the engine was new last spring, (spring 2000) and has a little under 4000 miles on it. i am doing an intake swap, and this is what i found. everything looks VERY clean except for the two water passages toward the back of the block. they seem to be rusty and lok pretty bad. what do you guys think? the fronts are perfect..but the backs scare me.

any ideas?

-Brian

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1991 Camaro RS
GMPP 350 HO crate engine - 454 TBI, MSD ignition, SLP exhaust, everything is new
700R4 - 2,400 stall converter, vette servo, shift kit
My car's webpage - z28boy.cz28.com
President - Central New York F-Body Association
Email - z28boy@twcny.rr.com
AIM - "Z28 Boy"

 

It could be worse. That little bit of scale should buff off nicely, and gasket sealing shouldn't be a concern. It looks as if the engine was run on water for a while, with little or no antifreeze. Maybe the first fill?

I would flush the system after the assembly and refill with a fresh mix. The corrosion protection of the original fill is probably depleted at this point, and green coolant is really only good for a couple of years under teh best conditions. You need a little more protection, so change as soon as you're finished so you can flush out any debris that might be left over from assembly.

I'd also consider matching the intake ports a little better. A new intake (or even the old one) would work a lot better with a smoother transition.

And as long as you have good access, you might want to get on that rust at the firewall before it becomes terminal.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Did the motor sit for a while?
just an idea.

 

not more than amonth or so without starting it.

somebody brought up the fact that maybe coolant doesnt flow through those passages (doesnt flow through the back of the intake). is this possible? i am going to go check out the intake to see how it is within the passages. i didnt check it before because i was in a hurry to take pics and ask you guys...


thanks

-Brian

------------------
1991 Camaro RS
GMPP 350 HO crate engine - 454 TBI, MSD ignition, SLP exhaust, everything is new
700R4 - 2,400 stall converter, vette servo, shift kit
My car's webpage - z28boy.cz28.com
President - Central New York F-Body Association
Email - z28boy@twcny.rr.com
AIM - "Z28 Boy"

 

ok i just went out in the garage to look at the intake...well...i checked out the passages, and found that there isn't a coolant passage back there. if i would have just thought about it i would have known that...but thats too easy.

so, there is no coolant flow there. is there any way to stop this corrosion from happening? i change teh coolany very regularly, but if there isnt any coolant flow in that area, i dont see what i can do.

oh well..i guess i will just clean it out and put it all back together...

thansk for yoru help.

-Brian

------------------
1991 Camaro RS
GMPP 350 HO crate engine - 454 TBI, MSD ignition, SLP exhaust, everything is new
700R4 - 2,400 stall converter, vette servo, shift kit
My car's webpage - z28boy.cz28.com
President - Central New York F-Body Association
Email - z28boy@twcny.rr.com
AIM - "Z28 Boy"

 

Looks OK to me as far as the water passages go. They can get a whole lot worse than that and still not hurt anything. Think what they will look like after 15 or 20 years.

It looks like it has too much anti-freeze for the amount of water. Even as far north as you are, 60-40 water to AF is enough; and the higher the antifreeze concentration, the less effective it is as coolant. Water holds more heat than antifreeze.

The worse thing I see about it is that it's a roller block but it has a flat-tappet setup installed in it...

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

you mean to tell me that i can put a roller setup in this block without getting it machined? seriously?

-Brian

 

Brian, you didn't know that? lol
It's a brand new block, they are ready for roller cam. This is why I want to do a cam swap soon to either an Lt4 or hot cam. Maybe even a zz4, I don't know, I have my options open .
As for the rear passage, looks nasty but I think all engines look that bad. It's called having an iron engine.
Back to the roller assembly, if you're thinking about it understand that we have press in studs. They suck and need to be replaced if you go with a larger cam. It just goes hand in hand.
Chevy high performance just did an engine buildup with our engine. Swapped in a hot cam, worked the heads for screw in studs, single plane intake made 422hp, dual plane made 412hp. Not too bad and it still cost less than the zz4 hehe

 

If you want to use the factory roller spider type set up, I have an extra one off my 305.



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Joshua Johnston
1991 Z-28
350, T-5, K&N, Ported Vortec heads, Edelbrock RPM, Holley 750 D.P., HEI, 11.07:1 CR, Comp Cams Roller-.510"/.520"-282*/288* dur., Shorty Headers, Dual 2.5 Exhaust, Dynomax Bullet Mufflers, T&R Motorsports custom air intake, Bald tires