Oil leak?

[Ben_jamin]

Checked my engine today and saw all of this oil like build up on top of the engine. Standard oil leak? Do I need to be concerned?

 

[Rotorhead58]

Any signs of leakage around the head gaskets? Any black or white smoke coming out of the exhaust? If you pull the spark plugs, are they oily?

Id recommend cleaning it up and running it with the hatch open to see if you can identify the source.

 

[Arminius]

Do you have an inverted oil filter canister on top that needs tightening?

 

[Little Ducky]

Are you concerned with the oil around what looks to be a breather hose above the VORTEC in the 1st picture?

I'd say you need to investigate that connection to see if there's a gasket or "O" ring that has failed allowing some oil vapor to escape and then accumulate in that area.

Is the oil dripping down the side of the motor?

 

[Arminius]

Kinda looks like a valve cover leak. Do not overtighten.

 

[Ben_jamin]

It seems to be coming from where the breather hose is connected to what I believe is the valve cover? The oil pressure stays at 40 and the engine temp is hovering around 165. I haven’t seen any smoke out of the exhaust.

 

[Ben_jamin]

Also should I be concerned with the level of my drive lube? I saw some high performance gear lube at Bass Pro and thought about buying some. Do you just add more to it?

 

[scoflaw]

That's blowby coming from the cover, not a big deal. Wipe it off with a rag, if it looks excessive, well...then to plan B.
Normal for it to go down real slowly, yes add, but not too high

 

[Ben_jamin]

Any signs of leakage around the head gaskets? Any black or white smoke coming out of the exhaust? If you pull the spark plugs, are they oily?

Id recommend cleaning it up and running it with the hatch open to see if you can identify the source.

I saw very minimal smoke coming from where the breather hose was concert to the top of the engine. I apologize for my ignorance of the engine parts.

 

[Ben_jamin]

That's blowby coming from the cover, not a big deal. Wipe it off with a rag, if it looks excessive, well...then to plan B.
Normal for it to go down real slowly, yes add, but not too high

checked the oil stick and we are down to the Add level....gets its plan B

 

[BillK2632]

Looks normal to me - I get the same thing on my 4.3. They are not pvc valves, just a plastic fitting that is open. Pull it out and clean it up.

 

[NewBoater208]

Yesterday morning I started up my '88 Weekender and white smoke came out of the exhaust. There was a faint sweet odor with the smoke. The smoke eventually dissipated. I was out about 2 hours, practicing docking so low speeds. Both engines were about 150 degrees. This morning I checked the oil, wasn’t milky, and I checked the coolant levels, overflow tank was a little low and main holding tank was full.

 

[BillK2632]

The white smoke and sweet smell is coolant / antifreeze burning off. Sounds like coolant is leaking into a cylinder when the engine is off. Could be a head gasket or exhaust manifold or even the intake manifold. I would start by pulling the plugs, the cylinders that are getting coolant in them will have very clean plugs. Next would be a compression test. Do you have a full closed system that includes the manifolds in the closed system?

 

[NewBoater208]

The white smoke and sweet smell is coolant / antifreeze burning off. Sounds like coolant is leaking into a cylinder when the engine is off. Could be a head gasket or exhaust manifold or even the intake manifold. I would start by pulling the plugs, the cylinders that are getting coolant in them will have very clean plugs. Next would be a compression test. Do you have a full closed system that includes the manifolds in the closed system?

Yes. Thank you for the information.

 

[GypsmJim]

Also should I be concerned with the level of my drive lube? I saw some high performance gear lube at Bass Pro and thought about buying some. Do you just add more to it?

You can ad more if the HP is what you have in it now. If its Mercury Premium Gear Lube, drain and refill. Don't mix the 2.

 

[NewBoater208]

I had the manifolds and risers replaced and no more smoke. I saw the old manifolds and risers, the previous owner used some orange silicon and covered the water galleries.

 

[Arminius]

They are not pvc valves,

?

 

[BillK2632]

?

Those fittings in the valve covers on the 4.3 on the pictures. It is setup like a PCV valve, but it really is not. If you pull that plastic fitting out, it's just an open fitting with a hose that allows the crankcase vent to get sucked back into the carburetor - no valve like a true PCV valve. It works similar to a PCV system in a car, but setup a little different.

 

[Arminius]

If you say so. I am not in a position to check. The volume of the crankcase changes under the reciprocating pistons and needs pressure relief. Long as you don't have a vented cap, you could just pump vapors back and forth into intake manifold, I guess (?). Prior to pcv valves, cars had long slant cut tubes extending below the car, smoking and dripping as blowby increased with age. Alternately, this engine could have had a bad pcv valve which has a replacement schedule on my 5.0.

 

[Wanderer 290]

Hii, theo mình thấy thì đây không hẳn là vấn đề không tốt, đáng tham khảo. Cảm ơn nè!

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