Messy Rocker Arms, what would you guys advise

[Andrij]

Hello! My rocker arms & heads look like this on both my 1970 C10 Truck (Cast Iron Heads 14014416 1980-1985 305HO, 58cc, 1.84"/1.5" valves, 7 exhaust holes) & 1974 DJ5C. What causes this & are they keepable/Salvagable? What would you guys advise?
Additional Vehicle Details:
1970 Chevrolet 1/2 Ton C10 (CE140S169178) Black Exterior with Red Interior for 600 CFM Holley Carburator Street Warrior (80457-3 1344) Electric Choke Gen 1 SBC 13 GM 391467 Date 237 3914678....302 290-290hp /327 210-350hp 2/350 295-295hp.....68....2 Bolt Cast Iron Heads 14014416 1980-1985 305HO, 58cc, 1.84"/1.5" valves, 7 exhaust holes Alternator Delco Remy 61144854

[Grumpy old man]

That's actually not that bad ,I've seen them clogged up so bad the oil would barely drain back into the pan and the engine was still running decent . Change the oil and filter more often ,make sure you PCV valve is clean and working ,pull it out of the valve cover and shake it ,If it rattles it's working .Try some Marvel mystery oil on the next few oil changes to help clean it up . It doesn't warrant any other action than that unless the engine smokes when running and then it's time for rebuild .Clean oil and good filters save engines .

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=748404




A small block Chevy will run with 3 quarts of dirty oil in it 5 psi of oil pressure and gas that smells like varnish

[Steeveedee]

Run the engine with the PCV valve out of the rocker cover and see how much smoke you get. If there is a lot, that's where the crud came from- the smoke coked up on those parts. Either that or it's been running really hot. I've seen way worse. Change your oil and filter more often. How often do you change the oil and filter? And what kind of driving do you do with your truck?

[Andrij]

Thanks for the advice, I thought the originally black truck looks great & got it 2 mo. ago, & back in April got the Jeep. I'm trying to have a good start with the vehicles by starting with changing all the filters greasing & oiling anything that needs it (including hinges pull thingys any thing that slides, etc) changing fluids, cleaning electrical connections, rebuilding the carb & changing out any gaskets that look blown & bad bushings etc... I didn't mean to go into all that.
Thank you for the advice, I definitely agree preventive maintenance goes along way, both sound good! Have an awesome weekend!

[kwmech]

An engine running too cold will sludge up also.

[Gromit]

Not sure if these work; but there is such a thing as a "PCV Catch Can" that is supposed to precipitate the oil out of the vapor in your PCV system and thereby keep things cleaner under the manifold and inside the valve covers.

I just googled PCV Oil Catch Can and got this as an example:

http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/c...our-catch-can/

Summit has them as well; and I've seen DIY youtubers who made their own out of a air compressor cleaner/dryer - though I think things would get hot so not the plastic kind..

I didn't try the archives here but probably lots of discussion and pictures if you are interested.

[Shaky]

Synthetic oil might clean that up. You'll have to decide if it's a good idea to "de-sludge" the engine.

I had a '70 Bel Air with a 250 that I got for free. The sludge on top of the head was inches thick.

First I scraped out all the goo I could. It filled a large coffee can. Then I emptied the oil, put in 5 quarts of Marvel Mystery Oil, and started it up. Idled it for 10 or 15 minutes and drained it. Did a couple of short oil changes with cheap motor oil. Ran it for another 100k. It was noisy, and the oil pressure was low, but it ran. YMMV

[bill3rail]

As stated above I also have seen MUCH worse that this on a running engine. Scrape what you can and change the oil/filter to maintain it.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

Start changing oil more often. Also filter. Use rotella oil