Oil on exhaust valve stems?

[78Chev]

When looking in my exhaust ports and rotating the crank I can see that 3 valve stems have a noticeable amount of oil on them (wet, almost forming a tiny drop) when they open while the others are dry. The wet ones are 1, 2, & 8. Is this normal? Should oil be noticeable on the valve stems? Thanks - Randy

[5.7L oldsdiesel]

Myself personally,i think they all should be dry.Any blue-ish colored smoke out the exhaust?If not,i would'nt worry all that much about it.Looks as if you have a leaky valve stem seal or two though.Do you know what type of seals are on your engine?O-ring seals are not a favorite of mine.Positive valve stem seals are the way to go.

[TimK]

It could be a combination worn valve seals and worn valve guides. If the guides are worn it will make a good set of seals leak.

TimK