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  • Burning Oil

    Hello : First, just want to say, as a proud and excited new owner of a Power Wagon (1947 WDX), it’s been a pleasure finding this site with its wealth of information as well as speaking to various staff members at Vintage Power Wagons who have been informative and helpful beyond all expectations.
    I bought this Power Wagon just over a month ago and had it delivered from Wisconsin to my home in Connecticut. The body is in great shape, the bed is a M37 and came equipped with a mounted boom and Tulsa winch. My plan is to use this truck as my everyday work vehicle. I work on a farm about 4 miles from my house and will use this truck primarily as a farm vehicle to bring crops in from the fields and then do short deliveries in town. I also intend to use the truck for boatyard work as well. I have no interest in changing out the engine for greater speed or power and really want to keep things as close to original as possible and even bring things back to their original state like the truck bed for example.
    That said, there is an oil consumption problem. The truck was advertised as “ it smokes” and lives up to that billing. Unfortunately, the smoke tends to come into the cab so I have to drive with windows open . The manifold was in poor shape so I had that replaced and had a crankcase ventilation tube and fitting kit installed ( all purchased from Vintage) . The mechanic who did this work did an overall check of the engine including a compression test. All cylinders across the board registered 125lbs, he said the engine appears in fine shape and does not look tired. I was hoping the new manifold would solve the exhaust problem in the cab; smoke/exhaust has decreased and the smell of gas has gone away. There is still the grayish, oil smelling smoke coming in the cab and though it diminishes as the engine warms up , the smoke increases when going up hills even after driving a while. I’ve done an oil and filter change and in checking the oil everytime I go out, I’ve noticed she burns about a quart of oil within a 20 mile drive.
    I have zero experience with engine work excepting a few oil changes here and there. However, I am teachable and want to do as much of my own work as possible on this truck so, I will not be a stranger to this site. Look forward to anyone’s thoughts and advise.
    Thank you,
    David

  • #2
    Just wanted to show some info someone posted on another thread for a 318. Thought it would be some good info. I'm not up on specific issues on the 6 cylinder burning oil but thought you might like some info. A good mechanic should give you some direction or a good Machine shop that has done work on an older dodge.

    01-08-2012, 06:30 PM
    1 : To begin with,inspect You rocker covers and intake manifold gaskets at the rear of the engine.I have seen combinations of leaks from the rear of the engine components that I thought was the rear main seal leaking,after I did a "REAL CLOSE" inspection with some good light sources,I discovered that it was`nt the rear main at all but rather a gasket on the upper side of the engine had developed a leak.
    If the engine is grimey with oil and dirt,give it a real good bath,then if there was/is leaking gaskets there wont be so much dirt to fall into the engine when replacing those gaskets.

    2 : Sometimes,valve seals can become bad and lose their sealing capabilities,this will cause an engine to smoke some when they are first started but the smokeing should clear up after a minute or two,if it keeps on smoking read to 3.

    3 : Chose one of Your friends that has a real good attention span,then,have that friend or friends follow You bringing the engine up to normal operating temps,traveling along at about 55 to 60 MPH on a nice flat stretch of road or down hill is even better and a nice calm day helps too,then,back out of the throttle{This part is where Your friend/friends that is following needs to be paying attention}If the engine puffs out cloud of smoke during and while You step back into the throttle,it is then probably time for a ring job.

    4 : another test is with a fully charged battery,run a dry and also a wet compression test,if the compression is down in any/all of the cylinders then add some oil through the sparking plug holes,if the compression comes up quite noticeably,it is then the rings that have gone bad.
    If You are not comfortable with performing the compression test,then,a good shop will be able to perform that operation.




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    • #3
      Thanks for that thread of post,all helpful. I’ve been going through the forum archives and finding a good deal of great information. The mechanic who put the new manifold on did say the engine burns a fair amount of oil and will new to be rebuilt at some point. The smoke entering the cab is defiantly exhaust, going up hills is always bad, running on flat ground is fine. Noticed some weeping at the base of the carborator where it meets the manifold. Short of having the engine rebuilt, I’d like to know if there are steps I can take to minimize this exhaust and oil issue before diving into such a huge project . Again, thank you for your post.

      david

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      • #4
        What oil did you put in it? How is the PCV hooked up? A leak down test on the cylinders might be in order to know for sure if there is a real problem with the engine or not.

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