'Black Gunck' under valve cover?? Need Help!

[torkair]

My money is either on a cracked head or alot of overheating and long time between oil changes. Only time i saw worse was on a 351w out of a 79 ranchero, still got that paperweight sitting in my yard

[wytbishop]

another common problem is mixing oils... regular and synthetic dont always work the best together and you end up with a gelatinous blob in the oil pan... that mistake nearly toasted my old civic

According to my conversations with a chemical engineer from Castrol, that is a myth. There is no danger associated with mixing synthetic and dino oil.

I rebuilt a Chevy 350 that was so bad the oil would not drain out of the oil pan. This was just a result of never changing the oil. For several years all they did was add oil. He checked it every other fill up and just added a half liter. And it just got thicker and thicker until you wind up with what you see in those pictures. Amazingly, the damage was minor. Everything had to be remachined, but the engine came back to life and AFAIK it still runs today.

[Ryan]

Haha... imagine you're under your car, crackin' that oil pan bolt, and as it gets to the end you're ready to whip your hand outta there so you don't get covered, and you do, but it comes out a few moments later like warm molasses, or stirred jello...

I was picky with my BP. I changed it when it lost its golden colour. I betcha that head still looks like the day I got it tank cleaned.