Re: It sure smokes alot for so few miles

[Tom Harais <tjhemh@domain.elided>]

Jeff:

Whoa boy. You're getting ahead of yourself there.

You said the compression was good and you were pretty sure it had only
67,000 miles. There are other reasons a motor will burn oil than just
rings and valves (well, rings and valves as in "worn out" anyway).

I can think of a couple, and hopefully some other Digesters will jump in
here and give you a few more.

First, carefully check the PCV system. Make sure the PCV valve is loose
and "rattles" when you shake it. Be sure the hoses are present and
properly routed and haven't collapsed or gotten plugged.

Barring that, pull the valve covers and look at the valve stem seals.
The original IH ones were rubber and they might be worn from age not
use. They can be replaced without pulling the heads. There was a great
post the other day about the various types of valve seals, how they go
on and what kind of usefull life each had.

Like I say, I am sure there are some other possible culprits besides
wear and I'm hoping that other Digesters will chime in because my mind
is drawing a blank right now. Also, don't be so hot to tear into the
engine until you confirm cylinder or valve wear as a culprit. You can do
the appropriate measurements without tearing it apart. Checking the
compression was one of them.

Tom H.