What the heck is this?

[steve801]

Can anybody tell me where this port leads?

Picture A gives the larger perspective of where the picture was taken and picture B zooms in on the area in question. The engine is on an engine stand with the oil drained. As I rotated the motor on the stand to take the oil pan off, oil started pouring out of the area in question (arrow).

First of all, why is engine oil potentially “exposed” here? And secondly I was going to degrease the whole engine and now I guess I better stay away from that area. That is an Offenhouser intake manifold.

 

[rumblefish360]

Heat relief area/ Leave it alone. Thers nothing to do with it. It is oil filled from a gasket leaking.

 

[67Dart273]

Unless the head is cracked, that is a "dead end" cavity. It is simply a void in the casting surrounding the head crossover passage. Many say that it's for heat expansion

I say it's to make people ask questions.

You probably simply have some amount of oil/ grease that has accumulated there from a leak in the valve covers

 

[steve801]

oil leaking from the valve cover gasket? there sure was alot of oil that poured out. Any problem degreasing around that area and hosing it off?

 

[rumblefish360]

No problem. That crescent shape area does not have a spot in it to leak water into the engine. It's justa cave.

If your going to wash the area out, water may get into where ever the oil is leaking from.