Oil Coming Out The Tailpipe

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I had someone this morning send me an e-mail, they asked if it was normal to be going through 3 quarts of oil within 1000 miles and having it blow out the tailpipe.

I do not think this is normal, I told him to e-mail me back since he did not tell me what kind of vehicle that he had.

I have been on BITOG long enough to realize that oil blowing out the tailpipe is not normal.

What could be causing this:

1) Bad Valve Guides
2) Bad Valve Seals

If he is blowing oil out, maybe he has no seals.
 
My OPINION, that oil usage may be normal for a engine in the condition it is in now. A quart per 1k is borderline to much, so 3x more should be bad. The oil out tailpipe may be oil, oil/gas/water mix, or other. I think rings pack will pass more oil than valve guides, especially if they are all doing it. Valve system will contribute, but less so.
 
My best friend had a `77 Nova that used about a quart of oil every 100 miles or so (had about 300,000 miles on it). It smoked like you wouldn`t believe and it would spray you with oil if you were standing next to the exhaust pipe when it was started cold. BUT,it ran perfect! Just had to make sure the oil level was always full.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
My best friend had a `77 Nova that used about a quart of oil every 100 miles or so (had about 300,000 miles on it). It smoked like you wouldn`t believe and it would spray you with oil if you were standing next to the exhaust pipe when it was started cold. BUT,it ran perfect! Just had to make sure the oil level was always full.


I can see why GM is asking for money.

Does your friend still have the car or was this a cheap used car that he bought.
 
Originally Posted By: c3po
Does your friend still have the car or was this a cheap used car that he bought.


It was a car that was passed down through a few family members of his. He ended up giving it to one of our other friends who needed some temporary transportation when his car got rear ended and totalled. After he bought a new car,it ended up getting given away again to this random guy walking down the street who`d seen it sitting in the driveway (engine finally started to develop a lower end knock). Car was last seen weeks later broken down on the side of the interstate with the hood up. Where it ended up know one knows.
 
My 1983 Chevrolet El Camino used too let out a puff of smoke on startup, so I replaced the valve seals and no more puff of smoke.

I will say that 300,000 miles out of a 77 Nova is pretty good for an engine of that era.
 
Originally Posted By: c3po
I had someone this morning send me an e-mail, they asked if it was normal to be going through 3 quarts of oil within 1000 miles and having it blow out the tailpipe.


How would oil make it through the very hot exhaust manifold and through the cat without burning? This could only happen if massive quantities of oil were to leak past the exhaust valve seals and guides. Essentially this could only happen if the exhaust valves were totally burned.

How do you know they don't mistake condensation from the exhaust, mixed with soot, for oil? Are we supposed to believe the oil gets literally "blown out of the tailpipe?"
 
You sure its oil? It could be carbon and [censored] in the exhaust mixing with condensation and coming out the tail pipe, looking like dirty, mucky, sludge laden oil.
 
I should have a better idea when I talk to him, it does seem odd like Mori has said to have a bunch of oil coming out the tailpipe.
 
My dad was given a '62 Catalina that did this (oil out the tail pipe). One of his customer's was going to junk it, but instead gave it to my dad (like my dad needed more junkers in the shop).

Anyway, dad let me work on it after school (I was in high school). When I pulled a valve cover, all this oil came spilling out. The engine was sludged up so bad, the oil return holes on top of the cylinder heads were plugged. The oil would sit on top of the valve train and seep down the valve guides.

Long story short, I mechanically cleaned out as much sludge as I could get to without a tear down, changed the oil every few months. Eventually the engine cleaned itself enough to where it ran very well. I sold it for $250.
 
Last edited:
You sold a 1962 PONTIAC CATALINA for $250.00, was it a 2 door.

I would have given you more than $250.00

Today is just not my DAY.
 
Originally Posted By: c3po
You sold a 1962 PONTIAC CATALINA for $250.00, was it a 2 door.

I would have given you more than $250.00

Today is just not my DAY.


Sold it to a close friend of mine. I already had a '63 Bonneville with Tri-Power. This was back in the '70's. No one wanted these boat anchors except guys like me.

The Catalina was a 4-door HT, two tone paint. Powder blue with white roof. Blue interior. Before I sold it, I put in a timing chain, IIRC.
 
What happened to the 1963 Bonneville with Tri-Power, were the 389's that had Tri-Power very fast. My Dad had a 61 Bonneville Convertible with Tri-Power and he always talks about it.

If the Tri-Power 389 was rated between 320-350 horsepower that was back in the days when they measured gross horsepower, so by todays standards od SAE horsepower it would be like 250 to 275 horsepower.
 
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