[SHOtimes] oil usage and finding a leak

Tue, 6 Apr 2004 11:00:19 -0400

It is called a Speedy Sleeve and can be purchased in many different
diameters from a bearing supply house such as Applied Industrial
Technologies which is a nationwide chain.  I would be surprised if there
wasn't one available for the diameter of the SHO crank nose.

Jim
'93 MTX

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Donald Mallinson
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 10:07 AM
To: David Niemiec
Cc: Shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [SHOtimes] oil usage and finding a leak

David,

I and many others have had good results with the high mile
oils.  I and Bill STaib both use Valvoline MaxLife to cut
down on leaks in our gen I SHO's.

I don't know how well they will work on valve seals, and it
won't work at all if the problem is rings, but since the oil
is not that much more than regular oil, why not give it a
try.  Let it work over at least two or three oil changes,
and keep good track of your miles and oil use.

I am guessing your comment about rod bearings was about as
long as you have the oil pan down, might as well do
bearings?  I guess that would work, but at 120,000 miles
(second 60k?), your rod bearings should still be in good shape.

When you do the 60k, might as well plan on replacing the
front crank seal, that might stop or slow one leak.  But
usually a new front or rear crank seal will NOT stop leaks
at that point....why?  because the soft rubber seal along
with dirt at the outside edge have combined to put a tiny
groove in the surface of the crank.  Impossible to seal that
groove.  GM used to sell a steel sleeve that went over the
nose of their cranks to solve this problem, worked pretty
good, but I would guess nothing like that would be available
for the low production SHO motor.

Don Mallinson

David Niemiec wrote:
> I topped it off for now. Seems it was about a quart low, maybe a little
> less. Fresh oil seems to be much much harder to see on the dipstick than
> used oil. I'll try the 3rd gear trick sometime, but probably not here in
> South Dakota---wind is basically nonstop here!
>
> Would you recommend switching to high mileage oil, or would that be a
> futile attempt at reconditioning the seals? I'm also about due for the
> second 60k, but not until the summer rolls around. The first 60k
> included a valve lash, according to the records. Supposing I find a leak
> on the pan seal, I guess I will be replacing rod bearings.
>
> Dave
>
>
>> From: Donald Mallinson <dmall@mwonline.net>
>> To: David Niemiec <chooey_chomp@hotmail.com>
>> CC: Shotimes@autox.team.net
>> Subject: Re: [SHOtimes] oil usage and finding a leak
>> Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 18:32:24 -0500
>>
>> Any leak that would get rid of a quart in 1000 miles is going to be
>> big enough that you won't have trouble finding it.  Believe it or not,
>> spots under a car are so slow a leak, that they usually won't effect
>> oil level for WAY beyond the normal change interval.
>>
>> Take a quart of oil and just pour it on your garage floor some day
>> (NOT!) and see just how much oil a quart is when spilled!
>>
>> Chances are it is going out through the combustion chamber through the
>> valve seals.  You won't notice this much because of the catalytic
>> converters.  Best way to tell is if there is a puff upon cold
>> startup.  Not a white puff, but a nice blue/black puff.
>>
>> Also, get the car in say, third gear at 50-60 mph. Accellerate for 2-3
>> seconds at full throttle then back off and let the car slow down to
>> maybe 45 and then get back on full throttle.  Do this on a day when
>> then wind is calm. You probably will see a nice big puff from the
>> exhaust.  A small white or grey puff is normal, but darker bigger puff
>> is usually valve seals or rings.
>>
>> Since the rings tend to last a long time, suspect the valve seals.
>>
>> Another truth, you can afford to buy oil a quart at a time for a LONG
>> time before you will come close to spending a tiny percent of what it
>> will take to fix the heads.
>>
>> New valve guides and seals aren't cheap and that is not counting the
>> labor to get it apart and back together.
>>
>> Don Mallinson
>>
>> David Niemiec wrote:
>>
>>> Okay, here's a problem for a car I actually own.
>>>
>>> My 1991 is using oil, sometimes in excess of a quart within 1000
>>> miles of each oil change. I can only afford to fill the oil at that
>>> rate for a short period of time. There is oil dripping slowly from
>>> underneath the pan, but I can't seem to locate its source yet because
>>> the drips are coming from scattered locations. There is no oil
>>> anywhere under the chassis, and I don't smell anything burning. There
>>> does seem to be some buildup where the hoses connect to the power
>>> steering reservoir, but not where they connect to the pump.
>>>
>>> How should I go about finding the leak? Should I degrease the
>>> underside and then run the car for a few minutes? Would the oil pan
>>> seal replacement be a very hard job? Help.
>>>
>>> Dave
>>>
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>>
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