Long Rant oil burner

[stangbuilder]

I really dont know were else to go on this.Mark its crazy. Joe my engine has been gone through 3 times heads reworked news pistons 2 times.. Valve seals are viton type.I have also tried different bolts as well...going back to using studs with a fine tread for better torque i think..So at this point i have really not a lot of options..5000.00 EXPERIMENT...So after 9 years dealing with this you see why i just pour oil in it..IT SUCKS..I bet i have had 30 ppl look at this and just shake their head..

[afret]

I had a problem with oil getting into the intake passages on my old engine.  Finally ended up pulling the heads and it turned out the heads weren't square.  When the heads were resurfaced, they were done at a slight angle making the intake to head angle a bit off.  That was enough so no gasket would seal right.

[Joe-JDC]

Squaring everything up was my first thought, also. Set the heads on the block without a gasket, check for light underneath the heads anyplace, then set the intake on the block and slide it to each side and see if it matches up with the head evenly. Side to side clearance even?  A small light in a dark room will show up the tiniest imperfections.  Joe-JDC

[stangbuilder]

       Joe my real has been gone over so many times by different people . I have lost count..The guys over at Ron Shavers racings engines went over it last time Manny that runs the machine shop went over it himself he said it was dead on. Joe i even went as far as to cut 2 intake gaskets that only left the intake ports exposed. They measured dead nuts on. On mine it seems to have low consumption at first and ramps up as miles go Im going to try 1 more time .This time i will use studs were i can with the fel-pro -3 gaskets and see what happens .Personally i think the heads are Fd up and its going to cost me 5000.00 to find out.

[Barry_R]

The intake manifold touching the head gaskets is more common that you might think.  I bet we have put a dozen intakes on the mill and cut a big chamfer on the bottom of the port face to get clearance there.

Also look real carefully at the head's port where the oil goes through.  I have seen a couple that were cracked up there and would bleed oil into the intake port - under pressure.

I will also "second" the look at PCV/breather locations and routing.  I have seen a couple that looked OK - but put a really clear oil trace into the manifold - you could see it if you pulled the intake carefully and used a flashlight down the affected runner(s).

The intake bolts bottoming out is another good call by Ross.  Seems that every darn manifold takes a different length bolt, some, like the Victor, have no spotface so the bolts are not consistent either.  You could get a nice tight feel and a good torque reading if the fastener just bottoms out without it really compressing the gasket at all.

I know you've changed manifolds so the following is unlikely - but I have seen a couple with porosities in the pushrod tubes.  That one will use manifold vacuum to pull oil right into the port...

[427Fastback]

well I had the same problem on the 427 25 years ago and tried a dozen different gasket sets and a half a dozen different intake manifolds.I also pulled the engine and square decked it..I finally tossed the heads(at great cost) and found some virgin ones and the problem went away....but my engine sucked oil under vacuum...Post says engine doesn't smoke going down a hill...
I have a few drinks in me now but my head tells me this engine is pumping oil not sucking it.
First guess is flooded heads,next is ring seal...

Going down a hill the engine will pull full vacuum.A intake leak will rear its ugly head as will ,intake valve seal and guide issues...

Sounds to me like the engine is flooding itself with oil..

[stangbuilder]

I would like to thank everyone for their reply's. .I will be taking this deal apart next week or week after i will take pics you guys will not believe what this thing looks like inside.. You would think it doesn't run.But it runs great. The cracked head reply is the one i have always figured it was .But there was one thing that kinda kills that is every time i reseal it. It slows down for a period of time then ramps up usage.After rehashing this again i am going to look at if the manifold is hitting top of block and not allowing to pull down.Maybe elongate bolt holes and mill bottom of ports on the underside. I will post pics ITS UGLY

     THANKS AGAIN GUYS    TIM R

[cjshaker]

You said you can see oil in the plenum, and unless you've got some serious reversion going on in the intake, I wouldn't think it should be showing up there if the leak is in the head or intake gasket. I would inspect everything carefully on the intake, there should be a tell-tale sign somewhere. Oil always leaves a stain.

[stangbuilder]

Ya i know this is kinda hard to believe.But CJ there is so much oil in the ports it so hard to tell thats why i think it has more then one leaky port its many thats why its so hard to tell where it came from. If i caught it right before it got serious maybe. After going over this the last couple days i think its best i get a old set V/C and cut them open  so i can see whats going on if anything. Ive got 060 restrictors in there it will not hurt i guess..

[C6AE]

What if...
You removed the rocker shafts so all the valves were closed, removed the carb, sealed the base and plugged any other intake ports then ran an electric vacuum pump on the intake side of the engine and listened (with a stethoscope for leaks before you disassemble it? Or... perhaps you could do the opposite, and pressurize the manifold, remove the valve covers and look/listen for air leaking?

Just thinking out loud, but I have pinpointed oil gallery/rifle cracks or leaks into the water jackets with air pressure in the oil system.

[Barry_R]

easy to pressure check an intake.  Make a block off plate for the carb.  Plug or pinch off all the vacuum hoses and connections.  Remove all rocker assemblies to close all the valves. Now just make or find a place to connect a radiator pressure tester to the intake using a vacuum port or a drilled/tapped passage in the carb block off plate.  Pump up 20 psi or so and listen - if the room is quiet you will hear and be able to pinpoint any leak in the intake tract.  Soapy water, WD40, smoke, and a flashlight can help...

[stangbuilder]

Funny barry said that. i was telling a friend i was going to make a plate and pressurize the manifold but use freon r-134 and use a leak detector.I happen to be a A/C tech by trade. I own a automotive A/C business. Stay tuned i will report back how it went freon will work great.


                    THANKS AGAIN  TIM R

[Autoholic]

I love this forum, it's full of useful ideas and brilliant minds. Threads like this pull the best observations and knowledge from all different types of gearheads and in the long run, you learn something new about the FE even if you weren't the one with the problem.