Hi Guys,

Having no solution for my noise (see video links below) I started dissasembling the engine, and I have a bunch of questions. (they are in no particular order... i wrote them as they came to mind)

1
When I got the oil pan and pump off, I found what looked like fragments of a plastic collar (orange in colour) It looks like the plastic pieces made up a collar that at one time held the oil pump intermediate shaft to the oil pump.

The engine ran fine (aside from the noise) before I pulled it. (9psi oil pressure at idle, 25-30 while driving)

I can't find any damage on the shaft (ruling out it flailing around and causing my noise).

So, what could have caused this to break? (as it was sucked into the oil pump pickup, I've ruled out the posibility of it breaking during disassembly) And what effects would not having it in place have on a running engine?

2
I found the main bearings pitted. plastigage showed clearances of around 0.0025"

Could this be the source of the noise? What are the ideal clearances?

3
I also found some orange rubber in the oil pickup screen. Does anyone know where it may have come from?

4
I drained the oil over a magnet and picked up 3 or 4 tiny metal shavings, I've changed the oil since breaking in the cam, are these leftovers or a sign of a bigger problem?


5
With the spark plugs out, it still seems to take excessive effort (around 55 lb*ft with the torque wrench to overcome static friction) to turn the engine over. Is something clamped down to tight, or does that sound right to you guys?

The noise
Strongest at the rear passenger side of the block. Sound changes, does not get louder or quieter as I move about in that area with a stethescope

Warm-up/High idle
http://home.cogeco.ca/~hollanr/Engi...high%20idle.wmv

Regular
http://home.cogeco.ca/~hollanr/Engine%20noise.wmv

Have already checked
Flywheel is not cracked or damaged, head bolts are torqued. no rockers or pushrods are bent or broken, all valves seem ok (good compression everywhere) fuel pump pushrod not the source. dist. gear pin not the problem.

I'm told i'm missing an inspection plate between the bellhousing and the engine (although I swapped the hole engine tranny in as one piece straight from the donor car, no one confirmed or denied it's existance in an earlier thread of mine) which could casue spacing issues with the tranny. I Have broken 6 starter nose cones in the past 2 months (Possibly due to missing the bracket that ties the starter to the block?)

My engine

Early 80's 305
Edelbrock 1405 Carb
Edelbrock performer Rpm air gap intake
Edelbrock performer cam (yea, I know it doesn't match the intake, I got a great deal on the intake after I had bought the cam. I'll be changing it again very soon.. recomendations?)
I have not changed or replaced any other engine components


Thanks for your help.

P.S. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.... it's 5 am and i've been up for far too long.

 

the factory drive shaft is junk, the plastic breaks, best to buy aftermarket replacement

look in your manual for clearances, and plastigage is next to worthless. buy or get quality precission tools. i doubt it was the cause of any noise

RTV

most of the metal you'll find in oil isn't magnetic

more meaningful number would be the actual force as the engine spins, not the breaking point number. all in all i'd think it isn't excessive

most common sources of noise is rockers, exhause leaks, injectors, accessories

 

Available off the shelf at your local Auto Zone

 

Given that I don't expect the car to last another year (underbody rusted terribly, suspension in rough shape, interior getting bad, electrical starting to act up) without a complete top to bottom rebuild (at which point I'd like to step up to a 383, so condition of this engine would be relatively un-important) Is there any sense in changing the main bearings? (they all look like this, clearances average around .0025")

 

For as little as a set of bearings costs, you might as well just change them.

 

if you have it aboart it'd be foolish to not replace the bearings, and the oil pump with the related aftermarket drive shaft. your clearance as checked with plastigage is ok, however plastigage isn't ok to measure clearances with other than a ball park idea. you may be over or under.