Oil In Intake - Why?

[Smoove1010]

Greetings!
I'm tearing down my 3.2, getting ready to have the heads done, expect to re-ring. I noticed oil settled in the intake right under the throttle body. Once the intake was removed, I saw a puddle of oil right behind three of the intake valves. Some pics (not very good ones) are here in my project thread:

87 Drop Top - Drop-n-Top End

Here are my three theories:

1) Intake suction is pulling oil in through the valve guides;
2) Worn rings allowing too much blow-by, pushing oil into the intake;
3) My dipstick is too short, hence I'm overfilling. (no dipstick jokes...)
4) Some combination of 1&2.

The car has 99K miles, ran OK except for the cloud of blue smoke at startup, and it was burning a quart of oil every 300 miles. Leakdown and compression test not done as I was committed to the teardown regardless.

Each of these theories has gaps. Any thoughts out there?

Thanks in advance,
GK

[T77911S]

you have about covered it. just keep an eye on it after the rebuild and always check the oil with it hot, level and idling

one other thing. dont fill it to the max oil level. i run mine between min and the middle. actually, since i know that the oil gauge and the dip stick are close to the same, i run it with the gauge in the middle. when it drops to min, i drop in another quart.

[Smoove1010]

Is it possible that the wrong dipstick is in the tank? Did the tank config change over the years, perhaps requiring different sized dipsticks? I could see this being an easy mistake to make if someone dropped one in the tank, and picked up a replacement that was from the wrong vintage.

[Targa Me]

I believe that oil is normal (other than any valve train or ring problem you may have). My 3.2 is health (knock on wood) and I've noticed oil in the intake as well. There's lots of oil that gets sucked up via all the breather hoses that lead to the oil tank.

[Rot 911]

Quart of oil every 300 miles? Valve guides are gone. Time for a top end refresh my friend. Just plan on the top end. When you pull the heads you will find the cylinders are probably pristine. With the exception of the valve guides and the lower head studs, the 3.2 engine is very robust.

When you pull your exhaust, and look at the top of your exhaust valves, I believe you will find where all of your oil has been disappearing to.