blowing smoke...using oil..

[thewaxpigg]

Hi there..first post..Just bought a VS wagon with 200 000Km's...great clean car been really well looked after...motor really quiet...plenty of power...no misses in motor...so you would think all good...BUT...I changed the oil the other day after driving it around for a week after I got it and found the oil very low...MMM...so i did the oil and filter and now another week later I have a very oily tailpipe and have used about 1litre of oil...SO...are the oil rings stuffed...?? Could this be anything else...the car runs awesome as I said and only done low Kays so is this possible..Also..getting a very small amout of oil running down the first header on passenger side...just underneath...have checked the tappet cover gaskets and all fine...really clean and no oil leaking top or bottom...but there is some leaking from what looks like the head gasket but cannot quite see whats happening..Is this possible...Could a head gasket let excess oil into a bore and also cause the leak onto the first pipe...I know it all sound a bit odd but ran a clean rag around the tappet cover and no oil leaks...But it looks like the head gasket is oily around the little bits of it you can see...AHHH...was under it most of the day today and still cannot see where the oil is coming from...seems to be worse when the car is under load like going up the ramps...today...popped the bonnet and got smoke coming up off the pipe...just one small drip under that first header...and thats it...but the white burning smoke is a dead givaway...I know thats a big first post but any Ideas or opinions would be great...cheerseveryone....

[thewaxpigg]

Oh...i should add I pulled the plugs on a couple of pots and they look great...but definatly oily tailpipe..and losing oil rapidly...can a compression test confirm stuffed oil rings...

[jamessharks]

The commodore v6 engine's always leak oil from the head especially if you use a thinner oil than 20w-50 which is the grade of oil it was designed to run on ... yes the piston rings need replacing (engine rebuild) and also the valve's and valve guides in the heads need replacing (any head place will do this when they are servicing and machining the head). Note to do this will cost a lot of $$ so if you don't have the money, keep checking your oil every couple of days until you get it fixed or sell the car.

[Brett_jjj]

If you let the engine idle for a few minutes then rev it,if it blows a cloud of smoke and then clears itself after a few seconds its usually the valve seals buggered.If it constantly blows smoke,especially under load,its most likely the rings/bores are worn.A compression test will give you a better idea of the engine condition.The head gasket can leak oil into the cylinders if it blows.Again,a compression test should show up this.Using thinner than specified oil will cause the engine to use oil too,what was the oil you used?As mentioned above,it should be 20w-50 oil.The inlet manifold gaskets are a common problem with these engines,easy to fix,just a pain.If you get a compression test done,get the cooling system pressure tested as well.Also get the oil pressure tested.These tests are cheap to get done,and are the only real way to find out the true condition of the engine.

[hako]

Sounds to me like the previous owner was using a thicker oil, probably 40/70 grade for engines that burn oil. When you changed the oil you probably used a thinner oil as per previous posts.
If it was me, I'd add some "stop smoke" or similar oil thickener to the oil to reduce the smoke/leakage and then change to the thicker oil when next you do an oil-change. That will be your cheapest option. Good Luck.

[strgas]

check your PCV and fresh air intake for blockages too

[thewaxpigg]

Hi Guys..thanks for your replies...going to get compression test done this week...I,m hoping its not terminal...popped the bonnet this morning and have now found water neck gasket has sprung a small leak..so thats this afternoon gone...I suppose these little things will appear as the car is now being driven daily where as it had only been used periodically over the last few years...I,m going to check the how to threads for the PCV valve check...I know this " burning oil" question has been addresed in previous threads but the others seemed to have different symtoms...One thing I did notice this morning was that the dipstick doesn't actually look like its at home in the tube...The flange on the tube is about 10, 15 mill longer than the plastic flare with the little O rings on the dipstick...Wondering if this is the right one as it doesn't seem to seat correctly...Wondering if if the FULL mark I,m going for is not right...and I,m overfilling....and therefore burning the oil that way...Its odd as the smoke has started to stop a little and the oil level seems to be stabilizing after driving last night and this morning and checking agian...will let you know what the end result is...thanks again...

[Brett_jjj]

Go to a wreckers and get another dipstick from a car the same model as yours.An overfilled engine will use oil and blow smoke.The crankshaft hits the oil because the oil level is too high and this splashes oil onto the bores under the pistons,way too much for the oil control rings to handle so it gets into the cylinders up past the rings and then it gets burned in the combustion process.

[thewaxpigg]

check your PCV and fresh air intake for blockages too

Not sure what you mean by Fresh Air Intake...do you mean the box , flow meter, tube and throttle body....Or is this something else in the plenum...Sorry for noob ?'s but to be honest this is the first Injected car I've owned...So not quite up on some of the exact terminology....But ...I do have nice HQ GTS... A car I can understand...I should ..I bloody had it forever...Go the Holden...I had a mate say last night just sell it and buy a "GASP" Falcon wagon and stop worring about the Oil drama's the V6's seem to pose...I've never anything else but Holdens...2 HD wagons...2 torana's...HQ LS monaro...HQ GTS monaro...HJ GTS Sedan...And now the VS wagon...What IS it with these cars..I just cannot ever see me driving anything else...I think Brocky has alot to do with it...The true " King of the Mountain"...

[strgas]

fresh air intake is where clean filtered air enters the motor and travels thru the crankcase and is then drawn out by the PCV . the hose is located on the bottom of the throttle body and runs to the manifold

[thewaxpigg]

fresh air intake is where clean filtered air enters the motor and travels thru the crankcase and is then drawn out by the PCV . the hose is located on the bottom of the throttle body and runs to the manifold

Ok ..great...and the PCV valve is the bit in the manifold at the end of this hose,,,Yes..??...So I,m guessing that you have to take the whole plenum off...and perhaps the fuel rails....err...getting interesting...just took the top of the plenum and had a look...it wasn't pretty...burnt Oil and very gritty black " stuff" that was like grit/ sand...and the rest of the intake was the same color...right up to the back of the TB..If i have to pull the whole plenum to get to the PCV i will wash it all out and clean it up as much as i can...cheers mate...

[moff_man]

how much oil did you put in. should only be 4.5L approx with filter

[thewaxpigg]

Hey...I put in what I thought was about 4 and a half Litres..a new 5 litre bottle with a little left over...so about right....been looking around the posts but still can't get an exact location of the PCV valve...anyone..??...97 VS....whats with the burnt oil in the plenum...I,m gueesing thats a bad thing perhaps...LOL...cheers...

[moff_man]

pcv valve is inbetween the split inlet manifold you have to remove the top half of the inlet manifold and it is under a spring, it looks like the old type that sticks out of the rocker cover, just a valve

[thewaxpigg]

thanks Moff Man...had a bit more of a look at it today and had a another look around the how to threads and think I got it sussed...Looks like the easter break is time to get greasy....will check out the PCV valve and pull a few things off the side of the passenger side of the motor and try and see where the mystery oil leak is coming from...got a mate who works in spares for Holden ...he seems pretty cluey so we might have a win...going to do a compression test as well...I cleaned the TB and inside the plenum ...top and bottom today when I had the lid off and have to say that the idle is quite a bit better and seems to have a bit more power...thanks for all the help today...Its made me fell a little less intimidated about working on it myself...LordMuz's how to on the plenum removal is great...I was at the point where I was just going to go and get a $500 special from the wreckers and cross my fingers.....But I suppose you could end up doing the same things within a short time,..

[thewaxpigg]

Just thought I'd update the progress of what I thought was the Motor burning Oil...Blowing smoke...Funny how things turn out but for some reason ? ..there seems to be oil creeping along the 1st and last exhuast manifold studs... Well I haven't actually fixed the issue yet but after a few cleans of the area and just waiting for the leak to spring..Well..the nut on the end of the stud went all oily and about a minute later after giving it a few revs a drop of oil formed and dropped of the bottom of the nut and down onto the head and manifold...WTF...Seriously would not believe it...It bubbled out around the back of the nut... So I,m gueesing that if the Oil is worming its way along the stud it wasn't sealed properly when inserted...??.Do these studs screw out like older holden ones....the heads have been rebuilt and I,m wondering if the studs go into,,, or near Oil galleries in the head and leaking Oil under pressure actually inside the header at first and last stud.....I had a few issue's over the years with RED motors on the actual head bolts on the outside...I,m well aware of the Oil issue's they get from cooked cover gaskets but all have been replaced and are DEFINATLY not leaking...actual intake gaskets are also good and no oil down the back of box and none down front...After I saw this I checked the nuts for tightness and both needed a nip up...But I assume they are loosish because of the oil....I,m also assuming that tightening the nuts wont stop the oil either but I did that and gave it another bath...Will see whats happening tommorow after taking it for a spin...Has anyone else ever seen this kind of thing...Could it be a cracked head...of just a sealing issue...Looks like I might have to drop the pipe and have a better look inside the pipe and stud...the plugs are like new and at least 6 months old...If it was "burning" this amout of Oil in the actual combustion stage you would think they would be crap...so i,m going for the Oil running down inside the header itself...Once it built pressure the drip was quite bad...Also going to check the PCV valve to see if its stuck shut...Opinions anyone..???

[thewaxpigg]

Also...thought i would mention the exhaust manifold has had gaskets put on it..Probably when the heads were done...I thought VS's didn't have any..???.could this be an issue...Was no gasket used on VS's to stop Oil leaking into the headers....HAHAHA...