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Oil consumption question & bubbles in oil


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A friend of mine has a fresh rebuild in his car. It ticks for a few

minutes almost every time it's started. He's been watching his oil

level regularly as was recommended for the rebuilt engine. He

said he has added about 2.5 quarts in the first 1k miles. Is that

about right for a new rebuild? It has new PCV hoses and a Subaru

valve.

At first it kind of sounded like one particular lifter, but the tick has

quieted down a little and now it sounds more like all of them. He

told me that it wouldn't stop ticking this morning on his way to work,

so he pulled over to check the oil. It was only a tad low, but now

there are bubbles in it. Brand new pump. His oil pressure is kind of

weird too. It doesn't seem to reach full pressure for 3-5 minutes or

so.

I know the guages aren't that accurate, but his old engine would

pump full pressure at all times on the same guage.

 

Rebuilder says it's the front seal? Not the mickey mouse? Said

it can let in air and not leak oil. His mechanic isn't too sure and

doesn't like tearing into a fresh rebuild unless he knows exactly

what it is.

 

Anybody have 2 cents to lend?

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2.5 quarts in 1000 miles seems kind of high for me. When I rebuild engines, depending on whether I use iron, chrome, or moly rings, I expect half a quart to a quart of consumption in the first 1000. The oil pressure is weird, too. Usually you'll have the highest pressure shortly (less than 30 seconds) after startup on a cold engine.

 

Where is he seeing the bubbles in the oil? Has it changed color any?

 

As far as the lifters, were rebuilt lifters used, or were the old ones reused?

 

If he got a long block, I'd see what kind of warranty they offer. He should definitely make the rebuilder aware of the problems.

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The bubbles are on the dipstick. Hadn't seen them until now.

My car gets some bubbles every once in a while if I push it

past 3k before I change the oil, but my car has over 200k

on it with many a leak. I didn't expect to see it on a fresh

rebuild, especially with only 1k on the oil.

 

The lifters are rebuilt. The oil hasn't really changed color much.

Just slightly darker than fresh. The rebuilder knows about it. He's

saying front seal on the pump probably needs to be replaced.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I too suffer from the TOD. I don't see any bubbles on the dipstick on mine. Because I don't, does that mean oil aeration isn't a problem?

 

I've taken the rocker assemblies out 4 times already. All the HLA's were replaced with rebuilts from Mizpah, so i know that isn't the source. The oil passages in the rocker arms are clear (blew through them).

 

What does that leave? I've heard about aeration from the oil suction tube and bad oil pumps (low pres) cause the TOD. But if I don't see aerated oil on the dipstick, doesn't this rule it out? Still could be a bad oil pump I guess.

 

The tick seems to come from the rockers closest to the firewall. Is this where oil pressure is the lowest (ie are the other cylinders fed better).

 

thanks for the help guys,

Derek

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