engine treatment
 

ok so i just got my svx out of the shop for the tranny and now the engine smokes when it shifts and i was told it would need a short block...is there any kind of engine treatment stuff i can dump in there to help it last just a bit longer (examples zmax slick50)....anything would be helpful

thanks

Jim:cool:

?!?!? How many miles? I have 167 and it runs great. :)

- Rob

like 110k

Holy cow! Did you accidentally use sand instead of oil?! Man... I've NEVER heard of an EG33 wearing out that soon.

:( I hope you get it fixed. Personally, I'd just try 10W30 first. If that doesn't work, I'd try "RESTORE". I used that once and recieved the best mpg ever with it... maybe it's just a little ring blow by. Use thicker oil, and use that RESTORE stuff.

- Rob

I had a bad experience with RESTORE in a Mitsubitshi engine with tight clearances similar to the SVX. After I put it in the engine there was a loud squeeling noise for about 10 minutes. It was very un-nerving at the time as we were going on vacation. The engine worked okay for some time after that but I think the restore was a little too thick for the parts that were still good.

I have used MMO for a few oil changes and I think it has helped. This tends to clean out deposits from around the rings and also the lifters.

Beav recommended something that will help reseat the rings.

The PVC and has to be working properly or can cause problems.

I think it would be a good idea to drive "softly" for awhile and see if the rings recover.

Re: engine treatment
 

So, it didn't smoke before it went into the shop? Odd coincidence.

I know nothing about the vacuum plumbing of the SVX (and here's proof): Is there any way ATF could be sucked into the intake through a vacuum line? (I'm thinking this could happen on old Ford automatics if the vacuum shift modulator was worn.) I'd sure get an informed opinion on this remote possibility before resorting to drastic measures. Maybe someone here can answer this.

If the engine's truly shot, STP Oil Treatment thickens the oil, and I believe it's considerably cheaper than "miracle" additives of questionable value.


dcb

Smoke
 

I've seen my SVX smoke (once after a long trip, then sitting idle for 3 days, she smoked a lot on a startup.)

Run a quick search I think others have seen occasional smoke. Could be PCV related.

The best magic potion is STP. It is, after all, "The racer's edge" (Good enough for Richard Petty, good enough for me!)

It has some zinc based stuff in it that can actually help "lubricate" when you get metal to metal contact. The "goo factor" is high which gets the oil pressure back up to a reasonable level.

In the Austin Healey world, it is known as "Camshaft bearing rebuild in a can."

In my old truck, a pro-wrench gave 'er 1,000 miles to live back at 148,000 miles. She now has 221,000. She still clanks and generally sounds terminal at low rpms. The oil pressure is "marginal" at best. Is it the STP or the synthetic oil that prevented any additional damage? I don't know. I do know that it still runs great. I expect it to make it to 248,000.

I wouldn't put anything but synthetic engine oil in your SVX. It smokes...so what? Does it pass smog tests? Drive it. What if there isn't anything wrong with your engine internals and it turns out to be somthing relatively minor like a PCV valve or something?

Where's that "What you talkin' bout Willis?" smiley when we need it???

Does your car burn a significant amount of oil? By significant I mean, more than one quart per 2-3000 miles?

Also, did your mechanic check anything else before he made his statement? Compression check for instance.

Unless your car suffered through years of lack of maintenance (read oil and filter changes), I doubt your engine is severly damaged.

Todd

Reminds me of the Plymouth AWD Grand Voyager we owned- (We needed a vehicle with more room, but a guy gets spoiled with AWD) I brought it back to the dealer before the warranty was out (@ about 34,000 mi's.) because it was going through an extra quart of Mobil 1 about every 8-900 mi's. I told them I wasn't going to be putting $15-35 worth of synthetic oil in a vehicle BETWEEN oil changes.

They said that was 'normal' (within 'spec').

I got rid of the car......................

-Mark

I had a '64 Mustang that blew a vacuum modulator and blinded the folks behind me. I don't think our trannys have them. My '84 Subaru did have a Vacuum modulator that went south but didn't blow any white smoke, the tranny started slipping instead. If it didn't smoke before you had the work done I would be a little suspicious. Mine smokes a tad at startup but doesn't use any oil. I can live with that.

I'm at 152,000 miles of hard ricer-tool driving and my engine acts like it's new. It does blow a puff of oil smoke when i start it up in the morning, but it's not that bad.

Mike

Smoke on start up could be caused by a seeping injector.

As for Beav's recommendation, he recommended Rislone.


Edit: The injector problem would be characterized by WHITE smoke, whereas, as indicated above, the oil problem would be characterized by BLUE smoke.

hmm todd you mention losing a quart of oil every 2-3k miles as significant...I change my oil every 3k and am usually a quart (no more than that) short. I know there is a bunch of things to worry about, but what's the biggie?

oil leaks everywhere
 

well i do have really bad oil leaks about everywhere...i put oil in about every 2 weeks or so to keep it between the dots...hoping that i can just try to fix all the leaks and it will be fixed but till then going to have to go soft on her i guess:(

Jim

Chris,

There will be some oil in the filter (less than one quart), some left in the pan based on the drain plug location, and some left in the engine. Being a little bit short on a change is not a problem. The problem is when you are adding oil between changes and have no or few leaks. The oil is going somewhere...usually out of the exhaust (think bad and expen$ive)

Todd