oil issues help needed.

Charlie97L

New Member
Jul 16, 2005
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Clarksburg, MD
ok, guys, per my clackin post on SF that i put up when SM was down, i had some pretty loud clacking. my dipstick was broken, but it turned out that the oil was low... not empty, but low. i put 4 qts in to get home from my dad's house, and it's fine now... tomorrow i'm taking it to get changed, and put 15/50 synthetic in. it seems to be running fine now, with no noise, but i think it may still be a little low.

my pressure is still hanging at around 30, i know that's a little low?

i just want to know what the possibility is of problems because of the 5 or so highway miles i drove with the clacking. did i have a lucky escape? any input would be appreciated! i feel like an idiot, but my dipstick had the end broken off, i just ordered a new one.

i know the 7m eating oil is pretty typical, how much do you guys find you have to add weekly/monthly, etc.

thanks so much, i know this is a lot of information.
 

ma71supraturbo

Supramania Contributor
Mar 30, 2005
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Redding, CA
www.geocities.com
You probably will have accelerated wear on the rod and main bearings, and possibly some scouring on the camshaft journals. Hopefully it will be fine for years to come, but honestly if the engine was making noise (which are hard to relay across the internet) I wouldn't expect the engine to last long before showing signs of a rodknock.

As for how often you have to add oil -- it depends a lot on how you drive. I'd add about 1 quart every 1000-2000 miles on freeway driving, and about 1 quart every day during track days (~100 miles). My turbo was going out and I knew to watch out for it. But basically with the mk3 you should check the oil level everytime you get gas
 

Charlie97L

New Member
Jul 16, 2005
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Clarksburg, MD
ok thanks... it was clacking pretty fast... i'm not sure if it was like, something in the head or what, but everything seems a-ok. i was planning on a new shortblock sometime in the future, hopefully i can get to next winter with no problems.

it was basically a reallllly loud ticking. i'm just wondering what that could have been.

thanks!
 

Adjuster

Supramania Contributor
The ticking went away when you added oil?

It was the low oil then.

Added 4 quarts.... Dang man, the engine only holds 5 something, and really should be run at 6 quarts at all times. (I run 10 in my 7MGTE, but mine's not stock anymore.) When it was stock, I ran a minimum of 6 quarts of Mobile One 15/50 synthetic all the time. (Shows slightly over full on the dipstick, but that's fine, there is plenty of room for more oil in a 7M lower end.

The cams are pressure oiled via ports near the front of the cams. There are small holes in each cam journal on the cams, and pressureized oil is forced down the cam, and it oils the journals in the head. If your oil pressure was low, that oil slows down, your lifters don't get oiled by sprayed oil from the journals, and your cam lobes get noisy on the lifters/shims.

That may have been the "ticking" noise you could hear? IDK for sure.

Hope you did not ruin your motor, but likely fact is you might have caused wear that will not help it live a long life.
 

Charlie97L

New Member
Jul 16, 2005
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Clarksburg, MD
yeah, its got 107K on it now, i'm getting it changed right now, with 15/50 like you mentioned in another thread i think, Adjuster, thanks! (+1), yeah, i figured it was something the cams, i just wanted to verify, so when it goes into the shop in a few weeks, they can check it out.

i was planning on a new HG next winter, but maybe i'll just get a whole new longblock now. probably would be a good thing.

thanks again guys!
 

Adjuster

Supramania Contributor
I would only do the engine if it's knocking. And I'd only do the MHG if your planning on running more than 20 psi of boost pressure.

Re-tourqe the stock head gasket and bolts to 72lbs and they are fine under this pressure in my experiance.

Of course, one detonation event might blow your HG, but it's a risk you take even with the metal ones. (They are much more resistant to damage, but it can happen.)

To save you some money and time, I'd do the following.

Change your oil to a full synthetic, and make sure you keep it full at all times. Run 6 quarts always.

Re-tourqe the head to 72lbs. (Take about 3 passes, it should start about 55lbs, then move up to 65, then a final pass at 72lbs and your done.) If the bolts just click at 55, back them off SLIGHTLY less than a 1/4 turn just to free them up, and give you a more accurate tourqe reading. If your very daring, you can carefully remove one bolt at a time, oil the threads and then tourqe it back in at 55lbs. I would not remove them after the first pass at 55lbs, and make sure each tourqe pass after that you get good wrench movement as your applying the tourqe before it clicks. (If it just clicks, with no movement, your not reading tourqe, your reading friction before the bolt moves, thus the oil on the threads/faces will help give you a better tourqe reading that is more accurate.)

The problem is you could disturb something, and have a BHG by removing the head bolts one at a time, but I doubt it's going to do this.

When I re-tourqed my original engine, 3 of the head bolts were LOOSE. Like finger loose. Could just turn them out.... And it was not leaking. Every engine is different, but if you have some loose bolts, they are easy to oil right? LOL

Moly lube is even better if you have some, but not completely critical.

Ok, so you have good oil, and plenty of it. Your head is now re-tourqed. Feel free to run 12/15 lbs of boost depending on your fuel/IC pipe mods, and enjoy the power. (Assuming you have a 3" exhaust from the turbo to the tailpipe.)

Good luck.