Hey y'all, I have a rebuilt 4.2L, V-6 with approx. 13,000 miles on it and I recently burned a little more than 2 quarts of oil between changes. I have noticed some oil residue on the passenger side of the oil pan but certainly not 2 quarts worth. When I pulled the plugs out, I noticed one of them had oil on the threads and some residue on the insulator. Now there also seems to be a slight skip on cold startup. The dealer told me they installed the wrong dipstick when they installed the motor....yeah, ok. There was absolutely no oil around the holder and I just think they don't want to live up to the warranty.... but they will. What do you guys think I'm looking at??? Rings?? Valvestem?? Head Gasket??

 

I dunno, but if you have oil showing up on your spark plugs, you have big trouble in Little China.

I would have a leak-down test done on all cylinders. Worn cylinders stick out like a sore thumb.

If you find a cylinder with poor pressure, put a tablespoon of engine oil in the spark plug hole and try again immediately. If the pressure comes up, you have leaky piston/rings. If not, you have a leaky valve system.

Steve