Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

289 - 351 cid Small Block Performance
CAComet1965
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Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by CAComet1965 »

The gnomes really must have a hard on for me.

In the front of my intake, two crevices near thermostat housing, and one crevice by the distributor, I have a persistent pool of what I think is oil.

When I wiped my intake down, it reappears a few days later. The weird thing is, these pools of oil are always the same level--they never rise.

I've read about wicking and the possibility of oil seeping from the bolts...but there is not evidence. (I went ahead and tighten them a corner turn anyway.) Could this also be the gas that disappears from the fuel power via the power valve disguised as oil?

Could they be coming from microscopic cracks in my intake?

popscomet
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by popscomet »

sounds like a typical SBF to me.....pop,,,,
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Groover
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by Groover »

I vote gas oil combination, but mostly gas. If you can get a small sample of it removed from the engine (and anything else), light it on fire. Oil wouldn't burn very well at all, while gas would ignite immediately. Watch your hair! :twisted:
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by Jims65cyclone »

If it's gas, wouldn't it be obvious by the smell?
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poboyjo65
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by poboyjo65 »

Mine did that ,was the intake gasket. & 2 or 3 of my SBF have a tad of coolant on the top of timing cover.
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by Jims65cyclone »

poboyjo65 wrote:Mine did that ,was the intake gasket. & 2 or 3 of my SBF have a tad of coolant on the top of timing cover.
Mine has the little puddle of coolant on top of the timing cover that never goes away, but never seems to get bigger. :?
Jim
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poboyjo65
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by poboyjo65 »

Yea Jim I dont worry about it. but that intake was a mystery, but being twice as flat headed as a tack I figured it out. The morrow of the story? I have one this time :shock: ,for the intake trouble of mine & it was all my fault.

Never put an engine lift plate on your intake with a gasket, no matter what you might think .Take it from me & Bill Dance,,, don't do that.

You might forget & turn the motor over even by hand, & I remembered later it getting tight ,then releasing, & thinking dang I'm getting weak in my older age. :roll: or this thing has got lots of compression!! :shock: The pics of that gasket even stumped Pop ,Roy & everone! Daddy told me about me & anvils many times, but he would have been stumped on this one too.

Both sides were like this. there are more pics & stumpage in my build thread,,, lost in space :roll: & dont drop that anvil on your toe! :lol:
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redhotcomet
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by redhotcomet »

Jims65cyclone wrote:
poboyjo65 wrote:Mine did that ,was the intake gasket. & 2 or 3 of my SBF have a tad of coolant on the top of timing cover.
Mine has the little puddle of coolant on top of the timing cover that never goes away, but never seems to get bigger. :?
Jim
Mine too! Right below the thermostat housing. Glad I'm not the only one.
1964 Caliente hardtop, 302/T5/8.8"

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poboyjo65
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by poboyjo65 »

Redhot I have more than one like that. Those chrome t housings are the worst to do it but any of them will, but then again I'm not sure where it is leaking from. :lol:
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popscomet
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by popscomet »

WHEN it comes to a chrome T housing,,I always take a piece of sandpaper and scuff up the mateing surface and where the hose slips on.
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fryedaddy
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by fryedaddy »

it might be the dist o ring seeping.i have a truck that does the same thing.only so much comes out.just a guess,but it was what was causing my oil leak
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Lip Ripper
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by Lip Ripper »

I am not saying that anything wrong was done but torque spec's along with sequence are important.
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redhotcomet
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by redhotcomet »

poboyjo65 wrote:Redhot I have more than one like that. Those chrome t housings are the worst to do it but any of them will, but then again I'm not sure where it is leaking from. :lol:
I've got a Ford 45 degree one. I've tried sanding it on a flat surface. Could be the intake manifold thats leaking, but its leaked in the same place with two different manifolds (and gasket sets). Timing cover possibly. I don't know. It doesn't bother me a whole lot. Black block makes it hard to see. 8)
1964 Caliente hardtop, 302/T5/8.8"

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popscomet
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by popscomet »

like I said ,,it's a sbf..pop
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Rocket989
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Re: Mysterious pools of oil in the front crevices of intake

Post by Rocket989 »

What Pop said! IIRC, early SBF heads...some of the intake bolt holes weren't "blind", they went all the way through. Oil can wick up and out. Thought they were the center four though...I'll have to go down and look. I've got at least one set of C6OE heads and plenty of later stuff. Solution? Thread sealer on the bolts!! I've had the same thing, though again...more towards center! At the very front...opens up more possibilities...

John - those intake gaskets look like Fel Pro 1250's!!! They make a steel core version (S3) that won't do that!! Just from looking at the pic though!

And don't over-torque the intake bolts on a SBF! They go straight down...no sense startin' to pull the head(s) UP!
'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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