Oil is breaking down fast?!?!?
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Oil is breaking down fast?!?!?
So, this weekend I took my truck muddin on my property for a little bit. Nothing deep or rediculously difficult to taverse, just for some fun. Well, after running her for about 15 mins or so, I got away from the mud hole and took a glance at my gauges (aftermarket ones not ford idiot lights). My oil pressure was at about 2psi at idle and my temp gauge was at 205-210 F. Is this normal? It also started tapping pretty loudly from the valves, but I suspect that had something to do with my rediculously low oil pressure. It then tried to stall on me, but I managed to keep it idling and threw the heat on full blast and it cooled down and gained some oil pressure back. My truck usually runs at 25psi oil pressure when warm and about 180 F. Also, I changed my oil and filter right before doing this with 6 qts 10w40 and 1 qt marvel mystery oil. AFter this run, the oil looked VERY DARK and when I felt it between my fingers, it felt very "watery" or "overly viscous", and this was when the engine was cold. Why would I lose oil pressure like this, and why would my oil break down?? It was full of brand new coolant also, and Im running the 7lb cap it came with.
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Well i checked the oil and it doesnt look over full, but also, when I went to start the truck the next day, it made a cloud of blue smoke for about 15 secs and then it cleared out and ran fine. Im puzzled!
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Northern Illinois
Was it running overly rich? What is the condition of the carb?
Before I had my carb rebuilt, my oil would break down quickly (though not as bad as you describe). Maybe some debris was hoding open the carb needle seat allowing more fuel to run though it, seeping past the rings and into the crank-case while tossing her around in the mud.
Before I had my carb rebuilt, my oil would break down quickly (though not as bad as you describe). Maybe some debris was hoding open the carb needle seat allowing more fuel to run though it, seeping past the rings and into the crank-case while tossing her around in the mud.
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From: Niceville, FL.
These trucks originally came with 195 deg. F. thermostats so 205-210 deg. F. is not really much of an overheat condition at all. Any motor oil should withstand that engine temperature continually with no breakdown whatsoever. The Marvel Mystery Oil would tend to thin the 10W40 somewhat but I've added it to 10W30 on several occasions and never had any noticable loss of oil pressure. A bad mechanical fuel pump can definitely put gasoline in the crankcase and thin the oil but I would expect at the crankcase temperature it would readily vaporize and be sucked out via the PCV valve leaving little if any to show on the dipstick. I'd start the engine and get it up to operating temperature and then remove the breather cap and smell check for the odor of gasoline coming from the internal engine. Mixing gasoline with the oil will, I suspect, permanently alter the properties of the oil and make it unsuitable for further use. On the other hand, if you don't get oil pressure of at least 10 psi per 1000 rpm (example: 30 psi @3000 rpm) at 195 deg. F. operating temperature then chances are pretty good that your main and rod bearings are worn and have too much clearance.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2003
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You said earlier the oil pressure dropped after 15 minutes of muddin. When you went to restart it the next day, blue smoke came out for about 15 seconds.
Here's my theory/opinion on that, and I'm assuming you had the engine wound out pretty tight while you were muddin. If that's the case, you might want to remove the intake and valve covers to be sure the oil drain holes aren't clogged. If they're clogged oil could be building up in the heads and lifter valley and not returning to the oil pan quick enough, thereby reducing oil pressure. Oil pressure will come back once it has had time to drain back into the pan. Some may have puddled up in the heads around the valves and leaked past the guides, causing the blue smoke on start up. Just something to consider.
Here's my theory/opinion on that, and I'm assuming you had the engine wound out pretty tight while you were muddin. If that's the case, you might want to remove the intake and valve covers to be sure the oil drain holes aren't clogged. If they're clogged oil could be building up in the heads and lifter valley and not returning to the oil pan quick enough, thereby reducing oil pressure. Oil pressure will come back once it has had time to drain back into the pan. Some may have puddled up in the heads around the valves and leaked past the guides, causing the blue smoke on start up. Just something to consider.
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Okay, to answer piffery, i think my engine isnt overly worn out because it normally has more than adequate oil pressure. Jade, I think you may be on to something. I was gonna pull the valve covers anyways to fix the leaks, so what do the oil drin holes look like and what should I clean them with to ensure I dont get crap in the oil? Thanks a lot!
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2003
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The oil drain holes are at each end (front and rear) of the head under the valve covers. If there's a build up of crud, you may not be able to see them. I usually scrape it off with a flat blade screwdriver while holding a shop vac hose right over the area to collect the debris and prevent it from falling into the engine.
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