[kcwa]

1990 ae92 4afe fuel injected 63,500 miles (brother-in-law original owner) asking $1,700. I took to our look mechanic who said has moderate engine wear based on excessive crankcase pressure because of worn rings and needs valve cover gasket. The top of engine has coating of oil on it (before mechanic). Mechanic tested by removing oil cap with engine running and noted positive ventilation.

Research on this site learned this can be characteristic of overhead cams. My '05 Ranger does the same when the oil cap is removed.

To further check the positive pressure I put clear plastic wrap over the oil filler hole and the pressure is both negative and positive. I then put the cap on and used the plastic over the dip stick tube. Nothing there except a very slight negative pressure. The same with the pvc hose to the intake. The pvc rattles and seems to work fine.

What are your thoughts?

I am planning tomorrow to go to a buddy's forensic science business (where they test all kinds of mechanical stuff) and they will send off an oil sample from the crankcase for analysis that will tell if the engine is bad due to chemical contamination or metal bits.

Thanks... KC

 

[Flashmn]

Mechanic tested by removing oil cap with engine running and noted positive ventilation.

Normal, pistons going up and down will push and pull air aswell as blowby, I wouldnt be worried because of a little pressure felt if you take the oilcap off. Sounds like the mechanic is incompetent.

I am planning tomorrow to go to a buddy's forensic science business (where they test all kinds of mechanical stuff) and they will send off an oil sample from the crankcase for analysis that will tell if the engine is bad due to chemical contamination or metal bits.

Imho thats a bit of an overkill... all in all, you're buying a car from 1990, you cant expect it to be new. I've seen alot of 4A-FE's running in the 400,000km region without much engine work.

 

[kcwa]

Flashmn...you are right, it is a bit of overkill. The test is only $20. Besides, it gives me a chance to take the ride to my buddy's office, visit his cute office staff, drain a little extra oil out (shows about a 1/4 inch over the max line) and chat over a cheap lunch.

Being a bit of a science geek myself I am curious of the results.

 

[New'rolla]

over filling our engines will actually kill them faster then running them dry. i once had an oil change done by a friend, and he put in 5 1/2 quarts of oil, and the motor never lasted two weeks after that. come to find out he had overfilled it after going to his house to find out what the ticking noise was, and counted the empty quarts of 10w30. he runs 5w30 in his integra, i knew they were from my car.

anyways, not that 1/4 " is much, but pay close attention, because you wouldn't want to f your engine forever.

 

[kcwa]

Am on the same page with you...in fact, I will be draining some of the oil out of the pan tomorrow to send in for the testing. My brother-in-law has been taking the car to Grease Monkey for his oil changes...if you do not have them where you are it is the worse place to go, nothing but problems.

I am anal on changing oil. I figure is it is done often, with good oil and filters, then it is the cheapest insurance protecting the engine.

As stated, it may be overkill to have the oil forensically tested but it would be very interesting to find out what can be learned by doing so. I kinda now have a inquisitive eye towards my local mechanic based on how he determined the blow by issue. Heck, as soon as you open the oil cap you can see the cam gear right there staring at you. Of course the oil is flying into your face...geez.

I will have the results back in a week from tomorrow. I will share what I learn. At least this is something new so why not....

 

[freakinbox]

meh even with problems you'll get alot out of them. Got mine with 210 000 km and now has 284 000 km went through 2 hg, one was my fault for torquing the head bolts to 44 ft lbs all at once rather than in increments. Other than that it needs valve seals atm but that probably has alot to do with me driving it like a race car for 2 years and 74 000 km.



I'm with flashmn, don't waste your time with the oil samples and such it's a 1990. It's old!

 

[kcwa]

Slowly getting it...am beginning to agree with ditch the sample. Not like I ain't got other things to do anyway. Guess I need to loosen up a little. This site has been a great source of info.

I did pressure wash the engine and cleaned up all the mess. Have been driving on the freeway and have yet to see any leaking of oil around the covers or anywhere else. I am going to do a compression check both dry and wet to see what I get. What I like about this ride is how clean and straight both the interior and exterior is...the seats look like they are brand new. Also, no rust (except for a coin size on the corner of the sun roof, typical) and no where leaking water (especially the trunk...it is clean and dry).

The front rotor is warp and will need to replace that...any suggestions what to get for rotors and pads for a nice daily driver?

Thanks again.... KC

 

[REN69]

rotors and pads.. get OEM or at least premium parts. Don't get the $9.99 special at Joe Blow's Parts.

 

[freakinbox]

I picked up the atx rotors (the one with the star shape on them) and munroe premuim pads. They seem great thus far

 

[retiredat444]

Slowly getting it...am beginning to agree with ditch the sample. Not like I ain't got other things to do anyway. Guess I need to loosen up a little. This site has been a great source of info.

I did pressure wash the engine and cleaned up all the mess. Have been driving on the freeway and have yet to see any leaking of oil around the covers or anywhere else. I am going to do a compression check both dry and wet to see what I get. What I like about this ride is how clean and straight both the interior and exterior is...the seats look like they are brand new. Also, no rust (except for a coin size on the corner of the sun roof, typical) and no where leaking water (especially the trunk...it is clean and dry).

The front rotor is warp and will need to replace that...any suggestions what to get for rotors and pads for a nice daily driver?

Thanks again.... KC

get oem,,, the cheap stuff is very very bad quality and you will screw yourself badly.. and I don't necessarily mean from the dealer,, I got some nice parts from Carquest which is high quality...

but depends where you live as to what parts store..

btw, my car has 325,000 miles, and no has no blowby.. it's alomst impossible to get bloby on a stock engine that was maintained with regular oil changes and has not been abused..

 

[kcwa]

My brother-in-law is the original owner. He used the car for short daily trips hence the 63,500 miles on the car today. The car was not intentionally abused..ie driven hard. The oil was changed every 3,000 miles which I guess is about once a year or so. The last time the oil was changed was 15 months ago in Dec 2006. Since then the car has been driven 2,000 miles. The oil is still fairly clear and clean looking.

The concern would be the fact that since the car was not driven often at freeway speeds the oil never got hot enough to burn off any condensation, fuel and other impurities that find there way into the oil.

I would think that if there was excessive blowby then I should of easily felt this out of the oil dip stick tube ... and I don't. If anything, there is a very slight negative pressure that suggests the PCV and intake vacuum are doing there job. I should check the fresh air to the crankcase from the aircleaner to see if there is any oil backed up there.


As far as rotors and pads...are there better brand names to consider, or avoid, if I order them over the internet?

Thanks again... KC

 

[kcwa]

Stopped by my buddy's business today with the ride. Took a crankcase oil sample to send off for analysis. This is a forensic engineering business that conducts failure analysis all over the United States. Their mechanic looked the engine over and determined there is not a blow by issue...in fact, said the engine runs like the day it was new. Another engineer looked it over for water leaks getting into the car (since it is raining hard today) and for any other fluid leaks out of the system. All looks good. Figure this was all worth the $20 for going in and getting the test kit sent off...better than what I got going to my local mechanic. Geez.

 

[Flashmn]

told ya

 

[kcwa]

Flashmn....you sure did tell me!

It does disappointment me about my local mechanic. Even though I have been capable enough taking care of the majority of my vehicle needs, big or small, there were some things I left up to my mechanic the things I did not want to mess with. And I believe in supporting the local shops for my business.

 

[kcwa]

Flashmn, just notice your location is Finland...I am Swede/Finn, though born and raised in the states.

 

[Flashmn]

I'm born over here in Finland and live here now, but I've lived abroad for about 10 or so years. :thumbup: