mls@harpo.UUCP (08/27/85)
I have a 1979 Buick Century Wagon witha 3.8l V 6 engine. It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 miles. Seems to get better oil mileage when driven for longer distances. I was thinking of changing the valve seals. According to the service manual that are only seals on the intake valves. Any comments on what to do? The oil I am using is Mobil 1. Irv McNair .
daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) (08/28/85)
> I have a 1979 Buick Century Wagon witha 3.8l V 6 engine. > It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 > miles. ... Bad valve seals usually give a telltale puff of blue smoke upon starting the engine after it sits idle for a while, say all morning until you leave at lunch. To use that much oil via bad seals you'd really make some blue clouds each start-up! If you aren't seeing big clouds upon start-up and also aren't leaking all over the ground, it's probably consumption due to bad rings. With any case of oil burning, weigh the costs of oil against the costs of machanical work. Doug Williams AT&T Bell Labs Reading, PA mhuxt!rduxb!daw1
saltiel@cdstar.UUCP (Jack Saltiel) (08/28/85)
In article <2769@harpo.UUCP>, mls@harpo.UUCP writes: > I have a 1979 Buick Century Wagon witha 3.8l V 6 engine. > It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 > miles. Seems to get better oil mileage when driven for longer > distances. I was thinking of changing the valve seals. > According to the service manual that are only seals on > the intake valves. Any comments on what to do? > The oil I am using is Mobil 1. If Mobil 1 is like other synthetic oils I have used, part of your problem is that seal technology has not been as good as oil technology. I switched to synthetic oil in my (former) 1980 Saab and started using oil at a very expensive rate. Seals were sweating oil everywhere. When I switched back to conventional 20W-50, my oil consumption dropped like a rock. -- Jack Saltiel Cambridge Digital Systems {wjh12,talcott}!cdstar!saltiel "Nailed retreads to my feet and prayed for better weather."
tel@cbnap.UUCP (T. E. Lester x3259 3E257) (08/28/85)
In article <659@rduxb.UUCP> daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) writes: >> It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 >> miles. ... > > With any case of oil burning, weigh the costs of oil >against the costs of machanical work. > Doug Williams cost of oil PLUS cost of frequent tune ups due to fouled plugs PLUS cost of inefficent operation between tuneups PLUS "cost" in loss of performance. Not nitpicking, but don't oversimplify.
wcs@ho95e.UUCP (x0705) (08/28/85)
> > I have a 1979 Buick Century Wagon witha 3.8l V 6 engine. > > It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 > > miles. ... Are you sure it's burning and not leaking? Most of my cars have had the valve cover gaskets go after 50-75K miles. On older cars, they're easy to change; on newer cars there tends to be a lot of tubes and hoses in the way, so you have to disconnect and reconnect them all to get at the valve covers. The job's a bit slow, boring and messy, but not difficult even if you're not into engine work. -- ## Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ 1-201-949-0705 ihnp4!ho95c!wcs
daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) (08/29/85)
> In article <659@rduxb.UUCP> daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) writes: > >> It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 > >> miles. ... > > > > With any case of oil burning, weigh the costs of oil > >against the costs of machanical work. > > Doug Williams > cost of oil > PLUS > cost of frequent tune ups due to fouled plugs > PLUS > cost of inefficent operation between tuneups > PLUS > "cost" in loss of performance. > > Not nitpicking, but don't oversimplify. Additional benefit to burning a lot of oil: smoke screen so you can elude cops who should be pursuing real criminals :-) (Sorry, couldn't resist!) Doug Williams AT&T Bell Labs Reading, PA mhuxt!rduxb!daw1
pwv@fluke.UUCP (Pat Vilbrandt) (08/30/85)
Irv McNair writes: > I have a 1979 Buick Century Wagon witha 3.8l V 6 engine. > It is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 400 to 600 > miles. . . > The oil I am using is Mobil 1. I strongly recommend that you get a compression check done on your engine. I recall talking to a friend who was a mechanic for a Pontiac dealership in '78 as he was busily rebuilding a new V6 engine (same or very similar to yours) that had very badly scored cylinder walls. He was grumbling that the owner had used Mobil 1 which, at 5W-20 weight (then) was too thin to protect the cylinders on the V6 *at maximum operating temperature*. Seems these engines were designed to operate *very* hot (coolant temperatures of up to 260 'F, I believe) for emission control. It didn't take much for these engines to really overheat (eg. stuck in freeway traffic on a hot day). If the compression in one or more of the cylinders is significantly low, it could indicate that the above has happened. This is one of the reasons that Mobil changed Mobil 1 to 5W-30 weight (and more recently 5W-40, I believe). Sorry for the pessimistic prediction, but past experience supports it. With badly worn cylinders and/or rings, oil consumption will be worst when the engine is cold and will improve as the engine warms up and the parts expand. This could explain why the oil consumption is less on long drives. Good Luck! As a side; This kind of discussion is what I read net.auto for. I am also about ready to unsubscribe to net.auto.(seatbelts,DWI,insurance,radar,crap}. Add my vote for net.auto.tech!!!!! Disclaimer: I like Mobil 1. I use it in my Subaru (100K+ miles). I just wouldn't own any GM iron. I have no (money) interest in either Mobil or GM. -- Pat Vilbrandt John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. Everett, Washington USA UUCP: { decvax!uw-beaver, ucbvax!lbl-csam, allegra, ssc-vax, decwrl!sun }!fluke!pwv ARPA: fluke!pwv@uw-beaver.ARPA
review@drutx.UUCP (MillhamBD) (08/30/85)
> With any case of oil burning, weigh the costs of oil >against the costs of machanical work. I hope you never move to Denver. If you are seen driving a car putting out smoke (including deisels) you are subject to a > $300 (correct me if the amount is wrong) fine. I report cars like that to the police (they say they can't do anything, but it makes me feel better) It's sickening to sit at a light behind a car that smells like a chain saw. How do these cars pass the emissions tests? Maybe I should turn on my Halogen lights, blind the driver, and shoot him with my laser canon. -------------------------------------------- Brian Millham AT & T Information Systems Denver, Co. ...!inhp4!drutx!review