383 stroker using oil

Can anyone tell me why my 383 Chevy is using a quart of oil very 500 miles. Here is what I can tell you.
1-compression is good in all cylinders.
2-it doesn't smoke at start up or under acceleration.
3-I am using synthetic oil.

If someone could give me some guidance I would appreciate it.
Regards


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You cannot use synthetic oil during break in. You have to break it in with standard oil first then go to synthetic. Been there, done that.
If your engine is using a flat tappet cam run the valvoline race oil to assure the needed ingrediants are there to keep the cam from going flat.

double vision.
Its not a new engine. 25000 miles.

vr1 does not contain enough zddp in the oil anymore, check out brad penn, or add a additive such as comp cams flat tappet break in lube. Also you can groove your lifter bores.

double vision. Its not a new engine. 25000miles.

Have you always used synthetic oil from day 1?

What do you consider enough? Spec sheet from the Valvoline web site, dated 12-15-08, says 0.14 zinc, 0.13 phosphorus. Is this not enough?

I`m not sure if he picked up on what I was saying. If you`ve used synthetic from day 1 it don`t matter how many miles you`ve put on it, it`s not going to break in. We put well over 5000 miles on a friend on mine`s firebird when he made the same mistake of installing synthetic oil from day 1 of a new engine. I learned then it don`t matter how many miles you got on it, it`s still going to use oil cause it`s not broke in. When I realized this we changed over to regular oil and ran it for 3000 miles and the prbblem was solved. He went back to synthetic afterwards without issue. One of the rules of the basics are never try to break in a new engine with synthetic oil.

Its deffiently not enough to put my mind at ease when theres oil out there with much more in it, and the fact that a 10$ bottle more than doubles that amount. I do run 20w50 vr1 conventional and i always add comp cams additive, maybe i worry to much, but i know one thing i wont have to worry about a cam going flat. Also i grooved my lifter bores for added insurance.

Warren Johnson builds all his pro stock motor with synthetic oil,breaks them in and dynos them with it also.

May want to check your valve guides/seals.

Thanks. Is there a way to check the guids without taking the heads off??

I wonder how those millions and millions of engines from General Motors and other manufacturers break in properly since they come factory filled with synthetic engine oil!!! Think about it. I start all my new engines out on synthetic and have never had a problem.

I personally don't know of anyway to check the valve guides without taking off the heads. I've have had the same problem with my 350. I checked the valve guides and everything appeared to be ok. I ended up blaming how rich i was running my engine. The air fuel mixture was so moist that it was pulling oil around the valve guide seals. That might be something you want to consider looking at.

One test you can do is run the engine at idle for about 10 minutes. Idle is where vacuum is highest, shut it down, pull the carb. If you find oil in the intake you have a intake gasket leak.
Thought it maybe helpful if this is read as it addresses synthetic use on break in period. Keep in mind this applies to how it`s did at the factory, and many basic shops lack what the factory can do.
One of the myths surrounding synthetic oils is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. The fact is, current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design the high-performance cars listed above, Mobil 1 can be used starting the day you drive the car off the showroom floor. Watch our answer to this myth.

What I told about my friends car was the truth and if you look on many web sites such as Amsoil, they recommend a engine be broken in with mineral oil. On a basic build using regular cast iron rings and the classic cross hatch pattern hone without anything fancy I fully agree it should be broken in on mineral oil. what the factory engineers can do on a non ending budget don`t apply to basic machine shops and to us that have to use basic pieces to do a rebuild. I wish they would show me how to run it from the very start on synthetic. I`d sure do it that way.