rings and bearings

[390owner]

If my 390 which has about 130000 mile on a complete rebuild does not have a ring groove would it be worth re ringing and installing new bearings. My oil pressure is still good but it is using a lot of oil. It runs fine.

[chris401]

If my 390 which has about 130000 mile on a complete rebuild does not have a ring groove would it be worth re ringing and installing new bearings. My oil pressure is still good but it is using a lot of oil. It runs fine.

About 4 months ago one member posted here about about his 428s high oil consumption. If your using oil and not fouling one plug more than the others look what all the cylinders have in common. Oil level reaching the PCV valve and brittle valve seals would be the first things to check. Running compression test and cylinder leak down would be next. Intake could be sucking oil but not likely that would creep up over time.

[390owner]

That is the deal all my plugs look normal with no oil on them. I did a compression check and it checked out ok. I have not done a leak down test. It does have a little piston noise when the weather is cold when first started.

[Falcon67]

I would do some more diagnostics before throwing parts at it.  "Uses a lot of oil" - burning it? Blue smoke at first firing usually means cylinder head/valve seal issues because the engine sucks in oil from the heads - most times exhaust valve guides - when it coasts to a stop after ignition off.  Cold piston noise isn't necessarily a problem.  If ring seal was compromised or an oil ring not working, I think you'd see that on the plug in that cylinder.

[390owner]

I did not think of the valve guides. If that were the case the seal would not help. I dont know what to do I guess just keep adding oil and driving it.