After pulling a few plugs, I went after the passenger back plug and voila! There was oil all up the threads and what looked like a glazing on the center porcelan electrode. A few techs where I work said they wouldn't worry about it, but it just irks me after spending money on an aftermarket head vs a ported set of 243's that now I get to deal with this. I know it's trivial ( I guess), but it sucks when you spend hard earned money to have an issue that you never had before. What's worse is Dart's warranty states I have to have the head sent to them for inspection and determination of failure. Yeehaa. They already had to replace the other head for a crack that was leaking coolant on the dyno right after installation.

 

It might just be the valve seal(s). I would swap them out and see if that solves the problem.

 

Thought about doing that as it's pretty easy to do. I'm running a 646/612 lift cam, I wonder if that is causing any issue with the valve guides? Then again, it started right after bolting these heads on.

 

Were shortened intake rocker bolts supposed to be used on the darts?

 

I definitely never heard that. Hmm.

 

I've never head that either and I used the factory rocker bolts without any problem. Hope you get it straightened out, I would suspect the vavle seal, possibly damaged due to the high lift.

 

Was sealant put on the threads of the rocker bolts?
I thought that was required on ported heads to prevent oil consumption?

 

Did you use any type of thread sealant on the rocker bolts? If not, this is probably one of your issues. I've had Dart 225's on for a year now with no oil consumption or any issue for that matter. I'm using Crane rockers so I used Red Loctite to seal the rocker studs.

 

You don't need the shorter rocker bolts. They're just an added factor so the ends don't protrude into the runners. Like it was already stated though you should 100% always put some sort thread sealant on them to prevent oil from draining downwards.

 

I'm sure my local shop guys did as they've done dozens and dozens of h/c cars as well as assembling short blocks and heads.

 

Might be worth your time or a buddies, to pull the valve cover and pull one rocker bolt out and look at it. See if its sealed. If not back to local shop...

 

I figured I would see it when I do the valve seals. What's a good choice to use on those bolts?