GRANDLICH

Well what my buddy said to do was switch the ccv with the pcv eblow so the ccv was in front. Witch I did cause oil to come from the dipstick(pretty sure that were it was comming from) since I didn't feel that was right I switched them back to the way they were. And its still putting a bit of oil into the filter now. Not as much as before tho. Also when I remove the cap when running there is a little bit of a vacuum and white smoke.( burrning oil)? Right not to sure why either

Radi

That whiteish smoke is compression blowby. There will be a small amount of water vapor in there until the engine oil heats up enough to drive it out. If you drive mostly short trips the oil may never get hot enough.
Your rings are probably getting a bit tired, allowing more pressure to escape into the crankcase than the CCV system can remove. It's just part of the joy of an older motor, nothing to stay awake at night over. Just keep up with the oil changes as the blowby does contaminate the oil a bit faster.

GRANDLICH

Well it feels good to know why and it dosent haha how hard is it to do ring or how much would an average shop cost? Also arc you saying threw is water in my oil and it could just be it trying to burn off? If I'm understanding right?

Radi

There will always be some condensation going on when metal is heated, cooled, heated, cooled...that leaves a small amount of water in the oil. You really see it here where we have "winter", lol. White sludge under the oil filler cap. When the oil heats up that water evaporates creating the whitish smoke. It should go away after the motor runs at operating temp for a while.

When you have excessive blowby, what you are really getting is a bit of gasoline and a bit of exhaust pumped past the rings and right into the oil pan... regular oil changes are even more important than usual. It'll run a long time yet provided you keep the oil clean.

Rings aren't too bad to change in this motor. Problem is by the time the rings wear due to age, the cylinder walls, crank, bearings, cam, lifters, valves, timing chain/gears and everything else are also worn. You can do a 40K mile "rebuild", just brushing the cylinders and snapping in rings and bearings, or a 200K mile rebuild, resurfacing/replacing worn parts from top to bottom. There's really no free lunch with worn metal.
This motor lends itself very well to DIY, it's an easy rebuild. Heck, I think I can rebuild a 4.0 in less time than it takes me to remove and disassemble a Northstar.

GRANDLICH

Haha I also have a knocking click that just started. About the same time. I've bee told its a lifter. But as I was tearing apart the air box I noticed there is a little crack in the header. Its next to were the two pipes go into one.

GRANDLICH

Another question, is there a way to stop or slow the flow of oil into the air box now? Its not that bad but still.

Radi

If the CCV lines and elbows are all clean and you're still getting it- there really isn't a simple fix. It's another one of those "features" of an older 4.0.
You could splice one of those plastic fuel filters inline and toss it when it starts to get full. Some folks run an old-style draft tube down under the axle, but that leaves oil all over your driveway, and does nothing to filter the incoming air should it breathe in instead of blow. Or just wipe it out every so often.
As long as it isn't enough to foul your plugs, it's not harming anything.

GRANDLICH

A fuel filter that's a great idea! Never would of though of that!

GRANDLICH

Done! And it cost me 9 bucks!

GRANDLICH

Well it's leaking now from the dipstick again. And I'm almost 100 %sure that's we're it's commin from. I don't know why could it be because of my bad rings? Or is something else clogged causing this. I did a coolant flush befor I had all these problems. Heeeeeeeeelp

Radi

I think you're at the point of needing to run a compression or leakdown test to check the rings. I suppose that fuel filter added just enough backpressure to make the dipstick tube a more attractive outlet for the blowby.

How much of the engine's history do you know? Any chance it was neglected before you got it, where the rings might be stuck instead of worn?

GRANDLICH

I don't I was told oil changes were kept up on but you know Mabe not. I do hear a clicking and such I don't think you saw the last post on page two. I go into detail there. Mabe that's the answer??