What did you do to fix it.


Hey BlazingSaddle,
I am getting ready to drop in a used engine. The engine has been sitting in my garage for the past year, and I don't know how long before that it was sitting. I like your post above and will be using it. Sounds like a good idea to do this while the engine is on the stand. Might not be a bad idea to pull the heads and check the cylindar walls/pistons/rings out while it is on the stand. I have to swap the intake from the original engine anyway.

Any tips once the heads are pulled?

 

Yeah just ran into a weird situation myself. Got a donor engine out of the car. The oil is PERFECT. The engine actually turns over smmothly by hand. No cylinder problems. So me being an negative thinking kind of guy, I figure this is too good to be true for me. Heck the tranny out of this very same car is doing great with no more than a filter change. Luck TOO good to be true???

I get this thing out in ONE piece. All front pullys and alternator, air, everythig still attached. You can bet I was hoping for some good news.

I have one bad habit. I like to see, actually SEE the timing chain. So I start to take the waterpump off and I notice loose bolts. This is 2.8. All of this comes apart at once. Waterpump, timing chain, all. So I get it apart with a minimum of destruction and still have most of the parts attached for the whole pulley system. Me thinking this is kinda nuts, how can the TIMING CHAIN be MISSING and put back together, well almost?? Some bolts missing and both gaskets destroyed already.

Needless to say I turn this thing over and check the crank. All that beautiful fresh oil had been pplaced neatly into this motor by someone. Not the person selling it to me cause he sold the whole car and we never even mentioned using the motor. We needed a tranny. It was good. Crank had been run dry on oil. I might have mentioned that oit looked as if it had been put together with sand. About the same look, but it was not the rebuilders fault.

The simple reason I know this becaus every other part of this motor was perfect. I decided right away to jerk the whole thing apart and see. Pistons clean, cam good, no damage other than crank and bearings. Of course the timing chain was missing. Still the oddest situation I have ever run into. Guess I'll replace it and gears. So what is it I cant trust? The oil pump, yeah its got to go. I'll get a 3.4 its got better volume and pressure and will work just fine.

So another long winded tale. What does it prove? Guess you could say that as long as you know how to put it back together take the darn thing apart and take a serious look. Yes; whats the price, a set of head gaskets? Why not pay it? A small amount of surface rust is easily removed by honing the cylinder again. If a large ridge exists, well you now you need rings, probably a size larger?. Its worth the price and the time. The bearings ought to be plasigaged anyway if you doubt anything and the chain and pump should almost always be replaced. New gaskets and seals on an engine that has been sitting are almost a natural. For 2/2.5 hundred buck you can get darn close to right, unless you run into major problems.

The long list Of steps in my other posts comes from building an engine and then having it sit and wondering what is going on in there. I already knew how it was put together before I took those many steps. I was already sure it would run and perhaps had already run fine, but it had been sitting and needed a NEW breakin.

 

Wow, that IS a lot of work man!

The problem with my blazer was a very silly/stupid mistake of mine. I didn't have the fenders on, so I hooked up the battery from the floor to the battery connectors with jumper cables. Those stupid jumper cables were cheap (made in china) junk. They didn't provide the full 12.4 volts to the starter and it wouldn't turn the engine.

When I did start it, I let it run for about 30-40 minutes. Now I go to the oil drain plug and the oil is BLACK and pretty thick!!! Anybody know why??? I put in new 10-W30 "Castrol" oil in it before I started it.

I also have a little bit too much oil in the tranny, is that a major problem or it should be okay?

Also, anybody know how to make my own body mounts/pads? Mine are completely rusted and the nuts inside are also rusted and I can't get to those nuts to replace them because they are inside the metal housing or something like that. I am considering to do a 2-4 inch body lift, maybe that will make it easier to fix my problem with the rusted original pads, any thoughts?? What if I don't put any pads AT ALL?

Thanks in advance!

 

I used a 2" holesaw to get at those body mount nuts. The nuts are welded in place, well at least they are supposed to be, mine broke free when I was trying to remove the bolts. About the only way to fix the body mount brackets is to weld on new ones.

 

Thanks

 

Bout that black oil? Yeah thats why I change it so often after it runs. If it is that bad, dont forget another filter. Add some mystery oil to it and you'll get it clean without having to do a major and real engine flush. Then change it one more time. Once it stays clean on the dipstick after a half hours run; call it success.

 

I have this odd dislike about castrol and believe it or not, they actually paid me to use the stuff for a couple of years way back when. Have they changed the chemical makeup of it to a different one? If It were me, I would check out the makeup of your oil and see if its the same as most other major brand or if it has a different makeup. I have no idea, my opinions are not much more than feelings now, based on facts from 30 odd years ago when I was racing and everything could have changed completely.

Of course I was also lucky enough to get firestone tires??

 

Which oil and filter should I use then?

Also, (beside the point but whatever) what are the rules on driving without a hood, fenders, bumpers, doors, ect. or anything like that? I mean can I drive my car on the roads legally without the front fenders but with the hood or not? The stupid fenders would not fit with the radiator support [:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@]!!!!! Everything seems to go wrong with this project I'm doing.

Thanks everyone for your help so far!