Using oil after re-build ??

[TVR Beaver]

Hi Guy's... forgive me for posting on here but the Chim section does get a bit more coverage and I need a bit of advice / thoughts / your experiences....

I've just re-built my 5 ltr and had new pistons, re-hone, internal balance, bearings, cam etc etc...

So having put it all back in I've started up, run in the cam.. then taken it out and blasted up and down a hill for 30 mins to bed in the rings.. and then run it for a total of about 800 miles at varying speeds / loads (not labouring) on mineral oil 10w40 to get it all well bedded... so nothing strange there.. and it didn't appear to use much oil over this period...

So next step I used Millers Trident Semi synthetic 10w40 and I went to the growl last weekend... having got back and checked the levels (due to leopard spots on the rear or the car around the exhausts) it's used over 1/2 ltr of oil in 350 miles !!.. okay, it was hot and I was cruising on the motorway at 75 but it should be well bedded in now??

I know you can glaze bores if you fit Synthetic straight away but I'm sure after 800 miles it should be okay??...

I've checked the plugs and they look okay.. and the compressions are all around 14 bar?...

I guess I have 3 options....

1 leave it in and try another litre and see how it goes (don’t want to gum my nice clean heads / pistons and rings up if it’s still eating it..
2 Try another semi synthetic brand and see if that’s the same?
3 drop back onto mineral for another 1000 miles and see what that does?

Any advice.. anyone seen the same?.. cheers

[phazed]

That seems like a lot John seeing how meticulous you've been!

I'm no expert but would err on the mineral for another 1,000 miles.

Maybe Rob will post.

[Pupp]

There will be a chorus of 'mine doesn't use anything' but...

... it's a V8 of fairly large swept volume, perhaps with not the closest tolerances in the world, that you have been using enthusiastically. What's the problem again?

[carsy]

As Pup says, they do like oil almost as much as petrol.

As a reference John, the Growl for me was about 330 miles. Before i set off my oil was 2-3mm above the max line, upon getting back home it was 3-4mm below. Probably not used as much as you but it does like the stuff. I`m using VR1 20w50.

After 800 miles those rings have gone up and down a rediculous amount of times. If they are not bedded now, they never will be. Maybe try a 50 or 60 and see if that slows it up.

[TVR Beaver]

Cheers guy's.. yes it is strange?.. and I did thrash it to ensure they were bedded in correctly.. I even got questioned by the Police as to why I was hammering up and down the hill
I also called Millers and they said they had no idea?.. my piston to bore gaps were all spot on.. so what can you do??
I think I'll drop back onto VR1 for a bit... and see if there is a bit more bedding required??.. The Millers Trident is actualy about 50% synthetic where as others are about 12%... so may be moved to this a bit soon??.. who knows... VR1 coming up

[chris1972]

I've never bedded-in or rebuilt an engine, so cannot comment on that. However, I was under the impression (and was informed by Fernies) that these cars like oil, especially if you've been heavy on the right foot. Fernhurst said to top up with between a half a litre to a litre a month and this is normal. I haven't used that much, but I have got into the habit of regularly topping up and check my oil and it does creep down, in comparison to my A6 that never seemed to use any oil! I've also noticed that more I push the throttle, the more it will need topping up, so was under the impression that a lot depends on how the car is driven?

[TVR Beaver]

Okay.. on 'Normal' oil usage.. Yes I know the V8 likes a drink.. but over 1/2 ltr in 350 miles is not right especialy as it was sat on the motorway at 70/80 most of the time so only 3K RPM.....

Before I went to LeMans and back (1200 miles) and it only went down about 6mm on the dip stick for the full trip... I'm talking it loosing about 20mm worth here...

[chris1972]

TVR Beaver said:

Okay.. on 'Normal' oil usage.. Yes I know the V8 likes a drink.. but over 1/2 ltr in 350 miles is not right especialy as it was sat on the motorway at 70/80 most of the time so only 3K RPM.....

Before I went to LeMans and back (1200 miles) and it only went down about 6mm on the dip stick for the full trip... I'm talking it loosing about 20mm worth here...

Are you sure it has been 'burnt' and isn't leaking from somewhere?

[s p a c e m a n]

^That, or could a blocked breather/kinked pipe somewhere be making it burn more than usual?

A mate had his head and turbo off 3 times on and old audi racecar and was trying different types of oil because it was smoking like a pig after a rebuild. He found a kinked pipe to the oil cooler when he took the bottom end out, he woke the dead with his swearing tantrum

[TVR Beaver]

Not leaking and no blocked pipes... nothing showing out of the exhaust smoke wise at all as my mate was following me ?? Remenber.. I did 800 miles on mineral oil before this and had no problems...

[phazed]

You must be burning it all the time. Maybe your pal behind needs to go to Specsavers .

Seriously though, I would keep running it on a decent oil and hope it settles own, there's not much you can do.

Bores honed prior to rebuild?

[TVR Beaver]

Yes Peter.. all done right... I'm going to try VR1 for a while.. see what that does.. It may just need a bit more time on mineral???... what I don't want is the heads / rings gumming up

[SILICONEKID343HP]

This is a bargain and free delivery ..Imfact it`s worth having a look through seems to be very competitive


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Valvoline-VR1-Racing-Min...

[TVR Beaver]

Yes.. have looked at that and it does look cheap.. I've got a bit of discount out of Euro Car Parts so 6 ltr's for £36.30 inc... so I can do it tonight.. I want to see how it does on a run this weekend so don't want to wait until next week

[rigga]

carsy said:

After 800 miles those rings have gone up and down a rediculous amount of times. If they are not bedded now, they never will be. Maybe try a 50 or 60 and see if that slows it up.

This about sums it up, no more bedding in is going to occur now, different oils do seen to affect burning or passing of oil, id change to a different grade of synthetic rather than go back to mineral.

[TVR Beaver]

I know what you mean (just worked it out at 1 million times on the way to and from the growl ).. but a lot run full time on VR1 and they report it's very good on not burning.. so at least it would give me a bench mark against other users?.. and let's face it... over 2K miles it can't harm.... I've orderted some for this PM.. if it does not arrive at my local Euro car's place I'll get some GTX or something and try that .. cheers

Edited by TVR Beaver on Friday 12th July 12:08

[jamienshelly]

That is quite an amount of oil to use in 350 miles without any smoke, you said you had leopard spots at the rear, so it may be a leak and being blown back. check the filter, as it may have a tiny pinhole that is leaking under pressure and spraying on the floor leaving the engine clean and no sign of leak. (if you have checked this already, then I apologise). If you were using that amount of oil passing through the head, you would be leaving a smoke screen behind you. You could try the old piece of paper trick at the exhaust and rev up and look for spotting, but even running on 7 the oil would burn of in the exhaust, giving you smoke.
I hope you find the cause of your oil loss, so that you can enjoy your car with its "new" engine.

[TVR Beaver]

yes.. on the Griff's (sorry).. where the exhausts stick out the back (handles)... you tend to get a bit of dusting on the body where they are... this was there but also faint circles the size of a 1p that would not come off with water... almost like oil droplets were coming out of the pipes and not burnt oil????? had it of been one side I'd be looking for a pin hole.. but it was both obviously I'll be changing the filter also so let's see what happens ..

[QBee]

Just to depress you further, Rob built me a long stroke TVR 5 litre engine and told me how to run it in.
8 days and 1250 miles later I took it to my TVR guy for an oil change, not one drop used. Now on semi 10W40, it used about half the gap between max and min in 2500 miles.
Topped it up 10 days ago to just over the max mark with Shell prior to 187 miles of a track day, and just checked again another 300 miles later and it's still just over the max mark.
I may be the odd one out, or Rob's a particularly skilled engine builder, but mine doesn't seem to share the thirst for oil - its used a pint in about 4000 miles.

[TVR Beaver]

Yes.. that sounds about right and similar to what I had before. it didn't use anything on mineral?.. may be it's the Millers or a filter spraying a fine jet out??... But I'm not sure about the skill level honeing a bore and ensuring the piston fit is correct.. you cant get it much wrong??... how did you run it in?.. similar to how I described it here?