Burning Oil and Smoking After Rebuild - DA9 - B18A1 ... HELP!

[Paul90]

I picked up a 1990 Integra GS 3DR CPE awhile back to modify and restore.

Per the previous owner, the engine (B18A1) (KL 5MT) was rebuilt in July 2010 with the following components, :

* JDM Integra Type R (ITR) Pistons
* JDM Integra Type R (ITR) Crank
* ARP Head Bolts
* ARP Rod Bolts

The problem is ...

It smokes on hard acceleration (light gray smoke ... oil control rings did not seat properly?) and I have *dry* black soot on the exhaust tips (running too rich?).

I'm using premium gas (91 Octane). The fuel filter is new, the PCV system and O2 sensor are functioning normally. An oil change w/filter was done 2 weeks ago.

Question,

* How long should it take for the oil control rings to seat after a rebuild?

* How many miles should it take to break-in a rebuilt engine?

* How is the fuel mixture controlled?

* Is the vehicle being damaged by driving it in this condition (burning oil ... oil control ring not seated properly)?

If it is determined after the leakdown test that it's the oil control rings, I'll need a competent engine re-builder to crack it open to take a look.
Right now I don't have the facilities to attempt it and the original re-builder has retired to New Mexico and is not available to do the work.

I'd appreciate recommendations to shops in the Los Angeles area for the teardown and reassembly. I am located in Culver City, CA 90230.

** Please PM me with any shop recommendations

Thanks, Paul

 

[mirrorimg]

This is VERY important: you have an ITR crank, but are you using LS rods?

-The rings (compression) should seat within 50-500 miles, depending on which break in method you use. Some people rely on the fast and hard, while others will tell you to be easy on it and gradually increase the RPMs in increments over 500 miles. The oil control rings dont really need to "seat" and should do their job from the start.

- The same amount it takes to seat the rings. That is "breaking in the engine."

-The O2 sensor determines the amount of fuel in the exhaust and the ECU compensates by increasing or decreasing fuel delivery.

-If you dont run it dry, it will survive. The catalytic converter on the other hand, is taking a beating by the unburnt oil and fuel.

 

[Paul90]

Thanks, Mirroring ... I would guess yes they used LS Rods and I'm pretty sure they used the fast and hard method of breaking it in.
Wish I had more info for you. I'm getting my information from the former owner not the builder.

 

[maddogg20]

X2, the oil rings should start seating immediately. If they honed the block correctly and installed the rings right it shouldnt smoke white at all. The lil trick I use when building an engine is, ill get the oil rungs wet with some 10W30 before I install the pistons, and after the motors done right before I start it I beer bong just a little bit of oil down the spark plug hole, like a cap full, you can also use WD40 if you want, and ill crank it for 10 secs with the plugs out, and then install the plugs and crank for ten more secs before giving it spark. It helps get the rings wet before the oil pump has a chance to lube em during initial startup.

 

[mirrorimg]

Well the issue with the rods, on that crank, is that you are changing the stroke. The rods should be matched with the crank. LS rods on an LS crank, GSR/ITR rods on a matched crank.

I havent done analysis on what it actually changes when you do this, but heres my take on it. Since the LS has a longer stroke, 89mm versus the ITR/GSR's 87mm, the rods for the LS are going to be shorter, to compensate for the larger lobes on the crank. The ITR/GSR crank has smaller lobes on the crank, which means they will need longer rods. So you effectively destroked your motor with the way it sits now. It probably would have catastrophic if you put GSR rods on an LS crank. what I have said may be completely backwards, so someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Paul90]

mirroring @ 08:01AM - Confirmed with former owner that the rods are GSR/ITR *not* LS. Sorry about the mixup.

maddogg20 @ 06:53AM - Thanks for the rings tip!

Update - The oil pan was leaking @ the drain plug (threads stripped) so I had it replaced yesterday.

Now that the oil system has integrity, I'll see if the oil level drops after a couple of days.

Confirmed yesterday ... Bluish / White smoke @ 4k - 5k RPM

I guess the next step is a leakdown test. Any performance shop recommendations in LA?