Oil Consumption Culprit Found!!!

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I use superglue to the pan so there is no chance of them "walking". I don't use anything against the intake or heads.
You could use something else to secure them to the pan, but make sure is gasoline resistant.

After I glue them I then trim any excess material that protrudes beyond the intake divider.

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Ok, thanks!

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Check intake for straightness. W/o the heat riser blocked, it sends a ton of heat to it.

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I had good luck with using no extra gaskets or sealer on the valley pan. I just shot both sides with several good coats of the permatex copper spray, did the rtv on the pan rails. Also had to use permatex thread sealer on the intake manifold bolts because a lot of oil was getting sucked up the threads.

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Looks like oil around the bolt holes.

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I had good luck with using no extra gaskets or sealer on the valley pan. I just shot both sides with several good coats of the permatex copper spray, did the rtv on the pan rails. Also had to use permatex thread sealer on the intake manifold bolts because a lot of oil was getting sucked up the threads.

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We sell paper gaskets for the pan, only .015 thick so they don't jack up the intake. Glue them to the pan and no air/oil leaks. Thinnest ones on the market, had them made to avoid the jack-up problem with everyone else's gaskets.

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We sell paper gaskets for the pan, only .015 thick so they don't jack up the intake. Glue them to the pan and no air/oil leaks. Thinnest ones on the market, had them made to avoid the jack-up problem with everyone else's gaskets.

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I had good luck with using no extra gaskets or sealer on the valley pan. I just shot both sides with several good coats of the permatex copper spray, did the rtv on the pan rails. Also had to use permatex thread sealer on the intake manifold bolts because a lot of oil was getting sucked up the threads.

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Done it this way for 35 years. Never a problem. I use HiTack aircraft sealer on all my wet bolts.

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1qt/200 miles is a Lot of oil to suck buy the pan but I suppose its possible. Others disagree but I prefer to use the composition gaskets on both sides of the valley pan. I even superglue them to the pan the day before install--very anal about it, I create wood plates to clamp both sides.

What ever you do dont use RTV around the intake runners--RTV is not gasoline resistant.

You may have more than one source of oil loss.

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I test fit the intake with two of the .030 gaskets on each side(but without the pan because I don't have one yet...picking it up later) and I could run all the bolts in with no problem. It may be a little tight with the pan, but as it is now I can still move the intake up and down a little (maybe .040-.050) with all the bolts threaded in.

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Sounds like the bolts might have been holding the intake off of the head

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this is the best solution, it's a pain in the butt finding a good machine shop that can take 0.025" or 0.030" off each side but then you can add a gasket to the valley pan without messing up the alignment of the ports and creating this aggravating problem. anyone know if other v8's have this problem or is it just mopar big blocks? why is it so common with our engines?

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It's simple math. Angles change as blocks are decked,heads are milled and who knows if someone didn't already cut the intake...

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Quote: Do you guys think that this could be responsible for that much oil usage? This is the last thing to try before going the rebuild route, which I hate to do because it runs so good...I don't want to open a can of worms (and my wallet).



Not to be a wise a$$ but you've already opened a can of worms. You know where this is giong from this piont, just save yourself the grief of tearing it down in the car, pull it, inspect everything and when you find out how worn it really is, rebuild it. Hey, its winter, what else do you have to do? I'll be tearing down another one myself in a few weeks.

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Well, my main issue with the engine is the oil consumption. It runs very well and otherwise I'm happy. As it stands now this fix (if it works) will cost me almost nothing as I got the gaskets with the car, just a few hours labor. A rebuild will cost me $3000-$3500 and a lot more labor and headaches. My finances dictate that since this is a summer weekend driver, I'll opt for almost free if I can get away with it. If it doesn't work, well, no great loss.

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I've been thinking and it seems no one has asked where a quart of oil per 200 miles is going. That much oil would cause the plugs to foul real fast, a big cloud of smoke should be following you every where, and the motor won't run right. The O. P. says the motor runs fine. Is there a quart of oil on the ground or sitting under the intake? That is a lot of oil, where is it going? Are you putting in 5 or 6 quarts to begin with? Is you dip stick accurate? A lot of good info on sealing the intake, but is this the real problem?

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Those are all good questions and ones I've asked myself many times.
Many things don't make sense or act as if they should. It does run really good except it starts hard when it's hot. It does smoke some under heavy acceleration but mostly when I let off the gas. But I agree, there should be a cloud of smoke all the time. It leaks virtually no oil, no puddles anywhere. I've pulled the plugs a few times and there is some fouling but not like you would think. As far as oil capacity, there is some question because I have never been able to identify the oil pan I have (maybe someone can help)

The sump depth is the same as the stock pan I think (5-1/4" approx.) but the rear part is much deeper (2-3/4" approx.). I installed a new 440 dip stick and it takes about 7 qts. with filter to get it to the full line. In theory it shouldn't matter how deep the pan is as long as the oil is at the correct level in relation to the crank right? My first thought was that I was overfilling it, so I let it go below the "1 qt. low" mark but it just kept dropping. I was afraid of running it out of oil so I filled it back up. A sign of overfilling is foaming of the oil while running which I checked but it looked good when I pulled the dip stick. Believe me, it has me baffled too. I've tried all types of PCV and breather arrangements, new valve stem seals, etc. and nothing has made a difference. It's either the intake gaskets or a rebuild...

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Does it puff alot out the valve cover breather after it has warmed up ?

You have a lot of oil around the intake ports , it really shouldn't be on either side of the valley when you pull the intake if it were sealed well.

Are you sure it's a qt in 200 miles ?

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