20v burning oil.... what could be wrong?

[dave2221]

Thought i would throw the question out there.

i have no oil leaks, but i am obviously burning oil......

the 20v is a daily driver with stage 2 cams and EMS, not that that makes a difference.

thinking i might need to replace pistons and rings (as i may have done some damage running low on oil as my oil gage also shit itself)

also thinking of going turbo 20v, so if i do need new pistons i would prob go for some forged or something.

comments appreciated......

[todd]

ze rings!

[dave2221]

thats what i am thinking..... hmmmmm

its a daily tho so its hard to justify taking her off the road AAHHHHH

have to wait 5 weeks till uni holidays

[dr1ft-pig]

valve stem seals

does it blow smoke all the time???

unless there heaps fucked itll blow smoke until it warms up

[70XIN]

rings or valve stem seals

[dave2221]

yeah it blows a bit of smoke.... especially when i floor it.... also running rich on aftermarket comp too....

[patience]

blue smoke is rings

grey/black smoke could be running rich and valve stem seals - same problem as me
it takes about a day to do them, and whilst you have the head off you can do a TRD headgasket and check rings anyway.

also, shite oxy sensor will mean you will be running a crappier mixture of fuel/air and will be blowing smoke

Worn valve stem seals will permit excess oil to leak into the compression chamber under a closed throttle. The excess oil builds up in the cylinder and is burnt suddenly when you accelerate. This causes a fair bit of smoke to be noticed until the excess is burnt off.

[Nikkojoe]

Compression test is the key. Test all cylinders first off to get a base value. Then add a small amount of oil into each cylinder and test again. If the compression much higher than before, it's your rings. If little to no change, it's your valve stem seals.

[hachirusto]

what oil are you currently using in it? what the weight of it and how many kms has the engine done? how hard to push it also will help

[dave2221]

i htink its 45w...... god knows how many k's the engine has done.... bought it with the 20v conversion.

i dont push it too hard, its a daily, not a track car (yet).

the weight of the oil does make a difference, as it burnt a lighter weight more quickly than the last lot i put into it.

[AEA-386]

hey dave if you have seen the smoke i blow out of my tailpipe then you know its your valve stem seals its a very common problem in 20valves
i cant be 100% correct until you do a cylinder leakage test and comp test to confirm either rings or valve stem

[dave2221]

yeah will have to do a test

[Golberg]

45w?!?!?!

Your motor needs rebuild.

[kaibeecee]

if the smoke comes out on overrun, than it's most likely the valve stem seals, if its on accel than its the rings

[dave2221]

yeah i am coming to the fact it needs a rebuilt.....
planning to see sprinterman in a fortnight,

engine rebuilds are unknown to me, what would need to be done for the rebuild? cause if i need to replace a whole heap of stuff ill try to go turbo 20v with forged internals.

any light on what would need to be replaced?

[Golberg]

Bare minimum rebuild would be rings and seals.

Good idea to replace bearings, rings, valve stem seals, adjust your shims. Probably at least $500 there in parts + labor. I'd say at least $1000 all up probably, not doing it yourself.

A big turbo build would involve rods and pistons (although you can probably get away with your existing rods and some new bolts). Plus all the other crap you need. i.e turbo, manifold, exhaust, computer, tune, intercooler etc. If you're not doing it yourself and going turbo with a built motor probably more than $5000. 6-7 perhaps? Depending on quality.

I personally would recommend just getting the 20v properly rebuilt, at least until you can afford to have your car of the road for a long period of time.

Oh and if your motor is smoking on super heavy oil, then i'd say it'd probably be way down on compression, so you'd find yourself driving a quicker car after a full rebuild.

[dave2221]

yeah realise that the car would be quicker.... was thinking of going turbo before this anyway.

i already have ecu, cams, injectors, fuel pump......

so i would need intake plenum, front mount, turbo and exhaust. i really need a retune anyway and was waiting to get this done before the tune, so i am imagining the forgies and turbo setup may add 2g onto the cost of what it already needs to be spent on it....

thats what i was thinking anyway.....

[Instigator]

2k sounds about right to me Dave. Let me know if you want to borrow my compression tester.

I just finished the 20v conversion on my AE95 last night :D

[kaibeecee]

pffft. 2 grand.

just get GZE rods + pistons and spend money on turbine (T28?) + mild cams. get new rings, ACL bearings, head studs and a gasket kit. and you'll have a safe, reliable motor on a decent tune. this was my plan for a while before i ditched it for greener pastures.

a moderate rebuild using GZE bottom end will be cheaper and just as good.

[Instigator]

There's no point building a new motor without getting the block micced up and bored if needed. What if it needed to be taken out 50 thou and you didn't do it, put your new pistons and rings in and they flop around?

[kaibeecee]

getting the block decked and honing the bores should be part of the rebuild process regardless