Milk in valve covers

Dragsinger · 05-05-2011, 06:44 PM

I am curious about this issue. Through the years I have built a number of very nice, fast, reliable drag race engines. I rarely have any problems, Just the routine happenings of drag racing.

Mostly small block Chevy's but a few big blocks.

The deal is, some of them milk the valve covers but some of them do not. It does not seem to matter what performance level or what equipment, some do and some don't.

These are engines built for customers and for my own cars and does not seem to cause any problems, oil looks good, engines run fine and perform as expected.

Aluminum heads do it more than iron heads. Also, if you run the engine to 200 degrees or so before putting in in the trailer that seems to help.

Have others of you witnessed this happening? Do you have any explanation of why some do and some don't?

Ed Wright · 05-05-2011, 06:59 PM

I put a PVC valve on mine to stop that in cool damp weather.

Dragsinger · 05-05-2011, 07:17 PM

Ed, I may experiment with a PCV valve. What valve? Got a part number?

Eddies66 · 05-05-2011, 08:10 PM

ARP makes fluid Teflon sealer for head bolts, never had the problem again. Be liberal with use.

Ed Wright · 05-05-2011, 08:12 PM

Don't remember what it was for. Fits a 3/8" hose and plugs into a gromet in a valve cover. I tack welded a baffle over it inside the valve cover to prevent sucking oil. May as well find one that flows plenty of air. It's a legal vacuum leak after all. Think mine is for an early 454". That was 4 years ago, and I'm old.

Ed Wright · 05-05-2011, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddies66

ARP makes fluid Teflon sealer for head bolts, never had the problem again. Be liberal with use.

I always sealed head bolt threads. Only showed up on fall mornings after short run times. Mine seldom sees 140 deg that time of the year. Hard to evaporate condensation without warming up.

gmonde · 05-05-2011, 08:41 PM

condesation is the culprate and extrem heat,,,,we only run our race engines a short time (yes we get them up to 180-200 during warmup) but during the coarse of the race season we have so many temp and humdity changes thru out the season the condesation will build inside the valve cover and stay there,unless we have an endurance race (many rounds or consistant running of the engine )i have seen it in the oil pan windage tray that the oil doesnt cover ,synthetic oil is not helping to keep this from happening amost like brake fluid ,i have seen it from my fleet to my stocker gmonde

FED 387 · 05-05-2011, 08:59 PM

if you are using Pennzoil it may happen seems some oil brands are prone to this too --we chased this for almost 3 months thought it was everything from leaky gaskets (head/intake) to condensation etc-- switched to Valvoline problem went away immediately --part of what we found is the condensation gets all whipped up in the oil and the result is that milky look--- so we started the engine ran it for a few minutes pulled the v covers and cleaned em with brake clean left the covers off for 10-15 min to let the stem evaporate and then reinstalled the v covers and went on our way---this only happened if ya only ran the car every so often if ya ran it every weekend did not seem to be a problem--we did install one of those plastic check valves from the v cover to the headers --valve is the vacuum takes about a 3/8inch ID hose the kind that went on a early 60s to mid 70s GM power brake booster seemed to help a lot too--just my experience--Comp 387

gsa612 · 05-05-2011, 10:16 PM

I used to run a pcv valve on my stocker helped with the milk issue in the v/ covers, one day we pulled the carb, and found the baseplate covered with condensation, which led me to believe it would contaminate the intake charge, also the car would go a few hundreths quicker with just open breathers. So now when I run it for a short time, shut it off, take the breathers off to let some air in to disapate the condensation. gsa 612

Eddies66 · 05-06-2011, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

I always sealed head bolt threads. Only showed up on fall mornings after short run times. Mine seldom sees 140 deg that time of the year. Hard to evaporate condensation without warming up.

The only reason I mentioned it was because it happen to me and that remedied the problem.

The other thing to consider is: what is the product of combustion? The pcv may be the solution. I run one but didn't at first.

05-05-2011, 06:44 PM	#1
Dragsinger VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Liberty City [East Texas] Posts: 1,760 Likes: 5 Liked 99 Times in 60 Posts	Milk in valve covers I am curious about this issue. Through the years I have built a number of very nice, fast, reliable drag race engines. I rarely have any problems, Just the routine happenings of drag racing. Mostly small block Chevy's but a few big blocks. The deal is, some of them milk the valve covers but some of them do not. It does not seem to matter what performance level or what equipment, some do and some don't. These are engines built for customers and for my own cars and does not seem to cause any problems, oil looks good, engines run fine and perform as expected. Aluminum heads do it more than iron heads. Also, if you run the engine to 200 degrees or so before putting in in the trailer that seems to help. Have others of you witnessed this happening? Do you have any explanation of why some do and some don't? __________________ Larry Woodfin 471W

05-05-2011, 06:59 PM	#2
Ed Wright Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sand Springs, OK Posts: 8,132 Likes: 896 Liked 389 Times in 169 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers I put a PVC valve on mine to stop that in cool damp weather. __________________ Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA

05-05-2011, 07:17 PM	#3
Dragsinger VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Liberty City [East Texas] Posts: 1,760 Likes: 5 Liked 99 Times in 60 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers Ed, I may experiment with a PCV valve. What valve? Got a part number? __________________ Larry Woodfin 471W

05-05-2011, 08:10 PM	#4
Eddies66 VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Rancho Mirage, CA Posts: 1,308 Likes: 300 Liked 881 Times in 452 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers ARP makes fluid Teflon sealer for head bolts, never had the problem again. Be liberal with use.

05-05-2011, 08:12 PM	#5
Ed Wright Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sand Springs, OK Posts: 8,132 Likes: 896 Liked 389 Times in 169 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers Don't remember what it was for. Fits a 3/8" hose and plugs into a gromet in a valve cover. I tack welded a baffle over it inside the valve cover to prevent sucking oil. May as well find one that flows plenty of air. It's a legal vacuum leak after all. Think mine is for an early 454". That was 4 years ago, and I'm old. __________________ Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA Last edited by Ed Wright; 05-06-2011 at 12:38 PM.

05-05-2011, 08:41 PM	#7
gmonde Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 615 Likes: 56 Liked 165 Times in 59 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers condesation is the culprate and extrem heat,,,,we only run our race engines a short time (yes we get them up to 180-200 during warmup) but during the coarse of the race season we have so many temp and humdity changes thru out the season the condesation will build inside the valve cover and stay there,unless we have an endurance race (many rounds or consistant running of the engine )i have seen it in the oil pan windage tray that the oil doesnt cover ,synthetic oil is not helping to keep this from happening amost like brake fluid ,i have seen it from my fleet to my stocker gmonde Last edited by gmonde; 05-05-2011 at 08:47 PM.

05-05-2011, 08:59 PM	#8
FED 387 VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,400 Likes: 482 Liked 320 Times in 172 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers if you are using Pennzoil it may happen seems some oil brands are prone to this too --we chased this for almost 3 months thought it was everything from leaky gaskets (head/intake) to condensation etc-- switched to Valvoline problem went away immediately --part of what we found is the condensation gets all whipped up in the oil and the result is that milky look--- so we started the engine ran it for a few minutes pulled the v covers and cleaned em with brake clean left the covers off for 10-15 min to let the stem evaporate and then reinstalled the v covers and went on our way---this only happened if ya only ran the car every so often if ya ran it every weekend did not seem to be a problem--we did install one of those plastic check valves from the v cover to the headers --valve is the vacuum takes about a 3/8inch ID hose the kind that went on a early 60s to mid 70s GM power brake booster seemed to help a lot too--just my experience--Comp 387

05-05-2011, 10:16 PM	#9
gsa612 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 100th Meridian Posts: 569 Likes: 116 Liked 280 Times in 139 Posts	Re: Milk in valve covers I used to run a pcv valve on my stocker helped with the milk issue in the v/ covers, one day we pulled the carb, and found the baseplate covered with condensation, which led me to believe it would contaminate the intake charge, also the car would go a few hundreths quicker with just open breathers. So now when I run it for a short time, shut it off, take the breathers off to let some air in to disapate the condensation. gsa 612