Hi

Looking for some advice again please... As you can see from the photo the top end of my 1974 225 looks very ugly. I noticed this recently when my brother was helping me set the lash.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/35716845@N00/7460606448/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35716845@N00/7460608416/

He thought that it was an indication of oil being burnt from lack of oil to the top end. Does that sound right? The gauge reads about 40psi but I'm afraid it might not be making it to the top. I read on here that I should remove the rocker gear, crank it and look for oil from the rear most rocker bolt hole.

What is the best way to clean this mess up?

Thanks

Derek

That's regular sludge build-up. It's quite common on older engines. It's not hard and burnt from high heat. You'll have to run the engine with the valve cover off to check the oiling. You should see oil at both ends of every rocker after a few minutes running.

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Joshua

Thanks. Some of the black was a little crusty/brittle but I did what you said and there does appear to be oil coming out of each of the rockers so I guess I am good to go.

Should I attempt to clean it up or just close it back up and don't fix what isn't broken?

Thanks again.

Derek

How well or poorly are the rockers oiling with the engine running?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Here's a couple of photos taken after it was running for a few minutes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35716845@N00/7461406464/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35716845@N00/7461404116/

Sorry, not sure how to embed these pics.

I don't really have much experience here so can't be sure if this is sufficient or not... it's certainly not shooting out all over the place but you can see a couple of splashes on the tubes beside the head.

Thanks

Derek

From the photos it appears your rockers aren't oiling at all. The sludge has probably stopped things up. Time for some disassembly and cleanup, and while you're in there you may want to install new valve stem seals. See here.

For instructions on how to embed images, see here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Ok Thanks. I took it off and the tube does look fairly crudded up.

I see oil puddled on the valve spring retainers. With older, worn engines there won't be much oil flow to the top end at idle, but all the valve stem tips and all the pushrod cups should be well oiled.

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Joshua