Oil Rings, do I have a problem?

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RogerRamRod

RogerRamRod

The Older I Get, The Faster I Was
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Somewhat new build, but been a few years, - The rest of the car took longer than expected and had a few unrelated setbacks.
Anyway, after a few short drives in the neighborhood, the next morning there were a few oil drops coming from the inspection cover. I checked all the other options & decided main seal.
I pulled motor out, got a new seal & pan gasket. The engine was upside down for a few days. Got pan buttoned up.
When rolling the engine upright, a few drops of oil came out one of the exhaust ports & sparkplug hole. I don’t recall ever seeing this before.

Could I expect some leakage past rings after a few days, or do I have a problem?
 
I'd be more concerned with what dripped from the oil pan while upside down
 
The oil pan was off and engine covered with plastic. It seems to have been residual oil inside the block, maybe some of what was still up in the heads when I rolled it over.
So, not much concern over the oil coming out of the cylinder?
 
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Some oil "may" have wept past the rings, but I wouldn't worry about it. Put it back together and back in the car and then drive it like it's stolen.
 
I suspect you would have blue smoke from the exhaust if excessive oil was getting into the combustion chamber.
 
I was trying to determine if there was an issue to address before I go through the process of reinstalling the engine & connecting everything back up & filling the fluids.
Since I only drove it around a few streets in the neighborhood, I wasn't concentrating on the exhaust so much as noises & rattles, temperature, oil pressure, transmission getting the right gears, steering and such. But no, I hadn't noticed blue smoke while setting timing & idle prior to initial drive.
 
Hey Roger the rings all have gaps so a small amount of oil could easly seep past and into the combustion chamber is my thinking . Don't baby it when you get her going do a couple full throttle blasts to help seat those rings real nice .
 
I wouldn’t worry about the oil. Oil will settle in the bores when upside down and can seep by. I hope that your seal leak is fixed. Something I have come to grips with, is I have done the chase the rear seal leak WAY too many times. I have gone a different route for a while now. If it is the typical small rear seal leak. I made a sheet metal cover that attaches to the bottom inspection plate holes. Inside that I put three layers of pig mat. Change it once a year. Bone dry under the car.
 
What is pig mat? And do you mind adding a photo, having a hard time picking up what you're putting down. Are you saying something in place of the small metal cover, or in addition to the cover?
 
Pig mat is oil absorbent mat. No making fun of my art work! I can get a picture tonight. A 90 deg lip on the front then 3-4”s back leaving about 1” between it and the “bellhousing” for the pig mat. I melt 2 holes through the mat and place the bolts for the cover through the holes. I actually made little studs for the cover, then use nylock nuts to hold it on. It is in addition to the inspection cover.

0D785493-75CE-4739-BDBC-28E7BDB54210.jpeg
 
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Thank You. I think I see what you've got. Is that some Pig Mat sticking out the side and some below, so your "cover" is kind of sandwiching it in place? It's not fully enclosed as it were, right?
Nice simple solution without having to beat your head against the wall.
 
Yeah it is open on the sides. The pig mat is like a roll of paper towels. Pull off however many squares you need. That is 3 squares? The sheet metal is actually a lower fender patch piece I didn’t need and was just laying around. Drilled two holes and that’s it.
 
RogerRamRod said:
The oil pan was off and engine covered with plastic. It seems to have been residual oil inside the block, maybe some of what was still up in the heads when I rolled it over.
So, not much concern over the oil coming out of the cylinder?
Click to expand...
That is the reason round engine aircraft were hand proped before starting. Then if too much oil sealed past the rings on the bottom few cylinders while shut down, they could catch it, pull the plugs and drain the oil out until.it turned through 2 complete revolutions without hydraulic locking. Remember rings technology was not what we have today. That said, the oil clings to the surface and runs down over hours, past the ring gaps. It is only a drop here and there but adds up overnight.
 
Thanks all for your input.
I spent yesterday & today getting the engine back in and everything hooked up.
Hoping to get it around the block a few times after dinner. And after it cools down a bit.
 
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