Hello all,
I have a 1989 F150 4X4 4.9 I6. She has 118K on her. The oil has been changed evey 3K mi. I have had her for a couple of months and got her from the original owner. I recently changed the oil and filter. I also changed the breather filter under the air filter. It was a little oily, but nothing major. Now that I have changed it I have so much "blowbye" it is soaking the filter so much it is leaking all over the fender well under the air filter box and onto the ground. What I have tryed so far:
#1- new breather filter (X3)
#2- new valve cover breather filter
#3-new P.V.C. vale
#4-new air filter (X2)
The truck runs good and strong. Doesn't smoke and idles great. I am at a loss.
Also when I changed the oil, I used Valvoline Max Life. That is what the original owner used after 75K, and reg. Valvoline before that. So I have changed nothing except the weight. I was told it wouldn't make a differance. He used 5-30 and I put in 10-30, but again same brand and everything.
If anyone has had this problem or knows something for me to try I would be greatfull. I can't stand the fact that it didn't leak before and by me trying to keep up on mantinence and take care of it, I now have an oily mess under the hood and driveway
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

Sometimes that hose that connects to the PCV valve will get plugged up with sludge. Did you check that? Other than that, worn or broken rings or maybe a cracked piston.

 

Dunno...This one has me confused...I can't see why changing the breather element would increase the oil blow. Should have made very little difference being they are so porious. The other things, oil and filter shouldn't be an effect either really. What kind of filter is it? It's kind of the "missing link"...The oil grade change shouldn't have been a problem. I'm not overly keen on max life though unless the engine is already on the way down. For an engine still in good shape, I've heard that stuff can swell up good seals. If you ever quit using the stuff, the seals may shrink up and fall apart after a while. "Just what I've heard".... MK

 

Two thoughts - How much oil did you put in? My 89 takes 6 quarts with filter change. If there is too much oil in the pan, it can be whipped into a froth by the rotating parts. I have known of too much oil being added due to a misreading dipstick.
A dry - wet compression check can tell the condition of the rings. If a teaspoon of oil into the cylinder increases the compression a lot over the dry numbers, rings can be worn.
Review the steps during the oil change. Consider all the things you may have changed.

 

blow by is caused by a worn out head, not rings, and for god's sake not a cracked piston.

 

Millertime300, oh really? In my 45 years of experience I am led to beleive that? What do all you other mechanics out there say about that?

 

Yeah, Blow by BY DEFINITOIN!! is blowing by the RINGS. You may be thinking of leaking valve seals or something which in reality can have similer symptoms, but you really need to keep quiet if you are confused (better yet, ask questions). Cracked piston could also cause, as oil/combustion products and biproducts are BLOWING BY THE RINGS, hence the name BLOW BY!

 

Dunno. I still think it's oil change related. If I'm reading this right, this only started after changing the oil. So I really have my doubts the engine is bad. The oil overfill scenerio made sense.
Also I would make sure the proper filter is on there. Something he did seemed to have started all this. Rings, etc aren't going to fall apart in the time it takes to do an oil change. I assume oil flow on startup was normal...

Note...>The truck runs good and strong. Doesn't smoke and idles great. <

I don't see how the engine can be shot in this case. MK

 

I would tend to agree with you, that the engine is fine, and judging by the symptoms, it is probably not blowby.

 

I'm a newbie at this, but I'm going to offer my two cents anyway. skidj0003 asked about how much oil did Buck put in. My question is how much oil did he get OUT at oil change. If the oil level is low, the pressurized crankcase gas has more expansion room in the crankcase and less tendency to pick up and carry oil mist/droplets out its escape routes. I suspect that the reason he only had a teaspoon or so of oil in the air filter at oil change time was due to running low on oil prior to the change. The previous owner probably never put more than 5 qts in. (And of course, that would explain why its worn out at 118k!) Now, with the proper level, he's getting a comparative flood. As far as no smoke goes, oil smoke is essentially an unburned hydrocarbon isn't it? Would the catalytic converter convert it the same as incompletely burned fuel? Regarding strong-running, if Buck is new to I6 engines it may seem strong to him even if it has problems. With all the torque these things make, you could halve their capability and not really notice with mild driving around town.

Really, we all could speculate 'til the cows come home, but we'll only know what's really going on if and when Buck comes back and tells us:
1. He took that PCV hose off and ran something through it to make sure it was clear.
2. He hooked up a vacuum gauge and got a good steady vacuum signal (decreasing the probability this is a valve problem).
3. He did the compression test and gives us the numbers by cylinder dry vs. wet.

Come on back Buck! Let us know what's up! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot - your maintainence efforts aren't causing your truck's issues, they're illuminating them. Don't be discouraged.

 

Okay, so that was more like eight or nine cents!

 

Eight or nine cents? I'd give you more for that, you didn't flame anyone, and put forht some good observations. Oil coming out of these engines seems to be a common occurance (see the number of threads refering to this problem).

I had really bad blow by when I pulled my engine apart (top comp rings were shattered on all pistons - but she ran well and smooth except on steep hills), and I was blowing oil through practically every gasket on my engine.