Never saw this kind of growth before. Maybe I will frame the pictures.

 

Yuck - that looks disgusting.

 

Looks like a short trip engine that never got hot or had an oil change + it lives out side without an intake.

SWAG: Bone yard car?

 

needs a oil change

 

lololol

wtf. where did u get that?

and what would be the cleaning method to use for that?

soak in carb cleaner?

 

Hammer and chisel it will eventually be dissolved in the oil pan

 

I tore the front end off to do timing chain & gears. Then I noticed when I squirted solvent up near the driver side front of the intake, it just wicked down between the head and the intake. So... I pulled the intake to replace the gaskets and found this goop on the passenger side front. It's hard & crunchy. Yes... I will chisel it out and keep most if not all of it from falling down the oil return holes. The pan is off so I'm not too worried about it. I'm just amazed at the sight. It was touching the push-rod. It looks like the oil was blowing in from the timing chain cavity and then drying out and piling up. Can't quite get my head around it. Never saw this particular show before.

 

Wax based oil, I've seen some engines all gummed up with wax deposits. Certain oils use to have a lot of wax in them(I herd most modern oils don't). The waxy oils flash burn easy and I always avoided them. I know some brothers who always used a oil brand because their dad did. One of them I ruined a good hat putting out his engine fire and the other his car burned up while he was inside a store. Make sure you have no leaks if your oil is wax based.

 

I'll take a SWAG at it: Coolant (with stop-leak added) leaking past the intake gasket into the lifter valley?

Whatever the cause, looks mighty nasty! I think I'd inspect some of the rod and main bearings and journals for damage while it's apart, before putting any additional time or cash into this engine.

Live well,

SJW

 

Barf!

 

This thread is RIPE for bad advice and speculation! Lets see if I can piece this puzzle together, scientifically....

That happened b/c you used Dexcool coolant, no "top end cleaner", no oil additives, and no fuel additives. Here's what happened; The Dex Cool coolant started creating "white powder". That white powder stuff is acidic, ya know and it ate a hole through your intake gasket. Then the coolant leaked out in the valley where it turned into the legendary "Dex sludge". GM was sued for it, ya know. Anyway, it might have blended in w/the oil, but meanwhile, you were building up tons of carbon in your injectors, intake ports and combustion chambers from 85 octane fuel w/no 'top end cleaner. That, getting sucked through your PCV, contaminated oil from blow by gasses from your un-seafoam treated cylinders, it all coagulated into one pile of un-treated cow dung, in your valley!

Anyway, those pics are the result, and proof....PROOF, I say. If you'd have used conventional green coolant, Mobil 1 oil loaded with additives, and you had shot cans of Sea Foam down every orifice in your car....this would have never happened. This post is PROOF, I say!

OP, grab at least one of everything off this shelf;




Mix it all up in a big witch's cauldron, then pour 1/3 in your oil hole, 1/3 in your gas fill hole, and 1/3 in your air hole...that should cure the issue, for sure.

 

Being serious now, I agree with ^this^. It really does look like coolant was leaking/dripping in that area.

I have never seen coolant cause or catalyze this type of build up either, though.

 

Neither have I. But I can't help wondering if somebody might have added some stop-leak to the cooling system some time ago, trying to stop this (or some other) leak, leading to this build-up of gunk. Gotta wonder what the bearings and journals look like in this engine...

Live well,

SJW

 

I wouldn't have thought of that, but it's a great hypothesis, IMO.

 

Interesting comments. And I was all ready to put a filter on the muffler bearing. Just kidding guys. Thanks for the speculations.

I don't know the history of this car.... it's a recent purchase and this is my first major repair on this one. I'll take your suggestions seriously though when I'm shopping for the consumables. The intake was definitely leaking on the opposites side. RE: The bearings- I pulled some of the rod & main caps as soon as I had it apart and they are in poor condition. They are the OEM bearings and are the odd size assembly parts with unobtanium clearances. In order to fix those, I have to pull the engine, grind/polish the crank, and install standard size bearings. That's not on the table right now because I already have two Vette's down for major engine repair. This is my driver until I get the other two back together.

The cooling fan wiring is completely butchered so I have to address that after I get the engine buttoned back up. The fan is controlled manually by a toggle switch added to the console. I think the Dukes of Hazard worked on this car. I'm saving it from the parts bin.

 

I thought it was caused by calcium deposits building up over millions of years ??

 

Sounds like this one's in pretty sad shape. Might be a good idea to drive it very gently until you have another set of wheels running.

Good luck with it.

Live well,

SJW

 

Is the engine acting up in anyway? Clean it up, throw some fresh oil in there and drive on. Wouldn't worry too much about it, good chance the PO let the oil change intervals go quite a ways.

 

Yes... the car was almost un-driveable... sputtering... shaking... stalling etc. That's why I got it cheap and why I tore it down. Timing chain & gears were completely shot. Intake was leaking. I'm cleaning it all up, replacing many parts, new timing chain & gears.

 

Glad to see someone willing to start with the basics; I predict you'll have a good driver when you're finished;