Thank you very much! This is all good information. I am about ready to pull the old one It seems I am taking a while to do this but I just don't have a whole lot of time to work on it + I am fussy also about the work I do so I like to do it right the first time. I'm going to pull the pan and the valve covers tomorrow so I can clean it out some.

Would you guys worry about this being a leaking head gasket or would you think its just oil that has leaked down from the valve covers?
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When I said this sucker was dirty I was for real. The rocker arms feel good and tight though (no play).
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EDIT: BTW how do you get to those bell housing bolts

I shouldn't worry about the oil weep it might go on for ages like it - doesn't look at all serious.
Might be an idea to run the engine on some 10W40 oil for a couple of hundred miles.
That way alot of the crud inside should dissolve and be held in suspension in the oil.
You may find that several frequent oil changes will be necessary to reduce the residue within the engine, but remember V8s are dirty engines anyway!!
I'm assuming the bellhousing bolts you refer to are the ones at the top.
You will need to get the engine supported on a hoist and remove the engine mounts.
Then lower it down slightly to give you access to the bolts.
Prepare yourself for skinned knuckles as access is still tight!!

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well I just busted my lip wide open trying to get those fucking TC bolts out wow I'm pissed. that's all I had left before pulling the fucking thing out. Such an odd bunch of size and different type bolts in this damn thing. So much room under the hood and they still made it a bitch to work on.

bump

back at it I got the other engine cleaned and preped to go in now I'm ready to swap them out. I guess this is pretty boring to a lot here but I really apreciate boomer for all the info. Thanks

Damn this is crazy. what does it mean when one side of the engine looks MUCH MORE DIRTY AND NASTY than the other side? please tell me what would cause this!
this is the cleaner side\/


and this is the dirty nasty side. \/





valve covers side by side.

What would cause the two heads to look so much different? It looks kind of dry on one side and the other side looks like nothing but sludge.

Please! does anyone know why it would look so different on one side than the other. Should I pull the oil pan while I have the engine out?

have I seen this question and the pics somewhere else... I am sure I answered it...

my answer (for what it's worth) was that it could be that the head gasket is leaking that side and so the water contamination is there and not so much gets round the rest of the engine

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8 cylinders of pure pleasure.. .... .- ...- . -. .----. - --. .. ...- . -. ..- .--. .. .----. ...- . --. --- - .... . .-.. .--. .-.-.-

One side of the motor has got hot possibly?
Do the heads look the same from the outside?
i.e. have they the same level of oxidisation to the alloy?
Look between the block and head at the head gaskets - are they old or newish looking?
If it's an engine bought unwittingly from someone unscrupulous it might be worthwhile checking it's all there internally and not a loosely put back together f**ked one. (so it looks good enough to sell to an unsuspecting punter)
You may think I'm joking, but it DOES happen.
If it was me, I'd be pulling the heads off for a closer look inside and be preparing myself for a partial engine rebuild.

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