Currently I have the PCV valve removed and the intake grommet tapped. Part of the step he asked me to do to see if it was sucking up oil. Valve cover breathers looked like a chimney during test drive with it unplugged.
If you have any doubt about whether there is a shield there or not, just stick a coat hanger down the PCV hole. If there is a shield there, the coat hanger will hit it almost immediately, if not, it will drop about 6" to the valley. Driving without a PCV will eventually cause crank case pressure to cause more oil leaks.
I’m not sure I am following this. Are you saying that the intake valley was left wide open to the PCV valve and the oil splash is getting drawn into the engine and burned?
To be sure when the time comes, any suggestions of which valley splash pan to use? This way I can clearly tell Scotty which one to get. I do have the stock intake and not aluminum. Came across this on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/400-430-455-Buick-intake-oil-splash-shield-/254204997230
No offense man but I trusted in a reputable name to build me an engine thinking that my investment was being placed in good hands. Name came highly recommended by some on this forum.
Wild Guess: That just changed... ...although it sounds like he's working on taking care of this. I can be disappointed that he let this out the door to begin with, but the real test is how he handles it now.
The building may have a reputable name on it, but its who is inside doing the work on YOUR stuff that makes ALL the difference.
That's exactly right. When I first went to aluminum heads, I had a reputable shop (run by a Buick Racer) install the heads and Performer intake. This was in 2006. I took the car to the first BPG Nats in Ohio. The engine used over 4 quarts of oil round trip, maybe more. The spark plugs never showed it. Couldn't figure out initially where the oil was going. Then finally, with help on this board, I figured out that I might not have a shield in the valley. I approached the installer (no I won't say who), and asked if he had installed a shield. I got the "deer in the headlights" look. Got up the next morning and did the coat hanger trick, it went straight down.. Turns out the kid who actually installed my intake had no idea that the valley needed shielding to prevent the PCV from siphoning oil, and burning it in the engine. It was about a year, maybe more before I figured it out and installed the AM&P shield myself. Fast forward to 2010 when I asked JW to build me a 470 short block. I pulled my aluminum heads, SP1 intake, and sent them to TSP along with my AED1000HP carburetor. It was shortly after that, that I received a WTF message from JW asking if my engine burned a lot of oil. Of course I was aware of why my heads and valves looked like this, Jim had to pull apart my heads to clean everything. The side benefit is I had him do some additional porting to my heads, so they had to come apart anyway. That is the one I used Hector. Made by Automotive Machine and Performance (AM&P). It's a good one, get it.
Scotty may not have been the one who assembled the entire engine. He should not have let it out the door like that though.
I agree. Just makes me wonder after your post above, what else will go wrong if such simple things were just missed, the screws in the oil pan and the shield. The sad part is that I waited close to one year for this engine to be built as it must have not been much of a priority. As Schurkey mentioned above, let's see how it's handled now.
Scotty knows how to build an engine. But final assembly of things like the oil pan and intake may have been handled by subordinates. How's it run otherwise? Sounds great!
It does sound great and runs hard, but the few times I have ran it, I run it with fear of what if something is wrong. I also have a chatter that I hear at low RPMs when in gear. I don't hear it when in parked or at idle. Too many little things that are frustrating after such a long wait. Glad I have this forum too vent.
I run every motor on a test stand to break in the cam, check for oil and water leaks, and make sure it doesn't over heat, set timing and adjust carb, for these same type of issues before it leaves.
Are you familiar with what engine ping/detonation sounds like? If you can get some Race Gas, or Torco fuel additive, I would try that, and see if it goes away.
Good day. Received splash shield from Scotty and gasket. Trailering car tomorrow to a mechanic friend of his that is about 2 hours away. At such time they are to install the splash shield and resolve all the other issues the engine is having from the oil pan leak, timing, etc... Will keep you posted and thanks for checking in.
So what splash shield did you use? Im about to assemble my motor. I have a roller cam from TA Performance, aluminum intake, composite gaskets. I have one of their splash shields, very narrow just covers over the lifters, have to drill and tap to holes in the valley to install it. Is this good enough? It dosent look anything like the shield in post #25.
