Sudden oil loss, max wedge clone

[fmahannah]

Took the 63 Polara to a show 70 miles away. Checked oil before we left as I always do and it was fine.
Car ran fine on the way there. On the way home my wife said she thought she smelled oil burning at a
traffic light. I figured it was another car in front of me. Noticed slight vibration almost like a miss
(only on the way home), but since I have other vibrations I did not pay much attention. Also heard
a rock hit the car when following a jeep, figured it would be another chip in the paint.

Got home fine. Next Friday comes and I start the car to go get gas and get ready for another show.
At idle I noticed oil pressure guage not at 70 like normal, it was at 60, but when it warmed up it was
normal around 70. Headed out the driveway and car seemed to be running a little rough, noticed oil
pressure guage dropping to almost nothing then coming back up, somewhat in a cycle, so headed back
home right away.

Was not sure if it was electrical or what. Checked oil and it was just over 2 quarts low! This car never uses
oil and only has 3500 miles on a rebuild done 20 years ago. Checked garage floor and no sign of any new leaks.
Got under it looking for possibly a hole in pan from rock mentioned above, found nothing. Oil pan gasket fine.
In fact no signs of leaks other than the shield on front of tranny looked oil sprayed. Also checked pressure sender
and line for any trace of leak or damage, found nothing.

Any ideas appreciated but the only thing I can think of is rear seal gave out badly and only leaks when
under load going down the highway? I still don't think I would have lost 2 quarts though.

I just topped off the oil and am going to clean off the tranny shield and take a short road trip to see if
any new oil shows up. I am really hoping that running 2 quarts low did not do any damage.

 

[biomedtechguy]

I am really hoping that running 2 quarts low did not do any damage.

Try not to worry too much about that. One short trip, as long as you didn't drive hard that could have moved oil away from the pickup, you should be ok.
Hoping you find the problem and it's easy to fix!

 

[Just Send It]

What do your plugs look like?

 

[biomedtechguy]

What do your plugs look like?

Good suggestion. That would indicate if 2 quarts moved through the combustion chamber, although I'd think that would have created quite a cloud of oil smoke...
I'm guessing it's a leak, and a pretty bad one at that.

 

[fmahannah]

No smoke at all. Currently idling in the garage at full temp and no sign of any leaking anywhere

 

[eldubb440]

maybe you got lax on checking the dipstick, because it "never uses any oil"

 

[Just Send It]

No smoke at all. Currently idling in the garage at full temp and no sign of any leaking anywhere

If it drops again, check plugs first. Then the PCV valve. If all is fine, drain the oil and cut the filter to look for material.

If all is still fine, try a different gauge.

That would be my order of operations.

 

[eldubb440]

This car never uses
oil and only has 3500 miles on a rebuild done 20 years ago.

I can easily see a fresh engine using 2 quarts during it first 3500 (break in) miles........

 

[fmahannah]

I have driven it about 1500 miles since I got it and it has used almost no oil at all.
I had checked the oil just before we left that day and it was fine.
Really strange to have a sudden loss of two quarts. Also the oil was clean when we left and dirty after it got low.
Honestly now I am afraid to drive it ... Can't afford another motor right now

 

[eldubb440]

I have driven it about 1500 miles since I got it and it has used almost no oil at all.
I had checked the oil just before we left that day and it was fine.
Really strange to have a sudden loss of two quarts. Also the oil was clean when we left and dirty after it got low.
Honestly now I am afraid to drive it ... Can't afford another motor right now

fill it and run it, keep a closer eye on it...... see what happens

 

[R413]

If two quarts leaked out on the freeway you would see it under the car. Pull plugs and see what they look like.

 

[Lefty71]

So...., rebuild was 20 years ago...im guessing valve seals crumbled and now it burns oil like a real Max Wedge.... thank your wife for the heads up, lol.

 

[Fran Blacker]

So...., rebuild was 20 years ago...im guessing valve seals crumbled and now it burns oil like a real Max Wedge.... thank your wife for the heads up, lol.

Hope that's what it is. Short of pulling the pan and looking at the bearings guess running it is what to do.

 

[496 polara]

What was your cruising rpm ? Steady cruise at a higher rpm,maybe some oil consumption around the rings?

 

[fmahannah]

So...., rebuild was 20 years ago...im guessing valve seals crumbled and now it burns oil like a real Max Wedge.... thank your wife for the heads up, lol.

No I had heads redone before I could drive it. Had other issues as well. Heads and seals are fine. No smoke out exhaust at any speed.

 

[fmahannah]

What was your cruising rpm ? Steady cruise at a higher rpm,maybe some oil consumption around the rings?

I have been taking it to shows every Saturday from 30 to 80 miles away and no issues with oil consumption. Then suddenly one trip I lost 2 quarts somewhere. I don't have an answer for no signs of fresh oil under the car. The only thing I can think of is that somehow the dipstick was showing oil level as OK when it wasn't, then suddenly started showing correctly?
Also oil was clean when I checked it before I left, and when I checked and it was low it was filthy. I already changed oil and filter twice this year.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Time Warp?

 

[fmahannah]

OK so I topped off the oil, made sure pressure was good and steady, tried to take it down the road. Barely driveable, feels real shaky and like I might have lost one or more cylinders, which might explain where all the oil went. I guess we were not paying attention or would have seen smoke out the back on our trip.
Still don't see any smoke, idles fine, no leaks under the car. But something is definitely wrong inside. No tapping or other major noises at idle, but hard to tell as these idle rough and a little jumpy anyways.

Car has had like a slight knocking noise at the bottom rear of the engine near the tranny that I could not isolate, that noise seems a little louder than before but I could be imagining it.

Need advice from someome who has been where I am on if there is any way to determine if and which cylinders are down without a major teardown if possible.
Like mentioned above oil must have gone by the rings since it did not leak out. I will at least pull the plugs and see if there is any noticeable difference.

If I could hear the miss at idle I would just pull plug wires one at a time until I find one that makes no difference, but not sure if that will help in this case?

Any ideas or advice greatly appreciated before I take it to a local shp to have it sit outside for 3-6 months LOL

Thanks

 

[Lefty71]

If I could hear the miss at idle I would just pull plug wires one at a time until I find one that makes no difference, but not sure if that will help in this case?

I'm sure you already know without asking that curing an engine miss is not going to solve the mystery of oil consumption.

Any ideas or advice greatly appreciated before I take it to a local shp to have it sit outside for 3-6 months LOL

Just pull the plugs one at a time and look at how they are burning. Hate to say, but if the motor needs torn down, it needs torn down. This is your baby, not a flip, right??

Personally, I would never let my baby "sit outside for 3-6 months", and I don't even have anything that nice.

 

[fmahannah]

Yes it's my baby and it has never sat outside, but local shops don't have room to keep anything inside. Might have to pull it myself and take the motor somewhere.

As for pulling plug wires just figured if I found one or more that made no difference those would be the cylinders to look closer at.