We did but his tester was being wonky, going to try it again after we procure a tester!
One thing for sure, the inside of this engine is going to be spic and span when we're done!
Oh, another thing, when I first changed the oil, the oil was clean up until it burned two quarts of oil and now the oil is dirty again! (Almost black) I don't know if this is because of the oil burning (and is a clue) or because of the seafoam that was in it!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
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I have friends who believe in that stuff. I tried it on my oil burner and it made no difference. Come to think of it, it just got worse and worse. I finally changed the engine and sold the car. I eventually took that engine apart and found the oil control rings severely gummed up and stuck in the pistons. I don't know if seafoam would have worked. It would have been a great experiment. That engine had a really smoky start up too.
Back in My Suzuki days we used to use a product by "forte" was wicked strong and excellent at clearing out deposits, especially stuck rings.
Not for the faint of heart as it is extremely caustic, directions on can MUST be followed or you WILL be replacing valve stem seals but as a last ditch effort, it's worth $10.
Don't know if Suzy dealers still carry it but might be worth enquiring, seems to me Nissan also used it.
It was sold as "internal engine cleaner" later it was called "pre-oil service" (not to be confused with their "oil conditioner" or "after oil service")
We saved LOTS of little Suzy's with that stuff, they would go from a steady stream of blue smoke to no smoke at all.
(but ONLY if the issue was stuck rings)
All depends on how bad things are inside (how much carbon build-up is on the ring lands).
That said, it didn't save them all.
There is only so much a "mechanic in a can" can accomplish.
Have also seen similar things done with ATF (back in the '70's) but it will smoke like hell and destroy the Cat in short order, so I wouldn't recommend that procedure.
I certainly wouldn't even think about disconnecting the exhaust at the cat, soaking all cylinders with ATF for a few days, adding some each day and turning engine over by hand to work it through (drain plug out so that any excess would just run out and not contaminate anything else) then flush everything with fresh oil, refill and run it till it stopped smoking (on fast idle with no load, with cat disconnected).
Nope I would NEVER do that, even if the only other option was to tear apart the engine.
Besides it would smoke like crazy,make a lot of noise and possibly do more damage than good.
Not too mention having the police and fire departments show up and ask a lot of questions..... No, I would NEVER, EVER doing something crazy like that!
Not once, or even twice, for that matter.
Having the oil turn black soon after an oil change and a little driving is a big indicator that combustion gases are getting past the rings.
Have also seen some engines that will take several flushes to come back to life but the colour of the oil is a very good indicator of their condition.
A compression test may tell you a little or nothing at all, a leak-down test will sometimes indicate more but if the oil control rings are the issue, neither test will be of much use, then again if the issues are related to the compression rings, both tests will be informative and definitive.
If all else fails, "restore" can extend the lifespan of certain compromised engines but again, more of a last ditch effort, not something that will have long term benefit.
It basically has the opposite effect of flushes.
One did, one didn't.
I consider it a crap shoot and really shouldn't have mentioned it but at the time, I was desperate, both were considered done so there was little to lose.
That was also back in the days when we had Dexron II and Type F, I have no idea if the current offerings would work in the same manner or not??
But if the option is pull and rebuild, it really can't hurt much, depending on the neighbours and the local law enforcement authorities.
If what you did has helped, I would probably stick with that method and just keep repeating till you get the results you desire.
If the oil stays cleaner (and lasts longer) each time you do it, you know your on the right track.
Would hate to see you do something desperate and end up damaging the bores or bearings.
At this stage, assuming there are no bad noises, it would be easy enough to do a "quick" re-ring.
There's still Dextron II and Type F, at least at our local walmart, Type F is what I used on my manual transmission flush because it was cheap!
There was no blue smoke on cold startup yesterday, and none when I was smashing the gas while stopped. We shall see!
The engine still has plenty of power (well, from my limited perspective with the auto), and there's no noises, in fact, changing the really dirty oil seemed to quiet the engine a bit and make it run smoother! I think inside she'll be quite clean by the time I'm done.
The plan is to find an engine (list member has a smoking 3AC and he's in driving range, but I'd really like a 4AC) rebuild it, swap it, rebuild the current bad engine, maybe swap that into the sedan, then rebuild the final engine and save it!
If the oil burning has stopped, should I keep putting seafoam in when I change the oil? Or Marvel mystery oil? Was going to dump in a bottle of the lucas heavy oil stuff since I bought it.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
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If you are going to go to the trouble of rebuilding a whole engine, go 4ac. It is so much better place to start than the 3ac. There were a lot of improves to the 4ac that the 3ac should have had, yet almost all the parts are interchangeable.
Update: Had my dad follow me for a while, up hills, hard acceleration then coasting, etc, no blue smoke.
If I put anything thin in the engine, thin oil (10w-30?), marvel mystery oil, sea foam, etc, it burns up super fast.
If I put anything thick in the engine like thick additives, 25w-60 oil, it sticks around.
I had a can of generic "motor honey" (pretty much the same consistency of STP oil additive) that said to put in two cans when faced with heavy oil use. So I did!
After I did that, I went 200 miles over three mountain passes and she didn't burn a drop!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
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glad to hear you've managed to stop burning oil. keep track of your mpg though. thicker oils can have an impact on that, particular in the winter when it takes them longer to warm up. shouldn't be too drastic but i'm curious.
i track the fuel economy of my fleet on fuelly. it's a great grass roots way to find real life mileage of cars so i encourage you (and everyone else on with a 4wd tercel--not enough of them on there) to sign up.
I've been keeping track of the wagon on paper since we picked her up, will be easy to transfer to Fuelly when I have time.
We seem to be averaging 24-25 mpg with mixed / mountain / fully loaded / fast driving. Not sure if this is good or not, with an auto!
My sedan is a crapfest of 27 mpg city ?? highway which I'm really hoping the new carb will help correct. The sedan is running heavy oil too however, maybe I should try some light oil next change, problem is it leaks out quicker
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!
