as it was only a short time, I would thoroughly clean the belt
All that crud being pushed into the air intake does nothing good for the engine.
Luckily it happened at idle whilst parking, so doesn't look like anything made its way into the engine.
The oil in the tank drains down into the sump over a period of inactivity, it's an S&S X-Wedge problem and some engines are worse for this than others. If you haven't started the engine for a long time it is well worth checking the oil level in the tank, if it is down DO NOT TOP IT UP. If the level is down more than an inch from it's normal level, remove the drain plug in the engine case sump (Allen head) and drain the oil into a clean container. Refit the plug and return the oil to the tank. Start the engine and run it for at least a few minutes. Turn it off and let it settle for a couple of minutes, check the oil level and replenish if required.
I would think that if your cam belt is cleaned off it will be fine. The crankcase vent system burns off the fumes and puts a slight negative pressure in the system so that seals will not leak so easily. It has a calibrated 0.1" orifice and really doesn't need any modifications to improve it. It works fine as long as the sump isn't full of oil when you start it.
One other problem that can occur and is easy to check is a blockage to the tank vent line, the thinner hose from the top of the tank to the upper of the three hoses that connect to the front, lower RH side of the engine. Disconnect both ends and blow through the line occasionally (put a bottle over the other end to catch the "mayonnaise"). This will be more prone to blockage if you use the car in cold conditions a lot, it needs to get hot to vaporise the condensed water out of the oil system. If this line blocks it can lead to oil tank ruptures and leaks, particularly with the early dipstick type tanks.
If you are a member of the MTWC there should be an article about the M3W oil system and it's problems in the next issue of the Bulletin magazine.
Thanks planenut, really informative and useful to know. A very good point around checking the oil level as that way you aren't guessing how long it has sat for and whether or not its safe to start!
I had them check and blow through all the oil lines (so they had to drain the tank) and it all seemed fine, clean as a whistle thankfully.
You know I completely forgot to finish my application form for the MTWC! I shall do it now.
The period of inactivity is the most likely culprit. This just happened to mine as well, after several months of inactivity due to the pandemic. Albeit not as much, but I did have oil seeping out of the engine casing and oil filter and did get oil into the air filter. The oil seeping out of the engine casing and oil filter quickly stopped but I had to change the air filter and oil and oil filter to get all the issues resolved, including an intermittent check engine light that had popped up along with the oil.
Hope you get it all sorted out soon!
Looks like a fairly common problem, quite a relief as for a moment this morning I thought something terrible had befallen it!
It's basically an old motorcycle engine.
Anyone who's familiar with old British bikes will know that if you leave them standing for a while, the engine in the oil tank will drain back into the engine sump.
I'd suggest checking the oil level before starting the engine. If it's lower than when you put it away, then drain the sump before starting the engine.
Thanks, steep learning curve these!
