using oil

[dfinkler]

ive got a 89 302 freshly rebuilt got about 8000 miles on it and it using oil is this common its got molly ring and forged pistons

 

[88GTStreetRod]

I had a 302 with 20,000 original miles and that thing burned oil, compresion was great, Ford says, that burning some oil was common for 302. I used to burn about 1/2 quart every 2-3K miles. Ford said that this amount was within there guidleines.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

They commonly do burn a little oil, because of the low tension rings. That and the fact that moly rings tend to take longer to seat than normal iron rings. I usually go through about half a litre per oil change.

 

[5.0guy]

could be a problem in the valve train...

 

[HISSIN50]

if you are worried, do a leakdown test and see what gives. how much are you burning?
good luck.

 

[88stangmangt]

1/2-1 quart is normal between oil changes.

 

[gopher_6_9]

what kind of PCV setup are you running? also according to ford a new vehicle can burn up to a quart of oil and 3,000 miles and it be "normal" (bull****). If everything is right you should only burn minimal amounts of oil between changes.

 

[battyice]

Moly rings can take a long time to seat, I built a 350 chevy once with moly rings and it used oil for the first 3-4 oil changes.

Also, depending on how good of a job your machine shop did your piston skirt clearance may be contributing to the oil consumption. A forged piston doesn't expand at the same rate as a cast iron block, and will have a considerable (more than a cast piston) amount of clearance when the engine is cold. If your piston/bore clearance isn't quite right, you can expect oil consumption on short-trips.

I'd recommend that unless your oil consumption is really bad, keep driving.