soobcollektor Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Hey everyone, its been a while since ive done anythign with an old school soob but just recently I bought an 82 GLF hardtop and absolutely love it. It ran fine for a while but more recently has started to smoke out the exhaust pipe. I also pulled the air cleaner cover to find the air filter completely soaked in oil and the inside of the housing also covered in oil. When I start it with the air cleaner cover off I can see that the oil is comming in the passenger side head's PCV pipe because its puffing smoke when the car is running, and when I pull the dipstick out it also puffs smoke and when I take the oil fill cap off it puffs smoke about as bad as the exhaust. The car doesnt over heat and runs pretty good but it seems that the PCV system is blasting smokey oil into my air filter and the car seems to be burning oil really badly. When reved up the exhaust could is so thick you cant see behind the car. I disconnected the PCV pipes from the air cleaner housing in hopes that the smoke from the exhaust was just the oil being sucked up and burnt off but it still smokes from the exhaust pipe really badly (bluish/white smoke) that hangs in the air. I drove it for a while also with that hose off to see if that would help but that didnt help either it still is burnign oil out the exhaust BAD. Pulled plugs and number 3 cylinder was oil soaked, could it be that the rings have gone south? Ive never heard of an ea81 having this happen to it before....but maybe. The symptoms of this smoking happened after getting off the highway one day. I havent gotten aroudnt o checking compression but is there something i'm missing thats simple or is my engine toast? Thanks for any help in advance, oh and its a 5 speed if that makes any differece. ~Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 you dont say how many miles on this. Since the #3 plug is soaked, you found your source. Your going to have to o a wet/dry compression test and see what gives. Other then a stuck pcv valve, looks like you have bad rings or valve guide nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobcollektor Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Hi Nipper, Sorry about the mileage, it has around 160,000 on it. If in fact the engine is bad does anyone have a good EA-81 laying around? I'll do a compression test and post the results. Thanks ~tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 My check mark goes beside the valve stem seals, or a bent, sticking valve. You may be in for a head job - I sugest as above you do the comp. test and see whats what. HG's aren't dificult on the EA81, so it's not something to be terribly afraid of. Wait - I just re-read and you say the air filter is soaked..... your PCV system is not functioning. The continued burning of oil after pulling the PCV lines is just residual - it can take a while to burn that off. Run some seafoam into the intake to clean out the cylinders. And replace that PCV valve..... the math here is pretty simple - PCV is the only way oil can get to the air filter - that pretty narrowly defines your problem. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobcollektor Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 I originally was thinking that it was PCV also but it smokes forever right out of the pass side valve cover, its puffing just like an exhaust pipe and does it continuiously. If i take the line off of the PCV it has a vacuum comming from it. But whenever you take anything off the engine like the dipstick or oil fill cap it smokes out of them like crazy in a steady puff for as long as its running. I'm going to try to check the compression on it today and we'l see where that leads. Thanks ~Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elroy Jetson Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 If the car was sitting for a long period, could be stuck rings. If that's the case just dump a can of Marvel Mystery Oil in the case and see if the rings free up after running a while. Rings can get rusty and jam in the piston grooves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobcollektor Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Stuck rign ey? That may be it but would it be fine for a while then after an extended highway trip it start doing it, thats what caused it, I got off the highway and it started smoking and hasnt stopped since. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 how does it run other than burning oil? any back firing through the carb or exhaust? sounds like bad valve stems/seals to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Rings usually get stuck from sitting for a long time, not during operation. something does not sound good http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com/motor_oil_consumption.htm Tapered and Out-of-Round Cylinders In slightly tapered and out-of-round cylinders, the oil can be controlled by the pistons and rings. However, with increased taper and out-of-roundness, satisfactory oil control becomes more difficult to maintain. This is due to a combination of many factors. The increased piston clearances permit the pistons to rock in the worn cylinders. While tilted momentarily, an abnormally large volume of oil is permitted to enter on one side of the piston. The rings, also tilted in the cylinder, permit oil to enter on one side. Upon reversal of the piston on each stroke, some of this oil is passed into the combustion chamber. For each revolution of the crankshaft, the pistons make two strokes - one up and one down. When an engine is running at 3000 R.P.M. (approximately 60 miles per hour) the rings in tapered and out-of-round cylinders are changing their size and shape 6000 times per minute. Consequently, at high speeds, the rings may not have time to conform perfectly to all worn parts of the cylinders on every stroke. Whenever this occurs, the engine consumes higher amounts of oil due to what is commonly referred to as oil pumping. Distorted Cylinders Cylinders which are distorted so that they are out of shape - not from wear, as described under "Tapered and Out-of-Round Cylinders", but from other causes, such as unequal heat distribution or unequal tightening of cylinder head bolts - present a surface which the rings may not be able to follow completely. In this case, there may be areas where the rings will not remove all of the excess oil. When combustion takes place, this oil will be burned and cause high oil consumption. Clogged "PCV" Valve The main purpose of the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve is to recirculate blow-by gases back from the crankcase area through the engine to consume unburned hydrocarbons. Blowby is a mixture of air, gasoline and combustion gases forced past the rings on the combustion stroke. The PCV system usually has a tube leading from the crankcase to the carburetor or intake manifold. Vacuum within the engine intake manifold pulls blowby gases out of the crankcase into the combustion chamber along with the regular intake of air and fuel. A valve can become clogged with sludge and varnish deposits and trap blowby gases in the crankcase. This degrades the oil, promoting additional formation of deposit material. If left uncorrected, the result is plugged oil rings, oil consumption, rapid ring wear due to sludge buildup, ruptured gaskets and seals due to crankcase pressurization, oil thrown out around the filler cap and consequent rough engine operation. Worn Ring Grooves For piston rings to form a good seal, the sides of the ring grooves must be true and flat - not flared or shouldered - and the rings must have the correct side clearance in the grooves. Normally, automotive ring groove side clearance should not exceed .002-.004. As the pistons move up and down, the rings must seat on the sides of the grooves in very much the same way that valves must seat to prevent leakage. New rings in tapered or irregular grooves will not seat properly and, consequently, oil will pass around behind the rings into the combustion chamber. Worn grooves are usually flared or tapered causing increased side clearances which permit more than the normal amount of oil to pass the rings into the combustion chamber. Excessive side clearances also create a pounding effect by the rings on the sides of the piston grooves. This promotes piston groove wear and, if the condition is not corrected, breakage of rings lands may occur. Cracked or Broken Ring Lands Cracked or broken ring lands prevent the rings from seating completely on their sides and cause oil pumping by a process similar to that described above in "Tapered and Out-of-Round Cylinders". In addition to this, they also lead to serious damage of the cylinders as well as complete destruction of the pistons and rings. Cracked or broken ring lands cannot be corrected by any means other than piston replacement and this should be done as soon as there is the slightest indication of a crack. Worn Valve Stems and Guides When wear has taken place on valve stems and valve guides, the vacuum in the intake manifold will draw oil and oil vapor between the intake valve stems and guides, into the intake manifold and then into the cylinder where it will be burned. If this condition is not corrected when new piston rings are installed, an engine is likely to use more oil than it did before because the new piston rings will increase the vacuum in the intake manifold. When gum or deposits on the valve stems are removed - a procedure recommended when overhauling an engine - the seal previously formed will be removed and leakage will be more pronounced. This is particularly true on overhead valve engines where loss of oil may occur on the exhaust valves as well as on the intake valves. High oil consumption caused by too much valve guide clearance can frequently be cured by reaming or nerraling the valve stem. In some cases new valves may also be required. Use of a permanently bonded valve stem seal will give added insurance against oil leakage on complete engine overhauls or on valve jobs. Worn or Broken Piston Rings When piston rings are broken or are worn to such an extent that the correct tension and clearances are not maintained, they will allow oil to be drawn into the combustion chamber on the intake stroke and hot gases of combustion to be blown down the cylinder past the piston on the power stroke. Both of these actions will result in burning and carboning of the oil on the cylinders, pistons and rings. Broken rings are especially damaging because their loose pieces with jagged ends are likely to cut into the sides of the piston grooves. This causes land breakage which results in the complete destruction of the piston assembly. Instead of reinstalling worn rings during engine overhaul, it is always advisable to replace them. New rings have quick-seating surfaces which enable the rings to control oil instantly, unlike rings which have been used in the past. Used rings, even those that have only slightly worn will still have polished surfaces that will not seat-in properly and will lead to excessive oil consumption. Pistons Rings Stuck in Grooves Obviously, oil cannot be controlled by piston rings which are stuck in their grooves, so every effort should be made to prevent rings from becoming stuck. First, they should be installed with sufficient side clearance to enable them to remain free while the engine is working under load at normal operating temperatures. Second, every precaution should be taken at the time of assembly to see that all parts of the engine are clean of any dirt particles which might cause the rings to stick. Third, a good grade of oil should be used to lessen the possibility of carbon or varnish. Fourth, the oil should be kept clean by regularly scheduled oil changes and proper care of the oil filter. Fifth, every precaution should be taken to keep the engine from becoming overheated from any cause. there are even uglier resons on that site, but since you dont have any complaints we can rule those out for now. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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