The 'E' Type Forum

Hello all, searching for troubleshooting ideas:

Fresh 4.2 rebuilt engine BILLOWS grey oil smoke after first start-up.

1. It's not water, it's oil.
2. Oil is seeping from exhaust manifold to head gasket and blows all the way to end of BOTH tail pipes.
3. All six plugs are coated with oil
3. Leakdown test shows no evidence of bad rings, valves, head gasket, etc. Minimal/normal crank case blow-by.
4. It's not pulling/burning brake fluid- disconnected.
5. The engine runs well otherwise.

Thoughts of what could cause MASSIVE ingestion of oil in ALL cylinders at the same time??

You did remember the valve guides, yes?

Seriously, depending on how the engine was lubed during assembly, loads of smoke during the initial start is not unusual, but typically subsides in a minute or two. Are you saying the smoking out of the exhaust is ongoing? How long has the engine been run since rebuild? Long enough and under load to seat the rings? Is this a freshened bore or just new rings on a worn bore? All of which to say some additional context would be helpful to understand your situation.

I didn't build the engine. The head and bottom end were built separately as well.

This is an extraordinary amount of smoke. Not a few minutes but every time it runs.
There's so much oil blasting through the exhaust, it's leaking through the exhaust manifold to head joint.

Guides are what I'm thinking too. But, what's the best way to confirm with head on block?

It's a complete rebuild, other than reused cams and buckets. New pistons, polished crank, etc.

Remove the exhaust manifold and have a looking in the exhaust ports to see what's going on....if plugs are wet with oil then head gasket......sounds to me like head off anyway.....Steve...

How much oil did they put in?
How much is left?

kind regards
Marek

Agree with Marek, could be overfill of oil. Drain and refill per service manual. Overfilling can ruin an engine as you get crank slap which causes the oil to foam which in turn means poor oil circulation.

Heuer wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 13, 2024 9:53 pm

Agree with Marek, could be overfill of oil. Drain and refill per service manual. Overfilling can ruin an engine as you get crank slap which causes the oil to foam which in turn means poor oil circulation.

Crank case was filled to correct level, so that part is OK.

MarekH wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 13, 2024 7:51 pm

How much oil did they put in?
How much is left?

kind regards
Marek

Oil was filled to proper level. The engine is sucking oil in and blowing it out and smoking along the way.

mgcjag wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 13, 2024 4:06 pm

Remove the exhaust manifold and have a looking in the exhaust ports to see what's going on....if plugs are wet with oil then head gasket......sounds to me like head off anyway.....Steve...

I pulled the carbs and saw that the intake runners had a lot of oil in them. Assuming the exhaust will look the same if not worse. Guides seem to be the culprit.

"Filled to the correct level" does not mean not overfilled. If the dip stick is bent or wrong for the engine it could still be overfilled.

A standard E sump needs 8.5 litres of oil.

Thank you Chris. It's great that someone reads the question. My question still stands.
Another consideration is to ask whether it billowed smoke before it was rebuilt?

kind regards
Marek

Edit:- Oil in the intake runners reported. That'll have been pulled in via vacuum you'd have thought. Pulled in from where?

Drain the engine oil and put exactly the correct amount in that is stated in your handbook, then make a note of the level on the dip stick. Both cold & hot. This is important.

Check the engine breather filter/pipe is clear also. Straight six is at front of head and pipe feeds down to air filter/carb area.If its blocked, oil can be forced out of many places that it's not supposed to.

Is it blowing smoke out of both exhaust pipes or just one. I rebuilt my engine and started it while still at an angle on axle stands at the front. it was collecting oil at the rear in the what we in UK call the rocker box and flooding the valves . smoke was pouring out of the back exhaust ans when lowered it was clear.
Try a compression test ?