All four plugs oil saturated - suggestions?

Ulrich

Member
I wonder if anyone could help with diagnosing an engine problem on my 2000 sc. The car was laid up for 22 years and engine was pretty sludgy inside. It's cleaned up now and has fresh oil and petrol. It was very reluctant to start but I eventually got it going and it ran reasonably well, sounded okay but puffed big clouds of blue-ish smoke at higher revs. It got up to operating temperature and ran ok for a further ten minutes or so, then died. On checking the plugs I found all four were soaked with oil. I must admit this sounds like bad news - suggests bad engine wear. But for all four plugs to be oil soaked? One or two cylinders I could understand, but all four? Never known this before on any engine, and I've had a few knackered ones over the years! What I'm wondering is if there might be anything else that could cause this? Stuck rings perhaps? I think it's running very rich too, as it's really gobbling up the petrol. Any ideas before I tear down the motor, or find a better one?
 
That's a definite possibility. You could pour some diesel down the bores and let that soak through and see what happens.
Thanks Harvey, that's certainly worth a try. Had also wondered whether a cleaner like Seafoam might help. Will let you know how I get on. Fingers crossed...
 
You can also measure the compression, and make a comparison between a dry test, and with some oil down the bores. If the figures improve significantly with the added oil, then you know it's something that has to do with the bores and / or rings.
 
You can also measure the compression, and make a comparison between a dry test, and with some oil down the bores. If the figures improve significantly with the added oil, then you know it's something that has to do with the bores and / or rings.

The only problem with that is if the rings are stuck you're probably getting loads of oil past the rings on your "dry" test anyway. The oil control rings won't be doing anything.
 
correct in likely stuck rings plus oil seal probably knackered. also depending on original state of engine ( lots of miles?) one may find it needs reconditioning.
a couple of squirts of diesel mixed with 10% anti seize fluid left over night to soak rings ought to show if rings can be freed again. a couple of fast revs up and down needed as its the high revving that induces best vibrations and improves max chances of rings loosening. be careful not to have too much fluid mix in oil ( I assume changed!) as it has a massive thinning influence and with a worn engine or even a new one ..is NOT ideal.
wet and dry compression tests need to be done. ideally using a jump start with other car running engine at 1500 rpms or more. that ensures full current for cranking and consistent cranking speeds. ( or we may find battery sluggish by time we get to end of cranking stages giving lower compression data compared to a faster cranking speed)
bear in mind compression will go up anyway when wet testing due to hydrualic seal around rings. its if it rise by huge amount or very little that helps determine internal state of play. good luck.
 
correct in likely stuck rings plus oil seal probably knackered. also depending on original state of engine ( lots of miles?) one may find it needs reconditioning.
a couple of squirts of diesel mixed with 10% anti seize fluid left over night to soak rings ought to show if rings can be freed again. a couple of fast revs up and down needed as its the high revving that induces best vibrations and improves max chances of rings loosening. be careful not to have too much fluid mix in oil ( I assume changed!) as it has a massive thinning influence and with a worn engine or even a new one ..is NOT ideal.
wet and dry compression tests need to be done. ideally using a jump start with other car running engine at 1500 rpms or more. that ensures full current for cranking and consistent cranking speeds. ( or we may find battery sluggish by time we get to end of cranking stages giving lower compression data compared to a faster cranking speed)
bear in mind compression will go up anyway when wet testing due to hydrualic seal around rings. its if it rise by huge amount or very little that helps determine internal state of play. good luck.
Glad you agree with stuck rings diagnosis, gives me some hope! I'll try a little diesel down the bores and see what happens. When I first got the car I first cranked it on the starter for a while to get oil around, then tested compressions; my compression tester is only a push-in one, nevertheless I got figures of 50, 100, 100, 100. Not good, especially on no. 1. So, put a mix of wd40 and penetrating oil into bores, left for a couple of days, on retesting compression got 100 on no. 1, remaining 3 all showed 115 - but couldn't push tester in hard enough to prevent leaking - at least they are greater than 115 though. Next I will do the diesel trick then run, and retest all with a better meter, wet and dry as you suggest. Still crossing fingers, but prepared for the worst.
 
I heard of a tractor motor 9n that had sat for many year, smoked badly upon first start up. They ran it and it smoked for half an hour then suddenly the rings unstuck suddenly and the smoke stopped.

If all else fails you might want to try Coca Cola down the bores. It will dissolve corroded metal. I have heard of success using this substance. Please do not drink it!
 
when you had the car , did you put any diesel or lubricant down the bores, soaked it for a while or did you just start it up dry and as is, because if you did it dry as is, you have probably buggered up the rings and maybe the bores too.
 
Don't worry, I didn't try to start it dry, made sure plenty of penetrating oil and engine oil went down the bores first, then cranked the engine on the starter without plugs to get the oil swishing around and doing its thing! She's running reasonably well now and starts up easily, after adding new points and condensor - must have needed a stronger spark to fire reliably. BUT - I'm still getting some blue smoke. Not on startup, nor when the engine is warming up, but when hot only, both at idle and at higher revs. I'm still crossing my fingers for stuck rings so as a last resort I'm thinking of adding some seafoam to the oil to try and free them up, if indeed that's what's at fault. Any experience of this product anyone?
 
Many thanks for the replies everyone, it seems that old points (although carefully cleaned) and condenser were the cause of the cutting out - replacements now give much easier starting and no cutting out. Still got to free those rings though, as blue smoke is still abundant...
 
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