My 72 Riviera seems to be burning a lot of oil. This past weekend i made sure it was all topped off before heading to a show for the weekend about a 2 hour drive away. After driving up for the weekend and back home ( and a couple short trips around town) I'm already a quart low again. Similar seems to be happening ever since i pulled it out this year, but i don't see any signs of a leak. no drips on the garage floor or anything.
That much oil and you should see and smell the cloud of smoke coming out of the back of your car. Dont know any details on your engine so I cannot advise you on the cause.
it's a stock 72 455 other than the AIR pump has been deleted. There is no apparent smell (other then the one from my cracked exhaust manifold im replacing) or cloud of smoke at all (other then maybe when i first start on a cold morning but i think thats pretty normal) thats why im confused. A leak would seem far more likely then burning to me but i cant find where its leaking if it is and there is never any signs of dripping.
Someone behind you would see the cloud, you probably wouldn't. It disperses. The puff in the morning is valve guides and it will definitely pull in oil under high vacuum conditions like cruising. I have also seen that without evidence on the plugs.
If it's probably valve guides i guess i'm not too worried changing the heads / intake / headers in a couple weeks anyway
What weight oil are you using? You could try a little heavier oil if you aren't already running 20W50. A little bit of seal-swelling leak stopper might buy you a little time with the valve seals.
Before you dismantle your engine it would be wise to have someone ride behind you to watch your tailpipe as you drive. Heavy throttle along with more oil smoke suggests worn rings. I cannot attest to or suggest using any seal swelling chemicals but I can say that I've dealt with quite a few w/o VS seals and run them under high vacuum street driving situations. They can and do use a little bit of oil if the exhaust guide clearance is towards the loose side, and certainly much more if worn. I wouldn't personally risk the swelling or damage of other seals to try to stop a few weeks worth of valve guide introduced oil consumption...if that's where it uses it from.
Did you check your radiator for the missing oil? It will go there right past the gasket under the timing cover. You'l think you've got a chocolate mousse.
my 66 olds used a ton of oil when i bought it. I knew it was the guides or valve seals. i pulled the valve covers for a quick peak. much to my amusement every valve seal was rock hard and broken. most were missing all together. I replaced them. I even put seals on the exhaust valves. hasn't used a drop since.
There's comes a time in every valve seals life when they sit over night and the next morning crumble like burnt Toast and that's where your at!
