Pulled off my exhaust manifold last night and noticed the threads of 2 or 3 studs had oil on them while removing. Once I got the manifold off I was greated with wet #2 and #3 cylinder exhaust ports and a bit of oil between the head and exhaust gasket next to those particular ports. The valves looked fine in #2 and #3 ports and #1 and #4 port looked normal.

The car has been down for the past year or so and prior to that the head and block were built and tuned. Then it sat.

Could the oil have seeped in over the past year or should I pull the head/leakdown test/compression test/get a borescope?

When I get home I am going to pull the plugs and double check the exhaust manifold. Anybody have any input/ideas?

 

I'd run it and see if it's a real problem. Could just be some oil that got spilled and traveled.

There's nothing wrong with doing a leakdown test if it puts your mind at ease. Is this engine broken in?

 

Engine was broken in, street tuned, and dyno tuned. Never noticed smoke nor did the tuners mention it.

 

#2 and #3 plug had oil up the entire thread. #1 and #4 spark plug had no oil on them. All plugs looked the same other than some oil on them. I thought there would be more soot on them if there was oil leak/blow by. Pulled the valve cover off and saw nothing alarming. Looked into the cylinders and the tops of the pistons looked the same. There was oil in the exhaust manifold in the #2 and #3 runners but it was only about 1" in/down.

Still unsure if it is a problem or not. Any inputs?

 

Valve cover leak or spill.

 

It could be a valve cover leak. I have the ford EGT valve cover on a 99 head with the stock miata valve cover gasket and did the sealant around the front in the corners. I did notice the gromets the bolts go through sat even with the valve cover gasket.