Markolc

How bad is it when the motor runs lean? I was breaking in my motor for about 5-7 minutes till I realized 6 out of 8 primaries were glowing red...could of been glowing red for like 2-3 minutes at 1200 RPM. This is on a brand new motor. Could damage have been done, or should I just adjust the FP accordingly and continue on?
Where I'm at at the moment, is my car won't fire up since the last time I turned it off (about 16 hours after I turned the car off cuz of the headers glowing red). One spark plug wire is burned, I know that for sure. The plugs may be bad as they were soaked with gas while I tried to turn the motor over. I'm getting them all replaced and will try starting the motor again. But would running lean or too much timing cause a no start problem after only a few minutes of running lean? I didn't kill my new block already, did I? I know I'm getting fuel and spark, and the motor sputters a bit, but that's it. Maybe the plugs are fouled, I dunno. Maybe I'm a bit overworried, what do you guys think?

V8Astro Captain

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure it was running lean? I could've been the timing too far retarded, that'll make headers glow red too.

Markolc

Well I had the DFI hooked to the laptop and the O2 sensor was showing I was running in stoich at 14.7, almost on the dot. But the ceramic coated headers were glowing red. So I have to up timing, or lower it do you think? Could that cause a no start condition now?

CrazyRob75

sounds like retarded timing. if it's next to impossible to start and pops through the carb when cranking your timing is retarded. Advance it a bit to get it started the set it WITH A LIGHT. If you may have flooded it and your worried, change the oil and filter for good measure.

zippy

engines will commonly run lean without load on them which is part of your glowing header problem, but another reason the headers were glowing is the lack of air to them. when breaking in any engine especially something with an electric fan i seriously recomend one fan to blow on the radiator and one on each side blowing on the header or manifold. it's been a big help every time i've used that method. i'm not sure if you have a roller cam or not, but if you do you don't need to break it in by running it like that with roller cams.

JP84Z430HP

Man, I hope it didn't the heads hot enough to warp! I know it is a more extreme case, but it is possible. Does it still crank normally, and not really fast? That would be a really bad thing if it cranks really fast, as it would probably mean no compression, which would probably mean warped heads.

I hate to be negative about things, but it is a point of view nobdy else has mentioned.

Good luck!

JPrevost

I burned a hole in my new carpet after the cat got hot during my break in. Headers were red too, it was because my TPS was backwards (idle thought WOT and vice versa). At least around 2500rpm there wasn't any problem since that's half way anyways .
If the car still runs well and isn't blowing out burnt oil then I'd say you're fine. You'll know if something is wrong after a few days of normal driving.

Markolc

I have an LT1 motor in my car, not a regular L98, so I can't set the timing by a light, I have to do it through DFI. The car cranks the same, not very fast, so I doubt the heads are warped.

Vader

Mark,

I doubt the heads are warped, too - even with aluminum. Your coolant goes to the heads straight from the return side of the radiator, so they are being cooled first (and best). Your high RPM operation with no load likely warmed the exhausts very nicely, indeed. Throw a little load on it (requiring a larger throttle opening and more air flow) and things should get right back to normal.

Add a little tire smoke and call me in the morning...

Markolc

OK, the motor turned over today, it turned out it wasn't getting air when i tried to crank it (the throttle blades were closed). And I adjusted the FP accordingly and the headers weren't red at all this time...everything seemed normal. Thanks for the replies!