|
No more oil than you are using, you will not see smoke as you drive. The only time you will see smoke at start-up is when the valve guide seals are leaking and letting the oil get into the combustion chamber and/or the exhaust port. In 1985 Chevy stopped putting seals on the valve guides and after several thousand miles, the engine would smoke slightly at sart-up. Installing valve guide seals stops the smoking at start-up. Chevys only need about 30-45 pounds of oil pressure at highway speeds. Any more than that and you run the chance of oil loss around the rings as they will be forced to deal with too much oil. Also you could be filling the valve cover area will oil. Lacking valve guide seals invites oil consumption around the giudes. Make sure the drains at each end of the head are not plugged. I have found oil bottle caps in the drains. Remove the PCV valve hose and see if there is oil in it. Too much oil pressure can create an oil fog in the rocker covers and the PCV Valve will pull some of it out and into the intake. There are no "oil galleys" between the EGR valve and the intake. However, the lifter valley is within 1/4" of the intake runners and have been known to leak a little there. But if it leaks there you should also seepage around the bolts and puddles on the intake. If the intake leaks at the rear you will find oil covering the rear of the engine and the bell housing area of the transmission. The same is true for the oil presure sending unit as it is located at the back of the engine also. Should the rear seal be leaking, you will find oil dripping from the drain hole in the bottom of the torque converter cover.
I would be willing to bet that the rings were not seated correctly during break-in. They since have glazed the cylinder wall and reseating isn't likely to happen unless you rehone the walls.
| 
