Fast240Z

I put my motor back together with another head, and so far the car has been running fantastic. No water and oil mixing, but I am noticing that my 1st and 4th plugs have black crisp buildup on them, where the black buildup is all cracked, like the plug has leprocy.

My oil level has also been slightly sporadic. I put in 4 1/2 quarts initally when I did the engine build, and the motor took a little while to prime before it was spraying oil out of the oil distrubution rail on the head. I then checked the oil a few days after that, and it looked 1/2 a quart low, so I added the rest of the 1/2 quart I had. A few days ago, I noticed the oil was down by a quart, or at least as far as I could read it was, so I added another quart of oil. I checked the oil again today, and it seemed a little low, but I was driving the car around before I had checked it, so I am assuming that the oil level is probably close to fine, and that it was stuck up in the head.

I am also noticing white smoke on acceleration, and I know it not to be water leaking into the combustion chamber, because my coolant is at the same level it has been the whole time the car has been running, so I'm thinking it's either oil related, or the car is running too rich (which I doubt is the case, because all of my other plugs are burning just right). What could cause my problems?

theramz

After what you've been through with that engine you should add a bottle of Lucas oil treatment and call it good. Add oil when necessary and start saving for that rebuild you put off in the first place. They finally finised that road, it's .8 miles straight, four lanes with no side streets. ooyeah!

Fast240Z

oh jeez, I need to get down there and go driving with you, lol. Are you thinking about going to the MSA show next year?

BoulderZ

Hate to say it, but my brother's '78 showed the exact symptoms, and it turned out his rings were on their way out. A compression test might help confirm/rule out if that's the case. In his case, it was a small overheating that was just the final straw for a 200k + miles set of rings. He's using it as an excuse to take it off the road and do a full rebuild with all the mods he's wanted to do anyway.
Dave

Fast240Z

my compression was 140-140-145-140-135-140. I noticed today after my 7 hr. shift at work that there were 5 different little drops of oil on the ground, all between the size of a nickel and a half dollar.

theramz

If you ever spilled a cup of oil on the ground you will realize you only have a small leak. My compression on the old girl is 155-160. 140 isn't that bad. It's the oil rings that make it blow oil. Try the Lucas and start saving your money up. Got some 245-17s for the rear, going out to decorate that new road! Don't know about the meet yet.

Fast240Z

will the lucas help to seal any leaks I may have?

BoulderZ

I used it on a Toyota 22R once, which also needed rings, but it had other leaks as well. It seemed to slow them, if not actually seal them up. Theramz is right that it's main benefit is buying you time to keep driving and get the money/time/tools/space lined up to do a nice rebuild. Doesn't sound like much of a leak (a few drops isn't too bad), or that the rings are totally shot yet, but it's time to plan on doing something about it.
Sure sounds like you guys have some nice new pavement there to drive. Makes me want to get my car back together. We just got our first snow (in town) on Monday. So, I'm retiring to the garage for the meantime and try to finish my car for spring.
Dave

Fast240Z

yeah, I know oil is getting past the rings, and it's bad to the point where I drove maybe 20 miles, and it was down by about 1/6 of a quart.

Fast240Z

the lucas won't clog up my oil passages, will it?

theramz

Lucas will not clog. You could try a motor flush to help loosen the oil rings up, sometimes they are only gummed up. Then drain a replace the oil with 20-50. Nothing "fixes" oil leaks, but if it's seals it can help soften them up a little. I have heard good things about Lucas, as for myself, I used the transmission stuff they sell on a machine at work with a sticky hydraulic system. Within an hour it was working beautifully, saved me about 40 hours of work and earned me a huge Christmas bonus!