A , airfilter oil cup question

[Lt.Mike]

I’m putting more attention to my A now having knocked other things higher up on my extensive to do list.
It’s valve cover was leaking badly and it’s fan belt was shot. Those things are now repaired.
One issue I’ve had with it is it blows a lot of smoke when first fired up. After a couple minutes it clears up. I checked the air/oil bath level which was at the mark but the inner cup was filled too. Isn’t just the outer area supposed to have oil? I drained and filled the outer ring but it leaked into the center area. Could this contribute to the tractor smoking at startup?
Could it be sucking oil droplets into the intake?
Another thing is when I had the valve cover off the top of the head and passages were clean and clear of any sludge.

[Shane Nelson]

The center is supposed to have oil in it as well. Wouldn’t think that has anything to do with smoking at start up. Does that engine have valve seals? I’m unsure if it does, but if it does they could be hard and letting oil by causing the smoke at start up.

[Lt.Mike]

Valve seals would have been my first guess too but it’s a ‘46 which I’ve been told didn’t have valve seals ??? Is that right?
If it does have valve seals I can either replace them or dump some kind of a miracle additive designed to recondition them and cross my fingers it actually works.

[Lt.Mike]

Update, the valve cover had a small leak and I wanted to see if there was gunk preventing oil from returning to the pan. Pulling it off I was relieved to find it was as clean as a fresh rebuild. Ok but it doesn’t explain the smoke out the pipe on startup. I wiped it down and reassembled with a bead of permatex.
The smoking stopped.
I’m not complaining but I’m at a bit of a loss why?
It’s better to be lucky than good right (?)
Now I’ve got that restart issue to deal with (my other post)
Mike

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

I am only slightly familiar with an A, but does it have a small breather pipe running from the intake to the block, if so, the vlave cover could have been letting enough air in to prevent burning the fumes, but my prime suspicion is that it just took a while for the rings to seat after the rebuild, which is normal.

[Lt.Mike]

No no, it was “ as” clean as a rebuild but as far as I know no one has gone inside that block since it was built in ‘46. I had run seafoam through it awhile back to clean it out and well I guess it did. That was some time back though, no seafoam in it now. I just had a look at the intake, no pipe that I could see.

[Stanton]

You are correct; no breather tube to the block, unlike a Cub.

The intake air enters the dome strainer, travels down the pipe, passes thru the oil then back up and out to the carb intake. Passing thru the oil is where the dust and dirt gets left behind; just like a Cub.