quote:Originally posted by icole:
.... Also could this be leaking? I have seen smoke come from right below this on the exhaust manifold.
(Also what is this? Is there something better that I could use. The other has a chrome ford cap, that seems to have some sort of venting on the underside.)
That is a crankcase breather. It is letting vapor out of the block through the valve covers. This vapor contains oil, and will create the mess you see in the picture. It sounds like you have one on the other valve cover as well.
What you should have is a Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve (PCV) plumbed into one valve cover and into a full vacuum port on the carb or manifold, while the other is a breather. That way, the PCV draws the vapor into the cylinders to be burnt, and the breather draws in fresh air only.
