NEED HELP!!!, engine trouble... need help! NEW PROBLEM!!! look at bo Options

[pittfirefighter]

alright guys, so here's where we're at.... i just bought a 94 swapped gt to 3sgte and had some issues driving it home....

upon completing the engine rebuild we noticed a slight crack in the valve cover and oil ever so slightly dripping out.... i decided to drive home this way and just keep an eye on the oil level and refill when necessary...

after about 4 or 5 hours of driving... very close to home... the single crack had now become two larger cracks losing a significant amount of oil.... i refilled the oil and continued to drive.... it was 3am at this time as well in the middle of the Pa turnpike...

upon getting off the turnpike... when i put it in neutral... my oil pressure immediately dropped to zero and the oil light came on... i pulled over (and by pulled over i mean stalled to the side of the road) and opened the hood, i found the ENTIRE ENGINE BAY covered in oil!!! everything had been soaked down in oil... i had it towed to my garage... $100 bill on thanksgiving day at 4 am... haha... the battery light also came on but i believe thats because the alternator is shot due to the amount of oil on the wire loops.... also spark plugs were drowned in oil

so here's where we are at... took off the valve cover... have a new one on its way.... cams and shims and valves all look clean and don't seem to have any damage from the stall.... cleaned up as much of the oil as i could.... now my plan for action is the following...

-replace valve cover....
-replace alternator i assume
-already drained oil so refill with oil and new filter
-take off cheapy oil gauge pressure unit - which is T'ed at stock sensor - and put on oil gauge
-crank engine without spark to check oil pressure around block
-if pressure is good - run compression test - dry and wet runs

is this the right steps? any other ideas?? could the large amount of oil be coming from the valve cover leaking more?? (is the valve cover pressurized enough to spray oil everywhere and create such a drop in oil pressure with the larger cracks?) should i be looking for another oil leak?

This post has been edited by pittfirefighter: Dec 11, 2007 - 4:02 AM

[pittfirefighter]

bump... any input?

[pittfirefighter]

midnight bump

[pittfirefighter]

bump, anyone have any ideas?

[lagos]

You have the right game plan. Cross your fingers and proceed.

[Havok1997GT]

Ive never heard of a Valve cover leaking like that, make sure that you seal the Cover on real good when you put it on. id buy a new seal and double up with some liquid seal as well. run the compresstion test if its fine youll be good to go. But one thing you have to think about, I driven around in cars that have had Valve leaks for years and that didnt happen. There might be a bigger problem then just the crack to make it happen. Again the Compresstion test will tell you alot

[pittfirefighter]

this isn't a valve leak... the cover is literally cracked in two places right around the valve cover bolts.... the guys before me tightened them down to 14ft/lbs instead of inch lbs and cracked the cover in two places.... each crack is about two inches long and a mm wide now.... oil was pretty much free flowing out of it on an idle

[Havok1997GT]

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are you kidding me, thats crazy. I guess my mind went to the seal cuz thats ummmmm NORAML! well then if thats the case, yah id say your on the right track then for fixing the problem. if you could get a Picture of that and post it i would love to see that. ive seen a lot of things that i wouldnt have believed had i not seen it, but thats impressive, and i use to street race!

[pittfirefighter]

alright guys here's where i am at... replaced valve cover and cleaned up engine bay... alternator looks pretty shot so i have a new one coming tomorrow... i was getting a battery light before the car shut off... now i went to crank it over (without spark) and the starter clicked.... and a small jerk happened but nothing else.... what could be keeping it from turning over?? other than a seized engine (cross your fingers).... starter is supposedly good.... and here's one other thing... my gauges are on the ign or acc line at the ecu and they have no power.... so maybe fuses??? which fuses?? could the alternator be shorting everything out?? (by the way... all other lights and everything work just fine... battery is good... tested it with two different batteries... same outcome...) would this keep it from cranking without spark?? any help guys would help a lot! also i tried once or twice with spark and no luck there either