Rings needed 6000 km after new rings installed

[Forgiven]

Can somebody please help me understand this:

I bought an NA. A year and 300 km earlier the seller had rebuilt the engine. The invoice shows new rings.
I followed the engine builders' instructions about oil and revving.
From early on the car blew blue smoke.
Various mechanics (including the person who did the second service) said it probably needed a good run. Another said to let it chug up hills. Did these things, to no avail.
It usually smells of exhaust.
It uses significant oil (from F to half way to L) in a 400 odd km run.
On a club run recently, someone followed me by arrangement for 75 km and said the car blows a biggish cloud of blue smoke when I set off, and significant blue smoke when pushed hard up a hill. They concluded that it needed new rings. Others thought so too.

New rings again? How can that be?

[93_Clubman]

New rings again? How can that be?

I think the explanation you got from the first place you went to for a second opinion answers your question:

the rings haven't bedded. No. 3 is extremely wet, but all are in trouble.

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=76426&start=15

[Forgiven]

But I think I have followed the instructions for 'bedding' them. ('Good run', up hills repeatedly in too high a gear)
What else does one do to 'bed' them?

[rossint]

Did you run it in on mineral oil?

[rossint]

Did you run it in on mineral oil?
I’ve never heard of running in up hills, normally you need to coast down from speed. You only get a small window to bed the rings

[rossint]

Duplicate post

[Forgiven]

How long is the bedding in distance - roughly?
The first 300 km were done while the car was in the control of the engine builder.
I guess he ran the right oil - and that the right oil was in it when he sold it to me.

[ralt]

Hi.
You have been given the wrong info. Your comment re driving up hills at too higher a gear is a recipe for disaster. Why because the engine is labouring. I would suspect you need new rings. I usually bed rings in by having the car in second gear quick rev to 4000 revs back off repeat four times and then drive it normally-the rings are bedded in that is if the person fitting the new rings knows what they are doing.

[RS2000]

Driving up hills in a high gear, but NOT labouring, to load up the rings was always the way to run in engines up to at least the 80's, & I wouldn't think it would cause problems even with a more modern engine. Maybe the honing was poor, or glazing occurred in the first 300 km due to not enough load for too long, or the run-in oil was too slippery.

[Forgiven]

Hi.
You have been given the wrong info. Your comment re driving up hills at too higher a gear is a recipe for disaster. Why because the engine is labouring. I would suspect you need new rings. I usually bed rings in by having the car in second gear quick rev to 4000 revs back off repeat four times and then drive it normally-the rings are bedded in that is if the person fitting the new rings knows what they are doing.

If this is correct, and I have no reason to suspect otherwise, then my only remaining question (at least for now - never say never) is irrelevant. Irrelevant because I need new rings. Haven't got the money for that, so it will be Nulon or something like that for me.

(The remaining question - well, maybe only an observation): If it only takes that short a distance to bed them in, then I was in trouble from the day I bought the car (because it had already done 300 km). And all that I was trying as a result of listening to mechanics was a waste of time anyway. Silly me for not getting the car checked properly. I trusted.

Thanks to the responders for your help.

[Red_Bullet]

Certainly cheaper than new rings, and maybe worth a try. Drop the oil and replace with running in oil for a while. See what happens, you have nothing to loose. Report back what happens.

[Forgiven]

Certainly cheaper than new rings, and maybe worth a try. Drop the oil and replace with running in oil for a while. See what happens, you have nothing to loose. Report back what happens.

Thanks for the suggestion. As you say, nothing to lose.

[Aiming Faster]

Unless rebored, and fitted with oversized piston and rings, a careful measure is required.
It may have had new rings, but that doesn't mean the cylinders were round and parallel.
Not good news for you.

[KevGoat]

Just looking at your old thread linked in post #2 above, is this the same issue ongoing or did it go back to the mechanic in early 2018?

I doubt this is the problem, but check the PCV valve. I was getting smoke and oil burn from my Rodeo after I did my last service on it and was worried, then finally I thought to remove the PCV and it was blocked. $25 later I replaced it and all good now. Your smoke and oil usage sounds more excessive than I had, but no harm checking.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Forgiven]

Just looking at your old thread linked in post #2 above, is this the same issue ongoing or did it go back to the mechanic in early 2018?

Same issue. Not many miles done in it. Not returned to the builder because I was encouraged to try a couple of things first. Then, although I knew things weren't right even after trying those things, I put off checking. Didn't want to confirm I still had a problem, the pain of knowing, etc.) Car drove beautifully I thought, not down on power. It was just the smell, and I put up with that. But I finally bit the bullet, hence the current post.