What causes a valve cover to have oil in it? when i say oil i mean about a quarter of a cup of oil poured out. the engine was smoking really bad reason i took valve cover off, i plan on taking it down and checking the rings and to see if the piston is scored and hopefully fix a air leak around the crank case cause the engine revs up and down (500+/-rpm difference) and i already replaced the gaskets around the carb to no avail. the engine is on a 1 man auger from General equip. i can't say i have ever seen oil just pour out of a valve cover like this at least not this type of engine cause it uses suction and the auger could theoretically be used upside down

Oil in the valve cover is normal, if you have an excessive amount then that may be due to overfilled oil. If your burning alot of oil then I would check for a blown head gasket.

The only grief I have with the engine on the General Auger is the poor way the throttle cable runs. End up with a kinked cable on every machine at least once a month. Have not encountered excessive oil in valve cover and our customers bring them back in the most unusual fashions!

The only grief I have with the engine on the General Auger is the poor way the throttle cable runs. End up with a kinked cable on every machine at least once a month. Have not encountered excessive oil in valve cover and our customers bring them back in the most unusual fashions!

I will second that as i work for a tool rental to (your name gave it away)

Oil in the valve cover is normal, if you have an excessive amount then that may be due to overfilled oil. If your burning alot of oil then I would check for a blown head gasket.

yea it has a silicone one. well seems like that's two hrs of my day down the drain. engine has done nothing but give me grief from day one. its two yrs old now