ok the other day i pulled the valve cover off to upgrade to some skunk2 cams.. everything was black for some reason, like oil was there and it just burnt into the metal. i tried using a soft metal brush to get some of that stuff off but nothing is coming off. i looked at my friends h22 and the head is all shiny. could this be that my oil pump is not working? any suggestions would be nice... thanks

 

Its not your oil pump, has nothing to do with sludge build up, if it is sludge. Normal oil changes and routine maintenance play a roll in what your talking about.

 

are you the original owner of the car?

nvm, i see you have a swap.

 

Does your friend use synthetic oil? The orange-ish brown color you're seeing is normal for an engine that used regular (i.e. non-synth) oil, even with regular changes, this color will be present.

 

i dont know what he uses. all i know i use mobil1 0w40 every 2k miles. ill take a picture right after i come home and post it on here. what would be the signs on the engine if my oil pump failed to work?

 

Signs your oil pump failed:

1. No oil pressure.
2. Your bottom end (and perhaps the head) would be toast in very short order (less than 2 or 3 minutes).

 

If it's really dark, it's probably varnish from the owners of the engine extending oil change intervals too long.