Oil consumption, new engine

[Craig M]

Just drive my newly installed Mr Goodwrench 6.2 engine on its first trip. Went 2200 miles from Riverside to Washington State. Vehicle is 82 C-30 crew cab dually. Has Banks turbo, TH400 and gear vendors. Went up empty, and came back with 3500# or so load in the bed. Mileage was 15 mpg for the trip. Power seemed lacking. I never drove this truck before, but have a 82 Suburban diesel without the Banks. This truck is slower on the hills than the Suburban. Biggest concern is oil consumption. Took a quart every 500 miles, both up and back. Engine has been sitting around for a few years prior to this installation, but was in a garage. Ring problem or what? Suggestions appreciated.

[Craig M]

Hey all: Looking for comments on 1 quart oil consumption in 500 miles on new engine!

[catmandoo]

i'd probably give it a little bit for rings to seat maybe 3000 to 5000 miles and see how it goes.i've had rings seat right away and some that just seem to take there time.

[britannic]

Which oil are you using in this engine?

[CleviteKid]

Hey Craig,

I think you are concerned that something is dreadfully wrong with your engine, and if performance is below that of a NA Suburban, you are probably right. 1 quart per 500 miles is also unacceptable from a new engine. You have driven it far enough to get an initial seat on the rings, so don't let your engine vendor tell you otherwise.

We recommend gauges (exhaust gas temperature, and boost on a turbo) for monitoring performance increases, and diagnosing problems like this. You could have two problems, oil consumption and power, and they may not be directly related. What is the situation with smoke out the tailpipe (color and amount) as a function of driving conditions (hard acceleration, towing that load up a hill, etc.)?

Dr. Lee :cool:

[Craig M]

I use Chevron Delo 400. I am not sure what oil the engine installer put in it. Chenged it this weekend to the Delo 400. Do not see much smoke at all. Either at start up or on the steep hills.

[britannic]

YMMV, but with that much oil consumption, I would expect at least a little smoke.

I asked about oil type, because if synthetic was used, it doesn't allow the rings or bearings to bed in properly during the run in period.

This is obvious, so forgive me if it sounds patronizing, but have you checked to make sure oil isn't leaking from the cooler, cooler lines, into the bellhousing, out of the main seals, turbo oil supply or drain back, out of the intake, or CDR lines etc.

Have you tested the CDR for correct function?

Pull the hose from the turbo compressor outlet to the intake and see how much oil is present, if it's more than a wet film (i.e. dripping with oil all over), this can be a sign of a failing CDR (they can become gummed up).

When too much oil goes through the engine, some burns and the rest comes down the exhaust - I know, because when my turbo drain was blocked, the compressor seal blew the excess into the engine and out of the tail pipe (I was using a quart a mile and it was totally obvious :D ).

On the second occasion, when the CDR valve failed, I was getting strange running symptoms (surging above 2500rpm, light blue exhaust smoke) and oil was being consumed at around a quart/1000 miles.