Oil in heat exchangers

[LCOX]

911 has been sitting for some time now. Lower valve covers leaking oil that has gotten into heat exchangers. When I started car lots or oil smoke coming out of interior vents.
Any idea how I can clean all this oil out? Otherwise The heat exchangers are in good shape. Thanx

[EC900]

First, close the heat flaps and fan then go for a long drive.
You state “into” rather than “onto”.
It’s hard to imagine the HE casing could contain a pool of oil inside. Might be the oil is just on the top and along the manifold, of course the length of time it’s allowed to drip makes the burn off that much longer.
Other than taking the HE’s off any flushing them, there’s no other way to clean the interior.
The oil will eventually burn off and rather quickly with an extended drive.
If leaving the car on extended storage before replacing or re-torque the cover gaskets, a bit of aluminum foil covering the HE’s and funnel those drips away to a boot tray filled with kitty litter.

[TwoBluPorsches]

Originally Posted by LCOX

911 has been sitting for some time now. Lower valve covers leaking oil that has gotten into heat exchangers. When I started car lots or oil smoke coming out of interior vents.
Any idea how I can clean all this oil out? Otherwise The heat exchangers are in good shape. Thanx

I had the same issue.

I removed the exhaust and cleaned out best I could with brake cleaner then engine cleaner with water.
It might have been better to use engine cleaner and blast it at a car wash.

I reinstalled and made sure the flappers into the heat ducts in the car were closed.
When properly shut the smoky air won’t go in the car and it will escape at the valve.

I drove for awhile and tested the heated air quality.
Eventually I was able to have heated air without having to roll down the windows

Edit
Oil did actually seep into the HE at the joints where the tube goes through to allow access to exhaust studs
They are SSI

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[mikesarge]

Originally Posted by TwoBluPorsches

I had the same issue.

I removed the exhaust and cleaned out best I could with brake cleaner then engine cleaner with water.
It might have been better to use engine cleaner and blast it at a car wash.

I reinstalled and made sure the flappers into the heat ducts in the car were closed.
When properly shut the smoky air won’t go in the car and it will escape at the valve.

I drove for awhile and tested the heated air quality.
Eventually I was able to have heated air without having to roll down the windows


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Yep- same. I think the seal in my oil cooler was starting to go, car sat for a few months while I was awaiting EFI parts. Took off the Heat Exchanger, cleaned out with simple green and rinsed thoroughly. Close off the heat flappers, give 'er hell and it'll burn off the little remaining residue pretty quickly.

[JSV798]

I like the way some of you guys say "I took off the heat exchanger"!. This is often a job fraught with difficulty as the studs snap off. It's a job I left to my local garage who have access to heat. Of course I imagine they would come off easily now, but I would just drive the car and let the oil burn off.

[Capt J.D.]

Originally Posted by LCOX

911 has been sitting for some time now. Lower valve covers leaking oil that has gotten into heat exchangers. When I started car lots or oil smoke coming out of interior vents.
Any idea how I can clean all this oil out? Otherwise The heat exchangers are in good shape. Thanx

I removed mine and had the local radiator repair shop 'boil' or 'steam' them out.
I did have the Stromski kit for the studs of which I broke one.

[Dwerkz]

Be very careful, i had a car almost burn to the ground
If a car stands long without driving, oil can build up in the exchangers through a minor leak
And if not really heated up the first drive the oil can catch fire in the exchangers.

[PeteKz]

Some years ago, I also got water into the heat exchangers from parking it out in the rain. After starting it up, the evaporating water fogged the windshield terribly. So, I drilled a couple 1/8' holes in the forward lowest part of the heat exchanger. Bonus: it also lets the oil drain out!

[Bill Douglas]

My SC had that problem when I had left it parked for 3 months or so.

Phew, a bit smelly inside the car. But I took it for a long hard drive - with the windows down as you can imagine. Got the exhaust hot from the drive and the smell was gone an hour or two later.

[rswannabe]

I had some slow oil leaks that made their way down into my heat exchangers. I traced the leaks to the rocker shafts and eliminated them by installing RSR rocker seals.

With the leaks stopped I then cleaned the heat exchangers by soaking them in a vat of simple green to loosen up the accumulated/cooked on oil, scrubbed the outside with 3m pad, and cleaned out the interior passages as best I could with a hot water pressure washer. The result was no more oil smell when i use the heat.

[zaphodtheprez]

Originally Posted by rswannabe

I had some slow oil leaks that made their way down into my heat exchangers. I faced the leaks to the rocker shafts and eliminated them by installing RSR rocker seals.

Did you remove the engine to do the RSR seals or were you able to install them while in the car?
I am thinking of adding the Rocker lock sets and RSR seals also while I'm in there doing the valve gaps. But, if I have to remove the engine, I'll plan for a future date.

[rswannabe]

Originally Posted by zaphodtheprez

Did you remove the engine to do the RSR seals or were you able to install them while in the car?
I am thinking of adding the Rocker lock sets and RSR seals also while I'm in there doing the valve gaps. But, if I have to remove the engine, I'll plan for a future date.

I did them with the motor in the car and did not have any significant problems. Lots of what I read said to pull the motor, but in my opinion the little extra hassle of doing it in the car was significantly less than the work to drop the motor.