smoking at high rpm/need feedback

[92ina94metro]

hello guys/girls, hey my car starts smoking at high rpms like around 2500-3000 rpms. It doesn't do it all the time but atmost once a day. Im thinking its the piston rings but im not sure. What do you guys think? When it smokes bad the engine starts to bog down and sputter. I just want a second opinion, i want to get this thing to stop smoking its embarrassing. Well i hope i get some feedback, thanks guys/girls.

[lurker]

[i]usually[/i} smoke on startup is valve stem seals, and smoke under load is rings.

if you suspect rings, the next thing to do is a compression test.
got a compression tester? good.

now:
remove all 3 spark plugs.
thread the tester in plug hole #1
with the gas pedal to the floor, spin the engine over 4 or 5 revolutions
read the guage
repeat for the other 2 cylinders.

if any of the readings are low, add a tablespoon (approx) to the low cylinder, install the guage, spin the engine as before, see if the reading goes up.

if the reading with the oil added (wet) is higher than without (dry), the rings are definitely a problem. even so, you may not have to replace the rings. ive seen rings get stuck from carbon deposits, and they can sometimes be freed up without major surgery.

if the reading doesn't improve when wet, you could have another problem, stuck or burnt valves, head gasket, etc.

low, what is low?

normal atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi (at sea level) so a compression ratio of 10/1 should read about 147 lbs. because guages vary and carbon deposits may affect the actual volume of the head, your readings may be more or less, ive seen readings of as much as 190. what you're looking for is readings about 150 or higher, and all 3 close to each other, say 150-170.

clear as mud? let us know what you find.

[92ina94metro]

hey thanks for the feedback...i tried the compression test, heres the results. plug #1 158 plug #2 165 plug #3 165, sounds like it might not be a ring problem i hope....well i would love to here of anymore things i could try...thanks alot for the help. would love to here back

[92ina94metro]

it wont do it all the time just sometimes at speeds of about 55-65 just a fyi. thanks

[lurker]

now i'm kind of at a loss. is there an oil puddle in your air cleaner?
maybe someone else will have an idea.

[92ina94metro]

no i get oil all over my intake though...sometimes i have a really small puddle of oil after siting all night. i have a cold air so i have piping that goes down to the grill. see what i was figuring was that if it doesn't smoke all the time just at high rpms wouldn't the compression be fine at an idle or just dry starting the car. im just mind boggled by this because i have so many pp saying it could be the rings and im starting to think its not, i just don't know a lot about the insides of an engine, i know some just not enough to diagnose this problem. so if you have any ideas...even just a little hunch let me know pls ...ill try anything at this moment....thanks

[lurker]

anyone?
bueller?
bueller?

[92ina94metro]

hey just thought i would post an update on my situation...think i got it narrowed down. the other morning i woke up and walked to the car and there was a huge puddle of oil under the car. so i popped the hood, oil all over the engine and components. so i started to service the car diagnosing the problem. come to find out i have three leaks....how odd all at the same time. there was a cracked valve cover, bad valve cover gasket, and the oil pan gasket. i was shocked to find that the guy who had it before me us like an engine caulk to seal them all up so he could sell it( more than likely). but anyway i think the oil was running down the engine onto the catalytic because there was oil stains on it. the car would smoke once i got to 55 and it would only do it once...so it was just burning off the oil that sat one the cat over night.

$10 valve cover from junkyard
$6 oil pan gasket
$12 valve cover gasket
not to bad could have been a lot worse

hey lurker thanks for the help....hope to hear from you again in the future for any help ....or hopefully not....lol

[lurker]

glad you found something, hope that's the problem.

out of desperation i was about to suggest you do the rings anyway.

i vaguely recall there has been a problem with people putting the flowback check valve in backwards, which apparently causes oil to collect on the top of the head, and eventually it has to go somewhere. might want to do a little research on that, if resealing the valve cover doesnt help.