What is the purpose of the pushrod inspection plate on the side of my 235? And before any wise cracks, I KNOW the plate allows you to inspect the pushrods! My question is, what should I be looking for, both good and bad? This is the first time I've taken the cover off (I'm replacing the gasket), and am wondering what I should look for while I'm in there.
The oil return holes seem to be free from obstruction. The pushrods seem fine to my inexperienced eyes. Everything is covered in a black oil film (like the dirty oil kind) but I think that is normal.
Any help from experience would be nice. I'd hate to button it back up without taking advantage of the opportunity to inspect or clean something.
Would it be worth trying to clean up that area in there? I'm going to be dropping the oil pan next, so it seems like it would be ok to use a solvent in there to clean up the black film. Or maybe this would do more harm than good.
Thanks in advance for your input.
