Post 454 rebuild and oil consumption

[DoubleDingo]

Really.... D!NGLE is censored!!!!??? What the heck GMSB!

 

[txaggie]

I can't imagine a situation where an engine loses that much oil and doesn't smoke like a SOB or leave a LARGE puddle of oil everywhere it goes. My truck leaks a bunch, leaves lots of drops of oil everywhere I park... whole underside near the engine has oil on it.... maybe 1 quart every few months. My honda daily was using up a quart every month or two also and that is with ~250 miles a week of driving. It smoked like crazy because the rings had totally gummed up and stuck in the piston ring grooves. I pulled the head and pistons, put new valve seals in, installed new rings after cleaning everything up and running a ****** ball hone through it... no more smoke or oil consumption since.

A quart every 500 miles is A LOT. You are either leaking it or burning it. If burning it, you would be smelling and seeing it. Plugs would be VERY fouled.

For a fresh rebuild, I'll usually run break-in oil for the first 500 miles. Because its a roller cam, I would go out and do the partial acceleration and deceleration pulls for the first 20 miles with a few heat cycles. Then swap oil filters and cut it apart to make sure no big chunks of metal. Change out the break-in oil at 500 miles for conventional oil. Run conventional for the first 5000 miles and then switch to a synthetic.

I'm a little concerned that the shop that assembled your long block didn't provide a build sheet. Did they just throw in the parts you provided without any measurement or adjustment? You should be setting bearing clearances for the usage and desired oil viscosity. If you are running tighter clearances like .0015" - .0025" on the mains(Gen VI BBC production spec), then GM calls for a 5w-30 synthetic. If you are closer to .0030" and only drive in warmer weather... then go to a 10w30. If you have gone full racecar and are running .0035" or something, then you really need a 15-30 or 10w-40 depending on the weather.

Is it possible to burn it but not see it? It does have a burning oil smell but no smoke. I’m assuming it would be blowing tons and tons of blue smoke if it was eating oil.

This is what the plugs look like:

 

[DoubleDingo]

Is it possible to burn it but not see it? It does have a burning oil smell but no smoke. I’m assuming it would be blowing tons and tons of blue smoke if it was eating oil.

This is what the plugs look like:

I've shared this story before.

When my dad passed away I got his 79 Sierra Grande. He's had someone build him a good engine, but dad never revved an engine, he lugged them as he drove around drinking on back roads. When I got it I didn't know it consumed oil, as it wasn't noticeable. Engine ran strong, really good oil pressure, no fouled plugs, etc. It wasn't until my time taking up the mountain that I found out it leaked oil. On the way down, I would put it in 2nd gear and cruise down so I didn't burn up the brakes. Growing up, I heard enough stories of the happening on that road and cars being recovered from the bottoms of the canyons. I was not going to meet that fate.

Anyhow, getting further down, I looked in the driver's side mirror and saw smoke rings. The exhaust exited out the side on each side behind the wheels. Look in the passenger side mirror, smoke rings. WTH!...lol... Once off the switchbacks, 4th gear can be engaged and you can drive normal speeds. When I accelerated I left a trail of smoke like the Spy Hunter video game for easily a 1/4 mile!

After that I carried a case of straight 40w in the bed and kept an eye on the gauge. It ran at 60psi, but if it dropped to 40psi it needed a quart. Again, there was no hint oil burning from exhaust smell, no fouled plugs, the oil was getting past the valve guides. I ended up selling the engine for $100 and installed a fresh 350.

 

[bucket]

Really.... D!NGLE is censored!!!!??? What the heck GMSB!

Hassle @Old77 about it. He can fix it! Personally, I think there a whole bunch that still need to come off the list, lol.

 

[Bextreme04]

Is it possible to burn it but not see it? It does have a burning oil smell but no smoke. I’m assuming it would be blowing tons and tons of blue smoke if it was eating oil.

This is what the plugs look like:

Hmmm... interesting that there is no carbon buildup on the plug itself. There is a lot of oil on those threads though. How many miles do you have on the build now? As others have said, I'd be running it hard at this point to try and seat the rings. Medium to heavy throttle up to ~5k rpm and then let it decelerate under load to ~15mph. Repeat a few times and then let cool. I would say to start with let rpm and light to medium throttle, but it sounds like you have already been driving it for a while.

 

[85K304SPD]

Break in oil, and run it hard. The rings need to grind in on the cylinder walls until they seat. Synthetic wont allow that as well as break in oil, that is made for it. Lucas has a good one.