Jota oil leak question

[Dennis]

My 79 Jota has been experiencing a slow seep of oil from the front of the engine. I suspected the head gasket O rings and pulled the cam cover and retorqued the studs as per Jlo's values; all seemed to be in order. A closer look at the situation revealed that the oil was likely coming from 2 of the exhaust ports, a problem mentioned frequently on the forum. The flange rings holding the header in place were indeed loose. My question is where does this oil come from? Through the exhaust guides, or is there another route? When the snow goes away from here I will see if the problem is fixed with new copper rings properly tightened.
Dennis

 

[mauricejota7604]

Valve guides.

 

[dave48]

Dennis
Are you sure its oil and not un-burnt fuel mixed with exhaust carbon? I had that problem on my 78. Flange rings were loose, old rings and a carburetor malfunction.

 

[nick7]

Valve guides ,yup.Even on a new RGS I bought, Keith of Laverda Scozia fitted seals on the exhaust guides too..on my old Jota head, even though the guides were replaced, it wasn't long before it smoked and burnt oil. There's a load of comment in the past about SS valves , think not compatible with original guides. Then  there's k lining...my head had that done in the past. It seems to be thought poor sealing of the exhausts can cause the oil to be sucked down the guides...hope the problem goes away for you when you refit/ seal.