Alright so in my '51 Styleline I have replaced the starter/fuel pump/lines and got some ugly but usable wheels until I free some funds for nice ones. It's now actually useable and I have been driving it every couple of days to work or out on errands but there is one small issue I haven't tackled yet... There is always a little pool of oil under the car the next morning, not a HUGE amount but enough to have me wanting to fix it. I am planning on doing an oil/filter change anyway but more concerning is the fact I popped the hood and saw oil had been getting by the valve-cover cap. I had cleaned the motor down the day before and now the rear half of the cover is slick with oil, not drowning in it but definitely has a leak. I haven't got a huge amount of experience in these motors, is this a known issue on a full pressure (1960-1961) 235? Or do I have a concern here? I've seen a little get by valve cover caps before on other cars but this seems worse, is this a symptom of something bigger? Any advice would be useful, I don't get much time to work on the car so I need to be efficient with what I can look at and fix.
Do a search on "blow by" sounds like you might be looking at a rebuild in the future. or just run it and keep an eye on the oil level.
I would take the valve cover off to make sure oil isn't getting trapped due to a sludge condition that hampers oil running back to the pan. If so, scrape off the big pieces (do change the oil real soon..) and install the cover. If you don't find a problem, just wrap a shop rag or piece of an old towel around the breather cap with a zip tie. This will contain the blow-by mess to a big degree. Bob
Cool thanks! That's what I needed to hear, I figured blow-by was part of it but a rebuild aint happening! I'll pull the cover and check it out, I like your rag idea too..
I thought the design was for fresh air in at the valve cover cap and out the down draft tube... unless it's got a pcv I'd be checking the downdraft for blockage especially if there's gunk present when the valve cover comes off.
Alright, pulled the valve cover and all looked good under there, no gunk at all. Then pulled the road draft tube, soaked it, cleaned it out, let it dry and put it back on. Oil leak on the valve cover has all but stopped, there is still a few puffs coming from the road draft tube, I'm thinking the P.O. may have used the wrong oil so I grabbed some fresh stuff I'll put in there when I get the time. Lastly, the 3-speed is leaking a bit... anyone recommend good stuff to put in there? I might pull the drain/fill plugs, clean them and put fresh fluid in.
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