What else while it is parked?

[K-Centre]

I'm currently waiting on a new aluminum valve cover for my 83 Cherokee to come in, hopefully on Friday. DSPO didn't read the torque specs on a valve cover, had to remove the rear bolt with a breaker bar. Needless to say, the cover was cracked. In the mean time, I'm going to drop the oil pan and replace the rear main seal and oil pump.

Any other suggestions to stop up oil leaks?

Also, with all of the crusty stuff on the head, I know I'll have to change the oil shortly after reassembly. Is there anything that I can do to clean off the valve springs and rockers? I'm afraid to spray anything, is it just a matter of scraping?

Thanks in advance.

[Stuka]

The springs and roockers shouldennt really have anything on them...maybe a small amount of stuff...but if its heavy something weird is going on. They should never get hot enough for oil to burn and carbon up on them. Most engines I have pulled apart have small amounts of dirt and stuff that have built up..but because of the way the rockers and springs are always moving its hard for buildup to start.

How much buildup is there?

[tito]

Once had an Olds***** that had all kinds of gunk around the rockers and springs when the valve covers were pulled off. A mechanic told me it looked like the oil had been foaming, then caking onto everything when it cooled. I drove hard and fast, but I wouldn't think enough to foam the oil. I had been using Havoline oil.

Scrapped everything as best as possible, then ran an engine flush the before every oil change to dissolve the remaining gunk and prevent build up. Needless to say, switched brands of oil.

Only thing I can think of is water/condensation mixed with the oil to make it froth up and then cake to the parts.

Some info for what it's worth.

[RustyJeep]

Pennzoil will cake on to rockers and parts, and also Quaker state, now that it's owned by Pennzoil. It's all because they are parafin based crap.

[kyjman]

My 258 had crud built up on the top of the head, and in that area.....its was running so good that I did not clean it....if it aint broke you cant fix it.....That was over the Labor Day weekend and its still running great....

[K-Centre]

There was just too much crud on the rockers and valve springs to ignore. I've posted a couple of pictures and based on correspondence with others, it looks like a classic case of bad oil. I used Pennzoil (the cheapest) for the first few oil changes. The crud on the head and valve springs would best be described as a waxy/tar substance. Makes sense when you consider that Pennzoil is parafin based. Here are the pictures for anyone interested (I'll delete them in a couple of days):

Edit: Pictures Deleted. E-mail me if you want to see them.

The last is a shot of a bunch of material that I scraped off and formed into a ball.

[ October 07, 2002, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: K-Centre ]

[Doug B.]

Me think it is time for me to stop using Quakerstate/Pensoil........is Castrol any better?

P.S. if you stare into your pics (especially the first one) it looks like one of those Hubble telescope pics of distant galaxies.

[Blackjack]

Mobil 1 synthetic, it's all I use. You pay a bit more but...well you know the rest.
GFD

[tito]

After the situation with the *lds, I switched to Castrol and never had any more problems. In fact, that's all that's ever been in my Mustnag and it runs real strong despite 214,000 miles.

Looking the pics makes me think about my arteries, but just gotta have that BBQ.

[Irondust]

I like the Mobil synthetic blend. It's a little less than the Mobil 1 but it hold up nicely. Oh yeah, I also have a nice big rare earth magnet on my oil pan.

[ October 02, 2002, 11:07 AM: Message edited by: Irondust ]

[mtn goat]

if all that goo is on your rockers...just think of the oil passageways. I think thats how my engine died...plugged up in the rear.

[billyrb]

I agree w/ mtn goat. You may have a "tear down-rebuild it" coming in the near future. If there is that much gunk built up, I would recommend removing the motor, getting it professionally dipped and prepped, and rebuild it (just my $.04). With that much stuff visible, I can't imagine what ISN'T visible.....

~ryan