IDSRVIT

Hey all.

Working on my buddy '75 again and the whole intake manifold except behind the alternator and behind the carb is coated with black oil / dirt.... same with the valve covers, they are coated too.

My belief is the cause of this is leaking valve cover gaskets which the fan then kicks up the oil residue and it lands all over the intake manifold, valve covers, etc. and then the dust / dirt just adheres to it.

I verified that the front oil pan and rear main seals are not leaking and there are no puddles under the car. The exhaust manifolds also have some oil residue on them and you can smell oil burning after the car runs for a while.

Opinions? Other ideas?

JimLentz

I had the same issue with the passenger side valve cover gasket leaking. It was an original cork gasket with a crack in it. The thing I never figured out is that the previous owner had recently had it rebuilt, so the old cork gaskets didn't make sense. Feel just below the valve cover, especially toward the passenger compartment to verify if it is the valve cover and which one.

IDSRVIT

Thanks Jim...... Yes, both have leaks, verified that this past Saturday..... would big enough leaks cause the caking of oil / dirt on the top end of the motor after years of neglect?

JimLentz

Yes, it sure would. Mine was pretty bad from just one of the gaskets leaking. The previous owner couldn't figure it out and overtightened the oil filter in attempt to fix it. I almost couldn't get it off.

IDSRVIT

Good to know...... I had him buy some high quality rubber valve cover gaskets but before I tore into it I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else I was missing and should replace while I was cleaning stuff up.

The engine itself runs really nice, and the motor is all original with 35K miles on it, the problem is it just sat too long and now all the gaskets are dry and brittle.

I tried to explain to him since we are putting the work into it, we should pull the whole motor and replace all the gaskets but he just wants it back on the road sooner rather than later. My guess is once he gets it really warm and gets some miles on it, then other gaskets will start to fail too.

Oh well, he's paying me for rental space and help working on his car so it's his money.

JimLentz

Did he get the rubber gaskets with the metal in them. That is what I used and they make installation much easier and worth the extra expense. This is similar to what I purchased.

If somewhere down the road he does the oil pan gasket you can change it with the engine in the car.

JimLentz

Are the intake manifold gaskets OK?

IDSRVIT

yes.... the ones with the metal in them. They are the only kind I'll use any more.

Great tidbit on the pan gasket being able to be replaced with the motor in the car.

Thanks again

IDSRVIT

Hard to say with all the gunk there. I'll know more once I tear into it and start to clean things up.