I don't think anything is wrong with the heads If there was it would have showed up with that nitrous shot a long time ago That oil is probably just coming from the covers leaking some I wouldn't worry about it. It could be the valve guides leaking some and when the car sits the oil gets in the chamber, gets on the plug and when you pull it out it has oil on it. Clean them up and the hole in the heads put them back in and go blast down the highway then go home and pull them out and you will find nothing on them. Wait till the weekend and they will be wet. Oil can leach its way into anything.
Teflon or Viton seals? My heads are fresh done and a couple plugs have some oil on threads. No valve cover leaks. Don't worry about it, unless you are trying to justify your case for buying the aluminums.
Mark, Google says you need a professional mechanic! Faulty piston compression rings. The pistons inside your engine are equipped with compression rings to prevent oil from entering the combustion chamber. If the piston rings are cracked or faulty, the engine oil will most likely leak inside the spark plug wells. The most common symptom of cracked compression rings is a foul-smelling and bluish exhaust smoke. Worn out valve guides. If you notice oil or ash in the spark plug wells, it is time to check the condition of the valve guides. Worn out or faulty valve guides can also cause excessive blue smoke from the exhaust. The valve guides inside your engine are designed to regulate the air intake and will keep the valves in place as you rev the motor. If the valve guides are leaking, oil can enter the spark plug wells. Both of the conditions mentioned above are pretty serious and will need to be fixed immediately. Sadly, replacing the piston rings and the valve guides are not a simply DIY job. In the presence of oil on the spark plug threads and bluish smoke from the exhaust, it is better to have the engine checked by a professional mechanic.
I don't get how oil from the combustion chamber gets on the plug threads but doesn't get burned in the cylinder and not end up on the plug electrodes?
Larry, seems more like a tarr type (sticky) consistency. I noticed it more so when I ran the old forged TRW piston that needed a lot more bore clearance, due to the older material and expansion. Not so much with Hypers or Autotecs that run at .002-.003 tighter clearance. Guy I think runs older material forged pistons with larger piston to bore clearance. That tapered plug seat has to seal up well or you'd be losing compression. Seems to me that older builds, worn guides, bad seals, or high mileage engines have the oily thread conditions more so. Mark is scrutinizing this too much.
Gellner installed the bigger TA valves, gasket matched the intake ports, but other than that Im not sure much more was done.
C'mon guys your suppose to say stuff like " time for some new heads Mark" Ahhh Seeee, Google says it needs to be fixed IMMEDIATELY
Time for some new heads Mark! My 350 started out with 1 0r 2 plugs having oil on the threads right after rebuild. Now with almost 10,000mi. there is oil on all the plug threads. So I ordered a set of alum. heads about a month ago, there where 6 sets ahead of mine waiting to be ported. I am collecting parts for this winters projects, {alum. heads, roller cam and rockers,SP3}.
Now THATS what Im talkin' bout Did you ever investigate where the oil may be coming from? Its good to know Im not the only one with this issue
The heat range of those plugs looks good, but that much oil coming from wherever is surly cutting into your fuels octane rating, and is likely making for knock conditions which is hammering your motor apart and likely a good part of why you have needed to rebuild it so much! If I where you I would yank those heads and 100% prove out that the valve stems have no more then .001" ware on them, the guides are good all the way thru them and have not been knurled and that the valve seals atleast on the Intake valves fit the guide well and also that they are not Teflon, but Viton type seals.
NICE Sounds like the heads ARE selling, but yah don't hear much about it on here. 6 sets ahead of yours??? WOW! They give an approximate time when yours would be done or no? This driving season is near over, so no big deal really, Im probably going to do like you, a winter/early spring project, no rush. Did you have to pay in full when you ordered, or leave a deposit, and balance due when done?
That's whats concerning me, its on all the plugs now, when I put this new build in, it was just on a couple, so the issue is worsening. Yeah, I know about the presence of oil cutting the octane rating, Im already at 11.1 static comp ratio with iron heads, I surely don't need oil cutting my octane rating.
Those irons are now shot and you are going to need the Aluminum heads in order to stop the oil flow to the plugs. With those irons being 50 years old now they must be leaking everywhere. I would order the set of alums as soon as possible before the oil overcomes the compression and then you hear that noise.... BOOM! Might as well stick a 100 shot on there and finish those heads off!!
I've been told the Teflon seals don't let enough oil to the guides compared to the Vitons, so guides and valve stems wear out faster because they are running dry. The plug well is the plug recessed area in chamber that you polished when you also polished your chambers up. Go get the TA's but don't paint them RED!
When I tear it down this winter I am going to do leak down test on all cyl. with the valve covers off and intake off so hopefully I can find out what the problem is. On their facebook page I see alot of people on there getting the heads. 6 sets ahead of me being ported, but at the time I ordered mine there were only 2 more sets left, so if anyone else wants some they may want to check into it. Tim said about 6wks. till done but no big hurry because roller cam is 1-2 months out. Yes, I was able to just leave a deposit. I'm getting the level 1 porting and I think my deposit was $2,600. I saw that the guy with the 350 in his skylark on facebook that was turning 12.09 and just installed the alum. heads and went 11.90
I've gone back to using umbrella seals if the valves are expensive, and if not, umbrellas on the exhaust and teflon on the intakes, since the intakes are under vacuum and the exhaust are under pressure. Jim
I just received my heads two weeks ago 2.02 intake level one porting with the basic bowl blend. My machinist was impressed with the effort put into making these heads.
Perfect, I needed that encouragement, reassurance my irons are junk I was considering going to the track tomorrow to see if I could get my 60' down, but after changing plugs and seeing the oil on all the plug threads I thought "why?" I've got 5 or 6 runs at almost 102 mph with a 13.45 and a best of 13.40 e.t. I tried leaner jetting, it slowed me down, 76/80 80/82 netted me my best ET 82/92 (stock AED jetting) netted me my best MPH Moved timing around a bit, 36 total seems to be my limit, any more I can hear the engine rattle on 93 pump gas. I think I hit the wall so to speak. Im convinced when Gellner installed the bigger TA valves and gasket matched the intake ports, that's all they did, no porting or bowl work, their basically stock heads with bigger valves. Im sure I could "force" the car to go faster with gears, but the engine will still be choked by the heads. I want the engine to produce the power, then work from there if I have any money left
