Curiosity got the better of me and even though I'm not quite ready for it I popped off the valve covers and intake on the engine I just pulled. Everything was running great (oil leaks everywhere) and everything looks to be in order..but noticed some carbon in the oil returns on the heads and when removing it there was some silver sludge trapped in there as well. Not sparkly and no metal when i drained the oil or on the drain plug.

Something to worry about? Was planning on just new gaskets but don't want to over look anything while its out.

Thanks for any input!

Tim

 

I will add that none of this was visible when I first looked, it was only after wiping it out that the silver showed up.

 

The gray is a mixture of moisture and oil. The moisture is from condensation, probably caused by a few short trips in cooler weather over the life of the engine.

Nothing to worry about.

 

If it ran good and that is all you need, I would just clean it up and regasket the thing and call it a day. Don't forget to replace all the freeze plugs while it is out.

 

Excellent, that is what I was hoping for. Thanks for the info!

And thanks for the tip on the freeze plugs, I didn't have that on my radar but after some reading it definitely is a good idea.

Tim

 

Agreed, looks fine, a very average amount of gunk.

The grey may also be oil with a lot of heavy matter that had sunk to the bottom in out of the way puddles and corners.
They all have collections like that, especially in the dead ends of the oil galleries and similar places.

- Eric

 

I have seen the gray stuff all over main cap BOLTS usually. Nothing to worry about. Less of a problem than 30 yards of RTV stringers clogging up the oil pump pickup.

 

What are your intentions for the engine? Do you know how many miles are on it or if it has ever been rebuilt? The reason I ask, If it has the original timing set in it i would get a new timing set. The originals were nylon and most are shot by now. If you are going to have the front off to regasket the timing cover I would get a timing set. It is real easy to do now and not alot of money. After it is in the car it is a much bigger pain.

 

Yes, and get a good quality brand name set, not a $19 Chinesium set, which may be incorrectly indexed and give you incorrect timing.

- Eric

 

As far as I can tell its never been rebuilt, and it has around 100k miles on it. I had the front clip off for some rust repair and frame painting etc.. and more pulled it to get it out of the way than to create a giant might as well list...

Going for a nice driver quality finished project for just a weekend cruiser, no racing or anything.

The plan was/is:
Water Pump
Timing Set (bought a Cloyes set)
Fuel Pump
Valve stem seals
Gaskets
4bbl manifold (it was a factory 2bbl)
rebuilt q-jet

I had planned leaving the short block assembled, and even at this point I don't see any reason to pull the heads (was concerned about the head gasket thickness and losing compression).

If I'm heading down the wrong path please chime in, I have lots of tools and I'm not afraid to use them!

Thanks for the input
Tim

 

And I guess I can't forget cleaning and painting...lots and lots of cleaning..this lived on a gravel road at some point in its life....ick

 

You sound like you're headed the right way to me!

- Eric

 

Assuming I can source and like-sized steel shim head gasket, would there be any benefit to pulling the heads just for cleaning, valve steam seals, and maybe lapping? I don't think I want to really put any machining into this one.

Tim

 

The steel shim head gaskets are prone to rust out if the coolant wasn't changed at proper intervals.A neighbor had a '72 Delta 88 (bought new) and in '79, with 63,000 miles, had to change the head gaskets. (he never changed the coolant)Valve stem seals can be done without removing the heads.It's one of those things easier to deal with now.

 

I agree.
I don't think you'll gain anything from pulling the heads, but I would recommend doing a rough compression and leakdown test - if it points to a leaky valve, THEN pull the heads.

- Eric

 

Don't forget to do a oil pan gasket now while you have it out. Also you can remove the oil pickup and makesure to check that the screen is clear from debris/clogs.

 

Thanks Magna I will check the oil pickup and I am planning on going with a full gasket set, and after reading Macadoo's thread I am definitely going to replace the freeze plugs!

So this evening I did a leak down test and here is what I found. I used a cheapie Harbor Freight leak down tester (hey I had a coupon) and the gauge was marked with 40-65% being moderate, below 40% low, and above 65% high. I went back and re-tested the "high" ones and got the same or very similar results.

1: 20%
2: 20%
3: 15%
4: 25%
5: 40% (was coming out the exhaust side)
6: 45% (exhaust as well)
7: 25%
8: 40% (intake side)

Thanks for any input!
Tim

 

You did the test as described in the instructions and set each cylinder at TDC compression with both valves closed when you tested it, right?

If so, then the fact that you had any perceptible leakage (regardless of what the gauge said) from any of the valves means that they are leaky and probably burned, and you need a valve job -- Coupe la tête!

- Eric

 

Zut alors!

Yes, I was pretty careful to make sure they were sitting at TDC with the valves closed, that is one reason I went back and re-checked the bad ones. The others you could pretty much hear just coming out through the rings (which I understand as normal) but poking around with some tubing as a stethoscope I could definitely hear the air escaping around those valves. I was just hoping that some leaking was OK...

Thanks for the info
Tim

 

No way, José.

Those valves shouldn't leak at all.

In your case, the situation should be that much clearer, as you've got no manifolds installed, and no valve covers, so you can clearly see that the valves are closed, and you can put your ear practically up against the valves to listen for air escaping.

Frankly I'm surprised that you have more than one bad valve, but it sure seems like you do.

You can get the steel shim head gaskets from Smitty, if you want those, or you can have the heads milled about 0.025" and use Fel-Pros.

- Eric

 

Since its going to need a valve job milling the heads a bit shouldn't be a big deal. I'm going to loosen the rockers (just to be sure) and repeat this test and if they are still leaking in the same spots the heads are coming off!

Thanks again
Tim

 

Makes sense.

With the engine opened up like that, I'd bet you'd be able to use a pretty high pressure (like 100psi) and stick your finger into the ports and actually feel the stream of air if the valves are bad.

- Eric

 

Well unfortunately it nearly blew my hair back....so Coupe la tête!

Thanks for all the input!
Tim