93 spirit oil consumption.

[urrlord]

Last year I got a low mile(76k) 4cyl Dodge Spirit that had been neglected.On starting it would give out a puff of smoke,it ran good with minimal oil consumption.

Then the head gasket blew.I had a good mechanic fix that.While the engine was apart he ran a hone through the cylinders and pronounced them good.I had him do an oil change with Supertech 10w30 and a Havoline filter and a pint of MMO.When I got it back it performed well with one problem--it now loses oil.When the car is first cranked I get a cloud of smoke 2/3 of the time and it smokes for 2-3 minutes .This sounds like valve seals,no biggie.
But I was losing a half quart each workday's 60 mile round trip.I started topping it off with High Mileage 10w40.This slowed the loss to a third of a quart per round trip.I replaced a cracked pcv hose,I've looked under the car there is usually a drop on the bottom of the oil and transmission pans.I've snugged the valve cover and oil pan.I have no spots on my drive way.The back bumper is not coated with residue.If the car was burning it I would expect it to have a cloud of blue smoke behind it like Flash Gordons rocketship.

What is going on here?I know the mechanic cleaned things up while the engine was apart.Did that and the dose of MMO clean the engine too much?Maybe get rid of some sludge that was blocking a leak somewhere?Does all of this point to an under pressure leak?The pcv valve is good.Stuck rings?Maybe another dose of MMO to clean that out.ARX it?When i get the money.

The car runs good gets 24-25 mpg in combined driving if I keep my foot out of the pedal.21-22 if I get on it a bit.

Any suggestions?
Thanks people.

 

[bullwinkle]

The cat is probably burning the oil smoke (for now)-did he put in new rings when he honed the cylinders? If not, that's likely where the oil's going.

 

[FL_Rob]

Are you saaying that he honed the cylinders without removing the bottom end/rotating assembly?..,bsically didnt touch the rings?

Or did he pull the pistons and rods then replace the rings after he honed the cylinder?
Edit :what bullwinkle said ,I just type too slow.

 

[urrlord]

There was some discoloration on the cylinder walls and he ran a light hone through them to make sure there was no rust/pitting from it's previous owners neglect.He said if there had been any pitting he would have stopped work and called me about it..I was just paying him to do the head gasket,there was no ring replacement.He is just pretty thorough and was checking everything ,making sure it was worth fixing.

The car had sat for a while and had been bought by a fellow who "flips" cars who got it roadworthy.Compression is good ,performance is good,mpg is good.I'm wondering if there is some seal that leaks while i'm driving and blows it out onto the highway.Maybe i just need to run the cheapest,thickest stuff and let some deposits build up.lol.

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted By: urrlord
There was some discoloration on the cylinder walls and he ran a light hone through them to make sure there was no rust/pitting from it's previous owners neglect...

I've never heard of a mechanic doing something like that during a HG change...

Originally Posted By: urrlord
I was just paying him to do the head gasket,there was no ring replacement.


And that is all he should have done, the HG..

 

[The_Jeff]

What do your spark plugs look like? If you're burning that much oil the plugs should look nasty.

These cars have goofy valve cover gaskets, with rubber ends and cork strips down the sides, and you're supposed to put a dab of RTV on the corners. Maybe this got goofed up?

The bottom ends of these motors are great; they take 225ish hp when turbo'd. Agree on probably should have skipped the hone.

 

[urrlord]

I had forgot about the plugs i'll have to check them.Thanks for the reminder.

 

[urrlord]

update--Pulled 3 of the 4 the plugs all have the orange-tan discoloration indicating normal conditions.the number 1 plug was not wanting to move and as I am going out of town tomorrow I did not want to force it.

I have not had a chance to check the compression yet.

p.s.
the last tank of gas on regular/mid-grade mix yielded 24.5 mpg in mixed driving.