My Valvetrain is Incredibly Filthy - What to do? (1 Viewer)

[TriaxialBulls]

Hey guys, was changing my valve cover gasket today because I’m 99% sure it was leaking. 1994 FZJ80 with only 167k. Below you can see some pictures of my valvetrain once I got the cover off. How screwed am I? Wasn’t planning on taking the heads off because the HG doesn’t seem to have any problems. What should I do? Just put it back on and drive it until it becomes a problem?

 

[cruisermatt]

is this the first time you’ve worked on an engine?

 

[Kernal]

Looks normal.

You'll need 6 spark plug tube seals, a new PCV valve grommet, and (by the book) the metal gasket for the Throttle Body in addition to the valve cover gasket.

 

[TriaxialBulls]

Looks normal.

You'll need 6 spark plug tube seals, a new PCV valve grommet, and (by the book) the metal gasket for the Throttle Body in addition to the valve cover gasket.

Yep I have all of that, in addition to new valve cover bolts, new PCV valve, both new PCV hoses, and both the coolant hoses that run through the TB. All OEM from Mr. T. I’m doing an distributor overhaul as well, new cap, rotor, brush, seal, distributor gasket, NGK spark plug wires and NGK iridium plugs. I’m also going to paint the valve cover while I have it out. The gasket was leaking in about 20 different places, as it turns out (distributor seal was also leaking)

 

[Pin_Head]

It looks better than most. Always let sleeping gunk lie.

 

[scottryana]

Just my opinion but I would run one of the higher detergent engine oils and increase my change interval. Sometimes these are not daily driven and to get 5000 miles might take 1/2 a year.... Run a diesel engine oil and change 2000-3000 miles/2-3 months.

 

[Spdstr280Z]

Yeah, unless I'm missing something, that's pretty not bad at all.

Jason

 

[TriaxialBulls]

Just my opinion but I would run one of the higher detergent engine oils and increase my change interval. Sometimes these are not daily driven and to get 5000 miles might take 1/2 a year.... Run a diesel engine oil and change 2000-3000 miles/2-3 months.

I actually just got the truck and have put less than 100 miles on it. It am planning on doing an oil change with Rotella 5w-40 diesel oil (I’m in LA so I’m okay with running a slightly heavier oil in this hotter climate).

 

[1973Guppie]

Looks normal. Run it.

 

[davidp14]

That's filthy?

You can spray the inside of the vc with degreaser and get that as sparkling as you like. I would not mess with the valve train.
you'll open pandoras box. Next thing you know you'll be doing a hg.


Neither really looks that bad though.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

you should have seen the rocker arms on my 3fe land cruiser. if you think thats dirty mine would have given you a heart attack.

 

[bigredmachine]

that's so clean you could eat off it. filthy is when the sludge is built up so bad that the cam lobes have made their own paths in the goop and you cant see the head or cam caps

 

[Rifleman]

that's so clean you could eat off it. filthy is when the sludge is built up so bad that the cam lobes have made their own paths in the goop and you cant see the head or cam caps

Now that's a fact, i had a friend back in the early 70's that bought a car from an old man who was running one of those J. C. Whitney "life time" oil filters that used toilet paper rolls as the replaceable filter. Per the ad in the J. C. Whitney catalog, with this life time filter in place you NEVER had to change your engines oil. You just needed to add a new QT of oil to your engine each time you replaced the toilet paper roll in the filter housing. When we removed his valve covers each rocker arm on that engine was individually cocooned in a walled off mountain of sludge.

 

[bigredmachine]

Now that's a fact, i had a friend back in the early 70's that bought a car from an old man who was running one of those J. C. Whitney "life time" oil filters that used toilet paper rolls as the replaceable filter. Per the ad in the J. C. Whitney catalog, with this life time filter in place you NEVER had to change your engines oil. You just needed to add a new QT of oil to your engine each time you replaced the toilet paper roll in the filter housing. When we removed his valve covers each rocker arm on that engine was individually cocooned in a walled off mountain of sludge.

that sounds like a terrible idea, no oil changes ever is a good way to kill the engine. weve had our share of motors with no oil change history that just keept running, a testament to how well built some of these motors are.

 

[retrofive]

 

[Rifleman]

View attachment 2269845

Yep, that's the same type of "life time" filter setup sold by J. C. Whitney back in the 50's and 60's.

 

[retrofive]

Yep, that's the same type of "life time" filter setup sold by J. C. Whitney back in the 50's and 60's.

I tried briefly tried to find the JC one, and ran across that from 1951 Popular Science. LOL

 

[Rwhat]

As people mentioned that a higher detergent oil helps. I think it does.
15-40 Rotella. I however do think at some point the HG was previously done due to paint marks on the timing gear. I could be wrong.

172,000 with last 25,000 miles on with Rotella

 

[Pin_Head]

Back then there were engines that didn’t have an oil filter. Just a strainer.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Covid free man! Drive it like you stole it.