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Burning oil slightly?


Vexarana

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Hey everyone.

So I just did a water pump replacement on my truck. While I was poking around and running it to suck coolant down and vent the air, I found that my truck was burning oil slightly.

I just did a full oil change with synthetic over the weekend, and haven't investigated more to see if it was still burning. But I would imagine it still is.

I attached a picture of where the smoke seemed to be coming from. It was coming from the bottom right of the header. (The picture is sideways, so the top most part of it) I'm not sure if it was a slow leak that was dripping ONTO the exhaust header, or if it was something underneath and burning up down there.

Any ideas for what gasket it could be? Anything that deep in there seems like it will be a total PAIN to fix up. It has been slow leaking oil (or burning it, from what this new info says) for a while now and I've just put half a quart in when it gets low. But hopefully this new synthetic stuff is better.

Anything I can ignore or do I need to handle this asap?
 

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alwaysFlOoReD

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check your valve cover gaskets.
 

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Yes ^^

Valve cover gasket on that bank is leaking.
Because of the angle of the engine and that when driving oil sits at that lower back corner of the valve cover, it is a common place for a leak.

Some prefer rubber valve cover gaskets, others cork gaskets.
If you remove valve covers often then rubber is better as it can be re-installed in most cases.
Cork costs less but tends to harden over time, so re-installing wouldn't be recommended, it also swells when first installed, absorbs some oil, so tends to seal better.

I use cork on my 4.0l and seems to work just fine.


I use gasket sealer on valve cover and place gasket on it, this holds gasket in place, and helps seal any defects in sheet metal valve cover.
I clean head surfaces then install valve cover with gasket, I will use a little gasket sealer at head/intake transition if it isn't smooth.


One other thing that can lead to valve cover gasket leaks, PCV system.
Positive crankcase ventilation(PCV) creates a lower pressure in the crankcase and valve covers by using engine vacuum to pull air out of those areas.
All Piston engines have Blow-by, each time a cylinder fires some of that rapidly expanding gas, that gives you power, will "blow-by" the piston's rings.
This blow-by creates higher pressure in the crankcase and valve cover area
The PCV system neutralizes this pressure and creates a slightly lower pressure than outside air pressure.
This lower pressure inside reduces the tendency for oil to leak out gaskets.
 
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Vexarana

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I will look through my Haynes & Chilton tonight. Is that a Saturday job, a weekend job, or a little more than that?

Also will I need to drain the oil out to do it? I'll need to get some jugs to reuse the oil that I just put into it if that is the case.
 

RonD

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No, no draining of the oil needed.

Cold engine of course :)

Put a rag down across the exhaust manifold as some oil will leak out when you break the seal on the valve cover, this is just residual oil that hasn't drain back into the oil pan, so not much but not none either, lol.

Just an hour or two job, take pictures as you remove wires and vacuum lines, can be helpful when reattaching them, although it is pretty straight forward.
 

Vexarana

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Cool, sounds simple (enough). Thanks for the quick diagnosis!

Anything else I should do while I am in there? Head gasket? Valve adjustment? (Are the valves in the OHV adjustable? Shimmed?)
 

RonD

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No, no adjustments needed.

Just look for sludge build up, if all looks just oiled and clean then engine is in good condition.
 
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