I am going to drain whatever is slightly over the fill mark, but I doubt that really has anything to do with oil pan leaks or the internal oil hemmorage. Plus, by the time I drain it, it will be time to add more. It is just loosing too much oil. A hand sized oil mark is probably no more than a dozen of large drops as it settles out. The oil loss is way over that. I suspect that the engine is just worn regardless of its rebuilt nature 65K miles ago. The compression test clearly indicates this. I am going to run it anohther 1000 miles with the adjusted valves and try the compression again, but I really doubt I will have anything different. Plus, after checking the oil a few times, I discovered that the entire oil tube where the dip stick goes in is just held in there by gravity. Another little project this weekend since I pulled the dip stick and the whole component came with it so I got to watch that and figure out if there is a gasket or something. I also suspect that will end up being another oil leak. Right now, I got the VC fixed and zero leaks and with zero silicon caulk. I will tackle the oil pan once I get a breather, but I need to tackle the exhaust system and brakes. LOL. Another day in MB paradise. Now, I got 2 project cars instead of one.

Yeah, the dipstick tube has been loose since the overhaul. To get a good reading you have to push the tube down before inserting the dipstick. I never observed any significant oil loss there though.

It does not make any sense that the engine would be down on compression and making so much power (by your own observation).

She is peppy. No doubt about that. I will drive the old girl another 1,000 miles and do another compression reading. Hoping the valve adjustment did some good and maybe that is the ticket. Does the dip stick tube have a gasket or something which would secure it ?

whats the status with the throttle linkage? looks like you have the threaded spots in the valve cover to accommodate a throttle linkage. why not just swap in a different more common linkage set up?

If the valve adjustment doesn't do it, than I suspect the rebuilt engine never had a chance for the rings to get seated properly. I wonder how the cylinder walls were done at the time of the rebuild. Left the same? was honed? And if so, how was it honed? Also what type of rings were used? A fresh rebuild done properly shouldn't be doing this at this mileage.

.

IDK. I was anticipating an engine at least at the 90% mark with a rebuild 65K miles ago. Based upon the tightest valves possible and injectors which peed almost as they popped, who knows. Even the return lines were basically "dissolving" so my guess no one messed with the top of the engine since the time caulk was used to seal her up.:mad: I just found out that the oil dipstick tube is just floating in there, so I got to figure out how to fix that ASAP. I dont think that has anything to do with the oil loss. My guess is that adjusted valves will help the oil loss, but I cannot believe that the valves are causing that much loss ?? We will see. I am driving the old girl know. The before and after relative to the rebuilt injectors and adjusted valves does make the old girl peppy, but I suspect that the five speed is helping masking just a tired engine. We will see. Everyday I discover another mechanical topic for discussion. :rolleyes:

How would maladjusted valves cause oil loss?

STILL LOOKING ! I am driving the old girl but I am waiting for the various worm clams, twine, and rubber tubbing to implode and I will be stranded, but better stranded in the Palmetto State than on I-65 Southbound from Indy.:P So, I am trying to find time to hit the yards. My job has me buttoned up currently for the next few days and my daughter is home from college. Plus, I got enough mechanical "fun" to tackle just to make the car safe.

So ... if you have any leads on the correct throttle linkage, please let me know. I am offering a VERY DECENT Bounty for it.

Blow by

Blow by comes from rings...the bottom end.

The dipstick tube I believe has a tab that goes under a bolt that is tough to access and maybe holds on something else. otherwise I would have fixed it long ago.

Is there anything rubber, e.g., a grommit holding that tube in ?

If the valves are off, then I think you get blow by also. I don't think its mutually exclusive or maybe I am using the term incorrectly. Or, just wrong.

There is no rubber parts. The dipstick tube is pressed in there. I usually keep in place while removing the upper pan, while the FSM states to knock it out before doing so.


Valves will not allow gases into the crankcase. If the valves are leaking, it will leak into the intake or exhaust manifold. Crankcase gases, AKA blow-by, come from leaking from the piston rings.


.

can you bust out the repair to the dipstick when you swap in a new lower pan?

Seems to me that whats really needed is clean dry metal for a proper long term seal, and you can really clean the tube area when you have access from below and above with the lower pan out, then some RTV around the tube, and tap it in from above and let it dry before reinstalling the lower pan.

I can see grime and other sodden mess interfering and promoting leak issues long term with it popping out constantly

He'll have access to it from the removal of the lower pan. It would seem to me he'll need another tube. I would guess it broke in half and the bottom piece is still in the upper pan, which will need to be knocked out.


.

x2 on compression test again, you definitely need to redo the compression test and see if the valve adjustment took care of the low compression reading.

It would be good for your peace of mind either way, I had a car like this where it had over 300k on it, had bad compression numbers, I felt terrible about it, convinced myself that the engine was crap, that the car was crap, ect ect.
A month later, I did a valve adjustment, re tested the compression, and lo and behold, compression jumped up almost 80 on the worst cylinder, and some on all the others.

Its amazing how well these cars will run with misadjusted valve clearances, or just valves that haven't been done in 50k. Did Tom say when it was last done? the most I know is that its been in the hands of one of his children for daily use around town.

I think your outlook on the car might change if you knew for sure what the compression was after a valve adjustment.

On my car that I initially was going to scrap, I drove it for almost 60k before selling it, and the dam thing is still running with that owner, now way past 400k on it.

If anything kills this car you have, it will be rust long term, but if you were sure of the drivetrain, you would feel a lot better either way about it.

Just my 2 cents.



also, another point on rebuilding, if it turns out that the engine is actually tired, that would be a crying shame, but not at all unusual. I have numerous times encountered engines that were rebuilt, sometimes at incredible cost, that you find the most amazing things inside of later.

On a tdi jetta where the dealer had rebuilt the engine 5 years earlier with receipts for all work done, including new pistons, I once broke a tap off, had to pull the head, and when I did, I found that the car had definitely had a turbo explode with massive pitting and damage to #1 and #2 pistons, and instead of replacing them, the guy who rebuilt the engine simply pulled out the little bits of metal, filed the high points off on the piston, and reinstalled the damn things, hot spots and all, while charging the customer for 1000 dollars of new parts. Definitely was a lesson to me on what people might get away with and still have a satisfied customer and an improvement on the car.

dont even get me started on a series of professionally rebuilt GM 6.0 engines on P-vans I had the pleasure of removing, installing, removing, installing, and removing again. My boss at the time has some very interesting metal pieces consisting of welded together pieces of cranks and rods he still uses for paperweights. :D