Yep, the old LE9 305 is toast...

[fanmanj]

Just got finished doing a compression test on my '86.. After seeing the blowby, I should have known what the results were gonna be... #1 was 60, #3 was 210 (I'm guessing carbon build up for that one), and the rest were between 150-180... Then I yanked the valve cover.... Looks like crumbled up charcoal inside... I think this old 305 has had it. Might be going to my local u-pull-it junkyard today and seeing about a 350. Ugh... At least I got her cheap!
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[spudz]

I pulled the valve covers off my 305 in my 84 to find the same a week or so ago. I was just gonna replace the valve stem seals and cover gaskets but after seeing the sludge the motor is coming out....

[fanmanj]

Yep, that's what mine looks like..my local u-pull-it charges $200 for a v8, and anything attached to the engine comes with it, so I'm gonna try to find a complete engine (even a TBI equipped one) for cheap just to get the truck on the road. My oil drain holes in the head are almost completely plugged up!
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[N2TRUX]

Yuck! So what brand of oil did you use that left it looking this bad.

[spudz]

I got the truck like this. I have been trying to get it road worthy. This has nothing to do with brand of oil. This is NEGLECT! CHANGE YOUR DAMN OIL PEOPLE! the oil drain back holes were so clogged up when I broke the valve cover gasket loose, oil ran out on the ground.

[fanmanj]

Dunno what kind of oil was used... But I agree, it has less to do with the brand of oil, than how often it was changed. Personally I've always ran castrol, and used Wix filters. I got curious a few years back when I worked at an auto parts store, and cut the same model number of all of the brands of filters apart, well, fram was by far the cheapest made, purolator was decent looking, AC delco's were are ok except for the PF 1218 ( the one for our trucks), but Wix was by far the best looking out of the bunch. Just food for thought.
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[spudz]

I have done the same thing.... and I cut purolator AND motorcraft filters apart to find that they are the same thing..

[fanmanj]

Microguard (O'Reillys house brand) filters are made
By purolator too. They are identical to motorcraft.
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[motornut]

Originally Posted by fanmanj

Yep, that's what mine looks like..my local u-pull-it charges $200 for a v8, and anything attached to the engine comes with it, so I'm gonna try to find a complete engine (even a TBI equipped one) for cheap just to get the truck on the road. My oil drain holes in the head are almost completely plugged up!
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200 for a running block thats great

[fanmanj]

Yeah, there's a catch... The engines are unknown condition, so you gotta use your best judgement. I look for vehicles that have been in a wreck and low mileage. The wreck means the vehicle was running when it was brought in. I also will pop off the valve cover and check for sludge. I've had good luck so far. The engines come with a 30 day warranty too.
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[fanmanj]

Well, I've been working on the truck for a couple of hours now, I didn't get to go engine shopping, so I figured I'd start tearing the old 305 out. I've gotten all of the topside work done, all left to do is drop the starter, unbolt the tranny/torque converter, unbolt the exhaust flanges, and the 2 motor mount bolts, and it'll pop out! Pics a little later
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[jimboh247]

FYI,

On the oil filter debate, there was a comparison of oil filters in either motor Trend or Motor Week that showed Purolator Pure One to be the best out of the major brands, Fram was the worst. AC Delco was somewhere in the middle.