Hi guys. I am finally going to fix my Dart. It's a survivor 67 Dart 273 2 bbl. I have owned it for 10 years and it's always burned a quart or a little less per tank since I have owned it. We drive it so little and deal with the oil burn. I can't see it burning it, but when I roll full power, it comes on out more than idle. It does not seem to smoke at start up, and I don't really smell it burning it idle. I have been told by the guy I got it from that they "had hard seats put in the heads". I wonder if if it is valve stem seals.... I hate to pull a head when it is a ring issue etc. I really don't want to pull the motor when it was the seals... Can you guys give me some test ideas to diagnose where it's pulling oil from? I did put new intake gaskets on it last year and that did not help/hurt it but it was a simple try. The intake gaskets did not look like they were leaking anyway...

IMO at the age and mileage of the engine I would just bite the bullet and completely rebuild it. No sense in trying to band aide it. Pull the engine and take the shaft in to be checked and at the least polished but most likely ground .010/.010 have the block cooked and go from there. That way you will know what you have and have a fresh engine.

Leak down test.

Go get yourself a leakdown tester and test each cyl. Leakage should be 15 percent or less. Remove the oil cap and listen for blow by. The cyl. with the most leakage by the rings is your oil burner. If you can hear air out the tail pipe you have a bad exh. valve, If you hear air out of the carb you have a bad int. valve.

It's got 60,000 miles. I forgot to add that. Man, I'd hate to spend the time and the money on it if it had bad valve seals... I am not trying to band aid it, just trying to fix what's broken. Does anybody know a good Mopar shop in Nashville. I miss living in Knoxville. I have been very pleased with Hensely's work over the years..

You've gotten good advice, but if it smokes under power, it is the rings!!!
Valve seals will smoke at start up and coasting.

All carbs should whistle a little at idle, it's air sneaking by the nearly closed butterfly.

Valve seals are not that hard to do on the car with the heads on. Just a little time consuming, maybe three - four hours. Easy enough to do, and not going to cost a arm and a leg.

Sadly, I think you guys are right... it's the rings. I could do it, but I don't want to learn on this motor. I don't want to mess up something and kill the original block. That would make me sick. Building another motor is not really an option. I don't have room for the engine to sit while I have a "spare" in the car... Thanks guys.... sounds like I need to give the motor to somebody to rebuild. Any Mopar engine guys in Nashville?

What healthservices said, borrow an on engine valve spring compressor & R&R the valve stem seals(they're cheap & several hours time). considering the alternative it'd be worth the effort.

IF that thing only has 60,000 on the clock and hasn't turned over, it's very possible that the valve stems are the problem. It's a pain in the a$$ to change them with the heads on, but if you're patient, and keep thinking to yourself how much more work it is to pull the heads, it isn't that bad. You need an air compressor to hold the valves up, a compression gauge fitting or other lashup to get air into the cylinder, and some means to break the keepers loose. Many guys stuff rope into the plug hole to "pad" the valves from the piston. There are a couple of different compressors you can use. Mine was the hand twist deal that KD used to sell, there are others. It would be worth a try before you tear it clear down.

I agree with the rings sentiment.

It may be difficult to verify it 100%

I had a 360, that had no leakdown, and good comp on all the holes. The comp was so good, it only smoked a little under load (the oil was all burnt) Upon teardown, I found the oil rings were gummed up. The comp rings were still good, which is why the tests were useless.

In any case, if the motor is as low miles as stated, just buy a rering kit(rings, bearings gaskets, seals) and tear it down at home. You can likely do the whole thing for well under 1K if you do it yourself, and don't need to machine anything. Even if you get a head shop to do a basic rebuild on the heads, and you do a scratch hone to the cylinders so the new rings will seat.

I've done it many times myself with good results, BUT you always have to be prepared for the worst. Hopefully you don't tear it down, and find a basket case.