so I ordered a intake gasket set and a set of valve cover gaskets due to some leakage for my 99. started with the passenger side cover, found 3 of the bolts along the bottom of the cover loose, causing the leak. popped the cover off and........................












that is just from the passenger side. still not done digging that **** out.

 

Holy smokes..... That's all I can say!

 

Just a little sludge looks like.

 

your truck has lived a hard life.
you need to be careful breaking that stuff loose - as in everything you don't get out is going to flush down to clog up the oil pump pickup and then the oil filter.

i'm not sure exactly what i'm recommending... maybe a Gunk brand engine flush. maybe a ATF mix flush. maybe a kerosene mix flush. maybe a frequent change of oil filter and careful monitoring of oil pressure. maybe remove the oil pan and scrape it out too. maybe leave it alone.

 

yeah guys, im at a loss... mostly because of how ppl treat their trucks, lack of general care, ect.. just frig'n crazy. hard life for sure even at the young age of 117k miles.

I couldn't just leave it, I shop vac'd what was loose. then started digging it out while shop vac'ing at the same time. after the mothers day cookout I will be going in for round 2.

I do plan on dropping the oil pan and cleaning the hell out of the what I can under there after I get the driver side pulled and cleaned. what a mess a simple valve cover gasket job has turned into.

I think I paid 2grand more then I should've for this monster.

 

was out in the garage and figured i'd snap a few pics of the cleaning so far. might as well post them.

 

Holly **** what a mess! I can only imagine what under the intake looks like. I think I would remove all the rockers and push rods and soak them in carb cleaner overnight.

 

Wow. Not doubting that you have cleaned it, but damn after all your work getting that gunk out it still looks nasty. Good luck getting it back in shape. Have you considered popping the heads off and taking them in to have them professionally cleaned?

 

Holy crapper-raptera!!

I agree with these guys on the cleaning. Let's also not forget up to the timing cover. Just the potential of where all this stuff could get toooooooo.

oh vey bro!! Let your perseverance prevail!

 

mmmmm I would just do as your doing , a good cleaning out and then keep flushing out ( diesel or Kero etc ) , new oil filter etc

good luck