So, Where's All the Oil Going?

[Makin__Do]

Like all of you, before going on a trip I check all fluid levels. My oil dip stick indicated "full". After 527 miles I checked the oil level again while fueling up. Oil was down 1-1/2 quarts. Strange, since this engine has never need any oil before 1200 miles. Went another 400 miles, down another 1-1/2 quarts. Brought the oil level up to full again and drove another 225 miles. Down more than a quart.

It's now clear there's a major problem. What I have is a Chrysler 360, with 4bbl carb. Rebuilt by a local engine shop (bottom end, I did the top end)about 10k miles ago. It runs smooth, quiet and strong. Pulled all the plugs expecting to find at least one of them badly fouled with oil. All the plugs are fine. There are no oil spots on the ground after the rig sits for an extended period of time. No oil on the back of the rig, which might indicate the rear main seal is bad. In fact, the entire under carriage is rather clean. The rig has dual exhaust. The left side has no soot to speak of. Now, the right side is a different story. I can rub off soot with my finger. This might indicate an oil leak in the right bank. Yet, I see no smoke while driving down the road and the plugs are good.
So, where's all the oil going? Any thoughts on this?

P.S. Can't take it back to the rebuilder. He retired and closed the shop.

[John_Burke]

To check valve stem seals, after towing do not start the truck until the motor is cooled completely. Have some one start the truck while you watch the exhaust, if you get a puff of black smoke and then it clears up I would suspect stem seals. After shutting down a warm motor, with bad stem seals, the oil in the valve covers tends to run down the valve seals. Not really noticeable when running.
There is the possibility that a couple of guides are worn in the one head also. Same symptoms as stem seals. Seals can be replaced without taking off the heads, guides not so much. Guides are a problem on that motor.
As much as I hate to say it, with one side of the exhaust sooty I would suspect oil going past the rings for some reason. Could be anything from scored cylinder, won't always make it run bad, to the rings rotating on the piston. Rings do move in the glands on the piston. That is why you stagger them around the piston. After a reasonably fresh overhaul that is what I would suspect.
I would run the truck for a couple thousand more miles, checking the oil a lot. By then the rings will rotate some more stopping the problem or you should be seeing some carboned up plugs.
Good luck.

[j-d]

Had a 360 years ago. Used oil after I sent the heads out for a valve job. Ended up replacing the stem seals myself with heads on the engine. I don't remember the brand I used, probably Victor or the like. I know they were not speed shop/hot rod parts. I remember they looked different from what the shop put on it, and I think they had little garter springs.

[JoeH]

RJsfishin wrote:
What an absurd statement !

I would suspect the valve seals were not installed correctly, or not at all.

I haven't had a Chrysler in ages, but I've had oil consumption issues with one of my Fords.. it was even still in warranty ( 1999) . It was valve seals.

[down_home]

I had a 360 turned up considerably. The design of the heads with heat crossover etc makes them run hot. The valve seals don't seem to last too long.
I always used bronze valve guides and Moroso valve seals with its own little spring wire tension on the high temp tolerant seals.
Some of newer engines use only 2 ring pistons and even if three low tension rings.
I don't see a drop on the ground, or on the motor, or out the exhaust but it uses a lot of oil.It's 5.4 Ford.
the valley cover gaskets on the 360 leak quite often, especially if the heads have been planed or cut because of warpage and no adjustment to the metal of the manifold or one piece gasket valley cover.
Sine you don't see any signs of useage other than disappearing oil, you are probably getting oil around the rings and burned.
Synthetic oil is thinner and usage will be more than with old dino oil too.

[Chum_lee]

What year engine? Do you have a catalytic converter(s)? Leaky exhaust valve guides can easily pump quarts of oil/1000 miles which doesn't go through the engine, only through the exhaust manifold and out the tailpipe. If you have an oxygen sensor with a feedback loop and catalytic converter(s), it will burn there without showing signs of blue smoke out the exhaust.

Chum lee

[Makin__Do]

Thanks for all the replies. Didn't think about checking the PCV valve. Do that in the morning.
Never have used synthetic oil.
No oil in the cooling system.
No heat riser.
No cooling lines underneath.
If the PCV valve isn't an issue, I'll check the intake manifold next.
Again, thanks for your input.

[time2roll]

Always run hard or grocery service before the tow?
I would top it off right to the mark and run it again to verify.

Also verify the dipstick is correct as it should register right at full after oil change and fill.

Otherwise the oil is burning nicely and going out the tail pipe.

[wa8yxm]

My case was worse.. 37,000 miles, and I sometimes added a quart between oil changes, or more if I climbed mountains, but I don't normally do worse than foothills.

Suddenly in the last 300 miles it sucked up (or rather pumped out) six quarts of oil, the piston sized, the cap came off the rod and BOOM, I'm dead on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck.. That was July 2014

Today is March 2017,, I'm 3 feet up in the air, the engine is sitting on the ground in the mechanic's tractor port (Replacement arrives tomorrow, so does insurance adjuster)

Here is what happened:.... I hit a pot hole, Now this was the granddaddy of pot holes.. Low speed (I was turning left into a restaurant) the hole was filled with rain so I thought a slight dip but no,, This puppy was deep enough that it rattled my teeth,, It also lifted the oil cooler out of it's tray when I fell in, and when I hit the far end it jumped forward and fell down on the frame rail.

The oil lines (aluminum) run UNDER the oil cooler, the steel frame sliced through 'em like a knife through butter and six quarts of oil hit the ground

So. why am I typing all this..... Well. it's one thing to add to your suspect list.

[Hideout17]

Are you using synthetic oil? I did my 360 years ago and ran synthetic right off the bat. It used oil for 6k miles till rings seated then it was fine. Took longer for rings to seat with synthetic oil.

[enblethen]

Does your right bank has a heat riser? could be stuck causing sooty exhaust on that side.
Amount oil sucked in through the PCV would not be noticable on plugs or exhaust.

[DReisinger]

Is there any oil showing up in your cooling system?

[wnjj]

An intake manifold to valley gasket leak can do that too. Vacuum pulls oil right into the intake and burns it. This was a notorious problem on mid to late 90's 318/360 engines. Doesn't necessarily mean your carb'd engine suffered the same.

Check for this by plugging the air breather hose on one valve cover and checking for vacuum at the other cover. There shouldn't really be any.

My Dakota 318 had this happen along with several other friends with these (never version) engines. It used oil really fast and never smoked.

[naturist]

I'm not familiar with this particular engine, but I agree that there's a problem. With no big clouds of blue smoke, and especially with what amounts to a recently rebuilt engine, I wonder if there's a pressurized oil line going to an oil cooler that's leaking or perhaps your oil pressure sending switch has developed a leak. Those would spew while the engine is running, but not when stopped.

I'd think that oil escaping the PCV would foul the plugs, not just soot up the tailpipe. If you had a turbocharger, I'd suspect the bearing seal on the exhaust side, but isn't this engine normally aspirated?

Good luck tracking it down, and soon. A leak that big, especially one that just popped up, suggests whatever it is, it's leaking badly.

[RJsfishin]

What an absurd statement !

I would suspect the valve seals were not installed correctly, or not at all.