hey .. i just bought a 91 camaro w/ the 305 tpi and 5 speed transmission ..


ever since i got it, it has been "hanging" the idle when i push in the clutch ..


the other day a friend told me a head gasket leak can cause that ..


well today i was sitting in traffic and the oil pressure drops into the red zone and the motor cuts off ..

start it back up ... happens again .. so i pull into a lowe's parking lot and check the oil .. its lower than it was earlier that day and i noticed some bubbles and a green streak in it ..

im assuming that is antifreeze .. scared the crap out of me when i heard my baby "whining" and not getting oil to the rockers ..

i got it home .. it doesnt overheat at all .. but the oil pressure drops at idle dramatically ...

what could this be .. am i right about a small leak in a head gasket .. have a mr2 that blew a hg big time a couple weeks ago .. and the camaro drives just like the mr2 did right before it blew .. full power one second .. and none the next ..

also .. if i have to take the heads off .. would it be worth putting a cam in since i allready got the top end off ..

and what cam is a decent one that wont completely wreck the gas mileage ..

thanks ..

 

green fluid in the oil is antifreeze.... and if u got a blown headgasket u got off lucky. u might have a cracked block or cylinder wall/cracked head or somethng that is allowing the fluid to get into the oil. i would do both head gaskets and see what it does.

i just had a head gasket go in my 350 tpi after 130,000 lol i kept fouling the #7 plug and my radiator had lots of pressure which would cause it to overheat and the plug casued a miss, i finnally got the ***** to go the gasket and it fixed the prob.

u have to drain the oil by the way. antifreeze is not a good lubricant.u need to flush it all out. as far as the oil pressure dropping that could be bc of the antifreezed. or cracked block or blown headgasket. watever u do DONT DRIVE IT lol

cam swap.... why the hell not! i would if i had the money. i could look into cran compucams or give compcams a call and they will hook u up. make sure u got a hydraulic roller or hydraulic flat tappet first. if its a flat tappet u will need new lifters, rollers u can reuse them.

 

yea .. i dont think its a HUGE gasket leak .. just a really small one .. it doesnt even overheat ..

mine has about 125,000 on it .. but im going to do a compression test on it tommorow..

will a normal spark plug socket work that has the wrench hexagon on the end .. or do i need to go to summit and waste $30 for the "special camaro sparkplug tool" ..

yea .. i had a head gasket go in my 89 mr2 .. definitly know antifreeze isnt good for bearings .. it chews them up pretty bad .. has sugar in it and melts / scratches stuff ..

i babied it home and parked it .. tommorow itll get a compression test .. then her top comes off . . yay .. i mean crap thats some work .. lol ..

im debating whether to finish the mr2 and fully rebuild the camaro .. or fix the camaro and finish the mr2 later .. its a supercharged mr2 that has been fully restored .. i just gotta put the suspension back on w/ the poly bushings ..

but that camaro is soo god damn fun to drive .. i might just fix it for now .. i ordered a top end gasket / rebuild set .. $89 from orielly's ..

damn .. if its a cracked block .. then bye by 305 and hello 350 .. lol

 

The tool makes life easier, but you can modify your own socket...

Mainly, if you have headers, a regular length 5/8" spark plug socket is too long to fit between the primary and the head (well, to get over the plug itself).

 

i dont have headers .. "yet" .. lol

but im going to try the $6 socket from orrielly's first .. then go w/ the $30 one if the other one doesnt work ..

theres a edelbrock cam for the 305 tpi .. it says itll improve low to mid range torque ..

its $130 .. think its worth puttin in while i got the top end off .. im really low on money and dont want my gas mileage to be destroyed by a really crazy cam ..

looks like a mild cam .. and its edelbrock .. ive had some good luck with their products before .. and their made in america ..

 

Call Crane or Comp. They have very intelligent people just waiting to help you pick out what cam is right for you.

But yes, it's definately worth putting a cam in while you have all that junk off.

 

like i said give crane or compcams a call. it really matters if u have a roller cam or a flat tappet.... huge differences in price and it has to be computer controlled.... i wouldnt put that edelbrock junk in.

i had manifolds and headers but i never used the socket lol i just bent down into the engine bay and used my teeth!

i use a 5/8 spark plug and a 18 or 19mm box end wrench and i can get them out the #7 in 2 min flat. im a pro bc of my head gasket goin

 

im definitly throwin some money at this motor while its out ..

ive gotten 80% of the stuff off to where i can pull it out ..

the distributor is rusted .. looked like a new cap but all the points are almost gone .. have no clue how this thing ran even ..

theres 3/4" of sludge in around the rockers ..

and its a huge pain in the *** getting all this stuff out ..

so a cam, full rebuild, gear drive timing thing, and high heat paint and this baby is gonna pur like a tiger (kittens are too *****) ... lol

ill give comp / crane a call and see what they say ..

 

A leaking intake manifold gasket is more common that a head gasket failing.

 

oh by the way when i pulled my head gasket off and i believe it was untouched since the factory with 130,000 on it.... it didnt have a normal paper gasket... it looked like a steel shim.... really thin, metal and no paper/fiber.... hmmmm did they come stock like that?

i would recomend getting a replacment distributer... a nice billet peice and good thing is there only around 150$ now i think. get a true double roller they are alot tougher than the stock single nylon cr@p.

 

yea .. this motor is completely factory .. i doubt if its ever been touched other than air filters and oil .. hahaha ..

theres a good bit of metal shavings sittin in that "gunk" around the rockers ..

anyone know how to get the motor out .. i got everything off .. but do you unbolt the tranny or the bellhousing .. i got a 5 speed .. i cant get at one of the bolts on the bell housing but i got an idea w/ taking the motor mounts out to give me the room i need ..