grey slugde in valve cover......

krazyreese

New Member
hi im new to the forum, i just bought a 92 da9 with a b18a1 engine for 600. the guy that i bought it from tells me it may need a head gasket. so i pulled off the valve cover and saw this grey looking stuff all over the cams. is that from the head gasket or really bad oil build up? i pulled the dipstick and nothing was on it but really black oil. im figuring that it may need a flush first before i tear it down. can anyone help me? thanks.
 

j13

Keep It Clean
Ok so the person you bought it from "says" the head gasket is blown...but YOU cannot comfirm this?? White smoke? Power loss? I'm thinking that gray stuff is water mixed with oil.
 

rockfordfun

New Member
j13 said:
Ok so the person you bought it from "says" the head gasket is blown...but YOU cannot comfirm this?? White smoke? Power loss? I'm thinking that gray stuff is water mixed with oil.
Click to expand...
if water was or is present in the oil it will be a milky brown in color with a sludge like consistency
 


emd513

New Member
yeah and after so long it will turn gray and build up in places like your valve cover. pull your oil filter off and look in it. if you have a really good one it would have kept most if not all of the water from staying in your oil ports.but most likely you have water leaking out in the oil cause of the head gasket or cracked head.
 

krazyreese

New Member
ok so i pulled off the head just now i noticed that that grey slugde had disappeared like it wasnt even there. so after i totally got the head off i noticed some of the head bolts was loose and no water what so ever in any of the piston chamber. but!! theres oil in the sides of the chambers, is the oil suppose to be there or coolant? plus what i noticed was a few chips on the outside of the cylinder walls but i saw that the old gasket was covering it. i know its hard to picture it but i will have some pictures up soon.

i havent noticed any cracks in the head that i can see with my eyes but it looks pretty good. ive done plenty of heads and this one looks pretty good compared to the ones ive done inthe past. but as a precaustion ill take it into a shop for a second check and a pressure test.
 


emd513

New Member
water gos on the outside to cool not oil you might have a cracked oil port n the block if not in the head. if it checks out i would check the block out before you run it.
 

krazyreese

New Member
nice....thats what i thought cuz i dipped the dip stick in it and it was straight oil. i might as well get a new engine if thats the case. im sure theres no way of fixing that right?
 

emd513

New Member
pretty much not. your best bet is getting a new block that one is shot and i dont know of anyone fixing them. i think you cracked the water jacket by the oil port and it has been flowing in there for awhile since you have that much in there. sorry man i know how it is i think i broke my crank a few days ago and have to rebuild.
 

mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
No need to jump to conclusions. He has a bit of coolant in his oil, it isnt the end of the world. In all honesty, you wont know whats up until you pull the head and look for any damage. It would be a good idea to replace the headgasket as that is probably the problem.

Where are the pictures?

emd513 said:
pretty much not. your best bet is getting a new block that one is shot and i dont know of anyone fixing them. i think you cracked the water jacket by the oil port and it has been flowing in there for awhile since you have that much in there. sorry man i know how it is i think i broke my crank a few days ago and have to rebuild.
Click to expand...
I seriously doubt you broke the crank... You would break a rod before you are able to fracture the crank. If the crank was broken, your car would not turn over.
 

emd513

New Member
well i have turned several bearings in other cars before and this was an knock that wasnt constant like a broke rod but it never went out of the block and the pistons want move unless i turn the starter ove not when i push on them. so the only thing i could think of is the crank snapped which if it did it in a certain spot or spots it would still run but would start to turn my bearings which i did by the time i got it home. also back to the op he has already pulled the head off and there was oil on the outside of the cylinders in the water chambers. and the way he explained it, it was alot which tells me broke port or head doubt its the gasket
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top