Help me figure out whats wrong?

[tay97gst]

I was looking in my engine the other day and noticed some of this black residue stuff near the exhaust manifold and under the valve cover area. I took a few pictures to give you an idea.
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Another thing to note is that when my windows are open i can smell gas fumes. I just did seafoam on my car and noticed smoke coming from my engine like out the exhaust. I read that this could mean an exhaust manifold leak but i dont have any of the weird noises like that. When the car is idling i dont see anything leaking from the valve cover or anywhere but it has to be coming from somewhere. Could all these things be connected to like a bad gasket or something? What are your ideas?

 

[Jeff90Z99GST2G]

Well with the amount of corrosion (rust) that you have I would suspect that you have a coolant leak at the distrubution pipe/thermostat housing. Does it smell sweet like antifreeze? Also you should replace your valve cover gasket and BE CAREFUL when you tighten the bolts back down and use the torque patten in the book. I would recommend putting some anti-seize on them as well. Then give her a good cleaning and check for leaks. If the hoses look old or collapse easily replace them. Also I would replace your J pipe gaskets they look like there leaking as well. Good luck have fun and be patient!

 

[tay97gst]

Well with the amount of corrosion (rust) that you have I would suspect that you have a coolant leak at the distrubution pipe/thermostat housing. Does it smell sweet like antifreeze? Also you should replace your valve cover gasket and BE CAREFUL when you tighten the bolts back down and use the torque patten in the book. I would recommend putting some anti-seize on them as well. Then give her a good cleaning and check for leaks. If the hoses look old or collapse easily replace them. Also I would replace your J pipe gaskets they look like there leaking as well. Good luck have fun and be patient!

Thanks for all the advice, most if not all of the rust you see is just from new hampshire winters im pretty sure. And no the smell is distinctly gas, no sweet like coolant. Would the old soapy water in a squirt bottle leak test work for something like this? Could that possibly help me find some leaks?

Any other ideas?

 

[Str8Tune]

I would look closely around the valve cover and look to see if there's any fresh oil deposits around where the valve cover and head surface meet. If you say you smell fuel try closely inspecting where the fuel line connects to the fuel rail it could've possibly gotten knocked loose or something? Also, look around the fuel injectors to see if any fuel is coming out where the injectors go. These are my suggestions... Good Luck!!!

 

[tay97gst]

I would look closely around the valve cover and look to see if there's any fresh oil deposits around where the valve cover and head surface meet. If you say you smell fuel try closely inspecting where the fuel line connects to the fuel rail it could've possibly gotten knocked loose or something? Also, look around the fuel injectors to see if any fuel is coming out where the injectors go. These are my suggestions... Good Luck!!!

Ok i'll look closer at things for leaks. The smell seems like it coming more from the exhaust manifold area rather than above where the injectors are though, but i'll still look.

 

[SEVERENI]

Well with the amount of corrosion (rust) that you have I would suspect that you have a coolant leak at the distrubution pipe/thermostat housing. Does it smell sweet like antifreeze? Also you should replace your valve cover gasket and BE CAREFUL when you tighten the bolts back down and use the torque patten in the book. I would recommend putting some anti-seize on them as well. Then give her a good cleaning and check for leaks. If the hoses look old or collapse easily replace them. Also I would replace your J pipe gaskets they look like there leaking as well. Good luck have fun and be patient!

Great advice!

 

[love97gst]

deff need a new valve cover gasket!!

 

[Black95awd]

That exhaust manifold stud goes into an oil galley IIRC. It may be leaking oil out around the threads.

 

[tay97gst]

That exhaust manifold stud goes into an oil galley IIRC. It may be leaking oil out around the threads.

Could that cause the smell too?