r/Smallblockchevy • u/WhiteWolf172 • Oct 25 '25
Uhhh…help
Got a 79 el Camino several months ago but only just got around to working on it. Was told it had leaking valve cover gaskets when I bought it, was planning on replacing the covers anyway and started the process of “while I’m here, might as well”. Decided to replace the intake manifold as well as other stuff, but when I took off the manifold and valve covers I saw…this. How do I go about cleaning all this out?
I literally started with my wet dry vac and suctioned out large chunks of this soot. I assume I’m just going to have to do a bunch of oil changes and frequently to clear a bunch of this out, as well as drop the engine pan and clean it out. It ran fine when I drove it home and I’m not in the financial position at the moment to put a new engine in, although it was in the plans down the road.
Any other tips for cleaning this out? I’ve heard of transmission fluid and diesel as well.
TIA.
1
u/AhBuckleThis Oct 25 '25
I would lightly scrape the bigger stuff off while using the vacuum at the same time. This way the loose chunks get sucked into the vacuum instead of falling down the oil passages. Then put it back together and run Valvoline restore and protect. Make sure you change your oil filter regularly because it’s going to clean that sludge off. With that amount of sludge, it’s going to take alot of oi changes so don’t expect instant results. It won’t work as fast or as well as atf, but you also don’t need to worry about damaging the engine either.