built91Z28

After starting up my car after doing my T56 swap and more, the motor was puffing smoke at idle. I've only put 20 miles or so on the motor since completing the swap and the smoking has gradually got a little worse. At first I thought it was the PCV valve. I didnt have one before the swap. It was one of the many things I did to the car during the 4 months of it being rebuilt. So I got a clear small catch can and put it between the PCV and the carb. After letting the motor get to temperature I revved it to 4000 or so a few times and let the motor run for about 15 minutes. Not a single drop of oil. I've gone through almost 1/2 quart of oil over the last 20 miles so with that much being burned, there should have been something in the can. Even pulling the PCV and revving it left the valve cover dry. So it wasnt the PCV. Pulled the carb off and found the intake gasket was wet on cylinder 6. Pulled the plug and it was soaked. So I basically knew it was the intake gaskets. I also used this as an oportunity to upgrade my intake from the Torker II I had. I bought a victor jr. Pulled the intake off tonight and there is literally a puddle of oil on the #6 intake valve. There is also liquid oil on a few other intake valves. All the intake valves have some build up on them. I'm just glad I decided to pull the intake and check. With that much oil being burnt, I'm sure something bad would have happened soon.

So with that said, here is a pic showing the intake runners on a Torker II vs. the Victor Jr. I never realized the Torker II was that small. My camera died before I got a pic of the intake ports on the Torker with a 1205 gasket on it, but the gasket is almost 1/8" wider all the way around than the port opening. I can not wait to drive the car now. Of course I'm putting new plugs in as well. I already couldnt get traction at all before. I'm actually hoping this new intake takes away some of its low rpm torque.



One question. Would it be worth it to gasket match the heads while I have the intake off? There is not much of a difference between the gasket and the intake port on the head. The only real difference is in the divider between ports. You can see the shape in pic below. The intake I bought is already port matched to the 1205 gasket.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Its unusual to see the motor be able to pick up a lot of oil thru a leaking intake port. Are all the oil drainback holes clear? It looks like theres a lot of oil in the valley.

Also, I wouldnt do any port matching while the heads are on the motor. Thats best done when the heads are on the bench, so the short answer is: no, its not worth it.

You might also consider using better intake gaskets. Ive found that the edel EPS gaskets are less prone to seepage than paper ones with the newer coolant formulations. They almost seal as well as composite vortec neoprine ones when you use a small ammount of RTV at each coolant cross-over port.

Gumby

Actualy the motor sucking oil thru an intake port is very common, often doens't happen till you get on it so folks don't realize it that could be it.

My 350 was like that for many man years till I learned how common it was.

A thin coat ThreeBond 1194 on both sides of a new gasket means Ill never blow smoke when I get on it again. [as recc by a ex GM engineere ]

built91Z28

The oil drainbacks in the block are all clear. There has always been that much oil in the valley if I pull the intake. There are no holes where the oil is at so it has nowhere to go.

As far as the gaskets go, I already put the new intake on with the same gaskets. I did put a very thin film of gray silicone around all the ports this time. Cleaning it up if I have to take it off again will be a pain, but hopefully it wont leak anymore.

Gumby, its funny you mention it doing this after getting on it. The car had sat for about 4 or 5 months atleast without being drove or even turned on. Then I bought my new trans and knew the car was going to be down for a while so I got in and took it for one last HARD drive and then it was down for another 4 months. After starting it back up, this happened.