Oil pooling in head

[Jlmartin1964]

I just built my first aircooled engine. It’s a 1968cc with all new parts from John at Aircooled.net and heads, pistons and liners from AAPistons. Camshaft break in went well. Oil pressure at idle is around 40psi.

I had a few minor leaks, so I pulled it apart to check it all. When I pulled the intake manifolds, I found oil pooled behind the intake valves, roughly a tablespoon in each.

I realize the rings are not seated yet but I wasn’t sure if this condition was normal. If not, any thoughts on possible causes would be greatly apprecited.

[vwracerdave]

Oil can only come from 2 places. Getting past the rings or valve guides. Just because parts are new doesn't mean they are good.
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[Jlmartin1964]

Thank you very much for the response. Can this happen prior to the rings seating? I found it interesting all the holes look exactly the same. I sent a note to AAPistons who supplied the heads, pistons and barrels to get their thoughts, as well.

[modok]

Maybe fuel that washed the carbon off the back of the valves.
Your accelerator pumps are all working equal, that's good.


But it could be oil I guess
Didya taste it?
Roll some up in a paper and smoke it. Gas burns clean, oil smokey

[Pruneman99]

I'll bet a dollar it's gas, not oil.

[Jlmartin1964]

Rubbed it between my fingers. Definitely consistency of oil. Could be a bit of fuel mixed in. Looked in the cylinders and could see very small amounts of oil along bottom edge of pistons. Again, all exactly the same. This is what makes me think it is just that rings are not seated. It seems to point to a common condition in all barrels. Not sure what else would be common during this period.

Really appreciate ya’ll taking time from your lives to assist me.

[Brian_e]

Did you get the rings seated hard and quick ASAP after starting it? Minimal idling, and minimal dogging it around?

How good did you clean the cylinders, and how much oil did you use on the cylinder walls during assembly?

Brian
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[modok]

My feeling is you don't need to be concerned.
if it's not blowing smoke and your not having to top off the oil then it's ok
If "it's the rings" then look in the exhaust ports.

[Jlmartin1964]

Rings have not been seated. Engine has only been run on the test stand to break in the cam, check for oil leaks which I had, and to adjust timing and carb. Need to finish the car, then complete the engine break in cycle.

The project is a total restoration. So far it’s had rust repair, bodywork, paint and now engine. Learning a ton of new skills. Next will be cleaning up the transaxle. Then mate the body and chassis, wiring and finally interior and top.

My collection is eclectic and includes 911 and 928 Porsches, 1968 Camaro and eventually 2 Citroens.

Thanks again for all the input. Glad I joined this illustrious group.

[67rustavenger]

FWIW, Every time I pull a set of intake manifolds. I see the same thing. Doesn't matter how many miles have been driven.

MY 1600, 1679, 2180 all have that condition.

Only thing I can think of is, oil is being sucked through the valve guides and mixes with the incoming fuel charge.
The valve guides don't have seals. And there is a clearance tolerance.
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[Jlmartin1964]

Thanks, 67rustavenger. Great point! Lack of seals is definitely a key difference with other engines, such as sbc’s, Hondas, etc…

[txoval]

40 psi at idle? Cold oil or hot? That’s a lot if hot

[Bruce Amacker]

[BFB]

I had this happen on an engine i built with full HVX mods, valve covers will filling full of oil up past the the intake valves and coming through the guides. How do i know? It was the only place for oil to get into the intake and when i drilled and tapped the heads for 5/8” drain tubes the problem went away.
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[Jlmartin1964]

No blue smoke but definitely a carb issue. Running rich so gas/oil combination makes sense. Ordered smaller main jets for my Weber DFEV, as that appears to be my prominent issue. As for oil pressure, it is 40psi very cold using 30W.

Great info and shared experiences is very much appreciated.

[nsracing]

That is fuel wash - way rich looks like.

-also the valves may not have seated and getting all the carbon back in the intake ports.

Looks like a fresh build. Did you take compression reading after it was bolted together?

Maybe take a compression reading now and see if the valves are seated.

[Jlmartin1964]

Have not performed compression check. Plugs were dry but black with carbon, so too much fuel seems likely the primary culprit. Seating rings and other after cam break in criteria only add to it. Time to finish the rest of the car so I can get it installed and dialed in properly.