So it's been a while since I've been on here. School, work, holiday b.s., and a little girl chasin' sure takes time away from things that really matter (my truck)

Anywho, I went romping some trails not too long ago and I noticed that I was leaking some oil on the way there (about a 40 min drive from my apt). I pulled into a gas station and I noticed some oil drops on the pavement, pulled up the hood and noticed pools of oil collecting in the valleys of my intake (towards the rear). I recently did my valve cover gaskets and remembered that the aftermarket covers weren't tall enough to bolt all the way down without hitting rocker arms - I'm pretty sure that was my problem. I went romping anyway and the truck ran great...really great. No knocking or noise making and I was sure to check my oil levels frequently. Anyway, I drove it to work the next day and before I got in it to leave for home at the end of the day I checked the oil level again and it was about a half quart low so I topped her off and drove home.

I ordered some stock valve covers off Ebay (Power by Ford type) and put those babies on. I think the rocker arm clearance is fine now (they aren't roller rockers but the other covers weren't as tall as the OEM ones). My concern is, however, that after I started her up to check for leaks I noticed that one of the intake bolts on the passenger side rear had what looked like little bubbles coming out from underneath the bolt. Before I took the covers off, I'd sprayed a ton of engine degreaser/brake parts cleaner all over the intake and valve covers to make sure no gunk fell on the heads. I put a combo wrench on the bolt to see how tight it was and it was snug so I backed it off a few turns to see if anything would come out, and nothing did. Tightened her back up, wiped it off and watched for more bubbles. Nothing yet...

Should I be concerned about anything?

P.S. Here's the link to my debauchery YouTube - Charles at Brushy Creek.wmv

 

What motor is this? For example the 351M\400 is a "dry" manifold because coolant does not run through it; however the 302 and 460 are wet.

 

Four hundred sixty cubes

(sorry, it said '460' is too short of a message lol)

 

The bolt may or may not thread into a water jacket. The only thing I can think of it being is coolant, but the fact that it bubbles instead of seeps may be cause for concern because it could mean you have compression in your cooling system. How does your oil look, are there any signs of a bad head gasket? That's a hard call to make though. If it keeps up you could try resealing your intake, and check for bolts that thread into a water jacket, in which case you want to use sealant on the threads.

 

Well I didn't see coolant coming out of there...I'm kinda thinking the bubbles were the degreaser residue but ehh.....thanks for the info FMC400


The oil doesn't look like it has coolant in it (at least from what I saw on the dipstick). I would think if I had a bad head gasket I'd definitely have coolant in my oil and performance related issues but like I said she runs strong and doesn't falter with the hammer down...good oil pressure too.

 

I enjoyed watching your youtube video. It keeps me from taking my SC out to see what she'll do.
Your bubbles can be coming from inside the valve cover if it didn't seal between the bolt and the interior of the gasket/cover

 

Thanks Mark.

I think you misunderstood where the bubbles are coming from - they're little tiny things but they were coming from one of the bolts that holds down the rear of my intake manifold.

 

Could have been degreaser; who knows. Just keep an eye on it. If your oil looks good and the motor runs great then I'd say you're good as far as the head gasket possibility goes.

 

Heh, too much air pressure, bald all terrains and mud do not mix! Oh, and open diffs suck too! Your truck looks pretty sharp however.

Do you have any plans for any kind of traction adders?

 

Well, the tires are Ground Hawg IIs and they're pretty traction-y but yeah I did that hill climb 3 times and it took me out on the 3rd try so I'm not too disappointed. The front diff is open but I won't worry about it until I do a gear swap and then probably put in an ARB in the front so I can engage/disengage at will.

When I decide to replace these tires, I'll probably go back to my trusty choice: Swamper TSLs

 

It looked like your rear diff was open too? Or a weak limited slip?

 

Pretty sure it's a limited slip diff.

I've never really had a need for locked diffs before as most of my mudding was done in open farm fields. This was my first foray into trail driving.