a leak down test. If the valve seals are rotten that would be your cheapest resolution. If the valve seal fix it and your problem returns soon (depends on how much its driven) you have bad valve guides. Other than that you have bad rings. The tests can confirm where the problem lies.

[savatreatabvr]

I did a compression test a while back and 2 cylinders were at about 90lbs, the rest about 110-120lbs.

Originally Posted by BMERDOC

It is oil consumption. Your next step is a compression and a leak down test. If the valve seals are rotten that would be your cheapest resolution. If the valve seal fix it and your problem returns soon (depends on how much its driven) you have bad valve guides. Other than that you have bad rings. The tests can confirm where the problem lies.