Fuel pump question ...

[Robs Hubris]

Loosing the oil rapidly and having it show up in the exhaust is very odd. It suggests a breach between the pressurized oil gallery (high pressure) and a water jacket (low pressure). A block pressure test should verify or eliminate this theory. I wonder if Don has ever run across this situation?
Tom

Terry the mechanic, who knows the engine well, refuses to diagnose it without looking at it first (a sane position) and he'll have it by this afternoon.

His starting view though is that 3 quarts of oil don't disappear ... if it's not in the bilge, it's going out through the engine system somehow; meaning, I think, that he still suspects the rings.

I'll know more after he looks at it and runs the compression test as suggested by Jerry.

I'm convinced that the problem and solution are both likely well beyond my skills/resources/time.

I anticipate a lot of cost, but I don't want to lose any more of the season than I already have and I have some confidence in this mechanic and team. They have rebuilt may of the A4's that we use in our MarkI C+C35 racing group here (Detroit) and are well vetted.

I'll post more as I learn more following Terry's (mechanic) diagnosis.

Thanks as always,
rob

[Don Moyer]

Oil consumption

We have very little history of unusually high oil consumption being reported. In case it helps your perspective, I can report that before I rebuilt it, the Atomic 4 in our first sailboat (our beloved "Water Music") consumed a quart of oil every 6 hours, and there didn't seem to be any drastic effect on the plugs. Don

[thatch]

Hi Don, I guess my question for you is, do you ever recall seeing a case where the high pressure oil portion of the block found it's way into the water jacket area?
Tom

[Don Moyer]

Oil consumption

Sorry Tom, I missed the main thrust of your question. As near as I can measure, the main pressurized oil galley is approximately 2" below and 1.25" displaced laterally from the nearest corner of the main water jacket in the block. So I don't think it's very likely that a rogue crack would reach from the oil galley to the water jacket. At least there's no history of such a crack that I know of. Don

[thatch]

Thanks Don, I know that you are intimately familiar with the internals of the block so I had to ask the question.
Tom