hello 305 motor hasnt run in a year...heads are all CRUSTY black....(rocker arms+)oil returns are real crrusty too...i've noticed that all the rocker arms had oil in them but 2....they looked kinda dry....i'm getting some blue smoke...mostly at startup......the oil smells like fuel also....plugs look clean but the threads are coated with gas thinned oil....i've noticed too..that on the lifters????theres at least 2 of them on each side that have a non-greased ring on them...the whole rod is black(crusty)except for a little clean ring..???? any tips....info....what should i do before starting or ...takign this baby out on the road....how long do i have to wait before i CLEAN IT OUT

 

350,

You can start cleaning it right away. Get it up to normal operating temperature, then change the oil and filter. A synthetic oil will start cleaning the encrusted varnish and sludge as soon as it gets warm. Since you have a dirty engine, you'll want to maintain regular change intervals of about 3,000 miles instead of stretching out the changes just because you are using synthetic. At the very least, change the filter and top off the oil at 3,000 miles or so.

The clean spots you are talking about sound more like they are on the push rods instead of the lifters. You can't normally see the lifters unless you remove the intake manifold.

The blue smoke is somewhat normal for an engine that has been sitting idle for an extended time without proper storage preparation. If the engine has high mileage, there may be nothing you can do short of new rings. If the engine has low or moderate mileage, you might have enough ring material left to scrape the cylinders clean and still seal - eventually. don't be surprised if the oil burning diminishes or disappears completely.

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Later,
Vader
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Justice and Freedom will Prevail

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited September 20, 2001).]

 

hey vader,
wouldn't it be better to run a regular motor oil for a while? I thought that synthetics had a lot of paraffin compounds in them plus they are kinda expensive. I thought it would be best to run a good brand of regular detergent motor oil to clean the engine internally then swich to a sythetic. just wondering.

 

thanx......the motor is an 81 i dont know how many miles on it.......i've been told to stay away from system cleaners like gunk gone or whatever....because it would kill all of my "sludge seals".....correct?????

ya know ...i learn more and more off of you guys....everyday....this 3rd gen board is soo informative......it helps to know you guys are here....

thanks,

Rob

 

wasnt shutting you down slayer2000 i was talking about the seperate cleaner.....

 

Slayer,

It's really a toss-up about mineral oil versus synthetics for the first change. Even the factory uses synthetics for break-in oil these days.

You might be right. The oil will probably get trashed so quickly that synthetic might not be in the sump long enough to do much cleaning.

And, no, most synthetics don't have paraffin as viscosity enhancers. at least Mobil doesn't, which is probably why I use the formulation. Unlike mineral oils, which tend to have paraffinic additive bases, Mobil 1 is a polyalphaolefin formulation. It tends to dissolve organics (like carbon) and therefore cleans very well. It would probably eat up paraffin the same way. Mobil offers many other synthetic bases in its full lubricant line, but none contain paraffin additives that I am aware of. The paraffin would quickly ruin the low temperature characteristics of the lubricant, so would be avaoided at all costs.

And at least one Amsoil oil type is a polyol ester based lubricant, but it has no paraffinic additives either. Some of the low-end synthetics, like Castol Syntech, may have paraffin additives, but I haven't reseached them in depth since they don't offer anything but automotive lubricants, and are therefore of little value to me.

In either case, changing the filter at short intervals might be a good idea to remove as much particle as possible.

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
Justice and Freedom will Prevail

 

If it didn't smoke when it was parked, then my guess is the stem seals have dried up, shrunk, cracked, and are now down along the valve stems somehwere, or laying in the heads.

 

i dont have a compressor....and no valve train tools....how much do you think it would cost to get a head job or should i just search for a new /rebuilt/goodshape set of heads???
\
Rob

 

There's a low-buck way to keep the valves from falling in the cylinder. You raise the piston of the cylinder you'll work on to TDC. Then, you remove the spark plug, and thread a ton of nylon cord into the engine thru the spark plug hole. When the piston area's packed, you can supposedly remove the valvesprings, and the valves won't fall into the combustion chamber because of the nylon cord.

I haven't done it though, so don't cuss me out if it doesn't work! Sounds like it would, though... and be a pain in the butt, too.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

I would at least go 6000-10000 miles and see how the engine reacts. Change the oil/filter when it turns black or every 3000 miles whichever happens first. The seals may soften back up.

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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, currant red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

i just changed the oil....ran it for about 15 minutes.. total..little starts here and there...and it smells like gas and very thin... PITCH black...

 

Sounds more like a fuel problem than an oil control prob...

 

TomP, it works, and IS a pain in the a$$ .

350, I'm with Joel and it sounds like you need to check why you're running so rich.

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1990 IROC 350
Mods: Too busy trying to make it run right to mod it.
Airfoil, Dynomax cat-back, MSD coil, 180 t-stat, Bald Eagle tires,
Hypertech fan switch, Accel 23# injectors, Holley module, ported plenum,
Ported Daytona Yellow stock base, Moroso valve covers, other stuff,
Streetdampr, Ruger P95DC, hot wife, new oil filter, !cats, !TBC, !AIR.
18.0 @ 85MPH since I'm one big-a$$ MF
"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

that should be easy.....i dont have any electronic stuff.......just a motor and a wire to the battery ...really though.....running rich can do this...i thought the fuel would be burned up in the pistons...not blowing by......

rob..