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PCV oil baffle....

moveoverGM

moveoverGM

165
1
Lebanon, TN
So I am still planning at the very least to having my 360 V8 pulled from the truck and a total new hone and ring job done on it. This will most likely happen in the spring if the engine lasts that long :). If I can swing it I will have a brand new crate engine swap done. May as well start clean.
It still burns a quart every 200 miles and my friends have with affection taken to calling her "Ol' Smokey". I performed a dry/wet compression test but was inconclusive to my limited experience. I can post the numbers here if anyone thinks it helpful. But hoping against hope that the problem might just be something else I have been doing some online digging. Some have reported problems with the PCV sucking up oil from the valve area and passing the oil into the intake. Posted is a photo of the kind of baffle I have. This is not a photo of my covers but are identical to what I have on my engine. Just wanted to see if any of you have ever reported problems with this setup? Does it do the job effectively? There are some mods out there that can be done but if the burning problem is not due to the baffle then it is all nothing. Any experiences would be helpful.
 

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  • valve covers.jpg
LEB Ben

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
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outside your house
The baffle itself shouldn't be causing any issues at all. The PCV on the other hand can. If it rattles, pretty good chance the valve itself is shot.

Beyond that, your compression should not vary any more than 10% from the highest reading to your lowest. And since your build is still relatively fresh, I'd expect it to be in the 150 range.
 
moveoverGM

moveoverGM

165
1
Lebanon, TN
Ben, thank you for your reply. I believe you have just answered my inquiry. If the compression is supposed to be around 150 then the rings are all shot! But that is what we have expected all along. Somehow they did not seat correctly and the engine will have to be pulled to fix it. The compression on ALL jugs is no where near that. But, honestly, I had planned to swap out the engine in the spring anyway. Hope it lasts that long! :)

Donald
 
LEB Ben

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
moveoverGM said:
Ben, thank you for your reply. I believe you have just answered my inquiry. If the compression is supposed to be around 150 then the rings are all shot! But that is what we have expected all along. Somehow they did not seat correctly and the engine will have to be pulled to fix it. The compression on ALL jugs is no where near that. But, honestly, I had planned to swap out the engine in the spring anyway. Hope it lasts that long! :)

Donald
Click to expand...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. How low are we talking??? Like 130psi or doesn't even crack triple digits low???
 
moveoverGM

moveoverGM

165
1
Lebanon, TN
Actually Ben the three lowest jugs are at 115. The rest are all about 120 or just a tad above that. Anyway, It doesn't seem to be using any more than usual so I think the consumption has flattened. I don't do much freeway driving if at all. Mostly around town and to work 3 days a week. At this rate I should be ok come spring if I just feed it a quart when needed. But at least it runs nice and is as reliable as anything I have ever owned!

DO'.
 
LEB Ben

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
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Yeah...115-120 actually isn't that bad, lower than I would have expected, but you're not in any catastrophic danger.
 
dustybumpers

dustybumpers

don't play well w others
3,291
188
In my own world
It will start puffing oil out of the other side valve cover when the rings are bad
that hose usually goes to the air cleaner, and will leave an oily mess in the filter housing

When the vent hose is pulled from the valve cover, you can see the smoke come huffing out
This is called base pressure, and is caused by broken/worn rings
 
kiwi f150

kiwi f150

kiwi f150
4,765
355
Waimate New Zealand
Do another compression test and as you move to each cylinder put a squirt of oil down the cylinders then see what your readings are. If you get a big increase then it most likely is your rings that are shot or never sealed properly , if not then you need to look further into things such as valves , head gasket.
 
CowboyBilly9Mile

CowboyBilly9Mile

Charter Member
7,118
442
USA
moveoverGM said:
So I am still planning at the very least to having my 360 V8 pulled from the truck and a total new hone and ring job done on it. This will most likely happen in the spring if the engine lasts that long :). If I can swing it I will have a brand new crate engine swap done. May as well start clean.
It still burns a quart every 200 miles and my friends have with affection taken to calling her "Ol' Smokey". I performed a dry/wet compression test but was inconclusive to my limited experience. I can post the numbers here if anyone thinks it helpful. But hoping against hope that the problem might just be something else I have been doing some online digging. Some have reported problems with the PCV sucking up oil from the valve area and passing the oil into the intake. Posted is a photo of the kind of baffle I have. This is not a photo of my covers but are identical to what I have on my engine. Just wanted to see if any of you have ever reported problems with this setup? Does it do the job effectively? There are some mods out there that can be done but if the burning problem is not due to the baffle then it is all nothing. Any experiences would be helpful.
Click to expand...

Like Mark said, do another compression test. Use only a tester that screws in (not the press and hold type), have a fully charged battery, warm engine, and throttle wide open at all times. Bad rings really show up in the before-after sense when the oil is squirted in there.

FWIW, I've noticed another common denominator on engines with worn rings and it's useful for engines that aren't smoking out the pipe either. That test is to pull the PCV valve with the engine running and look for smoke. Then hit the gas and look for smoke. The observation of the result is self explanatory.
 
moveoverGM

moveoverGM

165
1
Lebanon, TN
My heart felt thanks to all you great guys that have responded to this thread. A local mechanic said he could do the re-ring job and because the rest of the parts are still pretty new he could reuse most of that. Because of the frame carry-through directly under the pan, he will have to pull the engine. That is where most of the labor cost figures in. But I believe it will be worth it. I will also have a new rear main seal done since the engine will be out. Again, thank you all for your input!!

Donald.
 
Fellro

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
7,953
360
Iowa County, Iowa
On a job like that, you want them to get the engine out. It goes much better working on a stand vs trying to do an in frame, you will end up saving in the long run anyway. Generally it doesn't take that long to pull an engine from one of those rigs.
 

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