Oil Burning

gub

gub

Forum Member
This is a problem that i have been dealing with ever since i bought the car and its recently started to bother me.

The 68' 289 burns oil at idle but above 2k and up it stops smoking.

What could be the problem?
 
please dont take it apart to try and change the rings. you WILL mess it up. I would change your pcv valve if its got one. Does it puff smoke out of the valve cover if you pull off the oil cap while its running?
 
oh and i forgot were talking to GUB....


first things first. Are you sure its OIL and not COOLANT?
 
You know, you dont have to be rude. Yes im sure its oil. When i took off the pcv, smoke puffs out of it.
 
IMHO I would let a professional look at it, You have had offers from a couple of the guy's on here, I think I would accept before you soak anymore money into it.
Again JMHO
JT
 
I did, he told me i should have a diagnostic ran on it, so thats what im going to do.
 
Honestly it seems your motor is just plain worn out. Sounds like you have blow-by around the rings (smoke from the valve covers) and probably worn out valve seals (blue smoke coming from tailpipe). I would do a complete rebuild on it.

This is just a guess but I would assume it is still smoking above 2k, it is just moving more air through the engine so it is dissapated in the exhaust. Your seals are probably leaking the same ammount if you are idling or running at 4000 rpm.
 
You are probably right. It seems im running on borrowed time as it is. Am I losing power because of the oil use? If i am how much could i be losing? (ballpark)
 
You will lose power in a few ways. First, the blow by around your rings are bleeding off compression. Second, the oil problem will foul out your spark plugs and it won't ignite the fuel as efficiently. And third, your cam and valve train are probably worn out which means your valves aren't opening as far and can't let as much fuel and air in and as much exhaust out as it should.

How much power depends mainly on your engines ability to hold the combustion inside the cylinder without it leaking out into the bottom end of your engine and it's ability to bring in air/fuel and let out exhaust. The oil won't really effect it unless if fouls out your plugs, but it makes your car look like a pile when it smokes down the road.

From the way it sounds there is nothing you can do short of a total rebuild. Anything you do will be a bandaid. If it isn't knocking I'd just replace the spark plugs, check the oil every couple hundred miles and enjoy the rest of the year unless it starts knocking. Then I'd plan a rebuild during the winter.

Rebuild kits are pretty cheap for a small block ford. I'd also recomend you get a book like HP books How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines. It will be a good 20 bucks or less you have to spend. I rebuilt my first engine back in the day (460 Ford) with the help of a HP book. They put it pretty simple with lots of pictures.
 
mikeg said:
You will lose power in a few ways. First, the blow by around your rings are bleeding off compression. Second, the oil problem will foul out your spark plugs and it won't ignite the fuel as efficiently. And third, your cam and valve train are probably worn out which means your valves aren't opening as far and can't let as much fuel and air in and as much exhaust out as it should.

How much power depends mainly on your engines ability to hold the combustion inside the cylinder without it leaking out into the bottom end of your engine and it's ability to bring in air/fuel and let out exhaust. The oil won't really effect it unless if fouls out your plugs, but it makes your car look like a pile when it smokes down the road.

From the way it sounds there is nothing you can do short of a total rebuild. Anything you do will be a bandaid. If it isn't knocking I'd just replace the spark plugs, check the oil every couple hundred miles and enjoy the rest of the year unless it starts knocking. Then I'd plan a rebuild during the winter.

Rebuild kits are pretty cheap for a small block ford. I'd also recomend you get a book like HP books How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines. It will be a good 20 bucks or less you have to spend. I rebuilt my first engine back in the day (460 Ford) with the help of a HP book. They put it pretty simple with lots of pictures.
Click to expand...
better yet, wait til october and buy yourself a low mileage 302 and drop it in
 
cjmatt said:
better yet, wait til october and buy yourself a low mileage 302 and drop it in
Click to expand...

That's always an option, but then you are buying a used engine. It might only have 20k on it, but it might have drank 3000# of nitrous and put those miles on a quarter at a time. Also, you will have to deal with the different firing order of the H.O. engine vs. the 289. I'm not trying to make fun, but it doesn't seem like GUB has a whole lot of experience when it comes to cars, which is fine, we all have to start somewhere. And there is no better way to learn then to get your hands dirty. When you actually have to build an engine you understand what is inside that block of iron.
 
I own that hp book and i thought about it, but I really dont have the space for a rebuild.

It does make it look like a pile when all the smoke comes out, because ALOT comes out, and everyone stares at me like" wuts rong with ur car?"
 
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