Blueprint remanf. 5.0 pushrod motor - burning oil

joe65 · Apr 9, 2020

Ok, so i'll try and make this description of the issue quick. We bought a stock long block for our Ranger 5.0 swap. The shop that did the swap had issues while working on it for us so things got a bit fucked up. They got the swap done, but when they installed the new engine they idled it for way too long before driving it. So we pick the thing up, big day because its my Son's first car and he decided he wanted mo power. Anyways, we drive it home and its running like shit. I worked out some driveability issues with an A9l computer and the correct wiring for the maf. yeah, that kind of shit that i shouldn't have had to for the money we paid. So we drive the thing a bit and it just starts smoking like a son of a ...blue oil smoke. I figure out that its cylinder number 5 because the plug is full of oil. Did a compression test get low number on that cylinder also. I did check and replace valve seals on those valves. Didn't help. So its either oil coming in from the top at the manifold ( maybe a bad gasket) or more than likely its the rings didn't set correctly on that cylinder. We've messed with zinc additive and a heavy oil 15w-20 to see if we could get the rings to set. its better but still smokes bad on hard acceleration. it now has approx. 700 miles on it.

We missed the warranty period on the thing because of life, so our plan as of now is to pull the motor, pull the intake manifold, see if that show's anything, then pull the head and get to the piston. My plan is to replace the rings and put it back together. Yes we might find something once the head is off that could change the plan. But that is the plan for now.

Talk me out of this or give me ideas for a better plan? anyone. its been basically sitting for 2 years awaiting a solution and we just didn't get to it. I tried talking my son into another stock motor for sale off CL or FB as a temp fix, but he just wants to yank it and get it fixed. So that's where we are headed.

evilcw311 · Apr 9, 2020

To be honest, start with intake and then heads. If you find nothing obvious then pull the short block. The good thing is you shouldn’t need any machine work so you can reassemble it in your garage with the proper tools.

Letting an engine idle for too long when fresh is a no no. It doesn’t allow the rings to properly set sometimes. Sorry to say that’s more than likely what happened but I’ve seen it time and time again. Engine should warm up and then start going through rpms to set the rings.

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joe65 · Apr 9, 2020

evilcw311 said:
To be honest, start with intake and then heads. If you find nothing obvious then pull the short block. The good thing is you shouldn’t need any machine work so you can reassemble it in your garage with the proper tools.

Letting an engine idle for too long when fresh is a no no. It doesn’t allow the rings to properly set sometimes. Sorry to say that’s more than likely what happened but I’ve seen it time and time again. Engine should warm up and then start going through rpms to set the rings.

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Agree, the guy told me he did that and it didn't sink in until later when we discovered it was burning so much oil.

96blak54 · Apr 10, 2020

Ring type can affect break in time. A stainless ring takes forever to seat. Burn oil like crazy but will eventually wear in. Most shops are thrilled about using the cheapest valve seals known to man....something to think about. Piston type and the wrong oil control ring will burn oil and never get better.

joe65 · Apr 10, 2020

96blak54 said:
Ring type can affect break in time. A stainless ring takes forever to seat. Burn oil like crazy but will eventually wear in. Most shops are thrilled about using the cheapest valve seals known to man....something to think about. Piston type and the wrong oil control ring will burn oil and never get better.

i know it could be lots of things, but the other cylinders seem to be clean burning and its just the one cylinder that is fouling the plug.

OLD H2S · Apr 10, 2020

I disagree.. not with just one bad bore. If it was all of them then it could be this or that.
Number 5 must be checked from top to bottom. I bet the oil separator ring is overlapped on the ends between the the oil control rings on the 3rd land, very common mistake and hard to see.

joe65 · Apr 10, 2020

From my observations and the plug being covered in oil, that's where I'm at. I'll be checking everything I can at that cylinder. Looks like we will get it pulled next weekend.

96blak54 · Apr 11, 2020

OLD H2S said:
I disagree.. not with just one bad bore. If it was all of them then it could be this or that.
Number 5 must be checked from top to bottom. I bet the oil separator ring is overlapped on the ends between the the oil control rings on the 3rd land, very common mistake and hard to see.

YES! I forgot all about that one! Very common...those thin rings will pop out of place when getting installed into the bore. Well....more like get caught on the cylinders rough edge entering and forced out of place, but oh well.

96blak54 · Apr 11, 2020

You may get lucky enough here. Disassemble the engine ,figure out the problem, if it was the machinist fault, take it back to them but with all intentions of paying for the fix. You may get lucky they will realize they were at fault and cover the fix....... I know i would.