Odd behavior.

[jjjacer]

A month ago i got a new car, Plymouth Acclaim 2.5 N/A with 5 Speed. It had a bad headgasket but for 200$ for a 114,000mile car i wasnt going to pass it up. After a few problems getting the head gasket in we got everything back up and running. But since i bought the car the mileage has been getting worse and worse.

Now to be fair im new at stick so thats part of the horrible mileage. But i have noticed some things that look not so great.

1. Looks like it might have severe blowby as the crankcase vent was just smokin and crapping out oil everywhere. This ended up killing a two week old air filter with alot of oil.

2. When doing trouble codes im having problems keeping up since its doing numbers back and forth on the scale. EG: 12 31 51 32 52... and then 55. Dont really know as i cant seem to tell the spacing between the flashes very well. Plus code scanner cant pull codes off the connector.

3. Because of problem one i made a catch can for the the breather filter. I am noticing alot of darker oil in the catch can and some clear condisation on the top of it. It sorta smells a little like exhaust. Any Ideas?

4. When driving down the freeway i do smell oil, doesnt smell likes it burning, just smells like the oil you get from the drainpan during an oil change. Do you think this is from the oil comming out the breather tube?

Finally if i am getting alot of blowby is there anything i can do to reduce it without a full teardown. Maybe thicker oil/lucas oil stabilizer?

Well let me know what you think!

Thanks

Jasper Johnson

[Sittn86]

Got a compression tester? I think you need another head gasket. Pull the spark plugs & see if the're fouled. Look in the radiator. Do you see green or black? If you pull the head again (I think you're gonna have to) take it to a machine shop & have it tested. You could have bad rings, too. I'm almost leaning more toward that now. You should test compression & do a leak-down test, too.

[Sittn86]

I see you're less than 3 hrs away from me. If it is the rings & you don't feel like rebuilding the engine I might have one I'd sell ya for a decent price. It's a 2.5L N/A out of a '93 Duster that met Mr. 10-pointer.

[jjjacer]

Well later i will be takeing out the plugs and checking what they look like,(i bet they could have fouled) I now know that i have a bad EGR and bad O2 Sensor (maybe computer through code for too lean and too rich). I think i might have a bad coil as im getting poor spark from it.

As far as the headgasket goes, i dont really know right now, im not loosing any coolant and the only water i see is in the oil thats in my catch can that i built, i checked the dipstick and its as black as night and doesnt look like it has any water or gas in it. of course im woundering why my oil is so black for such short of time 1000miles. but i defently can see that im loosing oil as it was a quart low after a few weeks. I through some lucas in it and see if it helps a little otherwise its gonna be a bit to run all the checks.

including compression, fuel pressure, the fuel injector, ... basically it looks like the car needs another tune up(i guess sitting for a year can do this)

otherwise if the engine needs more repair AKA rebuild how much would you take for that one from the duster?

[Screamin4banger]

if your oil is black as night, i'm betting the previous owner didnt take car of that car AT ALL. change you oil again. now. see if it turns black again. if it does, change it again. see if it smells gassy when you change it. then when it starts to look good, keep up on the change intervals.
+1 million on the compression test. that motor was probably neglected for years until the headgasket finally let go and you got it.

[bassfann]

pull the oil pan ,it is probably filled with sludge,causing your oil color issue.excessives crank pressure can be caused by bad rings,cracked piston,or bad cylinder bore.you got yourself a good 200 dollar car.with potential

[docta J]

my car was smoking oil pretty bad. it was thick but not too dark. car sometimes bogged too. i pulled the turbo and found that the bearing inside was shot. i replaced the turbo and it doesnt smoke anymore. the only sign of the shot bearing was the oil burning, there was no leaks from under the car

[Sittn86]

^It's not a turbo car.

[jjjacer]

im going to replace the coil as it just bogs like a mofo unless i do 70+ in 4th gear. and gas comsumption is through the roof, im getting 180 miles per 15gal tank.

for the coil im going with a msd as its only a few dollars more than the stock one.

i checked the plugs and there was no oily substances just alot of carbon suit from running rich. catch can is doing its job so blowby isnt too concerning right now.

when i did the compression test last time my numbers felt a little off. but once pressurized the numbers never fell.

CYL
1=88psi
2=115psi
3=110psi
4=105psi

i dont know what stock compression should be but 1 does look a little low (the cyclinder that had the headgasket leak on it. before we changed the gasket.)

well whatever the reason im defently gonna try and fix it. as i love this little car.

[Sittn86]

Cyl. 1 is really low. I think 125+ is what it's supposed to be. Did you have the head checked before you replaced the gasket? Test the compression again, put about a tablespoon of oil down the hole of #1 & do it again. If it goes up the rings are probably bad.

[jjjacer]

well this car is still being weird but its tolerable right now, after a few oil changes, getting rid of the stock intake box, new O2 sensor, and a few tweaks here and there the car at least goes down highway fine and gets 400miles to a tank. it idles rough on startup. and i dont get good compression on cyl 1, i will try adding a little oil before the compression check as when i did it a few weeks ago i got 65psi .

On startup i get a knocking sound that goes away so im assuming that the car has poor oiling right after startup. ill probably goto a thinner oil.

With the new O2 Sensor i am seeing a large fluctuation in readings, with no throttle it is at good, when i give it just a little throttle the AF meter goes normal-lean back and forth very fast, and if i give heavy throttle it shows rich.

So there you have it my car is still being a little pain but its sorta livable.

so heres my question, if i get enough time and money say 450$ think its worth redoing this engine on a 120,000mile car?

[pobort]

your engine is shot. did you properly set timeing (cam and ignition)? given your low compression on one cylinder says that.

you should just swap in a decent used engine. it'll cheaper, faster and way easier.

[turbokid]

Yup sounds like she is about done.
If sittn's motor is still available I would go ahead and do that!
No good to be putting money in a dying motor

[pobort]

here's a reasonable way to fix your car in a matter of a day. 93' 2.5 TBI Dodge engine

[william]

Stop, do not pass go and do not spend another dime on that engine, unless it is for rings. Whenever you see severe blow-by, this is a clue to not spend money on sensors, coils, oil changes, gaskets, filters, tune ups, catch cans, belts, hoses, widgets or tonics. Compression testers are available for less than $15, and are the only place to start in a case like this. Buy a used engine, rebuilding will have you into it for way more than the car or engine will be worth when done, and you will cry yourself to sleep many, many nights for being so foolish.