hate to say it but its both. for there to be more oil present on start up after letting sit its valve stem seals and the compression test doesnt lie number 2 piston has worn rings

I hate to say it but I'd say in the #2 cylinder you need rings. Might get lucky and it be just a bunch of seized oil control rings though. If so, will have good compression and smoke like a freight train. Normally if it smokes more at idle, on startup and the like, then you need valve stems seals. When it smokes with rpm, typically its rings.

Try this, use synthetic oil as it typically burns nearly clear, plus the synthetic properties will break loose the oil rings if seized.

alright thanks, will check it out tomorrow.

let it idle for 10 mins , give it a good rev after the 10 mins , if it blows smoke chuck a set of valve stem seals on her

Cyl 1 is 170
Cyl 2 is 120
Cyl 3 is 170
Cyl 4 is 170

So i wet tested cyl 2, and sure enough came up to 170.

Is that enough proof to say that the engine needs rings, or should i also investigate the stem seals?

Plugs are fouled, i am going to drain fuel, change fuel and oil filter, change oil, plugs and leads and go again

Is this a smart idea?

Cant thank you enough, cheers

Now that's a good description. Most likely rings -- or broken or missing seals. If the compression is good, remove the rocker cover and examine the seals carefully with a flashlight torch. Usually you can see if one is missing or torn.

On start up i saw a cloud of smoke form about 10 metres in diameter, had a blue grey tinge, after the initial smoke subsided, there was a continous pour of smoke that was still an abnormal amount. The smoke mostly cleared after warming up, but a little amount was still consistenely there. I drove it around the block and smoke was not visible behind me. Thanks for the info, i will definately be doing a compression test before i go and change seals.

Thanks heaps

Define alot. What exactly did you see?

It doesn't take 2 days to seep through. In a good engine, oil covers the valve stem. The seal keeps it out of the guide. With old seals, there is no seeping, but oil runs down the valve through tiny gaps in the seal. Within a few minutes of shutting the engine off, the oil runs down.

My thoughts are:
* you can change the seals and *hope* that makes a difference
* you can do a 15 minute compresion test and know if the rings are bad and if so, changing seals won't fix it


Quote:Mainly -- change the oil before starting the engine. 8-year old oil won't seal or lubricate properly.

Thanks dd, i havent had a chance to do a compressiob test but i will

Also, i just started the car again, and it was hard to start, and when it started(after 3 or 4 trys) it blew ALOT of blue smoke... Im guessing and hoping this is just because the stem seals are flogged out and the oil has had two days to seep through them.

What are your thoughts?