Couple questions from a new S70 Owner...PCV/Head Gasket?

[creepingdeath94]

I believe that's where it does go.

I would start with just a compression check for now, if you've got the tools for it. You should see 180-200 psi on a used 2.4 engine. Try it when cold, try it with some oil in each cylinder to rule out rings, and maybe try it again when warm to see if my theory stands up. Once you do it the first time, it's very quick to go about it again. You'll want to pull all of the plugs out, then crank the engine over 5-6 times with the throttle wide open, and take the best number you get for each cylinder.

It's almost certain something's letting oil into the coolant if you've got it floating around again, so leak down might not be very useful.

Thanks, I will probably get that done Monday as the other mechanics have the compression tool I need. As far as water/oil mix, there is a slim possibility that there was some left over water in the oil from before as I tried to flush it all out, but may not have gotten it all. I was originally planning to change the oil and filter again after a few hours of running with fresh oil/filter to get any residual moisture/water out, but then this all happened. I will hopefully have some answers or results Monday night. Thanks again.

[creepingdeath94]

Alright, I did some more testing and ran the car again today. First I did a leakdown and found that number 1 and 5 cylinder had something like 48% and 55% leakdown and the center 3 had over 65%...number 3 had like 88% leakdown. Anyway, I ran it again and am starting to really think that the milkiness in the oil is just residual water from the initial blow up/head gasket failure. I think a couple flushes/changes will take care of that. As far as the water system, we pressurized it to 16lbs cold and it held pressure. Ran the car, warmed it up, checked again and pretty much held again...little fluctuation, but we all pretty much agree that it is most likely not a crack in the head or failure sending water back into the oil system.

All this in mind, we are leaning toward toasted piston rings. I'm sure the car got hot enough to collapse the rings and now I have tremendous blow-by. I also noticed that today after it got to temp and I shut it off and went to restart it, it started easier and didn't require the throttle feathering to get it restarted. Sort of thinking that it may have somewhat reseated the rings a bit after running and maybe if I check the leakdown again tomorrow it will be a bit better. Either way, I'm considering the rings shot and will likely pull them, hone the cylinders, replace the rings and bearings and essentially rebuild the motor. The good news is I think the head may be good. So at least I don't think I will have to replace that or pay a ton of money repairing it.

Just thought I would share my findings today and see if anyone had anything to add or had any observations or recommendations regarding all this. Thanks again for all the help. You all pretty much kept me from setting the car ablaze this weekend.

[Ozark Lee]

Seafoam is cheap and it has often worked with 1/3 of a can in the crankcase. Others have used --- I think it is called AutoRx --- but I have no experience with that product.

I am no real fan of "miracle in a can" products but a few have surprised me and it is cheap to at least try.

...Lee

[creepingdeath94]

Seafoam is cheap and it has often worked with 1/3 of a can in the crankcase. Others have used --- I think it is called AutoRx --- but I have no experience with that product.

I am no real fan of "miracle in a can" products but a few have surprised me and it is cheap to at least try.

...Lee

So would this be to help rid the oil of water then...once I get my piston ring situation sorted? Or is it miracle enough to resurrect unsprung/collapsed piston rings? Call me a dreamer :-p

[creepingdeath94]

I also started searching for piston ring sets tonight a bit while surfing the net...anyone have any good sites or place to go for this? Any reasonably priced? I'm on a pretty tight budget unfortunately right now...as I'm sure everyone is these days.

[Ozark Lee]

Or is it miracle enough to resurrect unsprung/collapsed piston rings?

If the rings are truly bad there is nothing short of a tear-down and replacement that will fix them. If they are just stuck with carbon buildup then it falls into the "maybe" category. Like I said, it is cheap and easy to at least try and you really can't hurt anything so long as you change the oil within a couple of hundred miles.

...Lee

[creepingdeath94]

Well, used some Seafoam which cleared the rest of the moisture out of the engine and drained the oil after it was run for a while. The I threw some of that "Engine Restore" in a can in with the new oil and ran some more. No dice really...still seems to have blow-by in excess and stalls at low RPM under load. Either there is still a vacuum leak somewhere and it will stall in gear with A/C on under load or there is little to no engine vacuum and it is throwing off the ability of it to keep running/idle under slow speed load conditions. I've pretty much done everything I can until I pull the head back off and re-ring the car or just replace the engine. Good news is the head was fine and can be used somewhere else I guess :-p