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| Geo Metro "Italian Tuneup" - It Worked!; 1992 was using some oil. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 12 2014, 11:00 AM (1,887 Views) | |
| cwatkin | Aug 12 2014, 11:00 AM Post #1 |
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The 1992 3/5 I picked up seemed to be in good running shape but I could tell that the engine oil wasn't cared for the way I would have done. I found some sludge under the valve cover and all the other covers (oil pump, rear seal cover, oil pan) that I removed while fixing the engine leaks. Any bare metal also had a nasty coating of brown goo. The first oil change was changed out after only 500 miles or so and I really didn't get to see any consumption. Since the engine ran well, I decided to leave everything alone. I did notice that I used about a quart of oil over the 1st 1000 miles on the next oil change. I never have any oil farts or smoke of any kind that I can see but the oil was going somewhere and there were no leaks on the engine. I had replaced every gasket and seal besides the head gasket. The engine was running smooth and performed well so I figured maybe my oil rings were sticky. The engine has Mobil 1 0W40 European as well as a small amount of MMO. I decided to make sure it was full and decided to do an Italian tuneup. Basically you want to get the RPMs up high and then let off and let it slow down in gear via engine braking. I understand the engine vacuum changes the load on the rings and can help free up sticky rings. I left the car in 3rd gear and got it up to about 6000 RPMs several times and then just let off. I had to make sure other traffic wasn't around because of the inconsistent speeds but this seems to have worked. I have seen no perceptible drop in the oil level over the next 500 miles. Quite a bit of this was also high speed interstate driving where oil burning would be more likely to take place. I am sure this won't work for everyone but thought I would share. I also have no idea how long this will hold but hope this will continue to be a good engine with some TLC. Conor |
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| ptcapboy | Aug 12 2014, 03:31 PM Post #2 |
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good job-I'm sure Mussullini would have been proud and the price is right |
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| cwatkin | Aug 12 2014, 06:09 PM Post #3 |
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I thought so. I hope it stays the way it is for a while and suspect that it should with care such as proper oil changes. Conor |
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| Old Man | Aug 12 2014, 06:16 PM Post #4 |
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Never heard of it. Don't see how that would work. O'Well, If it works for you................. |
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| Justahoby | Aug 12 2014, 07:59 PM Post #5 |
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Unqualified informant
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I am an erratic Italian driver, and hit a lot of hills... I bet my rings are more than seated, maybe wore out by now
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| iamgeo | Aug 12 2014, 08:56 PM Post #6 |
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Big League
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I never heard of it til now. Did some reading. From what I read it is done to rid the car of carbon build up. Before I try this I will put an endoscope into the cylinders to see how much build up is there. |
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| cwatkin | Aug 12 2014, 09:19 PM Post #7 |
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I figured it was worth a try on an otherwise good running engine. Unlike that other one I had, this one didn't smoke like a mosquito fogger. I also successfully used it to greatly reduce but not eliminate oil burning on a Cadillac Northstar 4.6L. These engines are especially known for sticking rings when they are used to put around town. The cheapest oil possible had been used and the car started drinking oil. I changed the oil with the Mobil 1 Euro Spec and drove the car like it was stolen. The oil burning went down dramatically. Basically what I understand is that it is important to leave the engine in a low gear, accelerate hard, and then completely let off with the transmission in that gear. In my case, I was using 3rd gear and low-highway speeds. The Caddy was a 4 speed so I had it in 2nd. Conor |
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| cwatkin | Aug 12 2014, 09:32 PM Post #8 |
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The old plugs were pretty bad and pretty carboned up. I didn't stick anything in the cylinders to look but the rest of the engine was pretty nasty although it was running well. I might pull the plugs when I change the oil next time to see how they look. I am not an expert on how this works but I have seen it work about 50% of the time. With the cost of this vs. the other options, it is worth a try. I guess the high engine vacuum of closed throttle decel in gear pulls stuck rings loose if they aren't too bad. I tried EVERYTHING including this and various snake oil treatments for the engine I had that burned oil and farted like mad! They didn't work in this case. All I did was break loose the crud that was holding that old dog together. Conor |
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| Bad Bent | Aug 13 2014, 01:25 AM Post #9 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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Something to be said for what you did since it's working, cwatkin. I heard of someone hooking up a pump and pumping oil in an engine under pressure. I gather they then filled it to the proper level and started it up. Also heard that flooring the gas pedal on some carburetors would give them a proper setting. I routinely rev my toy up to the lofty 5,000 rpm range and today with my daily driving of nothing over 10 miles, I got a tank registering 46.6 mpg. The Gumball Rally. |
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| pvr007 | Aug 13 2014, 01:39 AM Post #10 |
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I engine brake and shift up to 5k RPM on a daily basis while on deliveries.
Edited by pvr007, Aug 13 2014, 01:40 AM.
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| perfesser | Aug 13 2014, 01:47 AM Post #11 |
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Elite Member - Former Metro owner
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When I was living in eastern Iowa, I bought an old RX-7 that hadn't been driven a lot (less than 5k miles in over 3 years.) I drove it down to Phoenix right after I got it. It was getting about 23-24 mpg - until I got to Oklahoma City. Somewhere between OKC and Amarillo, TX something happened! When I filled in Amarillo, it was getting 33 mpg, and never got less than that the whole time I owned it, no matter how I drove it. Sitting is hard on a car. Being driven was what it wanted to blow out the crud. I know it wasn't gummed up valves, mainly because the Wankel rotary doesn't have any, but the principle is the same. A car that's been sitting needs a good workout to get back in shape. Maybe it's just the positive effect of having clean fuel flowing through its veins again. I don't know what it was, but it was most welcome!! |
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| 2000Firefly1.3L | Aug 13 2014, 02:52 AM Post #12 |
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I engine brake and redline every day no matter what even when going to funerals for dead children |
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| pvr007 | Aug 13 2014, 02:58 AM Post #13 |
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RPM shift point have nothing to do with speed, not even acceleration, I keep at 30 mph in the city no more, you should not assume so otherwise.
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| cwatkin | Aug 13 2014, 08:45 AM Post #14 |
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I have also heard about people pouring an ounce or so of seafoam and MMO into each cylinder and using a leakdown tester to compress and push the mix down into the ring areas. I guess this takes a while as they do it like overnight for each cylinder. Yes, my car had also been sitting for quite a few months before I go it. Yes, I think this might have been part of the issue. As you say, cars are meant to be driven and not sit. Conor |
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| myredvert | Aug 13 2014, 11:25 AM Post #15 |
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myredvert
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That's nothing. I used to engine brake and hit the rev limiter every day, even in my driveway when it was raining on Tuesday and I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything and my engine wasn't running. But after a week my engine blew up in my head, I caught a bad cold, my lips hurt a lot from making the 7,000 rpm "vroom vroom" noises, the neighbors complained about the noise my car would have been making had it really been running, and it scared our outside cats (and my gf, but I think she was worried for different reasons), so I had to stop. I assume that you assumed that he assumed you were making some point about speed and/or acceleration, but without assuming what he may or may not have been assuming, since he didn't say anything about speed or acceleration in his reply, I think he may have been trying to make a point that he didn't get the point and was just using a little sarcasm to make his... I think. Maybe? ![]() I have to admit, since I have a a little bit of personal interest in shift schedules and torque curves, I am curious about the choice of 5,000 rpm. I am not assuming what your reasons are, and I realize there could be a variety of them, but why not use the increased torque available from around 2,700 to any other rpm less than 5,000, when it would use less fuel making more torque? Of course, I also assumed you were talking about doing that in a Metro, which you didn't specify.
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I am an erratic Italian driver, and hit a lot of hills... I bet my rings are more than seated, maybe wore out by now

3:49 AM Jul 11