350SD, oil consumption worsens

[DslBnz]

I own a '91 350SD with 286K miles on the clock. For those that don't know, I have been monitoring oil consumption tendencies from over 1 year ago in August. From there, consumption was 1500 miles per qt. on average. Consumption has steadily increased, and the last fill noted the 250 mile per qt marker. I have no idea what's going on. Could valve seals be out of the question for cylinder #1?

Here is a comparison.

One soundclip is in normal speed. Comparing a 3.0 liter OM603(not mine) that needs a new set of injectors to my 3.5 liter(2nd half of sound bite).

http://www.ejzcars.com/350soundnorm.wav

The next soundclip is 50% the speed of normalcy. I suppose it would help to isolate the sounds of the engine.

http://www.ejzcars.com/350sound.wav

The car is starting to blow oil smoke embarrassingly heavy right now. Just happened as of today. Any speeds below 2K rpm cause it to smoke excessively. At an extended idle, upon taking off, the vehicle behind me is engulfed in the blueish, foul smelling haze. At the very least, on the optimistic side, I don't have any tailgaters anymore. However, there are no noises from the engine. Except excessive injector knock from cylinder #1. It looks like <100 miles per qt. if this keeps up.

Should I be concerned?

[DslBnz]

Oh, I forgot to add. The engine longblock was replaced in 1995. Engine has about 198K miles, I believe.

[sokoloff]

See my reply on the Tech Forum.

Len

[Hatterasguy]

Would a compression or leak down test tell you anything? I would imagin if a rod was bending that badly either blowby would be going up or the rod is probably about to go through the block. I would start to hunt for a used engine or a new short block.

[DslBnz]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Would a compression or leak down test tell you anything? I would imagin if a rod was bending that badly either blowby would be going up or the rod is probably about to go through the block. I would start to hunt for a used engine or a new short block.

Yeah. I did a semi-compression test the other day. It was 13 degrees outside, and it wouldn't start! Glowed it three times in fact! The starter locked once or twice due to the wetness inside the system, I assume.

Last year at -10 degrees, it started without much ado.

See, why I am a little concerned?

I suppose I still have my other cars if this one goes down. Hattie, this car has gotten downright obnoxious. Something has to be done. I have a feeling she'll be burning more oil than what's from the tank pretty soon.

[Hatterasguy]

Well take your time and find a good used engine. Or stop running that one, maybe you could re sleeve the block if it isn't to far gone. I would stop driving it and figure out what to do.