catastrophic engine damage
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From: Thomson, GA
catastrophic engine damage
Well its about time she blew up. I was on my way home and there was lots of white steam. I thought it was just a broken heater hose, so i pull over to check her out. No broken heater hose found, and the white steam was coming from my tailpipe. Oh no- a busted head gasket. Odd i thought because a compression test just this saturday said I had 145 PSI all the way around. So I drive the 10 miles to my house, and ride with my buddy to get some subway (all is well when you have an Itallian BMT on that oregano bread) to let the engine cool off. I get the plugs out of 1-4 and see that the coolant leak was on #4. So I pull the heads off and the gasket looked fine- not burnt anywhere or cracked or anything. So I feel the cylinder walls and find a small ridge on #4 that turned into a crack which turned into a hole as I got to the bottom. The piston was loose enough to wiggle it by pushing with my finger. The hole is about the size of a dime. I can't believe I drove it home (at 65 MPH none the less!) and it would still crank up and idle. I will try to take pictures for my gallery cause I know i sure like to look at broken engine parts.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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That is an F-
Now you get to slip in that crate engine
I hate to see broken parts but at the same time I like to see them from a post-mortem point of view. That is just the Engineer in me tho.
Enjoy the Subway!
Now you get to slip in that crate engine
I hate to see broken parts but at the same time I like to see them from a post-mortem point of view. That is just the Engineer in me tho.
Enjoy the Subway!
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From: Thomson, GA
eric- do i have to pull the bellhousing/clutch assembly or will the flywheel just come out if i unbolt the bellhousing from the motor? I have pulled many auto motors, but never a stick.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Portland, OR
I just pulled apart a 390 in a 72 camper special that was given to me by an older gentlemen. He said the engine was just rebuilt, it started running a little rough and then one day it just wouldn't turn over. I think he must have been a little hard of hearing as all but 2 of the exhaust seats fell out. All of the valves are bent, #1 and #8 cylinders are cracked and the tops of the pistons and head surfaces look like hamburger meat. I'm impressed by the fact it ran like this. Wish the old timer would have kept his engine reciepts I'd be throwing this thing through the machine shop's window if it were mine.
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From: Thomson, GA
Well it looks like someone replaced the #4 piston and didnt to too good a job. It had a different oil ring than the rest of the pistons. The skirt shattered and I guess the wrist pin worked loose cause it hit the counterweight each time it went down. All of the bearings were down to copper for the most part, I havent gotten the crank out yet, my lady came over. I assume that the crank is still in good shape. I am picking up a 351 cheap this weekend from my uncle to get me around till i get that 514 blown stroker.... I had planned to install a re-ring kit to get me around- which would have worked. My lifters were fine, my crank and rods and pistons are OK, and the cam is fine. It just burns my biscuts that i might could have saved it.
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