Hello everybody,
I got a real good deal on an '88 GTA 5.7L TPI. Just under 80k miles. Great shape. Ran like crap but for the price, couldn't pass up. Had a real bad misfire in engine. I'm not a professional mechanic, but a fair shadetree one. Figured I could troubleshoot the problem and save big on the $$$.

I checked all spark plugs for spark and all sparking just fine. Timing was fine. Performed compression check and results are as follow. Driver side 1-3-5-7: No.1 cyl. was approx 135psi. No.3 and No.5 cyl. was less than 30psi. No.7 cyl. was 140psi. Cylinders 2-4-6-8 all were between 130 and 140psi.

Next test I did was a cylinder leakage test. Very minimum leaking from No.1 cyl. No.3 cyl had 100% leakage. I could hear the air leaking and could not find where it was coming from. Not throttle body, not exhaust pipe, crankcase nope, radiator notta. Where it was coming from was the spark plug hole on number 5 cylinder. Ok, blown head gasket. No problem.

I tear the heads off of car. Sure enough the head gasket is blown clean through number 3 and 5 cylinders. But, there is a small groove in the engine block and the head where the gasket was blown. Looks like it was burnt. The depth of the groove on engine block measures .034" and is about an eighth inch across. Depth of groove on cylinder head is .011" and also an eighth an inch across.

Was no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. No leaking there. My question is, is there any product that could seal this? I heard of block sealers but I'm not blown where they would fix. Any alternatives to major machine shop milling or furnace/flame welding? Don't have a lot of money and looking for a cheaper fix to my problem. I know when I put new gaskets on, it will blow there again. A friend had mentioned copper gaskets and torque bolts 15 to 20 pounds more. I don't like the sounds of that. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Errol

 

I would suggest cleaning it thoroughly and shaping some JB Weld to fill the grooves. The only other way is to pull it and deck the block.

 

Well if the body is in good shape and if you like the car a lot. I would just take out the engine and rebuild it. Maybe stock but who does that just built it. or drop the car on someone else and try to make money if you dont want to put money in it.

 

how much did you get this car for? thats a very important part of your decision

 

Hello all,
Thanx for the replies. I bought the car for 1000 bucks. With 72k miles, new Goodyear Eagle GSC rubber on all corners, Eldelbrock headers, 3 inch exhaust from headers back, interior immaculate, Only problem besides engine is paint is starting to fade and rear spoiler's paint is starting to peel badly.

I have priced a new long block from my local AutoZone for $1600 with $400 core. But after reading some AutoZone engine horror stories hear on internet, Im not sure if thats my best route. Any more info would be greatly appreciated...

 

Hello roadthrills,
Do you really think JB Weld would be strong enough to handle the heat and pressures of the combustion chamber? To be honest, I pondered that idea myself, but don't see it lasting the long run. Being its an absolute nightmare just getting to heads, I would not want to put back together just to find out it didn't work.
Also, could you (or anybody) explain what "Deck the Block" means or consists of? A friend had mentioned have the block and head milled at a local machine shop. Being the groove in block is .034" and in head .011", that combined is .045". Could an engine be milled to this extent? Thanks again for any info...

 

Personally I would pull the engine, have the groove welded and ground down, then just rebuild the engine.
I've never had anything but bad luck with JB-weld.
I don't think you can deck the block 45 down without replacing internal parts. A stock block has pistons 25 in the hole.

 

It's too bad the groove isn't .025 or less. Then you could just have it zero decked, and mill the heads a bit. I suppose you could have it welded and ground down. Personally, I'd try to get a good L98 core from the machine shop or the junkyard for $100-$200 and use that. I agree that you'd be wasting your money getting a reman from AZ. Most of those replacement motors have the cheapest taiwanese parts in them. You'd be better off rebuilding your own motor with your choice of good quality replacement parts.

 

Some have used epoxy to repair a corrosion scare on a block deck or head but its not going to hold up to combustion between the cylinders. You only realistic option is to weld the block deck and cylinder head deck and re machine, or find replacements. If you're hard for$$$ right now consider installing a good used motor and have yours repaired at a later date when you ave the $$$'s.

A good running 305TPI will go cheaper than a 350 TPI will. Search the wreckers for a collisions damaged donor car or the local classifieds and auto trader or even TGO classifieds for a usable stand in motor for your car. When you're done just sell off the second motor to recoupe your money. Just a few ideas.

I know this stuff will repair a damaged exhaust manifold or exhaust port but wether it will withstand the pressure within a combustion chamber I don;t know.
http://www.porcan.com/usa/puttys.asp
Fire Seal 2000
http://www.nlsproducts.ca/redhot2000.html
red hot 2000
http://www.amazon.com/CarGo-ThermoSt...4155773&sr=1-5
Thermosteel
All these get harder with more heat.
All these will work a lot better (if they will work at all) if you allow a good week for the repair spot to cure before bolting it back together. must be clean surface and oil/antifreeze free.

 

Why not just braze it up? That should work just fine. You're not exactly getting the full heat of combustion at that spot, it's just as far from combustion as it is to the water in the jackets, so it'll be in the middle. Much below the melting point of brazing (~1300°F). You could probably buy/rent an oxy/propane, or propane/mapp setup to get 'er done. Then a bit of sandpaper to smooth it back up, and use a .041" composition head gasket. Torque the head bolts carefully, using moly lube on the threads and cylinder head bolt washers with oil.



Fireseal might work, i've heard good things about that before.
Decking = milling. Same thing.

 

Well, I just finished brazing the two spots. Had to get it pretty hot to stick but looks to have took pretty good. Don't see any cracking (Thank God). I'm a welder by trade. Ive done a couple exhaust manifolds before. Going to file it smooth tomorrow and reassemble.

Reason being, I really want to drive the car before I commit to spending any major cash. The car ran so crappy when I took possession, I was never able to really drive the car. Want to make sure car is worth the effort. Running good is one thing. Driving/riding good is another. If deemed "nice ride", then I might go have some fun for as long as the engine will hold. I'm certain the brazing and the new gaskets should hold for at least a test drive.

How I got the car was some guy broke down in front of my house. Tried to be the good guy and help diagnose problem. Could tell he didn't have a clue. After he bought new cap/rotor, wires, coil, and 8 new plugs (of only 6 were changed at the time), and I tried to tell him he didn't need any of it, there was no change in performance. I offered 1000 bucks or get it outta here. Couple days later, he was back with title.

Being it has headers, shift kit, 3" exhaust, maybe a cam, tells me someone has had their fingers in it and I think I should drive it to see as a whole package. Ive rode in some that would, damn near, rattle off the road. All gaskets needed were under 100 bucks. If its a rattlin turd, I will try to sell or trade in. Although, I hope its in as good of shape as it looks. Under 80k, no rust, and the guy was older... Might of gotten lucky... Always like this era TA.

Thanks to everyone who posted in reply. Hope to hear run/drive sometime this weekend. Will post results in a few days.

 

You'll want to make sure you do NOT use an OE type shim gasket when you reassemble it all. Because of the imperfections you'll have in that deck surface, you best bet for getting a decent seal is to use the rubber coated Fel-Pro head gaskets (usually .038-.041 thicknesses).