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So, my #3 cyl on my EJ22 is sucking down oil. It's not a pcv fault, I plugged/ disconencted all the hoses and it still burned oil. The rings are not cracked, and there is a few scratches in the cyl wall, but none deep enough to catch a fingernail on.

 

The oil burning goes like this: small cloud at startup. No smoke under decel/engine braking. No smoke at WOT. Massive smoke at 2k-4k rpm cruising/ part throttle.

 

Unfortunately, this is where the engine is used most of the time. I'm up to a quart every 50 miles. No, that's not missing a zero, this thing is guzzling oil.mThe rear of the car is coated in a blackish grime of oil soot.

 

I have 6 gallons of Sears 10w30 SD rated oil from the 70's. This will keep it lubed for a bit untill I figure out how to fix this.

 

The billowing smoke at part throttle is the biggest clue I think.

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It doesnt take a lot of oil to make a lot of smoke. How do you know about the scratch in the cylinder wall?

YOu need to do a wet/dry compression test. If the numbers are good then it can be a valve stem seal (but i suspect its the scratch)

 

nipper

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wow, a quart every 50 miles, that's insane. if it's leaking that bad it seems like a leak down test should show easily where it's going.

 

i second the question about how you know about the cylinder wall scratching. how many miles, any recent work or overheating? any prior head gasket issues?

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Engine history, condensed version:

Rebuilt it at school, assembeled in a hurry.

Drove to wyoming 2,400miles on 2 day old engine

Hood latch broke in ohio, couldn't check oil till wyoming.

Added 3qts of oil in wyoming (crankcase holds 4.2)

Hauled ford bronco home from town= heavy load

Smoking begins, slight puff at startup

Drove home.

Beat the piss out of car regularly

Oil consumption up to 1qt a week, 400miles a week or so through fall semester

Chunk of valve burns out on hill

Replaced head with a spare from another terminal oil burner

Pulled engine and removed #3 piston to check for damage, noted scratches. Deeper scratches in piston. Rings OK, properly clocked around piston

Reassembled engine

Oil consumption through the roof. It lays james bond style smoke screens. If I cruise in first at 2.5krpm, I can fill the road wall to wall with thick, lingering smoke.

 

The compression test I did when I was diagnosing the puked valve had 150psi dry on the other 3 cyl's.

It has plenty of power, it'll kick the rear out sideways if you floor it rolling in first or second w/ 30" A/T's on it.

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What I have always run across with the advise on oil burning is that if it smokes on hard accel, it's the rings, if it pufs on startup, it's the stem seals.

 

It doesn't smoke at WOT. It billows at cruise. Why is it behaving unlike the normal symptoms?

 

Could I be getting enough volume through my intake valve stem seals to cause this?

 

If I had a decent Digi cam, my pictures would actually show something. As it is, all I have is washed out blurry pics of the bore's

 

The scratching isn't that bad. You can see them, but you can't feel them WTF would have caused them in the first place.

 

My lesson from this whole $600 engine rebuilding experience is that if if aint broke, don't fix it. These engines came with chrome rings from the factory, and there was no wear on anything in the block. I rebuild it, and 6mo's later it's a POS.

 

Do I try the stem seals? Or do I put this engine in the spares pile and put in the 2.5w/ a blown head gasket from the JY? I hate throwing money away like this.

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You cant seal against a scratch, its that simple. The rings are made to seal against a round slightly tapered cylinder that has a cross hatch pattern.

 

This sounds like it was a partial rebuild without honing the cylinder.

 

Now your choices are to either scrap it or do it again the proper way.

 

nipper

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around here EJ22's are so easy to come by for next to nothing that you might be better off starting over with a known good engine. but you do have enough experience to go in there and do what needs to be done. keep your eye out for a wrecked, damaged or bad transmission soob with the motor you want in it. they can usually be had for little $. i have a Legacy Sedan in MD waiting for free if i can go pick the freaking thing up.

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This sounds like it was a partial rebuild without honing the cylinder.

 

Now your choices are to either scrap it or do it again the proper way.

 

nipper

 

Back in june, when the engine was rebuilt, I replaced:

Main Bearings=$49

Rod Bearings= $24

All seals= $252

Rings= $97

Timing belt= $27

Water Pump and sundry parts

Cleaned everything spotless

Honed Cyls

Hot water washed block halfs after honing

 

It was not a partial rebuild. Everything was measured, and everything was in spec. down to the last cam lobe. It was done the proper way. The only thing done wrong was the reversed placement of a valve spring. I had the heroin addict and the helpful but clueless kid working with me, so I did most of the work myself.

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