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Help Rust found in Cylinder Head

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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 05:42 PM
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Default Help Rust found in Cylinder Head

Removed the valve cover from the passanger cylinder head and found multiple rusty valve springs. I also found rust in the tips of the rocker arm bolts. What is this rust development a sign of, car is driven daily.
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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 05:45 PM
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moisture, duh haha. well hows ur oil and everything look man?
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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 09:14 PM
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I know how corrosion works, need to find out potential causes and damages associated from rust buildup. Will be changing oil in two weeks so I can't really tell what itlooks like.
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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 09:21 PM
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Was it running lean for a while?
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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 09:39 PM
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Where are you in Georgia?
We are about 40 miles north of ATL and this time of year its just kind of a fact of life.
How long do you drive every day? If your engine dosen't stay up to operating temp for a while then the moisture will never evaporate out of the crankcase.

Andy
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Old Dec 24, 2011 | 11:15 AM
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Versz it runs between 14.7 and 15.1 AFR, I would not think this is lean enough to cause any issues. I do however don't allow the engine to get to operating temp almost daily. Currently reside in cartersville GA.
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Old Dec 24, 2011 | 08:16 PM
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I would try to let it get up to temp before you drive it, try that for a week and then check it again, also keep a check on the water level. Have you been loosing any coolant? Does it look like the area around the bolts are seeping water?

We have dynoed engines before and the next morning pull the valvecovers to check things and there will be quite a bit of condensation, it gets worse when its cold.
We also have a set of flowmaster mufflers on an LS engine we have on the dyno right now and when you fire it up on a cold morning it takes a good 5 mins to blow all the water out of them.

We are not to far from you, We are in Canton.

Andy
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Old Dec 24, 2011 | 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by M. Red WS6
Versz it runs between 14.7 and 15.1 AFR, I would not think this is lean enough to cause any issues. I do however don't allow the engine to get to operating temp almost daily. Currently reside in cartersville GA.
Only reason I asked was because when I was into building four wheeler engines there was a big talk on rusting a cylinder head can be caused from running too lean and running rich would just burn your plugs up. Thought it could be an issue since this is the first time i've heard about rusting cylinder heads in a while.
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Old Dec 25, 2011 | 11:07 AM
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IIRC...Steven Rupp mentioned he runs a hotter thermostat (180/185 vs160) to make sure moisture is burns off in the oil. Makes sense. Is 20-25* enough to make a difference? I dunno. Internet myth.........? Maybe.
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Old Dec 25, 2011 | 09:49 PM
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Colant level is good changed thermostat about 5 months ago 180 degree. Anyone aware of what damages I risk having if I leave this as is?
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Old Dec 26, 2011 | 08:11 PM
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If you are getting a lot of moisture in it and it starts causing the oil to look like a milkshake then you will have a problem, If you have a lot of water in the oil then it can cause you to burn out the bearings. I would go ahead and change the oil so you will know for sure.

Andy
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