Inside head black paint peeling

[Bo82CB]

Hey guys.
I had stubborn valve cover gasket that would leak until engine came to operating temp than it would seal up. Amount wasn't bad but it was enough to bother me. I decided while I am taking the cover off may as well check my valve clearance and while doing that I noticed black paint inside of the head missing at few spots...
After all was done I decided to change engine oil and guess what I found in the oil!? Did any of you experience this, my main concern is that paint clogging oil pickup screen and killing my engine!?
People who experienced this what was your course of action to protect these old engines from this potentially disastrous situation?

 

[mrtwowheel]

There shouldn't be any paint inside of your engine, in other words, the inside of your engine is not painted. What you are seeing is carbon that got past the rings and into the oil. Also part of that black is probably some residue from the cam chain guide. NORMAL stuff to find and generally not a problem. You don't need special oil for this, just change the oil. Concerning the pickup screen.........not a bad idea to check or clean it after high milage, but no need to get anal about that.

 

[Bo82CB]

My engine is black and with certainty I can tell you head is painted black on inside not sure about rest of the engine.
I should have taken pictures when valve cover was off...

 

[Loose Chain]

Like Mrtwowheel said, there should be no paint on the inside. If there is it must have been done by a previous owner. Not sure why someone would do that but anything is possible. The downside is, it will keep flaking off. The only way to fix it would be to pull the head, but you probably don't want to do that. Can you show us a picture of what you are seeing?

 

[Bo82CB]

I wish I took pictures when valve cover was off... basically whole head inside is finished in black color with few spots showing raw aluminum where paint flaked off. As you said disassembly of the head to remove paint is out of question, motor has 16k miles and running like charm, no need to mess with that. To keep an eye on this, I will use bore scope through oil drain hole if possible to inspect oil pickup screen and if I see something take pan off and clean screen, if not keep on keeping on!

 

[Loose Chain]

That's about all you can do. Change the oil often and keep checking the filter for the small stuff that gets past the screen. Was the engine rebuilt at some point?

 

[mrtwowheel]

Very odd. Is the valve cover painted? Like someone painted the engine but didn't want the valve cover painted so they removed the valve cover and spray bombed away? Is there paint on other parts around the engine done by the no mask spray bomber?

 

[mrtwowheel]

I see that your rotor/stator cover is not painted either. Curious about maybe he spray bombed those parts too. Paint on your rotor and brushes would be asinine.

 

[brettp]

I like the look of the engine. But with that said,...
Was the valve train painted also? Paint on the shims, camshafts, shim buckets, etc.?

 

[Bo82CB]

No paint anywhere but cast parts like head and block. This motor was not spray bombed or anything of that sort, this I factory finish. Val e train and all associated parts are clear of any paint like finish. Here is a link for RC04 head for sale and is painted inside!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4020796533...spFxtOdSoa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Loose Chain]

Hard to tell on that ad what is painted. I have an '82 that is black from the factory and it is not painted inside.

 

[Loose Chain]

No paint anywhere but cast parts like head and block

Are you talking about the outside or inside?

 

[mrtwowheel]

No paint anywhere but cast parts like head and block. This motor was not spray bombed or anything of that sort, this I factory finish. Val e train and all associated parts are clear of any paint like finish. Here is a link for RC04 head for sale and is painted inside!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4020796533...spFxtOdSoa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Naw, I'm not convinced. I see the difference between "rough cast" and "polished cast".

 

[Bo82CB]

Lol, I am not trying to convince you about anything but maybe eye doctor appointment is in your close future.
Here is few pictures of head not painted inside, not painted but oxidized and painted head on inside (not exact chronological order but you get the point)

 

[mrtwowheel]

I see carbon staining in a porous, rough casting, the same as you'd see in an unpainted crankcase.