My neighbor helped me change a 305 to a 350 in my 88 camaro, I have never seated rings before and I have about 400 miles on the new engine. The car only seems to excessively smoke when i slow down from high speeds, it still leaves a visible trail of smoke when i drive but not as bad. It seems to have decreased since I initially started running it, but I'm curious as to how many miles I really need, how I can check to see if they are seating, or if I possibly need to seek mechanical help.. I've done my research on ring "seating," but I am definately not close to an expert with cars so I am not familiar with whether I need a Permit or something to be driving around with so much smoke?

 

If the rings were installed right, the motor shouldnt be smoking at all, even on first start up. None of my motors ever did that.

Is it oil thats burning or is it something else like a head gasket issue? Coolant will burn white. Oil has a blue-ish gray ish tint to it and smells different. Could be oil leaking into the chamber from a bad valve stem seal or guide or something else. Excessive blow by would indicate a damaged ring or piston or both. Something doesnt sound right.

 

Thanks, I figured as much, It seems too excessive to be normal, my neighbor said he'd replace the rings for me and go from there, but he works out of town so much I think I'm gonna put it in the hands of a mechanic and let them deal with it. It has to be oil burning because it has that bluish tint, and I am forced to keep an eye on oil levels. The car did sit more than it should have after being rebuilt a couple of months ago, is it possible it glazed over?

 

My motor took about 1,000 miles for the rings to fully seat. I used Moly rings in the motor, and from what I've read, 1,000 miles is on the high side of normal. It can vary quite a bit based on the ring material and the grit of stone used for your final hone. A smoother cylinder wall surface with harder rings will result in it taking longer for the rings to seat.

 

Hmm I've heard a lot of people say the same.. Do cars leave a visible smoke trail when seating rings and do you need a permit?

 

My motor I was racing by 100-150 miles.

I did a hard break in as recommended by alot of motor builders for new street-strip /race motors.

It consists of a few warm up to op temps and then cool down and then you do some soft acceleration pulls and let the engine coast itself down in gear. Low rpms, idle to 2500-3000 rpms. Then do a few medium throttle pulls to higher rpms. 4-5K rpms, let engine brake in gear. Builds high vacuum in the chambers and lets the rings plant against the cylinder. Then after a few of these, you do some full pulls to full rpm, coast down in gear.

Few runs like that and those rings should be broken in.