New Motor - Piston Ring Break-In/Seating???

[AutoXRacer]

can't believe you are still having issues! but your 1/4 mile times were great.. when's the roll cage going in? lol

Hey look who decided to finally join the party!!!! LOL

Welcome!!!

Grab some popcorn...

 

[walker2t]

well the other place is all but shut down... only 4 or 5 members showing up..

 

[AutoXRacer]

well the other place is all but shut down... only 4 or 5 members showing up..

I still can't post. I keep getting error messages.

 

[walker2t]

it will work one min. then the next errors.. what a fubar.... anyways glad to pick back up on thread.. work on

 

[Pentalab]

Have you compared the qty of oil caught in the catch canS vs the amount of oil you are having to keep adding ?? If you have oil inside the blower elbow, it's also gonna end up in the rotor pack and also the intake manifold. Once into the eng, it will also reduce the octane rating of the gas.

A .024" spark gap is not much of a spark..even in NA mode. Kenne Bell makes this device called a ... 'boost a spark". It's just a DC-DC converter, and with un-regulated 12-14 vdc input...and an up to 20 vdc regulated output. Most ignition systems don't draw much current....just a few amps.

20/14= 1.43 or a 43% increase. I think the oem setup is 20 kv. 20 x 1.43 = 28.6 kv
You should also be able to increase your .024" gap by 43% or .024 x 1.43 = .034"

I have not read up on the K bell boost a spark..but I think it's adjustable. I believe the 20 vdc is on at all times too. But he might have it set to only increase the plug V when in boost mode.

If you are still going through a lot of oil every 1000 miles..and the eng was 1st fired up last dec 2012... I'd say you are in serious trbl.

Jimbo

 

[AutoXRacer]

Have you compared the qty of oil caught in the catch canS vs the amount of oil you are having to keep adding ?? If you have oil inside the blower elbow, it's also gonna end up in the rotor pack and also the intake manifold. Once into the eng, it will also reduce the octane rating of the gas.

A .024" spark gap is not much of a spark..even in NA mode. Kenne Bell makes this device called a ... 'boost a spark". It's just a DC-DC converter, and with un-regulated 12-14 vdc input...and an up to 20 vdc regulated output. Most ignition systems don't draw much current....just a few amps.

20/14= 1.43 or a 43% increase. I think the oem setup is 20 kv. 20 x 1.43 = 28.6 kv
You should also be able to increase your .024" gap by 43% or .024 x 1.43 = .034"

I have not read up on the K bell boost a spark..but I think it's adjustable. I believe the 20 vdc is on at all times too. But he might have it set to only increase the plug V when in boost mode.

If you are still going through a lot of oil every 1000 miles..and the eng was 1st fired up last dec 2012... I'd say you are in serious trbl.

Jimbo

Yep, when I had to PCV system, I added a catch can to the driver's side. I thought thats where I was getting my oil source from. But after running breathers, I see its the passenger side thats worse.

Anyway, I was comparing amounts and I was adding just slightly more than I was catching. But the real question now is, where is the oil disappearing to? I have no smoke out the tail pipes and no leaks anywhere.

I can only assume its being burnt ever so slightly.

My only hope is that I spoke with another owner of the JDM short block and he claimed his motor burnt oil right up to roughly 10,000 miles...then it stopped.

If this is the case, there is something wrong with the cylinder wall break-in if its taking that long to break-in.

I'm currently at roughly 7,XXX miles...3,000 more to go and to prove this theory. lol

Regarding the boost-a-spark, the wiring is a nightmare, lots of splices which I am not a fan of. I'll wait until better COPs are available.

 

[BruceH]

Yep, when I had to PCV system, I added a catch can to the driver's side. I thought thats where I was getting my oil source from. But after running breathers, I see its the passenger side thats worse.

Anyway, I was comparing amounts and I was adding just slightly more than I was catching. But the real question now is, where is the oil disappearing to? I have no smoke out the tail pipes and no leaks anywhere.

I can only assume its being burnt ever so slightly.

My only hope is that I spoke with another owner of the JDM short block and he claimed his motor burnt oil right up to roughly 10,000 miles...then it stopped.

If this is the case, there is something wrong with the cylinder wall break-in if its taking that long to break-in.

I'm currently at roughly 7,XXX miles...3,000 more to go and to prove this theory. lol

Regarding the boost-a-spark, the wiring is a nightmare, lots of splices which I am not a fan of. I'll wait until better COPs are available.

Gerald,

With a pcv system the air circulates from the passenger side to the drivers side. Any blowby will only be in the drivers side if the airflow is configured as Ford intended.

Once you disable it the passenger side becomes the main source of blowby. At least with the stock pcv valve still in the valve cover. That was my experience with breathers too. The passenger side really loaded up with oil and discharged most of the vapors. I didn't last a week with breathers. It was obvious to me that my motor likes having the vacuum a pcv system provides. I also like not having those damn oil vapors in the cabin every time I stopped.

Did you do the compression test yet? Is the VR1 oil synthetic?

 

[AutoXRacer]

Gerald,

With a pcv system the air circulates from the passenger side to the drivers side. Any blowby will only be in the drivers side if the airflow is configured as Ford intended.

Once you disable it the passenger side becomes the main source of blowby. At least with the stock pcv valve still in the valve cover. That was my experience with breathers too. The passenger side really loaded up with oil and discharged most of the vapors. I didn't last a week with breathers. It was obvious to me that my motor likes having the vacuum a pcv system provides. I also like not having those damn oil vapors in the cabin every time I stopped.

Did you do the compression test yet? Is the VR1 oil synthetic?

I have not done the compression check yet. I just got the tools the day before yesterday. I will try to do the compression check next weekend. I would also like to do the leak down (I have the tool), but not sure my hobby compressor will be sufficient. Plus wondering how the hell am I going to find TDC with all 3 valves closed on each cylinder before the engine gets cold.

VR1 is conventional oil...its just a racing oil with extra protection.

 

[BruceH]

I have a small compressor that is rated for 150psi. If that will work you are welcome to use it. It's enough pressure that it will push a piston down if the car isn't in gear.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Hmm, I have a craftsman 150PSI MAX 1.5 gal compressor. You think that's enough for a leak down test?

Got any insight on how to quickly find the spot for 3 closed valves?
I was hoping that starting with #1, that there would be a way to go down the line with very little hunting.

 

[one eyed willy]

Stick a long screwdriver down the spark plug hole and rotate the crank until it travels up and soon as you see it stop, that's TDC.

If you search, you can find the firing order, use the firing order as your order for doing the leak down test so you don't have to spin the crank a lot.

 

[BruceH]

Hmm, I have a craftsman 150PSI MAX 1.5 gal compressor. You think that's enough for a leak down test?

Got any insight on how to quickly find the spot for 3 closed valves?
I was hoping that starting with #1, that there would be a way to go down the line with very little hunting.

If the valve covers are off it's pretty easy to see which piston doesn't have any cam pressure on the valves. I've never done a leak down test so I don't know what is required.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Stick a long screwdriver down the spark plug hole and rotate the crank until it travels up and soon as you see it stop, that's TDC.

If you search, you can find the firing order, use the firing order as your order for doing the leak down test so you don't have to spin the crank a lot.

That's what I was planning on doing...but not a metallic object. lol

 

[one eyed willy]

Well you don't jam is down there and try to stab it, lol

 

[blownGTvert]

I really think the compression test will tell you a lot. You have the tool, it takes 45 minutes tops! Hold off on the leak down and post the results of the compression test. Each cylinder should be +/- 10%. Mine as a reference is 200-210 psi. If more like 20% difference on a given cylinder that may indicate a valve seating issue and warrant a leak down test. Get that compression test done first!

 

[b00stedgt]

What was The Outcome With Your Issue? Did You Figure Out What Is Causing The Smoking Issue

 

[AutoXRacer]

I really think the compression test will tell you a lot. You have the tool, it takes 45 minutes tops! Hold off on the leak down and post the results of the compression test. Each cylinder should be +/- 10%. Mine as a reference is 200-210 psi. If more like 20% difference on a given cylinder that may indicate a valve seating issue and warrant a leak down test. Get that compression test done first!

Here are my results from the compression and leak-down tests:

Compression and Leak-down

So I requested the shop perform a compression and leak-down test.
Here are the results:
...........Compression - leak-down.....
Cylinder #1: 155 PSI - 7% leak-down
Cylinder #2: 150 PSI - 9% leak-down
Cylinder #3: 155 PSI - 7% leak-down
Cylinder #4: 155 PSI - 7% leak-down
Cylinder #5: 155 PSI - 9% leak-down
Cylinder #6: 155 PSI - 8% leak-down
Cylinder #7: 155 PSI - 7% leak-down
Cylinder #8: NA (shop skipped it due to having to R&R the throttle body and they figured all the other cylinders were showing completely normal.)

I performed my own compression test and got completely different results.
Here is what I did. I warmed up the car to normal operating temp; 190 head temp/185 coolant. Removed all plugs and started with cylinder #1. I told my GF to crank the motor until I told her to stop. I let her crank the motor until I got the highest reading/until the reading settled; which was around 4 seconds of continuous cranking per cylinder.

Here are my readings:

Cylinder #1: 205 PSI
Cylinder #2: 210 PSI
Cylinder #3: 200 PSI
Cylinder #4: 215 PSI
Cylinder #5: 215 PSI
Cylinder #6: 200 PSI
Cylinder #7: 200 PSI
Cylinder #8: 215 PSI

I tried to perform the leak-down, but I would have had to remove the radiator fan with the coolant and supercharger tanks along with the power steering reservoir.

 

[AutoXRacer]

What was The Outcome With Your Issue? Did You Figure Out What Is Causing The Smoking Issue

No outcome yet... I still can't prove there is smoke coming out of my tailpipe, other than what my buddy said he saw.

The motor is still consuming oil somehow...but with no obvious smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I would assume all oil burning motors would smoke, especially during start up; a brief puff of smoke. My motor doesn't.

I can't see smoke out of my rear view camera which is constantly on either.

My next step is to buy a borescope and look inside the fuel injector bores to see if there is an oily valve or something and then look into the spark plug holes to see if I can see anything with the cylinder walls, like if there are burnt/dark/glazed walls.

I'm ready to toss the towel at this point. I'm really hoping the borescope finds something, like maybe indicating that the valve stem seals are bad/leaking or something.

I don't know, its been a severely frustrating year to say the least.

 

[BruceH]

I have a used 11:1 long block sitting here that doesn't use oil. You have heard it run and seen it on the dyno. The ad link is in my sig. The offer still stands to help you tear down your motor and put some new rings in along with a hone.

 

[Speed+Clinic]

vr1 is a great oil to seat the rings. I haven't read the first pages, I will save that for tomorrow thus can't comment on the oil consumption. Hope you figure it out though.