Fred, isn't the seal washer (O-ring) down in the lifter chamber?

I put the valve cover back on this morning and took a little drive to town--about 30 miles round trip. On the highway, I pushed my engine a little to maintain 55-60 mph. Upon returning, I inspected the valve train again and was able to see fresh oil all along the rocker arm shaft. I guess my oiling system is working, at least somewhat. On a more negative note, I needed to add another quart of oil--that makes 10 quarts in 766 miles. My last quart took me 140 miles which is an improvement I should probably celebrate.

Where is the oil going if it is not leaking?

Good question, Abe. The test results show my engine is worn to be sure, but it just doesn't seem to smoke enough to be using so much oil. Since going to the smaller original jet, the engine stopped blowing soot out the tail pipe. I just don't see any major leaks. I get about 15 mpg which doesn't seem too bad. Top speed is somewhere a little north of 65 which doesn't seem too bad either. It's a mystery.

I wonder if you're overfilling the crankcase? With the sludge up top, it may take a while for oil to drain back (although top-end oiling seems marginal on your engine). Do you wait 1/2 hour or so before checking?

Suggest that you have someone follow you with a video camera next time that you take a drive. Actually 2 someones, 1 to drive and 1 to take the video - unless they have a camera mount.

That oil is going somewhere. That is a lot of oil. The back of your truck should have oil spatter from the exhaust or the underside of your truck, perhaps behind the breather should have lots of oil.

Ross just called this thread to my attention, knwing that member rpaxton and I just went through the valve train problems on his 1954 with the 223 OHV six.
Bob was not getting much oil to the rockers and the lash was wide. We replaced the flat ring at the end of the rear oil tube that feeds the rocker shaft. This ring was hard and was allowing oil to escape back into the lower end of the block instead of being pumped to the shaft and rockers. Bob ordered the correct flat rubber seal but I believe a correct size O ring would do the same job. With the new seal / ring installed, we observed much more oil to the rockers. A couple rockers still did not appear to be oiling as well as others so we removed and disassembled the rocker shaft. A few of the rockers had crud built up in the grooves and the shaft had some crud. I would estimate R&R the shaft took a couple hours and we did not rush anything or get in any strain. The engine runs so much better and is quieter with proper lubrication to the rockers.
The majority of the oil comes out the ball socket end of the rocker and follows the pushrod down to the lifter rather than throwing the oil onto the valves where it would be sucked into the combustion chamber. And with anything over an idle, the oil should be coming off the rockers all over the engine compartment.

I did not read each and every log on this thread but I'll ask about road draft tube cleanliness as related to oil consumption.

I just rechecked the oil level, and I'm about 1/4 inch below the full mark on the dip stick. I added a quart of oil about 6 hours ago. i don't see any oil splatter on the back of the truck or bumper. Racing the engine used to blow enough soot out of the tail pipe to leave black marks on driveway, but changing back to the original jet solved this problem. The breather tube was wet and oily looking, but I don't remember seeing oil splatter on the underside of the truck. I will double check though.

Ray, thanks for the little description of your recent rocker shaft RR. Do you just pull up on the rear oil tube to get at the seal?

I only observed my valve train at idle. I'll need to take another look. Rehabbing the oiling tube and rocker shaft are things I should be able to do. Adjusting the valves should be within my limited abilities too.

You won't necessarily see a lot of soot if your engine is burning oil, even at that level. Dad has a 40 Ford sedan with split valve guides (factory design for pre 8BA Ford V8s). That engine would pull oil through the valve guides at the rate of about a quart every hundred miles. The tail pipe on that car didn't look overly sooty. You could tell the oil was getting pulled through the valve guides by following the car. When the driver of the 40 let off the gas and intake vacuum went up then you could smell the oil in the exhaust in the following car.

One of the rocker shaft retaining bolts has a retainer that holds the oil supply tube down. On the 223, it is the rear bolt. I've read cautions about loosening all the hold down bolts evenly so as to not bend the rocker shaft. I also remember reading a suggestion to back off the valve adjustments to relieve pressure on the shaft so as to not bend it. IMO, the shaft is not going to bend that easily. I have played with several of this series engines and have never bent a shaft. Use caution to get the pushrods into the lifters and into the rocker arms. Everything must go back where it was removed.

Thanks Fred for your little tidbit of information from your personal experience. Faulty valve guides would probably be a good thing--easier and cheaper to fix than a lot of things. Non of my friends can drive my truck, so I haven't been able to personally observe my exhaust. My wife is a reluctant participant in this whole affair, but I could ask her to follow me and look for the times my engine smokes the most. My youngest son can make a crash box transmission work, and we will do some serious investigating when he comes for a visit next week-end.

Thanks Ray. I should have the information needed to proceed.

I had a chance this week-end to get some pics of my truck's tailpipe as the truck was being driven down the road:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6fe14f2899.jpg



Coasting down a little hill in 3rd gear; 15-20 mph--just maybe a hint of smoke.



https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0163f2faca.jpg

Hard acceleration from 40 to 60 mph--exhaust is dark.



https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7ee9edfa89.jpg

decelerating fron 60 to 40 mph. The exhaust is white.



https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cbace83865.jpg

Going down the highway at a constant speed--no smoke.

I know a video would have been better. The pictures I think show my engine is burning some oil for sure, but do you think they are consistent with an engine that uses more than a quart of oil every 100 miles? Thanks.

I think it was Fred who said earlier, oil can go thru an engine without making smoke. What I see above is evidence of worn valve guides and rings, but not as much smoke as I'd expect for 100 mi/qt. I would think your exhaust system would be dripping at every joint after a good run?

What weight oil are you running?

I'm running straight 30 with a quart of Lucas Oil treatment. The Lucas additive has been diluted quite a bit, but it still seems to help with oil pressure--I would estimate about a 10 pound improvement.

My tail pipe makes your finger black if you touch it, but it is certainly not dripping.

Can you visually assess the condition of your valve guides without taking too much apart?



https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a6fd7c1bba.jpg

That doesn't look like I'd expect. Are you sure there's not a leak when you're driving??