49erMike

Have any of you had a issue with a intake gasket rupturing & hydro locking the Motor? I was told that's why my motor won't turn over ( The plugs haven't been pulled yet ) I attempted to start the engine , It did start but only just briefly , It just kind of dieseled about 3-5 seconds & then it just died , I tried to start it again & it would'nt even turn over . I could hear the bendix gear striking the flexplate & I could tell the engine for some reason was binding or locked up. I was already planning replacing the OE timing chain , So I am to have that done as wewll as Maybe a lil head work too , I can't find any heads I can buy to start the process for a reasonable price ...so I'll just have the stockers rebuilt , Maybe some pockect porting, ( Suggestions needed ) bowl blending , & maybe even some match porting ( Intake & exhaust ,Runners ).
I'm looking for any & all input from my fellow C4 owners , What sensors should be replaced while the motor is apart ? where are they located ........ Just anything that will help make a not so smooth task , just a tad bit of a less nightmare . Is it worth swapping in a new cam ? What cam could be use that is C.A.R.B complient?


Thanks
Big Mike

gerardvg

Hi

You may be lucky, if it was hydralocked with coolant or water it would not even turn over.

Usually conrods will bend or break if people try to start an engine full of water, remove the spark plugs have a look if there is any water. Once all plugs have been removed i would crank the engine by hand before turning it over by starter motor.

I would doubt a intake gasket failure, not much water unless you crack a bore. Even blown head gaskets usually do not take out the seal to coolant.

Get a second oppinion.

49erMike

Cool , Thank you very much

scooter mcfly

Have you tried turning the engine over by hand? To be sure, you are saying that you can hear the starter engage the flexplate but the engine will not turn over? Make sure your starter hasn't broken loose. One of the bolts could be broken and it's just striking the flexplate.

cadmaniac

Before you go all over the map with mods and such, I would recommend you do a proper diagnosis of the problem. First, as suggested, pull all the plugs. Look for an especially clean one to detect if a particular cylinder is washed. Then try to turn the engine over with the balancer bolt. Then as suggested see it anything (starter) is jammed up in the flywheel.
Next, if it's still locked up pull the valve covers and see if a keeper came off and dropped a valve or anything amiss.
After that...I suppose I would have to start dismantling the engine till found the problem. Concerns with hydrolock issues are bent rods, and cracked pistons, which would be a major repair.

I'm sure others are more proficient than I, but that is what I would do.

49erMike

Thank you , I appreciate your advice ....I am however really not trying to mod it out ,As you mentioned , What I was trying to convey to the forum is " If I have to pull the motor apart " #1 How many have ported those parts & have had some good power gains. #2 Since there are alot of sensors for those motors which ones were replaced & there whereabouts on the motor , And I ask that because I know alot of them get really brittle from the heat over time, And #3 for any Californians or anywhere with emissions test Have the porting effected their Corvette from passing? & if I did swap the Cam what's the best I could run without effecting the emissions? , and Again I'm only looking into this because It looks quite possibly like the motor will have to be taken apart, I was already going to replace the OE timing Chain because how of how worn it is. And I was planing that before this problem came about .

Cliff Harris

Why do you think the timing chain is worn out?

I have heard that they will easily go 200K miles without needing to be replaced. I replaced mine at 110K because I was in there doing something else. The new chain had exactly the same amount of slack as the old one, which told me that the old one was not worn.

49erMike

I had to replace the Distributor about a year ago ,Because the Control module went bad in the old dist, I took it to a Corvette Specialist ( C4 Experts ) they discovered a huge difference in the Timing when dropping in the new Dist , The timing mark said it was @ TDC but it was actully 2-4 deg. BTDC .So they had to hand turn the crank while trying to get the Dist shaft to drop into the #1 cyl position . Mine has a excessive amount of play. The engine will be probably torn down in 1-2 weeks , This is just a hypothesis that's why I need the feed back that's being given .

Hot Rod Roy

Mike, that doesn't quite make sense. Is there any possibility you may have misunderstood what they were doing? When you drop in a distributor, you always have to mesh both the dist. gears and the oil pump drive tang. Rotating the crank by hand is one way to get the dist. to mate with the oil pump tang. There's no way to see 2-4 deg. BTDC timing until the engine is running.