Where is my oil going?

79Tique wrote: On my cars the oil is always lower on the dip stick after running. Then comes back up after a while. Is this not normal? Every car I have ever owned has done this even new ones.

The 'missing' oil is in the top and drains down. You are detailed?!!?   

Oil pressure is good by the stock gauge on the dash. Drops a little at idle after skiing for a while, but not more than what would seem normal.

nuttyskier2002 wrote:    When the engine gets so sludged up so that it holds oil at the top of the head overnight,....it is also sludged to the point where the oil will not drain back down to the pan for recirculation. When this happens, you start to lose oil pressure. Gabe, are you losing oil pressure?

HHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

If it stays up top overnight.... how the hell is it ever going to get into the oil pan to start with? it's not and you will have no oil pressure.

I said let it sit over night and check the oil level in the pan then compare it right after it's been started and ran up to temp then check again and compare? If it reads lower then the oil is stuck in the topside of the heads which leads to it seeping past the valve guide seals and causing blue smoke at start-up.

damn Malibu clown.

nutty, im buzzing thru the 700 too, got the kevlar bands and red eagles on order,
will end up painting the whole package with base clear for the bling factor. i was going to convert to carb because i can get collector plates and skip e-check, i heard there were problems with the TPI...i dont know

Gabe, Chris mentioned the trans fluid to the oil bringing up a great idea. I'd put some Marvel Mystery in the crank case (follow the directions) and maybe even do the Sea Foam treatment (follow the directions) down the carb. You really don't have anything to loose. I've had great results with the Marvel!

79Tique wrote: 79N, we must have posted at the same time please see the post above your last. Gabe

got it, only thing I would do is pull the valve covers and make sure the oil passages are clear so the oil can drain back down into the pan is has to happen for the oil to leak past the seals and blow smoke on start up.

since the PO ran it hard and did poor maintance the rings are worn and it's sludged up so it's going to burn some oil deal with it and enjoy the boat until you are down on power and it's time to rebuild, doing the heads are only going to do nothing, yea the valve guide seals will be new, but if you remove the oil laying on top of old seals then it's not going to blow smoke like it does at start up and you've only spent 20 bucks on valve cover gaskets.

So my .02 pull the valve covers look for sludge look for clogged oil returns, look for oil dripping as soon as the covers are removed, if you see any of this then clean the passages and flush the motor to clean the internals and call it a day until it really needs a rebuild might be 5-10 yrs might be next season depends on how bad it is and you'll know pretty quick by just looking instead of jumping into the unknown and assuming what it needs.

So all you realy need is to replace the plugs sooner and add oil, but be sure you are checking it properly and not over filling it with oil.

Pull the did stick in the drive/lake after it's sat several days and read the level no need to clean and re-dip oil is all ready drained to the bottom, now go run it and get it hot and turn it off and check the level again first thing if the level is lower than what it was then it's in the top of the motor and not draining back problem one diagnosed, pull covers and clean returns is the fix and oil use should lower but enjoy it and don't get excited because you have to add oil if anything add some tranny fluid to try and loosen the rings as a couple might be stuck but then it just could be ware as well and only a re-build will fix that.

AFR aluminums,(came with the unfinished not fired car) not radical, just fast and turn key, trouble free, i never F-d with TPI and and I am a touch in the dark with it. I dont want to go to much and kill this thing

nuttyskier2002 wrote: Another member here suggest this and I just agreed but yet you want to ridicule me for it. So let's lay it on the line Chris. What is it that you have against me. My brand of boat? Is that your problem? What brand do you currently own? Some of your remarks sound like they came from 10 year old. Is your little sister telling you what to say? Take your medication and get back on here when you feel better. Se you later!

wow first you said this now you say that flip flop like Odamna, "I was agreeing with what this guy saids" please.

do it half ass and twice or wait and do it right pretty sure that's been my tune all along.

eric lavine wrote: Hey 79, not to interupt our brotherly love but how are you on 1987 chevy TPI, Im going with .210/.165 heads, 65cc chamber, which kicks the compression to 10:1....will the TPI handle it? I am camming mildly and putting a chip in it and an adjustable regulator...anything else? i was close to stroking the motor but held off cause of air volume. can i use the stock injectors and will the chip compensate for it?

should might have to increase the injectors and throttle/metering plate, did you get the good vortec heads to use, one series sucks and has flow issues compard to the other. It depneds on what you are planing for the motor going fast or torque, fast larger metering plate to start then injectors later as the increased pulse might be enough for the injectors.

correct Pete but it all goes back to how well it is stored and the conditions, high humidity, dampness, ventalated vs sealed cover and the quality of parts used to start with? wires do not last for ever and will crack and arc eventually, rotors caps can corroid and depending on how well they are maintained and the system operates can accelerate this process.

SO since one wire is bad usually more are bad or getting very marginal at best, all ready have excessive build up for one reason or another and scraping won't fix squat, get you going in the short term but not in the long term.

79nautique wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: nuttyskier2002 wrote: 79nautique wrote: The cap's shot, the rotor's shot, the wires are shot, Also if he had the ignition issues that you suggest, I doubt we could make enough power to get 44MPH. FWIW, My 64 Interceptor still has the original wires and cap. I did put points and a condenser plus did the timing when I bought it. That was about 28 years ago! Still cranking hard. ok Pete we all know that's not your daily driver.

Chris, You're correct but it still has about 900 hours on it. What is it about wires and the cap? Insulation breaking down? I would think age and not engine hours would have a bigger effect. If anything, I would think that on the newer boats these would have been improved.

nuttyskier2002 wrote: 79nautique wrote: The cap's shot, the rotor's shot, the wires are shot, Also if he had the ignition issues that you suggest, I doubt we could make enough power to get 44MPH.

FWIW, My 64 Interceptor still has the original wires and cap. I did put points and a condenser plus did the timing when I bought it. That was about 28 years ago! Still cranking hard.

79nautique wrote: GREAT OPTIONS FROM MALIBU BOY sure he's right on track oh well waiste your money I don't give a crap if you want to do the job twice pretty stupid though if you ask me because it will not fix your issue, fix it right and put the right amount of oil in it and check the level when the boats in the water and not on the trailer and add if it needs it, tune the boat up correctly, scraping the cap, rotor and replacing a single wire is not a tune-up bye a country mile. The cap's shot, the rotor's shot, the wires are shot, so you can half ass like you have been or do it correctly your choice I don't care one way or the other the motor's on it's last leg tha's why oil is staying in the top end of the motor. Hell bet you never even pull the dip stick and checked the oil after it has sat all night either wouldn't be surpised if it read higher and over full compared to checking when it is hot and all the oils up top .02

I'm going to say this one more time for the slow ones here. I think he has a ring issue and that is what I suggested in my first post! I agree that he needs a total engine rebuild and if you read back you will find that I told him a head job would not fix his rings. Also if he had the ignition issues that you suggest, I doubt we could make enough power to get 44MPH. If you are so smart why did you tell him he could check his valve guides using a leak down test. So who's on track now?

79Tique wrote: 79N, When I do an oil change with a filter it takes 4.5 quarts. I'm running Autolight plugs. When we were talking about my distributor I called the black build up, carbon. Someone suggested that moisture was getting in to the cap and I said there were no signs of corrosion or moisture in it. What was in my dist cap was carbon from too cool of a spark. The problem was an old wire from the coil to the cap. I replaced it and the performance got better and the carbon problem went away.

well to start it takes five (5) qt's so you will burn more oil because it's low to start with, secondly I hope you didn't half ass it and only replace the coil wire, I've seen tons of failed distributors in the lab for years I'm well aware what can and does happen under the cap and I know what kills it with and with out water, low or high current and have seen the colors and substances that appear under the dist cap under adverse conditions that where much more than your boat will ever see as they wheree done on purpose to find out ya know research and developement type stuff when you design a distributor and test it maybe?

So how all this crap relate to your situation, HHHMMMM bad wires, causes a cyclinder or two to not fire like it should leaving excess gas to wash down the cylinder walls allowing more oil to blow-by the rings and discolor the plugs at the same time. HHHHHMMMM low oil supply for pump to start with HHHHMHMMMM, throw in worn valve guide seals and plugged oil retuns in the head because if the drains are clear oil doesn't pool in the heads and leak down the guides causing blue smoke at start up HHHHHHMMMMMMM


so what do we do about half ass the rest of the motor like we did with the wires and jack with the heads and hope the rings magicly repair them selves while the head's are off having the valves done.

GREAT OPTIONS FROM MALIBU BOY sure he's right on track oh well waiste your money I don't give a crap if you want to do the job twice pretty stupid though if you ask me because it will not fix your issue, fix it right and put the right amount of oil in it and check the level when the boats in the water and not on the trailer and add if it needs it, tune the boat up correctly, scraping the cap, rotor and replacing a single wire is not a tune-up bye a country mile. The cap's shot, the rotor's shot, the wires are shot, so you can half ass like you have been or do it correctly your choice I don't care one way or the other the motor's on it's last leg tha's why oil is staying in the top end of the motor. Hell bet you never even pull the dip stick and checked the oil after it has sat all night either wouldn't be surpised if it read higher and over full compared to checking when it is hot and all the oils up top

.02

79nautique wrote: so then when you change the oil how many quarts do you add? What brand spark plugs do you use? since you over looked that question and did not answer it or the other questions I asked. Based on the analnus for the dist cap and corrosion as you called it I seriously dubt your skills as to your "diagnostic capabilities" run the damn thing until you blow it up then rebuild the thing, with that much oil burning it isn't the valve guides causing the issue so a valve job is a waiste of time and will not fix a damn thing in your case. Maybe you should concider how the boat was ran prior to your ownership, full bore wide open all of the time maybe? real good on a poorly tuned stocked motor to be ran that way.

79N, When I do an oil change with a filter it takes 4.5 quarts. I'm running Autolight plugs. My mechanical diagnostic skills are not great as I'm learning a new thing with that. I'm an avalanche forecaster by trade not a mechanic. I'd like to learn more about the motors as I find this stuff interesting, and I live in a 900 person town in the mountains and it's a two hour drive to take the boat to a good mechanic. I know the problem is blow by, I know that's how it's getting in the carb. What I've been trying to do is determine weather I need to do rings or not.

When we were talking about my distributor I called the black build up, carbon. Someone suggested that moisture was getting in to the cap and I said there were no signs of corrosion or moisture in it. What was in my dist cap was carbon from too cool of a spark. The problem was an old wire from the coil to the cap. I replaced it and the performance got better and the carbon problem went away. I appreciate the help and guidance a lot but if it is annoying for you to give it please feel free not to.

As for this problem, the motor runs fine, good hole shot and top end is about 44mph. I don't like adding oil all the time and replacing plugs a lot so I want to fix it. It sounds like Nuttyskier can help me understand the leak down test and I'd like to gain that skill anyway. I agree that I should do the heads and if it still burns oil do the rings over the winter. The heads would need to be done then too.