Wanna see under my... valve cover? *wink*

[haux]

Perverts!

Not too shabby for over 335k miles? Didn't really see any sludge... oil was just a bit dark.

I ran a quarter bottle of Sea Foam in there for 10 minutes before draining. The oil was only ~1,500 miles old, and it was pretty darn black. So unless that's normal, I get a feeling the Sea Foam probably cleaned up some stuff in there.

[Retrospekt]

You should have ran the seafoam longer. 50 miles is what people say is a good length for higher mileage engines.

[uibalnme]

10min. sounds about right. I don't think I'd attempt to drive 50mi. with SOLVENT in the crank case.

[haux]

Yeah, and other people say that running it at all could dislodge sludge buildup and make things worse. Or possibly clean up areas where sludge is plugging up possible leaks, thus also making it worse. I decided to take it easy!

I'll do it again, for a longer period of time right before I replace my oil pan gasket.

Originally Posted by Retrospekt

You should have ran the seafoam longer. 50 miles is what people say is a good length for higher mileage engines.

[fenixus]

usually most people drive with sea foam in oil for about ~50-100 miles (1 day usually for a daily driver).

[rty]

Looks good.

[fenixus]

yeah, it looks great for 300k+ miles ... i wonder how mine looks like after 66k though .

[haux]

Originally Posted by fenixus

yeah, it looks great for 300k+ miles ... i wonder how mine looks like after 66k though .

Pop 'er top and have a look!

I read a DIY here about changing the gasket... and someone said to use a 29mm socket to remove the four nuts. I borrowed a 29mm socket and it didn't work. Ended up using some standard 1-1/4 socket or something. It wasn't an exact fit but it worked. The nuts weren't even on very tight so they came off easily.

[fenixus]

yeah, will do, but rather wait until Spring. DIY was good, i just don't want to do gasket replacement when it's cold (working outside).
that socket for nuts was 30mm same as axle socket. i borrowed one from autozone ($20 deposit) and worked like a charm. used it for tightening the nuts to specs (33ft-lbs).

[haux]

I just checked and that DIY was on a 99. Is it possible that the 99's have smaller nuts ()?

Turns out 1-1/4 inch standard comes out to 31.75mm metric. So I guess that was close enough to work for me.

I don't have a torque wrench, but I think I will buy one and make sure it's to spec.

[fenixus]

i would think 1-1/4 is slightly too loose, but might work. anyways 30mm was sitting tight.
if you have Harbor Freight nearby, they sell click-stop torque wrenches (3/8'' and 1/2'') each for $14-15. cheap deal for such good stuff (Pittsbourgh).

I discovered nuts on tubes to be almost loose. I think i could have turned one of them (cyl 2) with fingers.

[blkavalon]

thats looks awesome, what kinda oil do u use?

[haux]

Originally Posted by blkavalon

thats looks awesome, what kinda oil do u use?

Castrol GTX 5W-30.

I put in the High Mileage variant for the first time yesterday.

[hill8570]

That's purty. Are you the original owner? Nothing but Castrol since she was a baby? If so, sure makes me a believer in Castrol...that is one clean engine for nothing but dino oil.

[BlueFusion6851]

A true testament to how an engine will look with regular maintenance done. Looks gorgeous.