From digest.v6.n753 Tue Jun 10 06:53:12 1997
From: Richard Cartiledge <richard.cartledge_at_jigsawsystems.co.uk>
Date: 10 Jun 97 10:17:54 +0100
Subject: re>Oil deposits? BLACK DEATH

         re>Oil deposits? BLACK DEATH
 ngh at MIT.EDU      Nicolas Hadjiconstantinou.   wrote......

When I removed the valve cover
I was faced with a horrible sight.
Everything was extremely dirty. Everything is mat black, with the sole exception of the camshaft lobes! In addition to that everything that does not move has at least 1mm of black deposits on it. This is
particularly true in the exhast side of the valves. The deposit is no substance I could recognize. It looks carbonacious, and it is solid, but it is also wet and can be
sheared very easily.

***This sounds like the black death, (popular in the 80's when the higher temperature in engines was breaking the oil down into carbon sludge.

Has anybody seen this before? Is it normal? What do you think about oil additives that clean the engine internally? I am afraid that at this stage using these additives will just make this big chucks move around and possibly block something....

• Whatever oil has been used has probably been inferior or left in too long or both. I'm no expert, but if I was in the same boat, I'd wipe as much up onto some lint-free cloth and remove the oil drain plug whilst the engine is hot. Get a no-loss bristle brush and some Jizer or Gunk and clean up the head and spray-bar - let the mess wash down into the sump and out of the drain plug, when the sludge is all loose, pour 1/2 - 1 gallon of Jizer/Gunk/Paraffin over the valves to wash it down followed by a gallon of that really cheapo oil you get for 2.99 just to remove the cleaner reidue.

I'd then put a new filter and fill up with good quality brand-name mineral oil and change it and the filter after 1000-2000miles. Check the valvegear again, if it looks cleaner, consider changing to Synthetic (which is much cleaner), if not continue with good mineral oil for a while.

If you find the problem reocurrs, you may have exhaust gas blow-by which could be the velve stem guides.

Good look, Richard (Shiny valves - shing boots - shiny mind)