Old Rigs & Old Friends

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(Posted to Boondocking 5/04.)
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DANIKA: "We also smelled oil and checked it on the way down, we were completely out. What causes an rv to burn oil so fast and how do I fix it?"
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Unless you're blowing smoke going down the road, your RV is probably not burning oil as much as leaking it. There are lots of places it can leak, front main bearing seal (goes around the crankshaft at the bottom of the engine) -- more commonly, the REAR main bearing seal which usually leaks more because engines are commonly installed in a sloping position (lower at the back than in the front). Leaking valve guides are notorious leakers on older-style engines but these DO cause the leaking oil to enter the combustion chamber which will cause smoke sometimes -- best check is to let off the gas for a few seconds (while going down the road) and then give it the gas again while looking in the mirrors -- if you see a puff of smoke and then no visible smoke? Valve guides leaking. If you're smelling the burning oil, most likely the oil is leaking from your valve cover gaskets out onto the exhaust manifolds where it smokes whenever the engine is running. Replacing valve cover gaskets on an older engine
is a simple and low-cost maintenance item. Seals and gaskets go bad from age as much as mileage. There are a few "gypo" oil additives out there that MIGHT soften the rubber seals and make them seal a little bit better for a while but the only REAL solution is to replace them. Switching to 30 weight oil (or even 40 weight for a high mileage engine in the summer time only) will help some.
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In the meantime, you MUST do whatever is required to make sure your engine is never more than one quart low. Most engines only have five quarts and one quart stays in the filter. So if you're more than one quart low, oftentimes the oil pump pickup tube can't find any oil and you're sucking air which doesn't lubricate very well. I put a used 400 in my '72 Chev and found out the hard way it was in tougher shape than I thought. I was pulling a 32' fifth wheel round-trip from Boise, ID to the Lost Coast in North CA. About three hours into our trip, something wasn't quite right and I pulled over to take a look. It was night and the exhaust manifolds were red HOT! Oil was THREE quarts low and in my haste to get oil in the beast and restart it BEFORE it seized up, I spilled a bit on the exhaust manifold. It burst into flame immediately so I'm down there blowing the fire out. All to say BTDT (Been There -- Done That).
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For the rest of the trip, I had a little timer I set on the dash for one hour and every hour I'd find a safe place to pull over and check the oil. Most stops it took a quart -- sometimes I'd get lucky -- but if it was only 1/2 quart low, I'd pour that much in. Took 32 quarts of oil to drive those 1,600 miles and lots of spark plugs, but we made it without blowing the engine.
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Old rigs are like old friends, a little TLC goes a long way. Keep
your speed down -- grab a lower gear and not too much RPM climbing hills and you might be amazed how long they'll last. When climbing hills, turn the radio OFF and listen carefully for "pinging." If the engine is pinging, back off on the gas until it stops pinging. Higher octane gas will help prevent this while climbing hills and probably the only time the higher cost of premium fuels can be justified.
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I got 305,000 miles on my original 350 with a large 12' camper and towing a boat. I had hoped the "newly rebuilt" 400 was going to be my salvation, but I left it in my nephew's truck too long and no doubt he ran it low on oil and low on water more than a few times. Which reminds me -- watch your engine temp -- especially when climbing hills. If she starts to overheat, turn your rig heater on HIGH and roll the windows down and slow down -- grab a lower gear IF the engine is lugging. The heater will dissipate quite a bit of heat and help your radiator cool the engine. If this doesn't pull the heat down in a few minutes, then pull over and let the engine run until it DOES cool down or shut her down, raise the hood and have lunch. Check your coolant level each time before heading out -- when the engine is cold -- make sure you understand how "coolant recovery tanks" work if you have one. Consider adding one if you don't -- sticking the drain hose from the radiator pressure cap into an antifreeze jug filled 3/4 full with 50/50 mix will do in a pinch -- secure with a bungy cord so jug stays away from the fan, belts, etc. Do you have automatic trans?
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Another thing to watch VERY carefully, keep your trans fluid up -- 15 minutes of overheating and that sucker will be toast! Change auto trans fluid and filter AT LEAST every 25,000 miles and change it immediately if it is "off color" or smells burnt at all. (Look carefully at the fluid on the dipstick when you check it . . . put some between your thumb and finger -- smear it around a bit and smell it.)
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Oil and trans fluid -- and the time spent checking them OFTEN -- is CHEAP compared to mechanics and rebuilds and that BIG can of worms they can open up!
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sail4free
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