Oil on top of engine

[AZ79]

I've just rebuilt this engine 200 miles ago and today took it out onto the freeway for a few miles, getting back home I smelled oil and found it filling my spark plug hole and the hex head on the intake forward valve cover bolt. It has spattered onto the exhaust valve cover and even onto my air cleaner.
I had purchased a complete gasket set when I rebuilt it, but the valve cover gaskets were wonky and squarish, so I had no choice but to re-use my old ones, which were in good shape and they haven't leaked . I looked closely and couldn't see anywhere it would be coming from the valve covers.
A thin layer of oil covers pretty much my entire engine compartment.

Any ideas? Happy Easter!
(If you right-click the picture, you can view it in it's entirety)

[azruss]

from looking at your oil pattern, i put my money on a bad cap gasket or the cap was just plain loose.

[So Cal Mark]

I'll agree with the possibility of the cap leaking, what a mess. What do have under the front intake cam housing bolts? It's looks like rubber grommets

[AZ79]

I have a brand new oil cap gasket.
Those are just washers under that bolt head to take up the space after I removed the lift hooks.
They're temporary, until I find something better. It's torqued down to spec.

[AZ79]

But you know, I took the oil cap off to check, and when I put it back on it seemed like it was a better fit... Maybe I had it on crooked before? So I cleaned up all the oil and took it out again, guess what? No oil.

Happy Easter!

[narfire]

Gotta love those easy fixes!

Posts like this are great. When we are under the hood there might be a couple of brain cells that will remind us to make sure the cap is on properly after an oil change.

[KidDingo]

Big sigh of relief.

[Boris61]

I did the same thing last week on my 84. A big mess! It is easy to cock the cap when installing it. At least my engine was already dirty... I should have known better. Back in 83 in my 78 in Texas a gas station attendant left it off completely and I was blinded by smoke on I 30. Found the cap sitting on the top of the engine when the air cleared.