OK...built myself a 472 hemi motor a couple years back using chrome JE piston rings. I've had a problem consuming oil from the beginning...like a quart within a few hundred miles...also noticing that the oil turns black almost immediately. Looks like the tops of all of the pistons are wet (oil) and the spark plugs are also generally wet looking. I get smoke on decel primarily and on hard acel. It seems that ive got oil in the chamber..think ive ruled out valve stem seals (brand new) or head gasket. I still need to do a leak down again, but I'm leaning toward rings. The motor now as about 2000-3000 miles on it so the rings should be seated.

My suspicion is this and wondering if anyone can comment: This motor never gets very hot...even on the hottest days, idling for long periods in traffic, the temp gauge rarely reads above the normal marks on the temp gauge. The radiator is a factory 26", but I added a 4th row for better cooling. I'm wondering if by adding the 4th row, the motor is not getting very hot, possibly preventing already difficult to seat chrome rings to never really seat? I've been advised to try the borax soap method into the carbs as an old school way of roughening up the cylinder walls and encourage the rings to seat...im willing to try about anything to prevent taking the motor apart.

Any expert opinions on what I've described? thanks...

a good read on this subject. go to www.mototuneusa.com & scroll down to & click on "breakin secrets" & check it out

if you put a 190 degree thermastat in it, it will get up to that temp. [ they can stick open] the chrome rings can be very tough to seat... even moly rings need a proper hone job to seat quickly . what oil did you use to break it in? probly best to put a moly set in it and rehone... there are a pile of tricks from the past to attempt to seat them but I would bite the bullet on the rings if the leakdown test confirms it.

Have you made sure the intake is sealed up completely? I use gapless rings with JE pistons in my 426(.030).

I will check that...thanks...

thanks for the opinion...I may have to bite the bullet...

thanks...ill check it out...

Dump a handful of Bon Ami down the carb?

Seriously though, don't do that!

May have to re-hone.

the temperature needs to be verified by a known accurate method, IE: thermocouple probe works best with a digital meter.
I would doubt it has much to do with oil comsumption.

Oil Consumption can be due to, valve guides, seals, intake gaskets/ port mismatch, cylinder wall surface or the oil control rings themselves.

It's really hard to get the intake gaskets from letting oil by. Turn it until the intake valve is open, and see if there is a large build up of sluge on the valve, that would indicate the gasket or valve seal, and guide. If you only use a qt in a few hundred miles, that a lot better than some of us.

This is no motor to try any monkey business with.

Pull it out and re-hone and get some non-chrome rings

check those intake gaskete first !

do not put any crap in the carb , you dont want vertical scratches in the bore !

IMHO chrome rings are a problem you don't want to repeat.

Use a high quality set of moly rings and hone for the moly rings. When you get it together and on the road, do a few full throttle / closed throttle cycles. If the rings are any good they will be seated after this procedure. Modern rings are designed to be easy to seat, moly even more so. Moly is also easier on the cylinder walls than the other two.
Chrome rings are the hardest to seat, and really have no place except in something like desert racing where the engine may be ingesting sand and silicon dust.

The "Bon Ami ring job" is an old used car salesman's trick. But don't do it.

Good luck!

R.

What kind of breather PCV system are you using?

The jist of that mototune article is that you get one & only one immediate shot on breakin to get a good ring seal & the throttle needs to be goosed repeatedly to load em. I would go with some file fit plasma moly rings & a 320 grit BRM dingle berry hone & use the BRM procedure. BRM wants people to bore to size/no rigid hone then hone with their tool. I disagree & say bore/rigid hone then dingle berry but you are already there so that part (right or wrong) is a non issue. the rest of their info is good (drill speed/# of strokes etc). EDIT 320 grit silicon carbide