My head gasket is leaking oil slowly. I've been checking my levels and filling her up when the oil level drops. It's going to be repaired by Satan in a couple of weeks cuz i still gots the warranty. Till then, is it bad for the car if I keep driving her? I've been racing people and stuff.
Thanks for the input.

KEEP CLOSE Track of the oil level. Probably doesn't hurt to drive it but I would cut back on the racing for a bit, till it gets fixed.
GOOD LUCK

I lose about 1 qt every 1000 miles from reasons yet to be discovered. I know from my last engine that if you let it get too low (2 to 2 1/2 qts low) the #1 bearing will dry out and spin on the crank. Then your rod starts knocking and then can break through the side of the block and then you have a problem. Been there before. I got a new engine under warranty but I am still losing oil and SATAN says that 1 qt every 1000 miles is not a problem. It was leaking at the Crank Angle Sensor but that was fixed but I am still losing oil. I was thinking head gasket or piston rings, what do you guys think?




KYB AGX Struts
Neuspeed Sport Springs
5 Strut Bars (2 F/U, F/L, R/U, R/L)
Sprint Front Camber Kit
$15 Rear Camber Kit
Ported Intake Manifold
Ported Throttle Body
Custom 2 1/4 inch exhaust
Empty Catalytic Convertor
225/50/16inch Wheels and Tires

LAST EDITED ON 09-Jul-01 AT 11:49 AM (PST)

...I had the same problem on my number 3 cylinder.

The bearings are meant to face the same direction, we'll say North and South. As soon as the North bearing gets dry and heads West the southern bearing heads East and Vise Versa. Forcing it's way through the Con Rod cap and stretching the bolts. You can actually drive the car mildly for a few thousand miles before the damage is irrepairable(is that a word?). I was lucky enough to only experience bearing burns which slightly scored the crank, so it wasn't anything bad at all, my bearings didn't even move out of position. After speaking to a Certified Viper Technition I found out that the problem spawns from improper engine break in. The piston rings don't properly seat and it causes A LOT of oil blow-by. For me it was 2.5Q after 3000 miles. It is still pretty safe after just a 1.5Q of loss after 2500 miles but for our engines I would keep the oil topped off so you don't have to worry about it - SO CHECK IT WEEKLY!! This problem can actually be fixed (if it's mild enough) without removing the engine from the car. Which I coulda done but now I know what I didn't know then. Inspection of it requires dropping the oil pan, bell housing to bedplate bracket(VERY minor) and "I" beam (which the front motor mount is on). It is 4 bolts 2 17mm and 2 15mm. The Motor Mount bolt is 9/16's - VERY important because I stripped 2 already trying to use a 14mm. Then you just drop the pan. You would then check for metallic shavings in your oil pan and on the gauze(sp?) of the oil pump tube. If you don't see any then you pull the connecting rod caps and physically look each bearing. If anyone plans on doing this then pay attention to the way the bearings fit on each other. Each cap is specific for each rod and the same should go for the bearing. The bearings are held inplace by the rod and cap so this is important. This is something anyone could do so if anyone has questions drop me some mail. To do the whole thing requires the following sockets: 12mm, 9/16", 15mm, 17mm and 19mm to rotate the UDP and rotating assembly. I used a reqular ratchet, offset flexhead ratchet, 3/8" drive 3" socket extension and 3/8" drive 6" socket extension. Be sure to have a manual to properly torque down everything and possibly a reducer from 1/2" to 3/8" for use with a 1/2" drive torque wrench on that small a$$ 12mm socket. I think I'll submit this write up in more detail for Juan:)


Skrilla
'97 Base Talon NA
"Technology: The Only Replacement for Displacement"
"Peace and Turbo Grease"

LAST EDITED ON 09-Jul-01 AT 12:20 PM (PST)

Damn Skrilla! Too much knowledge!

SKRILLA'S Jammin!
hey i have a question for you, i want to change the rods pistons and rings, i will remove the head, can i remove these parts as you say at the same time with the engine in the car and just pull the piston and conrod up out of the cylinder after i cut the edge off the cylinder and replace everything. i was thinking of getting those eagle rods because they are cheap and seem pretty good, but i don't know who makes standard bore pistons for our engines anyinfo!? thanks!

LAST EDITED ON 10-Jul-01 AT 00:00 AM (PST)

It is a cheap way to build your block. Drop the pan like I said and pull the head, then tap the piston/rod combo out from underneath with the end of a hammer, make sure to be slow and sure and use some assembly lube and/or synthetic oil on the cylinder walls while peforming this. You could even bore your own block while it is still inside your engine compartment. Tommyboy and Stan helped me with some of this info, so I did it this past week end. You will need a ball honing bit for your drill and spin that sucker inside the cylinder meticulously and surely. Make sure you also have a micrometer to measure EXACT Bore(in this case porting since it is done by hand) and to have the factory manual with you for torque specs and EXACT re-assembly. It would turn out to be a cheap way to build a powerful block. Please be VERY clean, because you would hate to get a small grain of sand inside your conrod bearing and warp it eventually causing it to spin. When I pulled my engine I was able to polish off the bearing from the crank with a craftsman medium grit bit (finishing abrasive buffs)for their inhouse rotary tool. I used it on my dremel and the dremel flexhead at about 15000rpms then used the craftsman polishing cloth afterward to make it smooth as glass. I had to use the entire cloth, though. The part number is 53164 for the buffs. You could also use the coarse grit bit for removing the rest of an old gasket, then the medium. I can tell you though that the medium removed metallic bearing from the crankshaft at 15K rpms so it is pretty tough stuff. I will probably build my temp motor with the eagle rods and sell it off for a couple grand or just save it for a rainy day:).

BTW Weisco, Arias and Ross all make standard size pistons for our engines, but like I said you can use the cylinder ball hone bit and bore it yourself on your own drill, just make sure you take your time when you are doing it and you could even use the JE piston 20 overbore with this method.

Skrilla
'97 Base Talon NA
"Technology: The Only Replacement for Displacement"
"Peace and Turbo Grease"