Oil consumption, blue smoke, spark plug condition and compression test results - what do you think? (3 Viewers)

[mdawg]

Ok, thanks for the info, guys. I’ll proceed with the resurfacing, then. I’ll also plan on soaking the valve cover for a bit, cuz the intake manifold tubes were pretty oily and thick with build up - which would indicate sucking oil through the PCV system.

 

[fourtrax]

With the head off, any pictures of the cylinder walls?

 

[mdawg]

With the head off, any pictures of the cylinder walls?

I'm glad you asked . I have pics of 2 through 5, 1 and 6 are still at TDC. And the old head gasket is still attached.

 

[mdawg]

There is no noticeable ridge at the top of the cylinder walls, just some carbon build up which can flake off.

 

[fourtrax]

Any pictures of the head/cams while you were taking it out.

 

[mdawg]

Any pictures of the head/cams while you were taking it out.

Head and cams are at machine shop now. This is the best that I have:

 

[fourtrax]

The head looks good. The internal surfaces of the engine look pretty clean, not varnished up = Good oil maintenance. The cross hatch marks are still visible in the cylinder bores a little bit of marking, Probably be ok with just the head work.

 

[mdawg]

@fourtrax Thank you for that!

 

[mdawg]

<=== UPDATE ===>

Just want to "close the loop" on this thread and report back on how this venture ended.

I've got everything back together and the cruiser is running great. No more blue smoke after idling for a bit; no more blue smoke after starting a warm engine; no more blue smoke, period. I've driven about 250 miles so far with no visible oil loss on the dipstick (previously I was adding a quart every 400 miles or so). It is running very smooth, better than I could have imagined. I'll chalk this up as a success .

In retrospect, the oil consumption culprits for me were leaking valve seals and a dirty valve cover baffle. The valve cover was hot-tanked at the machine shop, and I followed that up with many cans of solvent and brake cleaner to clean all the crusty bits out of the baffle. I do wish that I had cleaned the valve cover before taking the head off; it would have been interesting to see how much of a difference that would have made in the oil consumption. I did not touch the cylinder block, other than scrapping the old HG material off of the block deck. As for the condition of the head gasket (which I believe was the original), it appeared to be in good shape and still had a good bit of life left in it.

So, thank you, 'mud for all your insights and help along the way!

 

[manofthewoods]

<=== UPDATE ===>

Just want to "close the loop" on this thread and report back on how this venture ended.

I've got everything back together and the cruiser is running great. No more blue smoke after idling for a bit; no more blue smoke after starting a warm engine; no more blue smoke, period. I've driven about 250 miles so far with no visible oil loss on the dipstick (previously I was adding a quart every 400 miles or so). It is running very smooth, better than I could have imagined. I'll chalk this up as a success .

In retrospect, the oil consumption culprits for me were leaking valve seals and a dirty valve cover baffle. The valve cover was hot-tanked at the machine shop, and I followed that up with many cans of solvent and brake cleaner to clean all the crusty bits out of the baffle. I do wish that I had cleaned the valve cover before taking the head off; it would have been interesting to see how much of a difference that would have made in the oil consumption. I did not touch the cylinder block, other than scrapping the old HG material off of the block deck. As for the condition of the head gasket (which I believe was the original), it appeared to be in good shape and still had a good bit of life left in it.

So, thank you, 'mud for all your insights and help along the way!

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