Engine rebuild

[2old2fast]

I'm sitting here smiling ..why? In '09-10 I built a 388 sbc stroker [3.75x4.060] Ran great , didn't foul plugs , gobs of power BUT sucked oil to the tune of a quart every 250-300 miles...tried modifieying pcv , pulled the intake numerous times suspecting a intake gasket leak , replaced some valve guides [they were bad] basically tore my hair out , leakdown test showed a very tight ring seal , compression was 175 across the board. Finally , over he winter I pulled it down . When I assembled the motor , the rings [grant] didn't come w/specific instructions so I called them , I was told [Iwrote it down ] that the bevels go down on both 1st & 2nd rings....that's the way they went in . Called back & asked again , this time they said Top ring -bevel down 2nd ring -bevel up ..ARRRRGH.Well , I now have Mahle rings , installed as per thier instructions , have put 300 miles on it & haven't used a DROP of oil..tenacity pays
dave


















well , it now has Mahle rings in it

 

[choppedtop]

About a million years ago, a buddy and I built a 292 Ford engine. We used chrome rings, and it smoked bad and used oil like we owned a refinery. His ole shade tree mechanic Dad said "boys, if you take that old engine oil, that you didn't get rid of, and put it in the new rebuild it will seat those rings right up." We kinda laughed at him, but did what he said. In about 3 or 4 hundred miles they seated in. No more smoking or high oil use. Changed old oil to new oil, and everything stayed good.
Lee

 

[2old2fast]

In this case , the 2nd ring [which is actually an "oil scraper" ] being installed upside down , could not do it's job , the top ring was seated perfectly [good compression , good leakdown test] , so the moral is , don't always believe what the manufactures tech line tells you [without verification from a 3rd party]..
cost me 6years & 20K miles of oil burning [+ pissing me off !!!]
dave

 

[fletcherson]

That's too bad that you had to tear it down to find it, glad you figured it out. From my engine rebuilding days, the rings either have a dot or bevel, and always point up, with the exception of the bottom oil rings. It's frustrating when they mis print stuff. I had some minor oil consumption in my stroker too, after a couple thousand miles. I suspected the moly rings, but it turned out to be valve train related as I was pushing the envelope with the stock head castings (882's) due to excessive lift, due to the cam and rocker selection. Even though the heads were modified for the geometry, the added valve travel was hard on the guides and springs. A set of after markets heads solved it. Those strokers run very good. Amazing torque and rpm, from my limited experience with them.

 

[2old2fast]

Well , got the 1st 500 miles on , no leaks , no squeaks, has not used a drop of oil
dave

 

[Gerry]