Oil all over valve cover & loud chirping noise coming from inside pulley covers

[goldenmean]

hello everyone.i have a 1988 Ford Festiva manual 4spd the car has been doing this since i bought it, oil shoots out from under air filter housing onto valve cover and all inside air filter housing and filter had to change pcv valve grommet already because it was ripped open by pressure i think it has blow-by i have to add oil and oil additives every so often. mechanic told me pistons ring are worn so i need to do a engine rebuild. Also there is a annoying loud chirping coming from in the pulley covers one mechanic told me a water pump someone else said a bearing not sure what it could be i know its not the belt did the water test on belt and tried adjusting alternator sounds like its coming from inside the top pulley cover i hear it at start up and when car is in neutral but i don't hear it after about doing 15-20mph.I am planning on getting the engine rebuilt soon just wanna know what you guys think any advice, ideas, suggestions would be appreciated if i could at least get rid of the chirping noise for now until i get everything together to do the rebuild would be cool (even better if i could fix the oil thing without having to do a engine rebuild).feel free to ask any questions! thanks everyone!

[TominMO]

1. Hold off on the rebuild for now. How many miles on the motor? Of course a mechanic will tell you it needs a rebuild.
2. Chirping could be from a canary or parakeet, but is probably from the upper timing belt cover rubbing against the water pump pulley. A common issue for Festys. You'll see wear marks on it if that is the problem. Just take it off and cut off the section that would contact the pulley.
3. Instead of a rebuild, consider buying a good used B3 from someone here who has swapped in a larger motor. Far cheaper.

[bravekozak]

I am willing to bet that one or more of the PCV passages in the baffle of your valve cover are plugged with 25 years of crud. Take a look at the maze of passages in this picture. I count six possible places where it could plug up in between the PCV valve and the air cleaner vacuum port.

Do a compression check to verify if a rebuild is necessary.

Good luck.

[goldenmean]

thanx guys for the advice i appreciate it very much. the motor has 172,000 but the engine i feel is good(im getting 42 mpg) i was thinking it maybe one of the passage ways that might be clogged when i was cleaning the air filter housing there was crud in some of the passage way that was blocking air flow i cleaned it out but i had a feeling it may be something like that instead of the rings.Ill do a compression test when i get a chance.what do i do to clean the passageways out should i be checking the whole pcv sytem for clogs?

[bravekozak]

It is an art to remove the little screws that hold the baffle plate onto the valve cover. I used a small machinists hammer to hit and turn at the same time. I would reinstall with loctite so they won't ever unscrew and fall into the valvetrain. I had my valve cover tanked because it was so nasty underneath. Please post a picture if you open yours up. Alternatively, you could use engine degreaser. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovvXnd7AhiU

[WmWatt]

When you take the valve cover off turn it over and look for carbon deposit which indicates leaking exhaust valve. I fixed a leak on the #3 exaust valve with chemical engine cleaner which disolved carbon buildup on valve. The one I used was added to crankcase and engine idled just before oil change. Other kinds available. In addition to compression test look at guide to vacuum guage diagnosis at top of this repair help forum home page.

Fact that chirping disappears indicates worn or glazed belt. Cheap to replace. Constant chirping usually indicates worn alternator bearings. Not as cheap to replace.