Crud Question.

When removing the valve covers on my 225 I noticed that the passenger side cover (viewed with the jeep in front of you) had way more crud in it than the other side. Is this normal or a sign of bad things in that head?

Thanks,

Greg

 

Maybe it depends on how the crankcase venting is routed?

Pete

 

Now that you mention that I just thought of two things, their is a crank case vent on that side and the fill cap is on that side... maby thats how the crud got their...

 

Also Sludge is often a factor of temperature. If that side ran cooler than the other side that could be the result.

 

Wow, I never knew that.. What would cause one side to run alot cooler than the other?

 

Most engines run cooler in one head or the other but it is rarely a problem. One side could be partially plugged and getting hot enough to keep that side cleaner. One of the reasons for not running a real cold thermostat is because heat keeps sludge from building up. Sludge is a mix of oil and moisture. Heat keeps the moisture cooked off thus preventing sludge. The little old lady who starts her car and drives 2 blocks to the market, lets it cool and then drives 2 blocks home is probably going to have a very dirty motor. The person who gets their car really warmed up to temp for a bit will not. In the past I've thought different oil additive packages also contributed but heat is the biggy. I spent my life as a petroleum engineer and although I don't know much I do know a little about motor oil and what goes on with it in engines. bHope this helps, bottom line let some heat into your motor. There are ways to clean an engine of sludge but it can be a balancing act getting it to dissolve a little at a time so it doesn't plug everything up. One way is to run a CI API oil that is made for diesels. It usually comes in 15w40 which I think is a good viscosity anyway. Chevron Delo and Shell Rotello are 2 brands easy to come by. CI oil has more detergency and will clean sludge and carbon deposits better than regular automotive only products. Synthetics also have very high detergency. I've been retired for 5 years from a rapidly evolving field so much may have changed.

 

Thanks for the info!!

 

Sort of along the same line and this may be stupid. When I was 18, 19 somewhere around there. A neighbor would clean engines (Running) with deisel fuel after draining the crankcase. He (I did it too) would drain all the oil, not changing the filter ?, pour 3 or 4 qts of fuel in and start and run the engine for about 3 or 4 minutes, than shut it off and go about a normal iol change. Is that stupid or would it be any good for a really crudy engine ?

 

Diesel and Kerosene are the same thing, so that gives you an idea of the film strength you'd have at bearing surfaces. Kerosene is a 450 distilate (paint thinner is 325) so it has very little lubricating properties.
Older engines 50's-70's had really big oil galleries and pretty wide
clearances. If you look at metal bearing surfaces under a microscope they are very bumpy and what seizes is the highs on both surfaces hitting and welding. In older engines and oil, zinc was the major anti seize additive BUT viscosity is what did most of the work. Todays engines have very tight clearances and small passages and very light viscosity and the bulk of the work in preventing welding is the additives. We used to do things like that but today you would kill an engine DEAD by flushing it with diesel (Kerosene). My guess is that an engine from the 225 era is not to tight on tolerences until it is rebuilt and then it would be somewhat tighter. Our metalurgy today and getting metal parts to expand and contract at the same rate is WAY better than 40 years ago and our motors last much longer. In my youth (1950's) an automobile engine usually lasted 50K and it was normal to put 2 or 3 engines into your car over its lifetime. For comparisson around the mid 60's that began to change and today a modern engine will go 300 to 400k if properly maintained.

 

Gotcha.

I think ill clean all that crud out of their as best I can and keep an eye on it after I put the motor back together..

Thanks,

Greg