Reply to "Gas & Oil"

Gas Man,

Mike is right about the fuel pump, for sure. As a matter of fact, I believe this to be the only issue! If the fuel pump diaphram is blown and is pumping into the engine, this would explain the massive fuel in oil. Also, there isn't any fuel pressure going to the carb bowls for starting. There is almost no way a cracked head could let enough fuel/air mixture into the engine to account for the tremendous amount of fuel you describe. If the heads are cracked then you will either have too little or no compression on that cylinder, an oil leak inside or outside or a water leak either showing up in the oil or to the outside. I, personally, would NOT turn the engine over with the fuel in the oil passages. If you haven't already scared the bearings it wouldn't take much to do. Mark the distributor rotor location and pull the distributor. Then after all the fluid mixture is drained and replenished, turn the oil pump shaft with a drill in the rotation of the distributor. I think the size is 5/16"? Anyway, you can see the hex end of the oil pump shaft with a flashlight after the distributor is removed. Make sure you tape the socket on the extension so it wont fall off. Turning the pump over with the drill is the same as turning the engine over with the starter, but instead of causing more damage to the bearings, the oil is circulated on its own and will fall back to the pan thus mixing with your fresh oil. Your carb is probably fine. If the floats were stuck, or the carb was otherwise defective, the gas would just poor into the cylinders through an open valve or out of the exhaust through an open valve, not the crankcase unless you have a crack like the Grand Canyon through one of the oil return passages. After you've flushed the system, as best you can, change the oil and filter once more. You WILL have to run the engine to purge hydrolic lifters of their contaminants. That shouldn't be very much fuel. Instead of pulling the eight spark plug wires or the coil wire, I would pull the 12VDC positive wire from the coil. Coils have a tendency of arching to the path of least resistance. If the coil wire were pulled it could still arch to the nearest ground source within several inches and you're Richard Prior without the buzz. I would use cheap oil and filters for this flushing. After the lifters are cleaned out and you're satisfied with the results, you can replace the oil and filter with your favorite brands. I had this same thing happen to a '71 Triumph GT6 MKIII. It was the fuel pump. It had solid lifters so I didn't have to turn the engine over until it was flushed clean. Good luck! If you think the head IS cracked, change it. Cleveland heads can be found everywhere!