Ok,
I'm driving to Fabulous Fords (6 hours) in April. I'm planning on a V8 swap this summer, but my car burs about a quart every 100 miles. That'll be 8 or so quarts round trip!! I already replaced the cylinder head. I did a ring job in a Pinto years ago, a 1600cc, and it wasn't too hard to get the pan off and back on as it had lots of clearance. Have any of you guys done a 2.3 in the car? Outside of dropping the steering rack out of the way, is it reasonably easy to get the pan off and back in after popping the pistons out? The car has a T-5 in it which also may limit how high I can raise the engine. Decisions, decisions...
Joe
I sure wouldn't want to try. I'd just pull the engine, its not that hard. I can have the engine out in about an hour, transmission and all. You could have the engine out and back in in less time than it'd take you to fool with everything from underneath the car in restricted space.
Just my .02.
Seriously, a quart in a hundred miles. Is oil running out the tailpipe? I'd check the pvc system to make sure its not pulling oil. Another idea to try is pull the plugs and shoot some Marvel or penetrating oil in the cylinders and let it soak. Spin the engine over with no plugs to blow the oil back out. Messy, but this trick will free up sticky rings. If its just plain wore out then nothing but a rering will help. Good luck. JT
It's been a strange thing. I checked the PCV system, changed the valve, you can feel it pulling air thru the valve cover. If you pull the PCV out there is no obvious blowby coming out of the hose. The car does smoke especially on hard acceleration, but at idle you don't see anything. Idles nice and steady. Funny thing is the smoke is dark grayish, not blue and the tailpipe is black and sooty. The cooling system is tight, no leaks. Exhaust smells pretty bad as well. I have Weber 32/36 carb on it which isn't supposed to be the best for a 2.3 and have wondered if the carb is gas washing the cylinders and thinning/burning the oil. I later found out from Weber that the carb kit I bought (Ebay) was designed more for a 2.0. it doesn't appear to be running too rich and needs the choke to start when cold. When I changed the head the cylinders were spotless, no crud or deposits, virtually no ridge at the top of the cylinders, and the plugs looked pretty good. I may just get another carb for it to eliminate that as a possibility.
Smoking on hard throttle is a sign of worn rings. But it sounds like its in too good of shape to be worn out bad enough to use that much oil. It almost has to be leaking it.
You would think it would be leaking, but nope, no leaks. That much oil would leave a mess under the car or on the ground. Of course, maybe it doesn't burn much at a cold idle when the oil is thicker and as it gets hotter the oil gets past the rings. I'll probably just do it. What's another day or so of getting dirty!!
Yea it shouldnt be too bad to re-ring it. Dont forget to hone the cylinders and then clean everything up (again this is why it needs to be on the stand really. All that nastyness that comes off the cylinder walls could end up in the bearings otherwise). The rings may not seat or seal up very well (or so I am told) if you dont hone the cylinder walls to clean them up before putting in new rings.
I had a chevy that beat your pinto in the oil consumption department. It just had bad valve seals but it would send all that oil down the valve guides. It would use a 4 or 5 quarts of oil in 125 or 150 miles. Never saw any smoke while driving but it would be hard to start and would smoke like a freight train after sitting overnight. It would smoke for about 5 minutes, with a cloud of blue smoke so thick you couldnt see anything around you for that time. It was terrible. Never seen an engine do that before, but for some reason two chevy 350s i installed did that after i installed them, but didnt do that before i pulled them from the vehicle they came from. Thats something I never figured out either.
So, perhaps you should check your valve seals? Your shortblock really shouldnt be worn out enough to use that much oil. Neither was mine on that 350, it was those valve seals. I'm not fond of a chevy 350 and i'll never own another one in my life, but that time I can honestly say it was just the valve seals and not because it was a worn out hunk o-junk like the rest of the 350s i'd had ever.
Well,
Here's some history. I originally changed the valve stem seals in the previous head using the air pressure in the cylinder method thinking that they were the problem. Nothing changed, still burned the same. I bought a rebuilt head online from a Bobcat owner to hopefully eliminate the head as a source. The head looks like it was rebuilt correctly with a new cam, bearings, followers and lifters. Problem still exists. This was a junkyard engine I had gotten from a guy in San Francisco. The original 2.3 was seriously blown, overheated from a rear freeze plug that blew out and the owner didn't shut it off in time.
Anyway, I was hoping to keep it going till I have time and the rest of the parts for the V8 swap. Just got the 8" rear in place today. need to bolt it down and get some Mustang shocks.
Took some pics to post for the 8 inch thread. It really is pretty much a bolt in...so far
Joe
Basicly what happens is, when you bolt up a new head on an old(er) bottom end, the top "overpowers" the bottom end because it is fresh and tight.
If you have a cherry picker and engine stand, I would go ahead and pull it. I have done it both ways though, easy enough to get the pan off and knock the pistons out.
i used to pull and change piston assemblies one at a time on mine long time ago. i had 'spare' assemblies of the same weight and physical configuration on the shelf.
this was usually done on a sunday morning after a hard night on whittier blvd or down in orange county with the "Brotherhood of Street Racers" (i swear, it's true!) and it was done to replace a melted piston or two
at times it was at home where i didn't have a cherry picker so off came he head remove the bottom nuts off both motor mounts and lift enough to let the motor sit on top of the studs. then drop the pan, remove the oil pump pick up bolts, drop that in the sump and remove the pan.
this was all on a 2.0 and it is a lot of work but in a pinch it was doable. i think the guys are right. you should pull the motor it will really be the better and possibly faster way to get it done
I should just go ahead and put in the 302, but I just got laid off temporarily, so I need to watch the funds. I'm just about done with the 8"rear, just need to put in the new brake hose and shocks. That 8" rear is a lot heavier than the old 6 1/4". What a difference! I felt like I had taken the rear out of a pedal car after I started dragging that 8 into place!
Joe