Plug Fouling, Warranty Question

[LSUMurse]

I put a GM crate 350 in my truck back in December. I've been tracking down problems (namely replacing the Holley Throttle Body with a good ole Edelbrock 1406) and came across a fouled plug. I took it out and cleaned it, only to have it foul again. It gets caked with burnt oil.

My question is: For a warranty claim (it's supposed to be 12 months) is there anything I should have done regarding cylinder three? Something in the break in process that I missed? The engines are supposed to be sealed units, so I can't think of anything I could have done to cause this. I want to get my ducks in a row before I call Jegs, I'm sure it's going to be a fight.

[SS Tim]

What engine did you get and what does the paperwork say about warranty claims process?

[Daman]

It's not a Jegs engine. It's GM.

As with most parts that Jegs, Summit and others sell that are not theirs they have a sheet that says "don't return to seller" Warranty has to do with the original company.

The side view looks as if there is not even .010 gap

[Tx Firefighter]

Before you leap into warranty concerns make sure you have your poop in a group so you don't get embarrassed.

Check compression. If its low, you got a warranty claim for sure.
Make sure you've got good spark to that cylinder (wire, plug, etc)
Make sure you don't have an intake manifold vacuum leak.

Don't disregard that last one I mentioned. I built a 327 a couple of years ago and was just sick because it fouled plugs and burned oil. I moped around a few months and finally wound up figuring out that I had a warped intake manifold and it was sucking oil through the gasket out of the valley, and into the cylinder. A new intake solved that one. I was sure grateful that I didn't have an internal engine issue.

[NoNeck]

Do you notice blue/black smoke from the exhaust on first start up after sitting all night? The reason I ask is that my son purchased a GM 350/290 HP crate engine a few years ago from Summit or Jegs... I can't remember. It came with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty from GM. Problem was, it took us a couple of months to save up for the intake, HEI, etc., so by the time we installed it there were only 10 months of warranty left.

About a week after the warranty expired, we noticed blue/black (oil) smoke on startup. Gradually, it became worse and worse and finally just smoked like crazy.

After much detective work, we found that the GM engine plant in Mexico where most crate motors are built was notorious for mixing V-8 and V-6 valve seals. The difference being the V-6 valve seals were taller on the valve stem seat. When run on the V-8's with higher lift ratios, the rockers would slowly destroy the oil seals. Literally, you could see the tension springs and rubber crushed under the valve spring.

Maybe look closely at the valve oil control seal under the #3 Exhaust spring(?)

POP