Turbo m20 oil consumption issue

[cleanasse30]

Hey guys,

I just finished up my turbo build (eta block with 170k miles, rebuilt I head) and went for a little road trip to break in the clutch and work out any issues that came up. One thing I noticed is that my engine is consuming about a 1/3-1/2 quart of oil every 500 or so miles. After hard pulls in boost I notice big clouds of oil smoke from the exhaust.

My first concern is crank case ventilation. I currently have my valve cover open to atm, but it seems that its still pressurizing the crank case and valve cover because my oil cap has gotten looser and I've seen some oil seep from the oil cap. Could this alone cause excessive oil consumption or do you think I have an underlying issue beyond crank case ventilation?

Thanks

[Good & Tight]

Hey guys,

I just finished up my turbo build (eta block with 170k miles, rebuilt I head) and went for a little road trip to break in the clutch and work out any issues that came up. One thing I noticed is that my engine is consuming about a 1/3-1/2 quart of oil every 500 or so miles. After hard pulls in boost I notice big clouds of oil smoke from the exhaust.

My first concern is crank case ventilation. I currently have my valve cover open to atm, but it seems that its still pressurizing the crank case and valve cover because my oil cap has gotten looser and I've seen some oil seep from the oil cap. Could this alone cause excessive oil consumption or do you think I have an underlying issue beyond crank case ventilation?

Thanks

That's a sign of broken rings lands.

[cleanasse30]

That's a sign of broken rings lands.

I just did a compression test tonight and it seems ok

Cyl 1: 170
Cyl 2: 162
Cyl 3:167
Cyl 4: 157 (I think this had a bad seal because the comp test fitting stripped out my cyl head and didn't seal with the o-ring )
Cyl 5: 172
Cyl 6:165

Pics of some of the plugs:







I don't have a ton of experience with plugs but looking off an online chart the plugs kind of seem slightly oil and fuel fouled with some slight signs of detonation. Can anyone confirm or deny my findings?

I'm going to buy a tap for the cyl head tomorrow and chase it to try to save myself from a helicoil. Then I'll re-test the compression and see how it turns out.

Would the compression readings I'm getting be a cause for the oil consumption?

[ak-]

Good comp. numbers. Are you using a used turbo?

[cleanasse30]

Good comp. numbers. Are you using a used turbo?

No, its a brand new Borg Warner S256sx from AGP

[cleanasse30]

So my current plan is to change my oil drain since I'm worried the low spot in my oil drain line might be causing the oil drain to back up, causing oil to push out of the seals in the turbo. I'll be changing to something like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/JoeUser11/turbobuild/img_1200.jpg

My current oil drain is a straight fitting off the welded bung in my oil pan which creates a low spot. I also ordered an air oil separator to put between my VC and turbo inlet to draw vacuum on the crank case. If this doesn't solve the problem I'm pretty lost as to what will fix it...

[TheTacoMan]

How do you have your valve cover vent setup?

[cleanasse30]

How do you have your valve cover vent setup?

Right now its just vented to ATM off the valve cover.

[ak-]

Curious how the separator works out for you, and I don't really see anything wrong with your drain.

If it's not too much trouble, get some clear hose from Lowell's or somewhere and use that as a drain so you can see what's going on while the car is idling and revving.

[cleanasse30]

The engine seems to be running much bettet now with the catch can installed. I'm going on a road trip tomorrow so I guess we'll see how it goes lol

[ak-]

How's the smoke issue now?

[cleanasse30]

How's the smoke issue now?

I think its better, but I didn't get to drive it until it was dark out last night so it was a little hard to tell. I'll know for sure today.

Redid cyl 4 compression once I chased the threads as well:

Cyl 1: 170
Cyl 2: 162
Cyl 3:167
Cyl 4: 170
Cyl 5: 172
Cyl 6:165

Also, new oil drain fitting

[ak-]

I see no problem with your drain!
Yes please if you could update on your smoke issue with the new separator! I've always had issues using the intake elbow for vacuum, causing crank case pressure and oil vapors lowering my octane rating once they're introduced into the cylinder. I want vacuum on it.

[cleanasse30]

So it seems that it only burns oil now during decel after a hard pull. Starting to think the valve seals are blown, although I thought they were replaced when the head was rebuilt...

[whodwho]

They may not of used the little condom for the valve stem before installing the seals and cut a seal, was it a reputable place?