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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

Rings?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Birone
  • Start date Start date Oct 8, 2024

John Birone

15 Year Member
Nov 19, 2012
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11
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Raleigh, NC
Oct 8, 2024
#1
  • Oct 8, 2024
  • #1
87 SSP Notch, 5-speed, 170k miles give or take. Swapped out headers tonight and saw this in my #6 exhaust port. Guessing it’s rings. Less than 10k miles since a basic rebuild 20 years ago. It sat most of that time until just under two years ago. I’m not noticing smoke or oil loss, so it isn’t a lot of oil getting by. Complete tear-down? Just replaced upper and lower intake gaskets and everything looked good in there.
 

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Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor
Admin Dude
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Oct 8, 2024
#2
  • Oct 8, 2024
  • #2
Perhaps. Also: Valve Seals? When were those looked at last?
 
Reactions: AeroCoupe

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
Mod Dude
Aug 25, 2016
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polk county florida
Oct 8, 2024
#3
  • Oct 8, 2024
  • #3
What's the plug look like?
 

AeroCoupe

lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes
Founding Member
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#4
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #4
What’s a “basic rebuild”? I’m with Noobz in that this looks like a valve seal and/or valve guide issue. Are the heads stock and never touched?
 

John Birone

15 Year Member
Nov 19, 2012
57
11
18
Raleigh, NC
Oct 9, 2024
#5
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #5
AeroCoupe said:
What’s a “basic rebuild”? I’m with Noobz in that this looks like a valve seal and/or valve guide issue. Are the heads stock and never touched?
Click to expand...
Bored 0.030” over and reassembled with stock valve train using new seals and guides. I’m hoping it’s in the head as I intend to do the typical HCI upgrades in the future. Focused more on the body and paint right now.
 

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D

dcm0123

5 Year Member
Mar 11, 2017
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Oct 9, 2024
#6
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #6
You sure this is not a fuel mixture issue?

Suggest you run a compression check to verify it is not poor compression.

Does not look wet like oil would be.
 
Last edited: Oct 9, 2024

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
Mod Dude
Aug 25, 2016
27,826
10,507
203
polk county florida
Oct 9, 2024
#7
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #7
Run a compression test, toss in some new plugs although those don't look bad in a pic, send it. You said no smoke, runs good right?
 

John Birone

15 Year Member
Nov 19, 2012
57
11
18
Raleigh, NC
Oct 9, 2024
#8
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #8
General karthief said:
Run a compression test, toss in some new plugs although those don't look bad in a pic, send it. You said no smoke, runs good right?
Click to expand...
Correct, no smoke and runs good. I did have an exhaust leak at the collector on that side, which is why I swapped in new headers.

I’ll check compression and if that’s good I’ll run it until it’s time to upgrade the HCI combo.
 
Reactions: General karthief

John Birone

15 Year Member
Nov 19, 2012
57
11
18
Raleigh, NC
Oct 9, 2024
#9
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #9
dcm0123 said:
You sure this is not a fuel mixture issue?

Suggest you run a compression check to verify it is not poor compression.

Does not look wet like oil would be.
Click to expand...
It didn’t look like oil when I tried to wipe it with a paper towel, either. Just darker than every other port and shiny as if it was wet.
 

John Birone

15 Year Member
Nov 19, 2012
57
11
18
Raleigh, NC
Oct 9, 2024
#10
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • #10
Appreciate the help everyone!
 
P

Praetorious

Active Member
May 22, 2020
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living room.
Oct 14, 2024
#11
  • Oct 14, 2024
  • #11
I had a issue like that with a brand new engine but I knew it wasn't oil, it was fuel, the end of my tailpipes had more soot than a chimney, once I got my fuel under control tailpipes are nice and brown,soot is gone,I think it was my mass air or something I can't remember at the moment,like others said, it doesn't look like oil.
 
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