Oil spewing out of the dipstick tube

[PsYcHo GN]

I finally got my car's tuning running good after installing my alky kit. After increasing the boost to 22 psi, I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood and the smell of oil. There was oil on the headers so I thought it was seeping from the valve covers, so I tighten them down since they were a little loose. I was making some fine tuning adjustments earlier this evening down the industrial streets by house and the smoke started coming out from under the hood again. I brought it home and looked under the hood and the ignition wires on the driver's side had oil on them and the front upper control arm had oil on top of them. The oil was coming out of the dipstick tube. Why does oil come out of the oil tube? If I purchase another dipstick tube and dipstick, will this fix this?

Anybody else have this problem?

 

[johnnyttype]

my guess is blowby goin past ur piston rings and pressurizing the crankcase but i am no expert! do u have any breathers on the car, maybe clogged?

 

[corymc]

i had that problem with my new engine at first on only 12 # i think i put too much oil in cuz it hasnt happened again since i changed the oil. but thats not a very good answer just lettin you know

 

[turboclam]

Breathers

What kind of breathers do you have on the valve covers? If the grommets have a stepped baffle in them take one of the steps out so it may breathe. Your problem will be solved unless it's a ring.

 

[Jerryl]

"Could" be the PCV or leaking intake.

 

[87GNSteve]

Inadequate breather flow.

 

[PsYcHo GN]

What kind of breathers do you have on the valve covers? If the grommets have a stepped baffle in them take one of the steps out so it may breathe. Your problem will be solved unless it's a ring.

I had K&N breathers on both valve covers, but oil was spewing out of the o-ring on the driver's side valve cover so I put the regular oil cap back on the driver's side. The passenger side still has a K&N.

 

[PsYcHo GN]

i had that problem with my new engine at first on only 12 # i think i put too much oil in cuz it hasnt happened again since i changed the oil. but thats not a very good answer just lettin you know

How many quarts of oil did you put in when it stopped?

 

[Nick Micale]

I finally got my car's tuning running good after installing my alky kit. After increasing the boost to 22 psi, I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood and the smell of oil. There was oil on the headers so I thought it was seeping from the valve covers, so I tighten them down since they were a little loose....................... Why does oil come out of the oil tube? If I purchase another dipstick tube and dipstick, will this fix this?

Anybody else have this problem?

My opinion, and first thing I would do is a compression test for a blown head gasket.

Something is causing excessive crankcase pressure, and a new dipstick is not going to cure the problem.

Have done MANY head gasket replacements on alcy cars getting "tuned", but most alchy users are in "denial" in discussing engine problems, especially blown head gaskets.:smile:

 

[83ttypecooled]

oil from the dipstick tube

Hi,
With a n/a motor, I would look at the breathers and the pcv system.Since a turbo motor behaves like a n/a most of the time, this is still relavent. It is possible your breather setup is inadequate. The pcv must also function.I had a Ford one time find it's only crankcase vent into the distributor,everything else was plugged.Anyway, the pressure has to go somewhere.With all the boost and n/a cycles our cars see, it is imperative that crankcase breathing be free.

 

[Jerryl]

After reading the oniginal post again , I would agree with Nick.
Sounds like a HG ........ but .......... I don't think the Alky blew the HG.
Most likely, the head lifted and broke the seal as the result of the detonation from insufficient alky at the higher boost levels.

 

[PsYcHo GN]

My opinion, and first thing I would do is a compression test for a blown head gasket.

Something is causing excessive crankcase pressure, and a new dipstick is not going to cure the problem.

Have done MANY head gasket replacements on alcy cars getting "tuned", but most alchy users are in "denial" in discussing engine problems, especially blown head gaskets.:smile:

I'll do a compression test. What should each cylinder be at?

Also, if it was a blown head gasket, wouldn't the antifreeze be frothy or the oil would like a milkshake?

If I put the driver's side K&N breather back on, then the oil spews from the o-ring where the breather pushes in and it doesn't come out of the dipstick tube. In a previous post 'corymc' said he had too much oil and after an oil change, it solved the problem. How many quarts of oil do these cars take with the turbo and oil cooler?

 

[Turbo1dr]

A bad PCV system will cause crankcase pressures under boost. Make sure that is working 100% first. If you've already got that PCV system working as good as possible then you must have other issues.

Piston rings: They need to seal very good to eliminate blow-by. If they don't seal properly high cylinder pressures blow past the rings and into the crankcase causing pressure. This forces the oil out of the breathers. To help cure this you'll need to install gapless piston rings.
Valve Guides and Seals: Another cause of pressure in the crank case is worn out valve guides and valve seals. Since there is positive pressure in the intake, the pressure can travel up the intake valve stem and past the seal into the crankcase. Remember, 20psi of boost can leak past a worn guide/seal quickly. This is especially true on the exhaust. Since the exhaust pressure is usually almost twice as much as the boost pressure, burnt gases from the exhaust can enter the crankcase through worn valve stem seals.

Head gaskets: Leaky cylinder head gaskets. High cylinder pressure can leak past the head gasket and into the crankcase also. Obviously, this is probably the majority of where all the pressure comes from in a higher mileage Turbo Buick engine that's been pounded to death.

Misc: Most likely not the cause but worth mentioning. Leaking intake gaskets, a crack in the intake manifold or head. Even the turbo could be causing some but again it's a possibility that could be true. Got to cover everything...

If you don't cure these first you will ALWAYS have excessive blow-by more than normal. The only solution I can offer to you is to install a downdraft tube like the cars of the 40's, 50's and early 60's. This will allow the oil to be drained under the car and not on top of the engine. It probably won't make it past your local track tech inspection though...

You're not going to get rid of back pressure 100% but it's nice to know that you took all measures to try.

 

[SloGN]

My opinion, and first thing I would do is a compression test for a blown head gasket.

Something is causing excessive crankcase pressure, and a new dipstick is not going to cure the problem.

Have done MANY head gasket replacements on alcy cars getting "tuned", but most alchy users are in "denial" in discussing engine problems, especially blown head gaskets.:smile:

Imagine that :biggrin:

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

How many miles are on this motor?

Start with the simple stuff first. Pull all your plugs. If theres one thats oily, then that cyl may have a blown HG, bad rings, valve guide, intake gasket, etc (then do comp check). If all the plugs look good, check pcv, breathers, etc.

Good luck.

mike

 

[GNRick]

I don't know if this is a related problem or not. Don't mean to hijack this thread. I had an Autolight 24 plug blow out. Porcelain separated from the metal threaded part, which was still screwed into the head. On the other side of the motor, porcelain on one plug was loose and could be turned by hand. Do you think I had a bad batch of plugs, or is there some other problem? I put in AC Delco plugs and car seems to run fine. This actually happend when accelerating to 40 mph. I wasn't beating on it, just a little "spirited driving". I had been to the track a few weeks earlier, though. Thanks.

 

[GNguy]

When mine was doing this I had breather that were junk...replaced them and all was well. HTH

 

[TurboMonte 2]

My similar "smoking" was water vapor/steam pouring out of both V/C breathers and dip-stick. Undetected detonation apparently wiped out both HG's. Oh, & I did not get typical milkshake this time--like when I blew intake manif gasket twice prior.

This time I only had water, a pump lubricant & RMI-25 additives in cooling system. Perhaps the antifreeze more readily creates the milkshake we're typically used to seeing.

Drain your oil RIGHT NOW & look for coolant separation from oil. (engine running w/ water in oil will yield wiped bearing and other evil ilk)

Good luck & hopefully your problem is not quite so terminal.

 

[PsYcHo GN]

I did an oil change a couple of months ago with Mobil 1 synethic oil. I added 6 quarts of oil. I also flushed and filled the radiator. When I check my oil, it is still crystal clear. The antifreeze is still crystal clear green. If it was a blow HG, wouldn't one or both of these be contaminated?

I replaced the PCV valve and some slightly cracked vacuum hoses yesterday. I put the K&N breather back on the driver's side valve cover. I'll take all of my spark plugs out later in the week to see if there is any oil on them. The plugs that are in there now are pretty fresh. Does anybody gap their plugs tighter than the recommended .035?

The motor was rebuilt around 30K miles ago.

 

[SloGN]

I did an oil change a couple of months ago with Mobil 1 synethic oil. I added 6 quarts of oil. I also flushed and filled the radiator. When I check my oil, it is still crystal clear. The antifreeze is still crystal clear green. If it was a blow HG, wouldn't one or both of these be contaminated?

I replaced the PCV valve and some slightly cracked vacuum hoses yesterday. I put the K&N breather back on the driver's side valve cover. I'll take all of my spark plugs out later in the week to see if there is any oil on them. The plugs that are in there now are pretty fresh. Does anybody gap their plugs tighter than the recommended .035?

The motor was rebuilt around 30K miles ago.

howdy sir

Yes it's very possible to blow a head gasket and not have it loose oil or water. I blowed the #3 head gasket 3 weeks ago on my engine and it never lost engine oil or water.

here is a pic of it.




you can also be lifting the head enuff to cause blowby and when off the throttle/boost it runs fine. have you ever checked the torque on the head bolts/studs since the rebuild.