TROUBLESHOOTING
1953-1960 Classic Car Engines Troubleshooting Guide: High Oil Consumption
- External oil leaks.
- Leaky piston rings due to wear.
- Leaky piston rings due to sticking caused by gummy deposit. Try to free up with suitable solvent poured in fuel tank. Blue smoke at tail pipe indicates badly leaking rings.
- Worn pistons and cylinders.
- Cylinder block distorted by tightening cylinder head bolts unevenly.
- Excessive clearance between intake valve stems and guides allows oil mist to be sucked into cylinders.
- Punctured vacuum pump diaphragm permits oil from crankcase to be sucked into intake manifold.
- Worn main or rod bearings allow excessive leakage from bearings. Result is cylinder walls are flooded with oil.
- Oil pressure too high due to faulty action of oil pressure relief valve, or clogged relief passage.
- If pressure lubricated, loose piston pins may permit excessive leakage to cylinder walls.
- Grade of oil used is too light. A poor quality oil may become far too thin when engine is hot. Hard driving on hot days will also consume more oil.
The Complete Guide to Troubleshooting 1953-1960 Era American Classic Car Engines