Some Other Brand

OK, it's *a* 68 Charger with the 426 Hemi.

Fresh engine with maybe 50 hrs of use. Blows oil "out the tailpipes" like crazy says the owner. Covers the rear of the car with dripping oil. I did notice it tends to drip abit up by the engine and trans. Maybe the feller that put the drivetrain together missed a gasket or used a wrong part? Maybe it's just LEAKAGE from up front that is getting blown back to appear to be from the tailpipes.

Anyone heard of such heavy oil spewing on a new '68 426 Hemi?

 

Sure would think if oil was coating outside of pipes you would see evidence of it on the outside of pipes and smoking under car when hot. Leak at rear engine and trans possible rear seal. Auto trans? Smoke from tailpipes? Losing engine oil or trans fluid?

 

That much oil out the back sounds like rings to me. Check all the plugs an a leak down test would pin point it.

 

What a piece of junk! I'll tell you what, since I feel bad for you, I'll take that off your hands and I'll give you my 72 cutlass so you have a real car to play with..😄
Seriously though, does sound like a couple different things. How does it run? Full power? I agree with the above statements as a start to diagnose. If the engine is fresh you should be able to pinpoint where it's leaking up front.

 

Having no experience on this specific motor, please take my comment as generic to most engines. Do a leakdown test as advised to try to pinpoint any loss of compression. Extreme amounts of oil consumption as described are often a leak at the intake manifold allowing oil to get pulled in or a valve guide/seal problem where the seal is riding up and down versus staying on the head and wiping the stem of excess oil.

Good luck!

 

Lots of good advice here.

But Chris, just as Poirot does, you've got the little gray cells to solve this. There are a number of clues to where your problem lies.

If the oil is coming from inside the engine, one or more of the spark plugs will be wet with oil (black and glossy).

To check for a vacuum/oil leak, look at your intake manifold vacuum reading to see if it is lower than you would expect for the cam. Which spark plug is wet could help find the source.

If the leak is from outside the engine you won't find any oil on the plugs and the smoke will only be from the hot pipes.

Internal leaks create lots of smoke, which can help identify a problem. If the smoke occurs on initial startup or on acceleration after a period of idle (high vacuum) then suspect the valve guides or valve seals.

If the smoke occurs on deceleration, then you might suspect the rings. If rings, then you would do a compression check. Redo the check after a few squirts of oil into the cylinder (helps seal rings if they are leaking). (Rings have a slight taper on their faces; sometimes people put the rings in upside down, which would allow oil into the cylinder instead of scraping it off the cylinder wall.) Otherwise a vacuum/oil leak could be at fault.

Remove the intake and look carefully for traces of a vacuum leak on the gaskets. When the intake is removed, and if no oil traces show on the gasket, look at the intake valves and stems to see if they are oil-soaked.

Oh, and congratulations for investing some of your retirement money in an asset with good appreciation potential.

 

Saw this on a LS6 454. Did the same thing, covered the rear end in oil. Turned out the rings were in upside down

 

is there some kind of indicator on piston rings to denote the top? if yes is it universal(ish) for any kind of piston ring ?

 

I ve seen them with a center punch like mark on the top. Sometimes they have nothing and are reverseable like in a 2 stroke .
Railguy

 

yup usually have a small dimple to denote top.

 

I have an old roto tiller that smokes bad you know it needs oil when it stops smoking . Every fall I sware I m rebuilding it before spring.
Railguy

 

Kills the bugs while you till.

Don't forget if an automatic trans fluid can be sucked in the engine.
Octania, just follow your normal good troubleshooting skills.
AND, if you don't want to trade it for a Cutlass, how about giving it to a Mopar fan for a 65 98 vert?

 

Thanks for the tips, folks.

Did I say "my"? I meant "a" Charger

I am trying to get the owner to let me test drive it.

He wants the oil spew issue fixed. Frankly I have only just heard about the problem, have not had a chance to get under it to see if it is leaking out or what, or from where. His garage is more of a parking facility and has little in the way of service equipment except what I brought, and an air compressor. I was not involved in the engine assembly, that happened maybe 3-4 yrs ago. Maybe I get to be involved in the teardown and inspection/ repair though. I always wanted to work on a 426 Hemi, and after helping assemble the 71 Challenger with 440, I got some appreciation for Mopar Methods. That car was a whole series of Challenges, mostly from non-std and aftermarket parts not fitting/ working right... of course.

 

Let us know how it turns out. What the problem is.
railguy

 

I'm for the compression rings and/or the intermediate rings being mounted upside-down.

If you didn't put it together, Chris, you know that anything's possible.

- Eric