UltimateAlternativeWaver

Okay, so for the past couple months I've been noticing a little bit of blue/white smoke from the exhaust. In preparation for winter and because of some other issues I've really not been driving her much, and I left her all alone for about a month or so before moving her from that open driveway to a snug, dry carport.

Boy, is she hacked off at me. :sad:

The smoke can no longer be ignored, and the car idles *terribly*. It lopes, it burbles, it sounds like a rat but only has half the *****. :cry

How can I tell the difference between bad valve seals and bad rings? I'm definitely going to need to pull the plugs, I'm sure a couple are fouled and that's why she's running so awful. :nonod:

If it's bad seals, what things should I be aware of before getting out the tools and giving it the Ol' College Try*? If it's bad rings, what kind of repair expenses am I staring down the barrel of? Please help! :(

*I never went to college. Interpret this as you will. :jester

1979toy

To tell if it is rings or valve seals, get out your compression gage. Take a reading on all of the cylinders, writing your numbers down as you go. Squirt a bit of oil in the cylinder and repeat. If the compression went up you need rings, same compression equals seals.
If this is not a numbers matching motor I would look at a crate motor before I did a ring job.

roger68

I think there needs to be some clarification here. Oil consumption (the blue smoke) is either the rings or the valve stem seals (or worn valve guides). The compression test, then a squirt of oil, tells you if it's the rings or the valve sealing. Valve sealing is the valves seating against the valve seats. Assuming the spark plugs are in good shape and not oil fouled, leaking valve stem seals really don't affect performance. Intake/exhaust valves that leak affect performance, but don't have anything to do with oil consumption.

Roger