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Jul 21st, 2025 | | | | Joined: Jun 2011 Posts: 117 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Jun 2011 Posts: 117 | I finally got the head gasket leak sorted out and the engine started again. I took the truck out for a few laps around the block to warm everything up. The water temp stabilized around 180-190. When I pulled the cover to do a hot valve adjustment I noticed the tops of the exhaust valves were oily, as thy probably should be, but the intakes were dry. I started it up with the valve cover off to see how the oil flow looked. It pretty much oozed out of the rockers and the weep holes at the back of each rocker but there wasnt any splashing, it actually wasnt messy at all. So my questions are, how much time does it take for oil to migrate or splash up on the intake valve tops? Is something wrong with my engine? | | | | | Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 5,320 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 5,320 | 1932 was the first year Chev made any attempt to get oil to the valves, only to the push rod sockets before that.
Most engines have seals on the valve stems to prevent oil from entering.
If you see oil coming out the vent holes you are good.
See the USA in your vintage Chevrolet! My Blog | | | | | Joined: Jun 2011 Posts: 117 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Jun 2011 Posts: 117 | 1932 was the first year Chev made any attempt to get oil to the valves, only to the push rod sockets before that.
Most engines have seals on the valve stems to prevent oil from entering.
If you see oil coming out the vent holes you are good. 1932? Was that supposed to be a later year like 1962? Thanks for the reply Dave. | | | | | Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 5,320 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 5,320 | 1929-31 only lubed the push rod socket. The "vent hole" was right next to the adjusting screw, under the rocker, and had a felt to wick oil over to the socket.
Before 1929 you had to lube the top end by hand.
See the USA in your vintage Chevrolet! My Blog | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 28,674 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 28,674 | The 1928 Chevy 4-cylinder I used to work on had a thick felt pad over the rocker arms, the same width as the inside of the valve cover, and oil holes in the cover so the owner could use a squirt can to saturate the felt. It also muffled valve noises.
Later-model engines used the weep holes in the rockers to dribble a little oil down over the valve springs and guides, and some of it finds its way down the valve stems. A properly-fitted valve guide allows a very small trickle of oil to lube the guide and be consumed along with the fuel and air. Leakage down the exhaust valve stem just gets burned in the exhaust stream. Worn guides, intake or exhaust, can contribute to excessive oil consumption just like worn piston rings, often with none of the telltale blue smoke that bad rings produce.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
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| | | | | Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,915 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,915 | When the engine is turning fast, the springs splash oil all over the place like a sparrow in a birdbath.
Your intakes are clean because vacuum draws the oil down the guide into the chamber.
The exhausts are still wet because pressure (if any) is going the other way. | | |
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