Did a static (cranking, not running) compression test on the engine yesterday. I get
#1 115
#2 125
#3 114
#4 102
#5 110
#6 110

I don't know what it's "supposed to be" but I'm guessing then that the rings in this engine are more or less okay. The #4 cylinder is the worst, but the variation is small enough that I don't think it calls for a rebuild. So if the compression's okay, what's causing all my blowby? Maybe it's time to stop caring and just drive the silly thing.
Kip

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1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

Well they are supposed to be higher than that........140psi would be better. They are even enough to indicate its just high mileage.

You seem a pretty capable guy. Live with it now. Haul it out in the spring. Tear it down. give the cylinders a good scuff and add cheepo iron rings. I would Hand Lap the valves....add new v/v seals and call it .

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

If you warmed it up, then squirted some oil in the holes (especially #4), did the readings get better?

-D.Idiot

DI,
No, I didn't do that but it's a great idea. Are we talking a of oil? Enough to cover the top of the piston and work down into the rings?

I know there's an actual proceedure to doing a leakdown test, but I didn't do that. I did watch the gauge for maybe 5 seconds to see if it would drop. It didn't, but it's possible the gauge is designed to "store" the max reading so I wouldn't see it leakdown anyway.

Today it turned in some low 16mpg numbers in the rain and pulling some hills in western PA. That's acceptable. Plumbed a line from the oil pan to the air cleaner, and this combined with running 1qt down at all times seems to have solved most of the oil leak and blowby issues. I'm prepared to just leave well enough alone for the winter.

A guy I know swears by some product called Restore or Ring Restore or some crap. I'm old enough to know that those kind of additives rarely work, but sometimes they work a little. I'm prepared to invest up to $8 to find out.

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1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

Yep, that's the wet check on the compression test...

-D.Idiot

I am not a fan of almost all additives. At worst, they can cause other problems, at best they do nothing, except lighten your wallet. However I have seen "Restore" cut smokeing and oil usage, at least temporilly.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

I've used Restore and it seemed to help.

Worst case, it hasn't caused any problems............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

The way I see it, between the leaking pan gasket, the leaking valve cover gaskets, the blowby, and the smoke cloud coming out of the valve cover I will lose so much oil that I won't have to bother with oil changes. That's quite a savings, so a can of snake oil once a month will be paid for.

Kip

_________________
1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

Keep driving it...
For more power, increase spark advance until it pings... then back off a bit.
Check the total advance at that point, then do some distributor re-curving.

Lower cylinder pressure engines respond well to ignition advance but they will "go flat" on power if the high RPM total advance gets beyond 30-32 degrees.
DD

Good tip Doc. This is an instance where conventional hot-rod logic gets tossed on it's head for my planned-for-spring hypermile engine build. I don't care what the engine does at high rpm, I only care about 1800-2100rpm and that's it. Don't care if does the 1/4" mile in 30 seconds. Within reason of course but you get what I'm saying.

When I get to that stage of the build, I'll have a billion questions for you guys. Right now I'm leaning toward spending the money on fuel injection instead of engine mods. But I have a lot of other ideas on increasing effieciency. Exampe: how about super weak valvesprings? What do I care if the engine floats at 3000? Instad of a light rotating mass, how about a purposely heavy one that acts like a capacitor for engine power? That kind of thing.

Kip

_________________
1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

I would think about a 170 with port EFI with timing control, 9:1 compression minimum, and maybe water injection... Definitely a stick trans, and a light car with aero mods.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Dart,
I was thinking something similar, but with a few differences. Probably (but not certainly) the 225 is the starting point. My no-expenses spared build (which is dumb because the point of fuel economy is to save money) might be something like:

225 slant at 10:1 with megasquirt and watermeth injection and lots of EGR. And lots of timing.

I'm also thinking alot about preheating the intake air. EGR and hot air are just ways to "fool" the engine into thinking it has less displacement than it actually does. But unlike actual displacement, EGR and hot air are adjustable.

Also, I have an idea about a remote mount turbo that makes something like 1 or 2psi, just enough to free up some energy on the intake stroke. Because this turbo doesn't need to spool quickly, it could be located anywhere - I'm thinking back by the rear tire. Possibly this device could be electric.

I'm thinking about playing with the cam alot, without going to an aftermarket cam. Up to Atkinson cycle, but probably not that extreme.

I'm thinking about windage trays and electric water pumps.

And I'm thinking a lot about aero, but there's only so much that can be done. I am thinking about a moving, self adjusting skirt that replaces the front bumper.

And then I sit back and think "the most cost effective thing to do is just leave it alone, run it till it explodes and then just stab another $50 slant in there".

Kip

_________________
1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

I think the "within 20-25 PSI is OK" rule is realy quite broad.Iv'e seen V-8s in sound condition be off by 15 psi from bank to bank because of misaligned main bores,or other sloppy production machining.So,if you factor in another 10-15 of loss due to wear,it might still be acceptable,But for an inline engine,more than 10-15 warns me of a problem.You could proby limp along quite a while with a light car that had 25 psi of difference,but for a heavy cube truck,full of cargo,driving through mountain roads,I think you see the end result.

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

Think I might have come up with something regarding my blowby problem....er...more speficially my engine's blowby problem!

Talked with a diesel geek, and he says when they see an engine with a lot of blowby but good compression, they go for the valve seals. Hadn't occured to me, but it makes sense that if the seal is bad exhaust would blow up into the valve cover on the exhaust stroke. That condition should cause other problems as well, but it's all I have to go on.

My temporary fix seems to be working though. I plumbed a piece of clear tubing from the bung I happen to have installed in the pan (up high, by the DS motor mount area) to the PCV fitting on the carb. It pulls all the blowby out, but it also pulls oil all the way up through the tube and into the intake at high idle. So I put the PCV valve back in, and plumbed the oil pan tube to the breather fitting on the air cleaner. It pulls just enough vac to suck the blowby out but leave the oil in. And, since I have a giant hole in the hood, I routed it such that I can watch it while driving in case it decides to oil the air filter. And I'm committed to simply running without an oil cap.

Truck now leaks, or burns, about a qt every 150 miles, but it's still dripping from various spots where there used to be a pan gasket. Turns out that if I can find a warm spot to do it, I CAN pull the oil pan out without pulling the motor, so that might be in the cheap fix.

I also learned something else about slant sixes today, unrelated to blowby. What caused my vac leak was me overtightening the intake manifold bolts on installation. Hey, Chrysler should have put a sticker on there on something telling you that the spec is 10ft/lbs, that's an easy mistake to make. Hey! The did! It's CAST right into the manifold (1983) and in big block letters it says TIGHTEN TO 10 FT/LBS - DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN. Says it RIGHT where you can't miss it when you are installing the manifold. Even a blind mechanic could read it with his fingertips! Only a complete idiot wouldn't see it!

Hey wait! I AM that idiot. Mopar 1, Kip 0.

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1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

Hey Kip
Dont feel bad. My first slant manifold change I did the same thing. Searched for days and couldnt figure it out. Pulled the manifolds and had them ground, installed same thing,damn. Then a buddy named Charrlie S set me straight and I backed off with a new gasket, perfect.....DUHHHH
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered