Question About R16 Valve Oil

[LeftAngle]

Learning all of my auto mechanic skills as I go along, I came across this puzzling situation.

I had reset the head this spring, got the car running and the necessary electrics sorted out recently and have been happily driving it for about 100 miles or so.  A lot of oil has been escaping around the valve cover seal so I thought I could replace the seal and do the final head bolt tightening at the same time.

I was expecting the inside of the valve cover to be drenched in oil but it was pristine.  The car has been sitting for about four days and there is light oil coverage around the rockers, puddled on bolt heads and in drain grooves.  Engine sounds great (with one exception I will cover in another post).  Oil pressure is good and heat is in the 150-160 range with fans (oil cooler and h2o) on. 

Is this oil condition in the upper motor normal? 
Thanks for your answers
Bruce

[jbcollier]

Perfectly normal, oil flows downhill back into the sump via the cam and timing chain.  If you are unsure, fire it up with the valve cover off.  It will be messy, but reassuring.

Alloy valve covers are notorious for "almost" fitting.  I have one on my crossflow and had to custom make gaskets out of 1/4" thick cork sheet.  Fit yours dry with a new gasket.  Now use a thin feeler gauge around the edges.  If it goes in, it's not sealing.  One solution is to use silicone sealer.  Bit of a messy clean up every time you check the valves.  Don't use too much as excess silicone sealer has been known to break off and cause problems internally.

[LeftAngle]

Thank you JB
The thickest cork I was able to find was 1/8”.  Double up if needed.  Will use silicon for sure.

[BDA]

For cork valve cover gaskets, I’ve always “glued” it onto the valve cover with silicone. Then I wipe grease on the gasket before clamping the  over onto the engine. The grease helps seal and keeps the gasket from sticking on the head.