one smoking bank

[pat the dog]

My Dart has recently started smoking on the RH bank.
The engine runs fine and smoothly
When warm the smoke increases at higher engine speeds, so it's probably not a valve seat.

Before major surgery, I think it would be worth trying an oil treatment such as Wynns.

As anyone any direct knowledge of which particular oil additive might help sort this problem.

[JohnM]

Tried a couple of them, but no improvement until I changed the rings, I'm afraid
Russ Carpenter pointed out that the way the engine turns, all the sump oil gets chucked up the RH bank cylinders, so the oil control rings need to be in really good fettle on that bank. I tried to convince myself it might be valve stem seals, but in the end I had to bite the bullet, drop the sump and change the rings. Then everything was fine......
Sorry not to be more optimistic!
John

[tjt77]

your first course of action to try is a compression test on the bank that is smoking.. if you get inconsistent readings ( differences of 20 or more lbs between cylinders) then add oil to the low reading cylinders..and re-test.. if you get a higher reading with oil added..there is an issue with rings not seating ..which could mean :-dirt build up in ring grooves and oil control ring.. stuck or broken rings.. worn or scored bores..worn pistons..
Cause and effect :- the most likely scenario is crud build up in oil control ring and the drain holes in piston behind the ring.. the original one piece iron oil control rings do not work as well as modern multi piece rings.. and these engines are well known for building up crud on the inside, especially an issue if used for short journeys of less that 45 mins duration.
regardless its likely you will have to dismantle the engine in situ..and whilst at it, given the time required, its wise to do a light overhaul and 'freshen up', including cylinder head inspection and overhaul (reface valves and seats. replace inlet guides with the current ones with oil seals) check and replace the intermediate main bearings along with con rod bearings.. hone the cylinder bores to remove glaze and light imperfections .. thoroughly clean everything and make sure all drain holes in pistons are clean.. and source a ring set that has a multi piece oil ring..the old stock Hepolite 'apex' ring sets were designed for this very sort of freshen up.. and the now defunct 'cords' brand rings work very well too.. you can use 2 ring sets for the BMC 1622cc B series engine as these fit and are very common on internet.(same bore size of 3"..and same width rings) good luck.

[A.N.Other]

A mechanic friend of mine said he has heard of reasonable results from a product called Restore Automotive Products, engine restorer and lubricant. It may be worth a try.
Contact details were,
Ametech
Engine Restore UK LTD.
Framlingham
IP13 9EZ
01728 726620

[Ian Hastings]

Many years ago, 1973, driving down through Africa we had problems with our van which had an Austin 1500 B series engine; low compression, smoking exhaust and excess oil blown out the crankcase breather pipe covering the whole underside of the van with oil.

In Nairobi I found some Holts Piston Seal and tried that. It totally cured the problem and it was a fine 'till I got rid of the van six months later in Cape Town.

I don't know if Holts Piston Seal is still available, but worth a try if you can get hold of it.

[tjt77]

There are indeed a number of chemical 'additives' that can temporarily reduce negative symptoms related to engine wear.. but they should be seen for what they are :- temporary stop gap measures.. that sometimes work.. but not always..and never for long.
'motor honey' is often present in 2 1/2 litre V8 saloon engines ..often added to increase scarily low oil pressure readings and reduce oil guzzling .. most of it actually ends up at the bottom of the oil filter canister and in the sump.. I levy an extra charge if I have to deal with this.. its extremely messy and time consuming to get it all out again when taking the route towards 'proper' rectification of the actual problem.( which is a full engine rebuild)

[pat the dog]

I've put in a tin of Wynns Stop Smoke, apparently it needs some running time to be properly effective.

Anyway the engine runs sweetly enough, so I'm going to Donnington tomorrow (60/70 miles) clutching My RAC card.

Brave or foolish, I won't know until tomorrow night

[pat the dog]

So off I went to Donnington, cruising down the M1 at 60-65, to be passed by a 1972 Daf Variomatic.

After a very fine day at the races. I set off home at 3.30, joining the M1 at J23a straight into roadworks and stationary traffic following an overturned car a mile ahead.

At about 4.30 having turned the engine off due to a rising temperature, I restarted the car, except I didn't. The three weeks old Pertronix electronic ignition decided it wasn't playing.

After an hour waiting in a live lane, the good old Highways Dept did a free recovery to the Trowel services, about 5 miles away. The RAC attended an hour later, said " Oh my second classic of the day, I've just recovered a Daf Variomatic.. This looks like a job for Relay."

I got home at 12.30.

The good news, with the points setup reinstalled, the engine no longer smokes.

I don't put that down to the ignition, far more likely is that I overfilled the oil.