Is this block cracked?
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Is this block cracked?
Hello, first day here because I'm looking to make a purchase. It's actually not a truck, it's a 1974 LTD modified into a hearse. I checked the VIN number and it's telling me that it has the 400 cleveland in it. It smokes, not terrible, it clears up a bit after it warms up. I put my finger in the exhaust and it's got the oily black soot so I guess it's been smoking for a while. The car's been sitting outside for probably 6 months, maybe a bit more. We got a really bad freeze a while back though, temps got down to -27 degrees. I test drove it and it drives really good, but I checked the radiator afterwards and it was frothy. I pulled the dipstick and I'm not seeing any water there. When I dipped my finger in the antifreeze it seemed a little thin though... Basically, this is a beautiful hearse and I'd love to build on it a bit, but I'm not willing to pull the motor. I'm okay with rebuilding/replacing the head, but I just don't have the time and energy to pull the whole motor. Were these blocks prone to cracking after a hard freeze? Or am I just looking at a head gasket? What do you all think? I know it's not much information and I apologize for that. The car is out of town so I only have the info I gathered from looking at it. Thanks!
Cranky Old Guy
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,562
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From: Raphine, Virginia
Smoke on startup and quits is usually leaking valve seals. If it got cold enough to crack block, the freeze plugs should have popped. Other than that, not much I can commment on without further info. -27* should have burst radiator, heater core if anti-freeze was weak.
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Thank you very much. There was no leaking radiator fluid to be found anywhere, and although I did not look at the freeze plugs the fact that it's holding water and all the hoses are intact is a good sign.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,937
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From: wyoming
-27?
any block will crack if wrong fluid or weak antifreeze in it. sometimes will crack and freezeplug will stay in block. need to do a compression test on block and we can help you further. its a test you do to check the health of each cylinder. pull spark plugs out and get a compression tester and install in spark plug hole and roll over enging and should come up around 120 psi.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 125
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From: TX
Easy way to diagnose blue smoke: start it and get someone to rev the motor while you watch the pipes. If it puffs smoke when the rpms decrease it's valve seals. If the smoke increases with the rpms its bad rings.
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