SAD NEWS ONCE AGAIN---but not daunted too much!

After only a month of running my 3l I have had to give in to its oil burning , it was just embarrassing and dissappointing after all the efforts of curing the missfire.
I think some prolonged running at idle , trying to cure the misfire has affected the bores, tried some antismoke stuff in the engine oil but I am pretty sure the rings will be letting "some" oil past , probably broken, so its a strip down and or engine out, too good too scrap and not worth selling especially as its such a nice car.

Check the oil vaporisor canister (the black canister between the engine and false firewall - reach from the drivers side of the engine bay) and drain if full of fluid, and make sure the associated pipework isn't blocked (especially the small pipe that goes into the bottom that drains into the sump).

strangely enough I burnt off all the residue in that canister before I put things back together and put new plugs in and sorted my ECU so now you have got me thinking have I given it too much of a roasting burning off the carbon, and destroying the internals, also I do get a smell of burnt oil through the air system so not all the smoke is going down the exhaust, I will check this in the near future, many thanks for your input.
Cheers Pat

Afterthought;
If the canister is managing to suck oil up , the intake plenum should be clorted with oil which would also make a few small missfires as I have, along with the blue smoke, so am I to assume that the canister may not be able to drain this oil back to the sump?

Sorry to hear that! Mine's getting through a bit these days too!

Couple of things though.
1. As has already been suggested, try crankcase ventillation system. Also the hoses to and from it (they sometimes collapse). I doubt you'll damage the can by burning it - it's only got an old "brillo" pad in it anyway - just some wire mesh.

2. When the engine is warm and running, take off the oil filler cap and see if you get a lot of smoke out of the hole. If you, it could be broken rings.

3. I have a theory (mine sometimes smells of oil in the cabin) that on older engines with a bit of wear, some oil mist finds it's way into the plenum and trickles down the convoluted air hose towards the airflow meter. I think that prolonged periods of low speed, light-throttle running allow oil to collect in the bottom of all the convolutions. After a period ofrunning like this, mine smokes like a dog the first time I give it some pain on an open road. After that, it's fine for a while. What I THINK might be happening, is that when I give it the "Italian tune-up" (full revs and wide-open throttle) the airflow is sufficient to "suck" the oil out of the hose convolutions and back into the engine (where it gets burned and smokes). Once I've done this, it's fine (even at max throttle & max revs) for a while until after the next time it's been running at low speed for a period of time!

4. Try a compression test before you strip the engine. If it's anything like my car, it would be cheaper to buy another 164 than a gasket set and some rings!

I will try what you suggest, but the engine smokes also on deceleration what I mean is , with revs dropping coming to a junction then accelerating it just reeks out a cloud, so it seems to be there all the time, and is always there on hard acceleration . Did a compression test before rebuilding plenum etc. and all were fine but maybe that was helped by oil bypassing rings, also noted that when the exhaust was off below that the pipes going back up to nos.1and 2 # were black and wet but this is close to crankcase breather pipe?

Well I have done a few more tests and the breathing system seems OK , still to check the ppe to the crankcase but when the engine got hot it starts the oil burning.
There is no back pressure at the oil cap or dipstick, but its still smoking the oil!
What is the cheapest option assuming I have spent £400, buy another 164 or do up the engine on this one , I have anther 24v engine but its an unknown commodity , I have not heard it running.

My own car is such a nice car and not worth selling realistically so its an engine removal , presumably down the way and get a real look at it?

Valve guides!

Hmm , it was my first thoughts as this developed , but so suddenly?
There was no problem with oil burning before all the misfire and ECU faults but I suppose it has just done this gradually.

Its certainly easier than the whole engine out, to you mean actual guides or seals, can the seals be replaced from the top without removing the heads, if the heads are to come off , can the sump be dropped insitu.

Originally Posted by ALFAPAT

What is the cheapest option assuming I have spent £400, buy another 164 or do up the engine on this one , I have anther 24v engine but its an unknown commodity , I have not heard it running.

Well, the cheapest option is to get another one, but it's not necessarily the best option. You could end up with a car with a whole new set of problems. I've spent about £1500 on my Super since I bought it last year, but I reckon that's cheap motoring for the sort of car you end up with.

You could take both heads off and get the guides and seals changed, drop the sump, pull the pistons out and fit a set of rings, shells and rod bolts after giving the bores what for with a glaze buster in an electric drill. Quite a lot of work but at least you'll have an engine that runs like new.
If it happened quite quickly I'd be more inclined to think of rings. It could be that an oil control ring has broken and the bore may be scored. Even quite a deep score isn't a huge issue with new rings and de-glazed bores.

Another option is a really cheap £100 164 with a nice engine but other issues - the normal crap example with peeling laquer, no MOT etc etc and do an engine swap.

Does the sump drop out without too much trouble as it sits in the engine then? That seems to be my option and do up the cyl. heads, cheers makes my decision a bit easier.

I'm told that getting the "back" head off a 164 with the engine in situ can be a bit of a pig. I gather the whole unit needs canting forward quite a lot, by which time, there might not be much more work involved in taking it out altogether. I intend to give mine a bit of a rebuild in the next year or two and as the gearbox is a bit grumbly and the clutch can't have much life left in it, I intend to take the lot out.

I'm told you CAN replace valve stem oil seals on some engines without taking the head off by lowering a long length of string down the spark plug hole and slowly turning the engine so that piston gets up to TDC and the string stops the valve from dropping down but I'm not sure I fancy that! Besides, on my engine I'd be wanting to re-lap the valves into their seats anyway!

Yes I have had the back head of before on another 24valver and its not too bad and yes you have to tilt forward but it is possible.

IMHO befote taking big bits off is this: before taking big bits off and epmtying your wallet use some Forte engine oil flush. Now i used to be very sceptical about oil / engine additives until a frienf recommended Forte. Leagues ahead of the other retail brands but that's the problem, Forte don't sell retail, only to the garage trade. However it does cure piston to cylinder sealing problems caused by lacquer build up around the rings and grooves. You can find it available in some places though inc. you know where on the net. Pour it into engine with the old oil stil in, tickover for 25mins and drop it out and fill her with new oil. If it cures your problem all well and good, if not you haven't spent too much before bigger bills.

I have tried an oil stabilizer made in usa and its called Hi Performance LUCAS HEAVY DUTY Oil Stabilizer, supposed to eliminate dry starts, seal worn cyls. to slow oil consumption but I think my problem is worse than just normal consumption . You notice it more on engine overrun then plant the foot again , sounds like valve stem seals to me , but I might try the Forte I have looked at this product and used it before its either going to help or not , might be worth a try!

Unfortunately for trial purposes I have cashed in the tax meantime so can`t go for run but could as you say run for 25mns and fill with new oil again will let you know , I am rebulding the floor of a 145 cloverleafat present shocking state for a Preg but seems to be common!