gas washed cylinders and ring sealing

[john in illinois]

I have a rebuilt 276 59a with 74cc heads and 2 new 97's. At first start up it was very rich and smoked out the tailpipes. I drove it and tried to tune it. I finally found one carb was defective and Stromberg replaced it. By then a lot of raw gas had got in and oil was black.

I have driven it 1100 miles and it uses oil.The tailpipes have a coating of oil on the ends almost dripping out . The plugs have some oil fowling. Its runs flawlessly and does not smoke. Compression is 160-165 on all cylinders.

I am trying to decide if I should hone the cylinders and put in rings or if the oil rings might seat with more miles. I do not understand why it pumps oil out and yet has good compression. I do not understand why it does not smoke.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

John

[Ol' Ron]

Doesn't sound like rings, Find a shop that can do a leak down test. Is oil coming out the tail pipes? any leaks? Yes a rich mixture or running with out a load can cause this, but that's very good compression for bad rings

[Bulligen]

Hi John, Was wondering what type of crankcase breather do you have on it?

[john in illinois]

Ron I can do a leak down test.Oil is coming out tailpipes, and on the plugs.

Bulligen I have the standard 59 breather system' oil fill breather and pan outlet. I should probably check that it is all open.

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>The tailpipes have a coating of oil on the ends almost dripping out . The plugs have some oil fowling. Its runs flawlessly and does not smoke. Compression is 160-165 on all cylinders.>>>

Seems like too much oil is somehow seeping in some exhaust valve chambers. Jack E/NJ

[flatjack9]

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How much oil are you using?

[Crankster]

Does crankcase oil turn black right away, too soon?

[Bulligen]

John, we had a problem in which the pan gasket was interfering with the breather up front, I wonder If there could be a similar issue. What if you took a quart of oil out and ran it. Could it be possible that there is just too much oil in the pan?

[john in illinois]

It does not use a lot of oil. seems like a 1/2 cup every 200 or so miles. I did not really keep track.

The oil does not turn black.

The vents and oil fill seems to be a good thing to check. I use 5 quarts of oil not counting filter. There was a lot of discussion about using 4 or 5 quarts. I am going to use 4 qts and see how that affects it.

I will check if there is something restricting the venting and I will address that.

Thanks for all your replies. I will be glad if I do not have to take it appart.
John

[flatjack9]

That's about a quart in 800 miles. Not great, but not the end of the world. Hopefully will get better with more miles.

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>1/2 cup every 200 or so miles>>>

= 4 ozs

Jack E/NJ

[1942deluxe]

What type of oil do you have in it? Rebuilt an engine in a 48 Ford some years back and put Motorcraft 10-30 in it. Rings weren't seating. Ended up using a mineral based oil for break in and after about 100 miles rings seated. Just a thought...

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>The tailpipes have a coating of oil on the ends almost dripping out . The plugs have some oil fowling>>>1/2 cup every 200 or so miles>>>


Nope, I changed my mind. I don't think it's oil dripping out. Or some plug oil fowling. Maybe a little anti-freeze and water. But not oil. Do you a bit a white plumes in the exhaust? Jack E/NJ

[flatjack9]

Originally Posted by Jack E/NJ

>>>1/2 cup every 200 or so miles>>>

= 4 ozs

Jack E/NJ

Misread the post, I thought 1 cup every 200 miles. At the rate listed, that's a quart every 1600 miles. Not to worry.

[lotsagas4u]

Originally Posted by 1942deluxe

What type of oil do you have in it? Rebuilt an engine in a 48 Ford some years back and put Motorcraft 10-30 in it. Rings weren't seating. Ended up using a mineral based oil for break in and after about 100 miles rings seated. Just a thought...

What mineral based oil do you use for ring seating/breakin?

[Kube]

Originally Posted by john in illinois

It does not use a lot of oil. seems like a 1/2 cup every 200 or so miles. I did not really keep track.

The oil does not turn black.

The vents and oil fill seems to be a good thing to check. I use 5 quarts of oil not counting filter. There was a lot of discussion about using 4 or 5 quarts. I am going to use 4 qts and see how that affects it.

I will check if there is something restricting the venting and I will address that.

Thanks for all your replies. I will be glad if I do not have to take it appart.
John

John, Just to eliminate one possible issue: FIVE US QUARTS is proper. No additional oil for the filter.
Yes, there's been a lot of talk about how much is correct. What I hear is "blah, blah...".
I actually took the time to inspect the engineering drawings at the Ford Research Center and it is more than clear - it's FIVE US quarts.

[ursus]

A retired engine rebuilder told me a secret. He employed used 10-30 crankcase oil for the start-up and initial run in of engines that he rebuilt and said that it allowed for a faster seating of the rings. This was soon changed out for clean new oil and his customers never knew of it.

[Crankster]

Will raw fuel turn oil black? I read that in the original post. I disagree with that idea. It sounds to me - if it truly is poor ring seat - that it needs to be driven on a highway trip. Don't be shy about it, full throttle acceleration several times, vary speed up and down with engine braking to wash cylinders down with oil and repeat. Get it good and hot. Try replacing a full quart in the crankcase with a quart of Marvel's before the highway run and run it in the fuel tank as well. 4 fl. oz per 10 US gallons.

[Pilot31135]

I agree with Crankster, Drive it like a rental. It’s a Flathead it can take it.


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[Frank Miller]

years ago we rebuilt a healy 3000 and the engine used a quart every couple of hundred miles.
one mechanic suggested taking it for a hard run up and down the pike. That fixed it.