yup...hurt dad's motor...had water in the oil at the shootout, put new gaskets throughout, fired it up today...got water in the oil almost immediately...and lots of it too.

ugh...

...the 305 will be getting swapped back in starting tomorrow.

 

so did you crack the block or heads?

 

not a clue...we're thinking cylinder head...it's weird though, the motor never saw over 190*...

 

interesting, pull them off and see if there is a visible crack, honestly i'd hook a coolant pressure tester to the motor with all the plugs pulled and see where it's coming from by spinning over the motor and looking for coolant to squirt out....then pull that head and look for something obvious in that cylinder.

 

it's not going into the cylinder....and it only has 5 mins of run time since i last had the heads off...NO visible cracks...

 

Intake gasket???

 

i was hoping to find something, but the gaskets looked great when i initially pulled it down...and i know that stuff happens occassionally when during reassembly but i put a fresh sent of 1205's on that bad boy...i cleaned all my surfaces and i know it's getting a good seal. i also fill my motors up through the thermostat outlet on the intake manifold. i put just over 2 gallons of water in through the intake and it settled flush with the intake once full...it didn't appear to be going down any...

 

What's up Matt. Sorry I missed the Shoot Out. I was in the field training my soldiers so I could not attend. Sorry to hear your having a hard time with the new set up. It sounds like a cracked cylinder(s). You could use a compression tester fitting and hook up a air hose with 15lbs of air as if you were going to change your valve springs with the heads on the car. And then look in overflow for air bubbles. At least then you'll know what cylinder is leaking. That's how I found out I blew my head gasket at my #7 cylinder. It will be really audible too.

 

i've already done that because i put new valve springs on it last saturday...

 

man, that car wants 11's with a 305! sorry to hear about your luck man, hurting a motor sucks

 

I feel your bad luck, every motor i have ut in my 89 has ended up breaking or having a problem somewhere, nothing is the same, but it is a learning experience for me.

 

Matt, just asking the obvious because a lot of times it gets overlooked. Did you chase the threads in the block good to allow for proper torque down, and were the bolts treated with teflon sealant? Also, have you inspected the freeze-plugs yet....?

 

freeze plugs? how would that get water in the oil? i didn't chase the threads persay, but they were clean. the headbolts received a fresh coat of teflon sealant before reinstallation...torqued from 30-45-65 in correct outward-spiral order...

seriously...i've thought of nearly everything...the 305 is going back in. it will cost $0 as i have everything already ready to go, just incase something like this happened. i'm gonna let me dad take care of the money side on this rebuild cause i can't do it...so therefore i'm letting him have it back. i've got too much on my plate and would much rather just enjoy the car again...i'll build a bigger motor after the wedding and i get out of college. (oh yeah, i'm getting married in may )

 

Just covering any possible way in which coolant could be leaking from somewhere, while somehow finding an entry to inside of the pan....

Congrats on the upcoming wedding....

 

That sucks man, did you atleast get a pass out of it.

 

yes he did......didnt go well the 305 was just as good, without all the smoke and what not. I felt really bad for him knowing he worked his tail off to get it done.

I just thought of something, and its not good, was there coolant in it while it was hibernating for 2 years, if not it may have froze and cracked something not visible, like the thin spots at the bottom of the cylinders.......

 

there was not antifreeze in it...and that's one of the things we are suspecting honestly...it makes sense, even sitting in the garage, cause it got cold as hell a few times last year...definitely cold enough to freeze water in the garage...

i made 6 passes with it...4 1/8th mile passes and two full 1/4 mile passes. it 60'd slower than the 305 and mph'd the same as the 305...it sucked all around...

started at 3:45 this afternoon, had the 305 in, timed, and running around the block by 8:15 this evening.
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hey thanks man! i'm, excited about it...

 

what took so long? just kidding
yes I would definitly think something evil has happened in that engine, that might also explain some of the blowby, hmmm doesnt sound good. well at least you have a damn good runnin 305 !

 

hope the 120lbs i added doesn't effect my 305's mojo though...

 

ah but thats safe mojo, worth every ounce, and i hope you never need it

 

I've seen two SBC's cracked in the lifter valley from being frozen. One put water into the oil, the other I never ran (because I recognized what was wrong from the first one before I wasted my time with it).

 

I've seen many blocks cracked in the lifter valley area and most were not abused anymore than you would expect of high mile engines.

jms

 

I Hated to hear that matt, the look on your face at the shootout was the most sad thing I had seen in sometime Bro. You will get that 305 into the 11's. And congrats on the future wedding.

 

thanks guys...i do appreciate the kind words. the shootout...i was totally humbled...i was talking FAR too much pre-shootout trash and this really taught me a lesson...no more trash talkin for me...well...atleast tone it down some anyhow, lol!

i just got my new-to-me MSD Digital 6+ put in...that thing wooped my butt, lol! but it's in and functioning correctly, and looks really good sitting there on the dash above the passenger feet like i had originally mounted that summit brand box. i'm pleased with the outcome so far...i'm thinking of going and testing either the 17th or the 18th. no goals, just go have some fun, ya know?

 

we are still thinkin 18th to play.....by the way, dont grab the coil wire with the car running lol

 

i gotta see my work schedule...they've been workin' me 12-9 saturdays lately...

 

well, the job is kind of important, so i wouldnt hold it against you if you went to work......especially with a wedding looming over the horizon!

If you go friday night post results!

 

Yes please do Matt. You thinking about going this friday? Was thinking about bringing kims car

 

here's a pic of the msd install...it kicked my butt since i am still using my gm hei distributor, but it's gonna work perfect now. i did quick-release type weather packs everywere so i can still easily take stuff apart.



well, since i really have no desire to tear into the motor anymore, i'm just gonna keep on making the car more efficient...i'm going to start saving up for tubular front suspension pieces and try to get some more weight off the car...gotta get this into the 11's somehow!

 

I think you'll like the Digital 6. Mounting it inside the car is a good move - I had to spend $165 to get mine refurbed after it got wet in the engine compartment.

 

that does kind of kill the ..its just a street car thing lol.

get the torches out, well lighten it up some more!

 

the new combination seems to be coming together now...and it may just get more street time because of it!

 

congrats matt on the wedding!! i missed all this excitement cuz we had cruisin' weekend at OC. im starting the build on my 305 next month...so next season should be fun!! good luck!!

 

I bet you miss that alot

 

do you care to share your new combo? anything changing besides just the obvious motor change? going back to the old 700r4?

 

700r4 is long gone...i'm not gonna share till i actually get the ball rolling...i have a tendancy to over state things...

 

Funny, I have the same problem. Van eats engines bigger than 305 CID. Hopefully this 350 will run a long time.

 

to avoid the curse, i think he will go with a hair dried 6 cyl lol. 3.8 with twin 72's sounds good

 

haha! i do have a 4.3 long block sitting at the house...and the 305/th350 is for sale if anyone is interested...EVERYTHING from carb to oil pan, water pump to tailshaft, headers, exhaust, the whole 9 yards is for sale...yes that includes my MSD Digital 6+ w/ modded HEI distributor, and my aeromotive s/s fuel pump. i'll be holding on to the AFPR and the -8 fuel lines though ya'll can pm me offers if there is any interest.

 

hmmm those are hints.........free tomorrow or um today lol

 

Turbo 4.3+powerglide? That would be a kinda interesting combo, especially with a decent sized snail.

 

I've seen cracks in the actual cylinder walls before.

I'm looking for a similar problem right now in one of my vehicles, and the 350 is clearly dumping coolant into the driver's side bank (the O2 sensor is on that side and is getting coolant fouled) but I'm not finding any obvious suspects. Those of you that have seen cracks in the lifter valley, where exactly where they and where they obvious?

 

yeah, kind of syclone/typhoonish lol. plenty of piston choices too, since they are like sbc's lol

 

What size turbo? I think an mpt70 would work pretty good, I'm pretty sure people have been in the 9's with one.

 

ah the beautiful sound of speculation! lol! i'm not going turbo 6, though it might be kinda cool...that'll cost far more than what i've got planned...i'm trying desperately to do away with my distributor (how's that for a hint )

rich, i'm not gonna make it today, i gotta work. i tried to go out last night but it rained on us...i was uber bummed.

 

The cracks often show on the cylinder case wall inside the lifter valley.

Imagine where the push rods go to the rocker arms. Right along there.

Most of the cracks I've seen were horizontal. Many were repairable but it was cheaper just to bore another block.

jms

 

Do I hear hints of an LS1???????

 

yeah i remembered that you might have to work, i was hopeful though lol
the track was kind of slow getting going today, but i found what i needed to... like that changeing plugs was worth .5 or so on engine only! and the track never got any heat in it so it was pretty marginal for us small tired guys
I did do a 1/4 mile burnout though, never hooked up well lol

It was pretty funny, the track announcer saw the nitrous purge and said something like "weve seen this car before, and it gets pretty wild in nitrous"
I put up a 1.26 60 foot for the effort lol

 

it woulda been PERFECT weather for me today...i'm not making enough power that hooking up is a problem...

 

Haha! Thats exactly what I did only its a single 70.