Engine Is Toast

[BustedFox]

I have a 1988 GT with a trickflow top end kit on it. I've put about 2000 miles on the car since i installed the top end kit. I'm burning a ton of oil...the rings are gone.

Whats the best way to go about a rebuild?

Get a short block in a crate and then put my top end on it?

Have a speed shop go through my existing engine and replace worn parts?

This isn't a show or race car. I need something reliable that can handle 400 rwhp.

 

[RaggedGT]

Was it consuming oil before the top end kit?

 

[BustedFox]

Was it consuming oil before the top end kit?

I bought the car on eBay and it went straight to a speed shop to have the kit installed. It ran poorly when the shop got the car. As far as using oil....I dont know.

 

[RaggedGT]

I bought the car on eBay and it went straight to a speed shop to have the kit installed. It ran poorly when the shop got the car. As far as using oil....I dont know.

Alright,A compression/leak down test would probably be my next steps

 

[BustedFox]

Alright,A compression/leak down test would probably be my next steps

That's been done...Everything checks out okay.

I get big clouds of white smoke when I downshift. I pulled the intake and it looked fine. The head gaskets were changed just in case but everything looked fine.

To be honest, I'm tired of screwing with it. I dont know what else to do. I know I could have already rebuilt it with the amount of money i've dumped into trying to fix it. I'm going to cut my losses and start with a fresh build I just dont know what direction to go.

I do appreciate the help though.

 

[FastDriver]

Sorry to hear it, bud. It's hard when you can't figure out what the actual cause is. Oil can come from the rings, but I'd hate to do the rings and bearings on the motor only to find out that the oil consumption was coming from the lower intake gasket or something else.

 

[General karthief]

I thought white smoke would be a water/antifreez problem, oh well at this point I would first do a pressure test of the cooling system, you did a leak down test that you said was ok, you didn't mention miles so figuaring a bunch of miles, and if it's just a driver I would shop for a rebuilt or new short block, if you want to keep the original block a machine shop is gonna be a little pricey unless you do some assembly yourself. It will be up to your buget/ mechanical ability which direction you go.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Are you noticing oil is disappearing? What about coolant?

What's your budget for a lower end? I cheap, bottom barrel budget lower end might be in the $1000-1500 range and it only goes up from there. Having a machine shop do the work costs you the price of the kit, plus labor. How much labor runs you depends on if you drop them off a complete car, or just the motor.

 

[mikestang63]

I need something reliable that can handle 400 rwhp.

be prepared to spend about $5k

 

[Davedacarpainter]

LMR sells a cheap rebuilt stock style short block for $1500.

Can you do the build yourself?

It’s really not that hard plus you’ll need to buy some new tools, which is always a win.

 

[Noobz347]

white smoke would be a water/antifreez problem

yep

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

You had a shop install the TE kit, you picked it up from them and it's puffing when you down shift, and you're not asking them WTF? They just shrug and go I dunno?

#1 The heads themselves could be letting oil past bad guides and seals. When decelerating, you are in high vacuum, and everything intake related comes under scrutiny. Why you would just jump right into "My engine is toast" when it could be "I have a leaking or wrong intake gasket, a bad head gasket,cracked or warped heads that needed a resurface and now I've got water getting into the chamber when I lift, or finally worn out guides and bad seals that will all let either oil or water into the engine when you downshift and lift.

#2 Wait....They did a CT and deemd everything OK,..and you're still replacing the engine?
Do a leakdown and compression test. Before you just throw money at it. If you can change out spark plugs, you can do your own compression test. If you can't............Then learn. The compression test is easier, and doesn't require a compressor, and will be a telltale as to the health of your ring seal across the 8 cylinders. The leakdown test is way more revealing and will detail where the leak is coming from...as the escaping air will hiss into the crankcase if it's the rings, or into the intake or exhaust if its the valves.

#3. If it "ran bad" before you took it to the shop, That should've been fixed first. (It'd be the last time I'd let that shop work on the car too) Any competent shop could've taken that car around the block if it was smoking like you claim before or after and know that they had a bigger problem either before, or after their work that should've been dealt with before taking your money. A bad running engine has so many reasons for that that aren't related to the mechanical part of this equation that you'd feel pretty bad if you put a new short in and turn around and put your possibly warped bad heads, leaking guides or missing/broken seals, faulty EFI or related sensor causing you your problems to still be there.

I had a 428CJ car back in the 80's that a machine shop installed the wrong valve stem seals on. After I got it running, the thing smoked like a freight train when I lifted off the throttle. After removing the valve cover and looking at it, I noticed all 16 seals sitting at the top of the spring retainer, and not on the valve stem.

Not a worn out engine, Not a broken ring, Not a bad head gasket, Just a simple case of somebody else who didn't know what they were doing.
And they paid to fix it....

 

[jrichker]

Only use a compression tester with a screw in adapter for the spark plug hole. The other type leaks too much to get an accurate reading. Notice the brass fittings on the picture below – they screw into the spark plug home and then the test gauge screws into them

Your local auto parts store may have a compression tester to rent or loan if you have a credit card. If you do mechanic work on your own car on a regular basis, it would be a good tool to add to your collection.


With the engine warmed up, remove all spark plugs and prop the throttle wide open with a plastic screwdriver handle between the throttle butterfly and the throttle housing. Crank the engine until it the gage reading stops increasing. On a cold engine, it will be hard to tell what's good & what's not. Some of the recent posts have numbers ranging from 140-170 PSI. If the compression is low, squirt some oil in the cylinder and do it again – if it comes up, the rings are worn. There should be no more than 10% difference between cylinders. Use a blow down leak test (puts compressed air inside cylinders) on cylinders that have more than 10% difference.

I generally use a big screwdriver handle stuck in the TB between the butterfly and the TB to prop the throttle open. The plastic is soft enough that it won't damage anything and won't get sucked down the intake either.

A heavy duty battery charger (not the trickle type) is a good thing to have if you haven't driven the car lately or if you have any doubts about the battery's health. Leave it connected while you are cranking the engine and it will help keep the starter cranking at a consistent speed from the first cylinder tested to the last cylinder.

Blow down compression tester - you may need to click to open or enlarge the drawing....

 

[Shakerhood]

I think I took about 10,000 Miles off the life of my engine today, I went to start it for the first time in about 2 1/2 Months and the battery had barely enough juice to turn the starter. I was expecting the battery to just die but then all of a sudden the engine fired and the tach shot up to about 4500 RPMs, definitely not good to rev a cold engine.

 

[FastDriver]

bah!! As long as the oil pressure came up within about 10 seconds and you weren't moving under heavy load, you're fine.

 

[Boostedpimp]

so @BustedFox what did you find?

 

[Noobz347]

Check the PCV valve and system.

Pushing atomized oil into the exhaust during decel can cause white smoke too.

You didn't say you were running boost so that leaves coolant and/or oil vapor.

Do you have the PCV system plugged or disabled in any way? When was the last time you replaced the valve?

 

[billison]

Check the PCV valve and system.

Pushing atomized oil into the exhaust during decel can cause white smoke too.

You didn't say you were running boost so that leaves coolant and/or oil vapor.

Do you have the PCV system plugged or disabled in any way? When was the last time you replaced the valve?

I second that. Check for the filter too

 

[BustedFox]

It's the rings.

I might as well toss a stroker kit in it while its out of the car, right? I found 331 kits for about $1k. How much needs changed to go to the 331? MAF and injectors? Does the trickflow top end work well with the stroker kits?

 

[Boostedpimp]