FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi all
I know the saying is if the grey motor has no oil leaks then there’s no oil but,

As I’m not that experienced with the grey motor I’m not sure what is normal or not.
I have noticed exhaust fumes coming from the area where the small arm /lever is on the manifold it’s coming out of the shaft hole.
Also fumes and a small amount of oil from the spark plug holes in the side cover mainly one and two.

I have all new gaskets in it and now it’s been for a few drives I’ve noticed these issue that weren’t there when it was first run.

So what’s normal and is there anything I can do to stop these issues.
Thanks
Trevor

Trevor,

I'm guessing the place on the manifolds is the exhaust manifold heat riser valve.  It should have a counterweight at the front, and (when new) a spiral spring at the rear.  Grab onto the shaft both front and rear (with engine cold, otherwise you'll get burnt) and see whether you can rattle the shaft from side to side.  It's supposed to turn, and it can move front-to-back a bit, but side-to-side movement's not good.  Can you hear an exhaust leak anywhere?  Or are there black, sooty deposits?  Locate it (them), and you've found the problem

Were your manifolds been painted at any stage?  The paint will burn off the exhaust manifold and make smoke.

Oil weeping from around the spark plug holes is common, but fumes coming from the spark plug holes means something's wrong.  Remove all the spark plugs and check that between the pushrod cover and the cylinder head is a cork ring in each spark plug hole.

Rob

Trevor ..I'll just add a bit to what Rob has observed , a good engine really shouldn't be too fumie , but we know Holden greys can be , and the extent of oil fumes is caused by several things , engine temperature , grade of oil , combustion gas blow by , thats why Holden designed the engine with a breathable oil filler cap and a road draught tube ..that is clear evidence that fumes were expected and how to deal with them , when car is in motion and even fan air when standing , that air is supposed to enter mouth of filler cap go down and scavage the oil fumes , but it can gather oil mist also in the sump and push it out the road draught tube ,it is cut at an angle to help with a type of ventury suction also ..then they thought of PCV valves ..
IS your oil filler cap clean ? , wash with kero every 5000 miles  . the book says ..Is your road draught tube clear ? ..have been known to be blocked off ..How is your cylinder compression ?
Those gasket rings in back of side plate around spark plug holes are a bugger , no easy fix , they can move ,to do a good job its side cover off , and that is not a quick job , I had one similar problem , the side plate was distorted , don't ask me how , it just was , and had to gently work it till it was even and we dry fitted it couple of times using chalk to check contact ..keep well Vern .