baffling loss of oil

[pat in Santa Cruz]

on a recent tour, one member cooked the engine, which seized until it cooled down. Tear down revealed 4 stuck pistons, blue pins and other signs of having been run without oil , including only one cup of oil drained from the pan. The engine is one year old, well broken in with about 5000 miles, and was rebuilt by a skilled engine builder with a fine reputation... There are signs at least some of the oil ran out through the flywheel housing, but the clutch was not soaked.. There are absolutely no indications of an oil leak anywhere other than the rear main. The oil seal (stock Ford slinger) looks good. The pan gaskets were all sealed with no sign of leaks. There was no blue smoke seen by following cars. There are no signs of excessive oil in the combustion chambers. No broken rings. The drain tube in the rear main is clear. The oil drain plug was tight and dry. New radiator was full of coolant with no indication on the temp gauge of overheating. The owner swears he checked the oil before the tour and it was full. He is not known for memory lapses.The tour was about 100 miles length. Previous tours of 250 miles had no significant oil consumption. We're baffled. Anyone ever experienced something like this?

[Benson]

In high school (1963) I had a friend bring his '50 Ford V8 over .. it was making noise. I heard a rod knocking a block away.

Me: "Sounds like it is low on oil"!

Milton: " No it has plenty of oil ... see". He removed the stick, wiped with clean rag, reinserted and showed me that oil was on the stick.

Only one problem ... he was checking the oil with the engine running.

Upon questioning him he said that always checked it that way!

Guess he thought the engine was an automatic transmission!

[29ModelA]

Oil pump failed, and as the motor heated up it created a place for the oil to weep out?


My uneducated guess.

[1931 flamingo]

Even though he's not known for memory lapses, is it possible he changed the oil before starting the tour and did NOT install new oil?? How far into the tour did it stop running??
Paul in CT I know you said he ck'd the oil but....

[harleyjj]

sabotage?????

[George Miller]

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If it did not leak and it did not smoke. There was not much oil in it in the first place. Sounds like driver error.

[ford1]

unfortunately some engines will burn oil at 300 miles and not show any indication of smoke, smoke, how often did he check the oil? did anyone check the tail pipe for indication of burning oil? run a finger in it does it come out oily and black, oil being pulled past valve guides will burn oil with out smoking because, unlike over head valve engines the oil cant run down the valves past the guides into the combustion chamber and burn and smoke, on a flat head head engine its a lot harder for the oil to get sucked up past the guides and into the engine , but a small amount of it will get passed them

[criswellnk]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

Even though he's not known for memory lapses, is it possible he changed the oil before starting the tour and did NOT install new oil??

I caught myself more than forty years ago doing that exact thing. I was working in the garage and had to go in the house to take a phone call, and when I returned I just out-n-out forgot. I was lucky in the fact that I remembered before I started the car when I looked at the bench and saw the oil cans sitting there. Since that day, I always put the new oil on the floor in front of the drivers seat whenever I had done an oil change.

I am not saying that this is what happened to the car in question, but when I read the post I flashed back to doing that myself. Also, when you have two helpers like this, your attention tends to get pulled in a couple of different directions.

[Tom Wesenberg]

My thoughts are the same as criswellnk.
How old is that picture of those 2 good looking kids? It looks like it's from the 50's.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by ford1

unfortunately some engines will burn oil at 300 miles and not show any indication of smoke, smoke, how often did he check the oil? did anyone check the tail pipe for indication of burning oil? run a finger in it does it come out oily and black, oil being pulled past valve guides will burn oil with out smoking because, unlike over head valve engines the oil cant run down the valves past the guides into the combustion chamber and burn and smoke, on a flat head head engine its a lot harder for the oil to get sucked up past the guides and into the engine , but a small amount of it will get passed them

Ford1, Pat stated the owner swears he checked the oil before the 100 mile run. I tend to agree with George, driver error.

[hardtimes]

Pat,
Lot of good answers here, so far, but fI'm going with George' reply. And, the information (evidence?) that you've provided supports his reply . Don't take this wrong..but what age is the driver? I , myself have more than once , have averted a disaster(ole timer brain lock) at the last moment by nearly starting a vehicle after an 'oil change' ..by not putting the new oil in! I now set the new oil container(s) at the front of the vehicle when starting an oil change.
When I read your inquiry, I thot back to a thread months ago about a club from here who toured new zealand. Posted were breakdown incidents of club members who forgot to add fluids where/when necessary. Like another here said also, some people DO check oil on stick ...while engine is RUNNING..yikes ! And, I personally know of a guy who even poured his oil down the auto trans tube (modern car)!!
Lastly, a 'friend' just burned up his volvo engine because he didn't check his oil and didn't even know how to properly do so. Just saying that that happens...

[George Miller]

We had a members car at lube day that they forgot to put oil in. That was the end of his engine.
I always leave the hood open, and the oil cap off when I change oil.

[George Miller]

If a car burns 4 quarts of oil in a hundred miles, it is going to smoke. I does not matter how it burns it, it is going to smoke. If it leaks 4 quarts in a 100 miles it will leave a nice trail.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

The oil pump is fine. The rear main bearing is still tight and not badly worn, tho' it shows heat damage . The engine builder 's first take was the same as James' and George's. I must admit I fall into that category as well. How do you get someone to face up to it when they honestly believe they saw a full pan of oil? I have not asked him if he checks it running though. Good point there.

[Tom Wesenberg]

How many miles since the last oil change until the engine locked up?

[Kohnke Rebabbitting]

Originally Posted by George Miller

If a car burns 4 quarts of oil in a hundred miles, it is going to smoke. I does not matter how it burns it, it is going to smoke. If it leaks 4 quarts in a 100 miles it will leave a nice trail.

End of Story, George, Right on! Herm.