The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop A nightmare under the valve cover

I pulled the valve cover off and found a horrid mess. Seems like a bird or rat's nest. Not to mention a ton of sludge. The truck is running fine and I pulled as much stuff out as possible.
I'm wondering how to clean the top of the valves and rockers. I don't really want to pull the heads if I don't have to (I'm not sure if I want to keep this not original 235) the less money put into it the better, but I do want to use it as a daily driver.
I've read some posts on here about a kerosene/diesel wash, which seems ok but I'm afraid if I do something like that it will break a particle free and clog up a port or something and cause catastrophic failure. Should I just leave as is, clean the oil pan, replace the oil filter, and refill with new oil; or hand clean; or kerosene bath; or diesel bath; or pull the heads and power wash?
Also I noted that there is no oil flowing to the top. I've read many articles on here about this and am going to attack that first thing, but just wanted to mention that to be considered in this "how to clean" post.

First off there are no HEADS plural on a 235 only 1. Secondly, if the valve train is clogged up with crap the rest of the engine is also (wherever there is oil). The only way to fix it right is to pull the engine apart and have it chemically cleaned at a machine shop, followed by an overhaul. You can with a relatively high degree of safety clean it up manually using a diesel/kerosene fuel wash/hand wash/spray wash on many areas that you can reach, however, the crud is everywhere internally.
I would clean everything accessible, fill the crankcase with diesel fuel and circulate the diesel throughout the engine using a hand drill and shaft down into the oil pump after pulling the distributor, this might help clear the plugged up passages that lead into the cylinder head (singular) as well.Drain the dirty fuel out, put in 10w/30 and filter and change the oil after only about 500 - 1000 miles.

I get that there is one head... typo.
Above, is where you lost me. I've never heard of this method before. A bit more detail/clarification would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick

Sounds easy enough. Just drain all the old oil and crap out the oil pan and fill it with diesel/kerosen mix. After you pull the distributor out if you look down the hole you'll see the slotted end of the oil pump drive. Long flat blade screwdriver with handle cut off and clamped into a drill and use this to turn the oil pump. Mix your solution of diesel/kero and put into the oil pan via cap top of valve cover. Should pump solution all through the engine and clean it up some. I think I'd pump it for a while the change it and pump it again.
Larry

i had the same issue with my 40's 228 minus the nest. i asked the same question as to what to do on another truck site. it was basically 50/50 as to either leave it alone and flushing it with diesel fuel. ken (crenwelge) said that the trap on the gm engines was behind the side cover. curiosity got the best of me and i pulled it off. the sludge fell off the cover in sheets like a melting glacier in summer. prior to that i was just going to leave it alone since it too was running fine at the time but now i commited to clean. what i did first was to pull the oil pan and slide a big catch pan under the engine. i then removed the rocker assembly/pushrods and methodically cleaned off the top of the head starting in the front and worked my way to the rear. i stayed away from the valve springs but cleaned as close as i could without disturbing anything on or in the springs. i then went to work under the side cover and cleaned everything from the top to the bottom which some of the sludge got washed down the oil return holes back to the catch pan. in the process i only pulled one lifter at a time and cleaned there and in the lifer bore. then i washed off the cam lobes. when everything was cleaned from top to bottom i took the rocker assembly apart and cleaned it all up and that is simpler because i did that behind the garage. i pulled the plugs out of the end of the rocker pipe and cleaned that like my rifle. when it was all cleaned up i put it back together and filled it up with oil primed the oil system spinning the pump with my drill ensuring oil was goingwhere it was supposed to then and ran it. some said that i wasnt going to get 500 miles on it before it attacked it. when i pulled the engine this past fathers day i had around 4000 miles on the engine since cleaning it up. the engine still runs and the reason i pulled it is becasue i swapped the 228 out for a freshly rebuilt 270 or i would still be running the engine in the truck. i used no diesel or kero to clean the engine. i used a boat load of make up pads a woman uses on her face. a box of q-tips. couple of cans of break clean and an array of putty knifes, flat headed screwdrivers and a small pick. remove all the heavy stuff fist and then went back with the brake cleen and pads. i DID NOT touch any horizontal oil galleys only vertical ones that anything busted loose was free to fall or be washed into the catch pan. while you have the oil pan off remove and clean the oil pick up screen. after a short run with new oil i drained and strained the oil and got rid of any gobs that may be have been left behind and looking for any signs of metal. my engine had no filter on it when i did this nor did i add one after the cleaning. it took me three days of dedication to do the whole cleaning. since pulling the engine i pulled the side cover to inspect it for dirt and it looks as though i just cleaned it yeaterday. my concern using diesel is that it could loosen up a chunk and have it break free later thus causing a problem. if you have another engine or one in mind then just remove the bulk of the crap off without touching anything else and have the other engine rebuilt and have fun and run this engine until the rebuild is complete and then swap them. i did this twice this year so far with my dump and my 40 and the only down time i had was doing the actual swap.

Yes Larry has the process outlined for flushing the system. Several flushes would be optimum (cleaner is better) and move out more crud. As far as the risk of using diesel/kerosene flushing is concerned in regards to "breaking loose crud" and blocking a passage, that is a legitimate issue but I would guess, that Blockages already exist if you have no oil in the rocker shaft/valve area (that area is fed by a very small oil gallery) or a copper tube less than 1/8th inch inside diameter.

Diesel fuel or kerosene won't hurt the engine, even if it's circulated with the oil while it's running. If any really big chunks get dislodged, they will end up in the oil pan eventually, and the oil pump pickup strainer will keep them from getting recirculated. Diesel is considerably safer than kerosene, since it doesn't make as many flammable vapors when heated up to crankcase temperature.

I like to add about 50% Diesel fuel to clean engine oil (Plain old 30 weight HD is fine for flushing) or maybe go one quart over full, then run the engine at a fast idle for 30 minutes or so. DO NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE! Drain the oil while it's still hot, and maybe repeat the flush with a fresh fill if the engine is really cruddy.

Once the flushing is done a time or two, remove whatever sheet metal is handy, oil pan, side cover, and valve cover, and use an air-powered siphon gun and more Diesel fuel to blast the loosened crud away. Don't worry about getting aggressive with it- - - -you're not going to hurt anything with air and solvent. Replace the sheet metal parts, with new gaskets, fill it up with oil, and drive on!
Jerry

I had a flat head Ford that set for years with out running. To clean it, I filled the whole engine with Castrol degreaser and let it set for about 1 hour. I then drained it and used it on the out side for more cleaning. Then using a very hot, almost steam, pressure washer, sprayed inside and out till the soapy water ran clean. I never pulled the pan or any sheet metal. It took about a hour of washing to clean, but the results were worth it. The oil stayed like new after that and is still clean now. Using extra hot water was the key, the engine dried almost immediately after washing due to the extra high heat. I added oil right after washing and rolled the engine around to coat the inside ( it was on a hoist).

I have washed a few engines this way with out problems. The key is to use strong soap, really hot water, and get oil in it right away.

Engines are a lot tougher then people think, they will take almost anything you through at them. Don't be afraid to get in there and really scrub and scrape. Pull the pan and check before and after, you will know if its going to live or not by whats in the sump.

Joe

The winner is 51 ashton.
Thanks for the advice from everyone. I considered all cleans very carefully. For fear of breaking large particles off I stayed away from solvents. The hand cleaning was a pain but worth it. I dropped the oil pan and the oil filter to find, I kid you not, 3 plus inches of oily-mud in them. After cleaning everything and painting all the parts I took off I ran the engine for like 15 mins and pulled the dipstick. To my surprise the non-detergent SAE30 oil was still clean! Had full pressure according to the oil gauge in the instrument cluster.

Question:
I cleaned out the drilled head bolt and the orfice below with a some stainless steel wire I had laying around and reassembled the rocker assembly. What I can't tell for sure is if the head is getting oil to the top or not. From what friends have told me is that oil should be squirting all over under the valve cover, which is not the case in mine. It seems like it is getting oil based on a couple of drops that have dripped off the rocker shafts but no squirting. So the question is in what kind of quantities/signs do you see oil under your valve cover?

My 235 has a 1/8" pipe plug on the passenger side of the head just below the valve cover in the center. You can hook up a pressure gage and see if oil is getting that high and what the pressure is, your pluggage could be below the head.

I can't get the plug out without drilling it out. Somebody before me rounded it. I also don't have strong enough drill bits to cut into it, but I did notice that upon revving the engine without the valve cover on I got it to spray all over the engine bay. Good enough?

Yep, if it's oiling at normal running speed, you don't have a problem. You might want to add a half pint or so of Marvel Mystery Oil to the crankcase for a change or two to clear out any residue of gunk that might be trapped in the internal passages.
Jerry