[gtorich]

A new world record for me, these plugs lasted a year....lol.........first time this has happened, seems i have alot of oil on the plugs # 2-4-6, any ideas on how the oil got on these, can not find any drip from the VC"s.......long story, short, i had this 455 built in 2007, oil burning issues, had it rebuilt in 2010, oil burning issues............from 2010 till now, i replace the plugs every year due to either carbon fouling or oil fouling...........im running a 66 tripower, with kre heads from SD 295 ones...........been told im running too rich, right now and i dont have the number in front of me but im only a hair bigger on the jets than a 389., hard to believe im running too rich.

I bough a a/f gauage so im hoping to get that hooked up to find out whats going on here.

I never had oil on the plugs like this last time...............am i not tightening these down enough, i go finger tight then about a 1/2 turn further on the alum heads.

I know i have a issue with either the oil pan vs the rear seal, but i shouldnt be using this much oil..............about a qt every 600-700 miles...........and never a drop in the floor. lol

I have the stock valley pan and pvc...........anyone run into this.

Sorry for the bad pics, but you get the idea

The pic of the plugs were the ones i took out last year, no oil on them.

Anything you guys seeing that might help

Thanks

Rich

[gtorich]

Forgot to mention, the one pic is on the pass side of the motor, 3 of the spark plugs holes had a slight amount of oil in them.

Rich

[jamaca85]

valve seals?

[steve25]

If the same set of heads have been on the motor since the two rebuilds then those are the common denominator I would say in your repetitive problem and they need to be pulled and inspected very closely!

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by jamaca85

valve seals?

Hey thanks jamaca..........these heads were done by Dave at SD in 2010, i only have about about 6-8 thou miles on these heads, you think there are shot with this short of miles.

Guess i might as well replace them and see if anything improves...........oh boy i can see this going south real fast. lol

Rich

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by steve25

If the same set of heads have been on the motor since the two rebuilds then those are the common denominator I would say in your repetitive problem and they need to be pulled and inspected very closely!

Hey Steve, thanks for the reply, the kre heads have been on since 2010, the first motor had 6X-8 heads...........i put new autolite 3924 plugs in today, will run them awhile and see if something is up with them............maybe i just didnt tighten them down enough. will check in 500-700 miles and see what im getting.

I cant remember what the old plugs were, thinking they were some NGK FR5, never had any oil on them................will look into this .

Rich

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by gtorich

i only have about about 6-8 thou miles on these heads, you think there are shot with this short of miles.

Guess i might as well replace them and see if anything improves...

Why replace them when a proper inspection with repairs as needed should be enough?

Did you ever verify that there's no oil in the PCV system?

Leakdown test results?

[Half-Inch Stud]

Ahem, Try a Q-JET and see if the problem goes away.

[jamaca85]

fishing is the funnest part of finding the root cause..one thing it might be.. sucking oil from the pcv valve into the intake at open throttle. if you have it routed to the bottom of the carb or into the intake. i had this issue on my 455 with the 72cc heads. i simply made the pcv valve into a vent going into a catch can. problem solved

[leeklm]

"been told im running too rich, right now and i dont have the number in front of me but im only a hair bigger on the jets than a 389., hard to believe im running too rich."

Keep in mind that the KRE heads will burn fuel more efficiently than old iron heads, and may need less fuel. I went from iron heads to KRE heads and new cam, added ~75hp to the engine, and required no changes to the qjet at the time.

Try some leaner jets and see how the engine acts.

Getting your A/F gauge installed will help

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[gtorich]

Thanks guys.........

Schurkey.............i cant find any oil in the pcv system, the hose going into the manifold seems clean........i have a tri power so no hose to the carb.

Need to buy a new leak down tester, the one i got just doesnt seem to work, HF special................no matter how tight i get it, air escapes from the threads.

Gonna try new VC gaskets, doesnt look like they are leaking, since i had the motor done in 2010..........never had oil on the outsides of the plug. But i always had some oil in the spark plug hole.

Rich

[Schurkey]

The leakdown tester you want is from Aircraft Tool and Supply (ATS). Their model number 2EM.

Has the correct 0.040 testing orifice, plus a "Master Orifice" to "test the tester". I bought mine in 2012. Normally ships with an 18mm spark plug adapter, ask for the 14mm adapter instead.

https://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?id=2EM

[formula kid]

To be clear, the problem is not oil on the sparkplug tip or inner shell but in the plug hole.

[ta man]

Plugs look like carbon build up. Even a slightly rich cruise or idle will carbon up plugs. What is your gap? It looks wide.

[formula kid]

To be clear, the problem is not oil on the sparkplug tip or inner shell but in the plug hole.

[steve25]

I agree with post 14 after looking closely at your plugs even if your running a HEI!

You should not go over a gap of .045" in general for a performance motor regardless if your coil is named a lighting, flame thrower, Laser beam or Plasma cutter !

I also bet your oil is going brown to maybe dark faster then you expect?

Also what Cam is in this motor and can you post up a hot idle vacuum reading?

[Scott65]

Whats the compression ratio? You may be able/need to run one heat range hotter plug. You'd have to check that with a new set of plugs...

[steve25]

The color change over point on the straps of the majority of his plugs looks to be too hot as it is!

It's almost up to body / threads of the plugs From the way it looks.

[gtorich]

Thanks guys, hopefully this helps a little

Formula kid, a little oil is in the # 4-6-8 spark plug holes.

Steve 25..........dont know if its the cameras flash, but those plugs were gapped at .035......the plugs that were in there were autolite 3924.....im gonna try to take some better pics for you to look at.

Forgot to mention the cam in the car is the old faithful..........comp is at 10.6....vacuum at idle was 12-13 ish last time i checked...........and your right, my oil seems to turn dark in a short amount of time.

I guess to sum this up is..........if my valve seals are ok, and not any oil going thru the pcv system...........im assuming i have a ring seal issue or valve guide issue. This heads were set up by Dave at SD in 2010, so im assuming that shouldnt be the problem. But you never know.

Can you recommend a cooler plug than the 3924, i"ll give it a shot, but as stated before i change plugs every years since 2010.......have done most brands, but this is the first time i had this much oil on the plugs.

Just wanted to say thanks for you guys helping me out here.

Rich

[steve25]

Does your oil have a fuel smell to it?
It does not take many miles of a running rich condition to wash out the rings and cylinders, and before you know it your burning more oil then you should.