Newb Question

[Doctormario777]

I'm sorry, this is a pretty basic question, but a quick google search turned up nothing. I've got an oil leak and someone mentioned "blow-by" what exactly does this mean?

 

[a31ford]

Welcome to TRS (The Ranger Station) Blow By, is generally referred to "gases" blowing by (past) the piston rings.

This generally slowly starts to happen with engines that have more than 150,000 miles on them, if the engine has had a "nice life" and regular oil and filter changes, it might not be noticeable until 200-250,000 miles.

It is also followed with burning of oil, and "blue smoke" as a last effect (end of engine's life is very soon after this).

If you have an engine leak, I would NOT consider this as "blow-by", I would first suspect the valve cover gaskets or front seal on the crankshaft. cleaning the engine with some de-greaser and a pressure washer, and then noting where the leak is coming from after the wash, would be a good start as to finding out where the leak is coming from.

another one could be that the oil filter is not right, or even the oil drain bolt is loose.

Any condition that causes an engine to loose oil quickly, should be found and repaired or fixed as soon as possible, as even one time of running to low, will most likely shorten (or end) an engine's life very quickly.....

Greg

 

[Doctormario777]

So an oil leak wouldn't necissarily be indicative of "blow-by" then?

 

[a31ford]

Correct, blow-by is more piston rings.... NOT a leak.

 

[Doctormario777]

I posted elsewhere about a start issue I've been having. Maybe you know what's going on:

The truck tends not to start, and definitely won't start if I'm not holding down the clutch and the gas. I can get it to start just fine with a little starter fluid sprayed into the carb. It's really difficult to diagnose what's wrong because the symptoms are so inconsistent. Sometimes it will start, sometimes it won't. Sometimes if it starts and I turn it off it will start up no problem, sometimes it's impossible to get it to start again.

I've also got a fairly substantial oil leak. I'm not positive where it's from yet, but it's pretty bad. It only leaks while running. The only reason I mention it is maybe the two problems are related, but I'm not sure. I'm going to get some UV dye and see if I can't find the leak later today. I have a hunch that it's the valve cover or intake manifold since it seems to be coming from the top. Then again, it could be the distributor, but it was leaking before they dinked around with the distributor at the shop, so who knows.

 

[a31ford]

I would assume fuel delivery, but check for consistent spark first, then look at fuel pressure issues.

Is this a 2.9 v-6 engine ????

is it the 1983 in your user name ?

I would assume a failing fuel pump if it's an 83.

Really hard to point, without being there.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Something that blowby can cause a leak is a plugged pcv system, this allows pressure to build up in the crank case which can then blow out the gaskets in the engine. this would happen in a very worn engine that has the pcv system completely plugged. even if the engine is worn a properly functioning pcv system should handle the blowby.

But as said, blowby is not necessarily the cause of the leak. I noticed your truck is 30 years old, it could be the seals are brittle with age. I would look at the valve cover gaskets first, they are fairly easy to change out on most vehicles.

AJ

 

[Doctormario777]

I would assume fuel delivery, but check for consistent spark first, then look at fuel pressure issues.

Is this a 2.9 v-6 engine ????

is it the 1983 in your user name ?

I would assume a failing fuel pump if it's an 83.

Really hard to point, without being there.

Yes, it's the 83 from my username, but it's got a 2.8L

How could I tell if the fuel pump was delivering fuel, but not enough fuel? I know that it's working, because today I added a clear inline filter between the fuel pump and the carb and it passes through no problem. Also the fact that the truck runs would seem to imply that it's working as well, lol

 

[Doctormario777]

Something that blowby can cause a leak is a plugged pcv system, this allows pressure to build up in the crank case which can then blow out the gaskets in the engine. this would happen in a very worn engine that has the pcv system completely plugged. even if the engine is worn a properly functioning pcv system should handle the blowby.

But as said, blowby is not necessarily the cause of the leak. I noticed your truck is 30 years old, it could be the seals are brittle with age. I would look at the valve cover gaskets first, they are fairly easy to change out on most vehicles.

AJ

The PCV valve rattles as it's supposed to. Wouldn't this seem to indicate that all is well?

 

[wildbill23c]

Your oil leak sounds pretty normal for the 2.8L engines. Have you been able to find where the leak is? My 84 Bronco 2 is in the shop right now having the oil pan gaskets replaced as it was leaking really bad around the front oil pan seal right behind the lower main pulley it leaks so bad you can literally stand there with the vehicle idling and watch it drip it was almost to the point where it was a steady stream. The other thing that's very prone to leaking is the rear main seal, and the valve cover gaskets.

 

[97RangerXLT]

The PCV valve rattles as it's supposed to. Wouldn't this seem to indicate that all is well?

sounds like the pcv valve itself is ok, but make sure the tubes that connect to it are not obstructed.

AJ