Technical Rocker Cover

[Mike1alike]

I discovered something that might be a problem inside the Rocker cover. I think one of the pipes on top is clogged. It's the one in the first picture, I've circled it in yellow. It connects with the bracket on the camshaft, the bracket has to holes connected with those two up in the cover and this circled one is clogged. Normally, it looks like the camshaft gets lubricated there (or shoud get) on both those lines. There are little round gaskets around them both so I don't think this clogged one is just design, I think it's a pipe that's clogged. The other holes in the top of the rocker are ok and communicating, fluid gets through.
Am I right and if so, how can I unclog it? So far I've try with diesel and WD40, but no movement yet.

 

[Mike1alike]

And another detail, that clogged hole is close to the pipe that goes to the breather. I'm thinking that that could be the reason my intake manifold is always very oily inside. The pressurized oil that should get to the camshaft is spilled in the area and lots of it gets thrown out in the intake manifold through the breather.

 

[GrandePunto PL]

1. First of all, your engine is ugly inside, very dirty, black. Do something about it.
2. Cover looks like a next model, Grande. Early 1,2 8V had no VVT (only 1,4 8V).
So the "clogged" channel is for VVT oil, from VVT solenoid valve - you don't have it (one hole is enough to lubricate the camshaft).
But the oil should not go into PCV ("breather"). Manufacturing error or it's cracked.

 

[Mike1alike]

I am doing, the CH is down right now, I'm cleaning it.
Thank you for your response. I was wondering about the model, if that second hole is there because the piece fits other models too. Thanks for confirming it.
One thing to mention is the oil channels there were clogged at mine. I got to cleaning it and tested the holes with this large syringe 100 ml, pushing diesel through the channels. First try it wouldn't budge, felt the pressure rising in the syringe as I was pushing down the piston and than it unclogged and now it as all clear. I was left wondering about that last hole that really really wouldn't "unclog" and it's good to know that that is not part of the system on my model.
And the oil from the channel does not go directly into the breather feed. But there is this system with the high pressure oil that goes directly to the contact points between the camshaft an CH and also, in between those points oil also is sprayed down through those little holes to lubricate the rest of the camshaft. And with the channels being clogged, surely oil got out around there more than it should and instead of properly lubricating the camshaft it would spill around in that upper part and that is where gasses are collected and sent through the breather. And that's why a lot of oil was coming there on my breather, not just gasses.
Here is a picture with the unclogged channels.

 

[GrandePunto PL]

More details about camshaft cover and oil channels in Grande. Contact pattern around o-rings may not be perfect = pressure loss.
Polish forum: https://fiatpunto.com.pl/post861074.html#p861074

 

[Mike1alike]

Mine clearly didn't work as it was designed to work, it's like that since I bought the car. That color is like aluminum got toasted. And it kind of did, not being properly lubricated on the contact points between camshaft and CH. It really overheated there. And it had there that kind of gooey sticky burned oil residues. I cleaned that long time ago but somehow I missed cleaning and unclogging the oil channels in the top. Good thing I cleaned it now, I'll see how that improves the oily inlet that I have since forever. I'm gonna post about it here. I did suspect that part of being faulty long time ago, but I got thrown off by a mechanic who told me that he had the exact same model of Punto that he really loved and that's a perfectly normal thing for Punto to have the inlet so oily, cause it's due to the breather being connected there and insisted for me to let it as it is considering that's nothing wrong there.