Good morning Corvette experts! Seeing as how this is my first post before I get into the bulk of this thread I wanted to start off with a brief...

Introduction:

My name is Brandon, I live in Louisville Kentucky and ever since I could remember I wanted to one day own a Corvette bearing the "Stingray" moniker. So as a present to myself, in May on my 21st birthday I bought myself a 1977, white with red interior, L-82 Corvette.

Bear with me on this one folks, it's going to be long and as thorough as I can make it. But I have been coming to these forums for a while and I know that lots of good information gets passed through here on a daily basis and I decided that this would be the best place to start.

Now to the fun stuff:

As I am sure many fellow Corvette owners have experienced my 77 is prone to overheating issues. Seeing as how I am relatively new to working on cars, I only did minor things in regard to addressing my heating issues. Such as replacing the thermostat (i'm not even entirely sure I installed it properly), topped off the radiator with coolant and replaced the radiator cap.

Everything was going swimmingly after my minor modifications, she typically ran a little cold around 160° mark and on full load ran around 205°. So just a few days ago I decided that everything seemed well enough in order for me to drive downtown and take my loving mother out to lunch. On the way there, even in traffic the car performed beautifully.

On the ride home I became concerned, I started to feel a light rumble in my gas pedal. It was so faint that only I would be able to notice it. I thought almost nothing of it and continued on. Just as I was reaching my exit home the car began to wreak of an awful smell and suddenly dropped speed against my will (I believe I was going 65mph and was dropped to around 50-55mph). I thought perhaps the engine had died from an electrical malfunction, which has happened in the past. So I gave her one pump of the gas to asses the situation, I was prompted with a windshield of smoke and no change in speed so I pulled over immediately. When I got out of the car I was treated with the sight of my baby spilling her guts all over the pavement ("guts" being engine coolant). The culprit appears to be a failed lower radiator hose, I dared not get near the scene while it was happening, but after it was all said and done I saw that the hose wasn't properly sealed and appeared to still be dripping.

Now that I have presented my problem as thoroughly as I can, i'm going to briefly explain what I am doing about it.

Because of the nature of the predicament I am worried that some damage was done to the engine. So I have decided to break down the engine to a degree (Something I have wanted to do since I bought it). I'm going to rip it apart down to the heads to check for cylinder wall damage. I have drained the oil and have not noticed any "apparent" metal shavings.

Here is a link to my photobucket albums thus far:
The main album in question is "Engine Overhaul" Which is not entirely true, but it does document to the best of my ability the process and steps I am taking in dismantling this engine.
http://s990.photobucket.com/home/bmritm01/index

In case you need to search me my account name is "Bmritm01"

My questions for the pro's:
Do you all have any insight on any resulting damage from the coolant leak?

Do you all have any suggestions on bringing up the cooling system to snuff?

Do you all have any idea on things I should clean/do/replace while I am inside the engine (limited budget)?

I'll be replacing most if not all of the gaskets, do you all have any brands that you like or have had good experience with in the past?

Any other insight or advice would be appreciated.

Well guys I can't say how thankful I am if ANY of you made it this far through a newbies post.

Any input or advice is MOST appreciated, I want to thank you yet again for reading and good luck and happy driving to all fellow enthusiasts.

-Brandon

 

First of nice car. I wish I had gone out and bought a vette at that age.Now as for Your problem. The biggest problem You have will be Your budget and how much damage has occured. This is just My opinion but with my experience with motors is anyone who has cooked a motor in this fashion is lucky to salvage anything out of their motor.I would try to find a running 350 clean up the outside paint it put it in Your car, then disassemble Your motor completley.Then Your budget can be in theory unlimited. Because You can take however long it takes to rebuild whatever is salvageable. There may be nothing wrong with the motor but if You do part rebuild and have a problem Your vette days are over till budget allows.If Your engine has a nasty nasty smell of something burnt It may be totally toast. The metal shavings tell me something is up in the timing gear area.Was there tiny tear drop ***** in the bottom of the oil? If so the bearings are definately toast.Look for black on the sides of the block that can be an indication of cracks. It may not be as bad as anything I have listed here and this is just My opinion but I worked for a few Years as an engine machinist and have seen a few motors that have quit from running out of coolant. If You do as I suggested over time You may be able to rebuild a motor properly and learn something that appears to be a disappearing art.Just My opinion

 

Brandon.... welcome to the forum. I doubt you have any damage related to overheating based on your description and I think you disassembled the engine unnecessarily. The engine bores won't be visible until you remove the heads and they wouldn't be where I'd be looking for damage. If it happened as you described, the hose probably blew right at the end and you said you pulled over right away which is good. Unless you plan on rebuilding the engine, I'd reassemble using FelPro gaskets following their directions, change the oil & filter, install a Robertshaw thermostat with one or two 1/16" holes drilled if not already done, replace the fan clutch with a Delco heavy duty one, replace upper lower radiator hoses and check the heater hoses for their condition. IF they need replacing, be very careful not to pull or yank around on the heater core tubes on the firewall, use a razor blade and slit the hoses to remove if needed. I'd suggest buying and reading this book before you proceed too http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Yo...tag=dogpile-20 It's not my intent to discourage you but there's a lot to learn before jumping in and it's what you don't know that can really bite you. I wish you luck and I hope you enjoy the experience.

 

Is your factory shroud still in place??? If not, that is a must for these cars.............

 

 

It's there but all the foam seals are missing. That would explain the high temps in traffic.

I doubt the engine has been damaged by the brief overheat, but it's fun to learn mechanics anyway. Spend some money on getting the cooling system back to stock config, you'll be fine.

 

I appreciate the quick responses gentlemen. In regards to the first response, after reading over my post more thoroughly I realized there was one major mistake.

After I drained the oil (for fear of having done damage to my cylinder walls) I actually couldn't find any noticeable metal debris. I ran a weak magnet through the oil and could not see anything other than relatively clean oil.

"JimVette" First off let me say how much I agree with rushing into things, it isn't normal for me to rush into things before I fully understand the process. But I have wanted to see the internals of this engine since the day I bought it, and it was a lot of fun breaking her down. That being said, I am being as delicate as I can be while still moving through the dis-assembly and i'm trying to document my entire process. I will certainly be picking up that book and looking into your suggestion for gaskets and thermostat selection. How big of a deal is it to replace the radiator hoses? From what you said I could be underestimating the situation. Today I will go snap some photos of the problem area to give you all a better view.

Do you all have any suggestions as for how to clean the components i'm yanking out, I felt it would be beneficial while I have everything apart.

Thanks again for the helpful responses,
-Brandon

 

If you can R&R the intake you can certainly handle a radiator hose. I would ditch those pinch clamps in favor of some stainless Gates worm gear type...personal preference. I'd slit the hoses at the necks with a box cutter/razor blade to remove them since you don't want to be tugging around on the solder joints. Plug the intake ports with wads of newspaper to keep bits of gasket from entering the passages and lay a bed of newspaper down in the intake valley to catch the debris too. Don't forget to remove the paper from the ports. To clean gasketed parts, I use a razor blade after using a sharp putty knife to remove the heavy then follow up with brake cleaner being careful not to get it on your paint. It's the heater hoses going to the heater core on the firewall I cautioned you on, if you break a solder joint loose on them you'll really be in for a job. The book I mentioned will cover the regasketing and sync. of dist. on reassembly along with a myriad of other useful tips.

 

Welcome to the forum and nice car! From what you described, I dont think any damage has been done, because you pulled over quickly. Since you have taken the engine apart, take this time to replace gaskets, distributor part (cap and rotor, even though you can do this anytime), clean up the manifold and any other parts. Then just repair the cooling system with the new hoses and clamps and you should be good to go.

Good luck!

Will

 

Save your old radiator hoses and take them with you when you go to buy replacements. I've had them try and give me the wrong or universal hoses before. You may have to trim the length as well. Just take your time when installing and make sure you get a good fit without any kinks (hence you may need to shorten.) That lower hose connection to the radiator is a PITA to get to, just be patient and keep trying. It may be a good time to replace the hose clamps as well.

If my car has taught me anything, it's patience. You WILL get frustrated a lot, but sometimes you just need to take a break and step back. I have tried getting bolts and things to fit and after an hour get frustrated and take a break. When I come back it takes me 5 minutes. Don't ask me how that works, but it has happened several times. Good luck with your car and we hope to see some pics of it soon.

 

I think you should get the cooling system back together and drive it some more before ripping into the engine. If you have a overheating problem, why not get that fixed first, before you put in a new engine? You certainly don't want a overheating issue with a new engine. As someone else noted already, I doubt by your description that engine damage has occurred.

 

That happens all the time in all types of cars. As long as you pulled over right after the hose broke and gave the engine time to cool off, you should be fine. Put her back together and enjoy the ride. Also, you should address the missing seal though.

Danny

 

Welcome aboard.
So how much have you taken apart? I agree with these guys, doesn't sound like a good reason for a complete tear down right now. But, if your already into it...
Post up a couple pics, lets see where you are and we can help you figure out what to do next

 

To "hicswa" What "missing seal" are you referring to? I can't be having any of that going on! =)

To "SIXFOOTER" I have a link towards the bottom of my post with a link to my photobucket account, it leads (in reverse order) through the process and steps I took to break the engine down to the intake manifold.

To "Builder" i'm not replacing any engine components I was merely taking what I could out to check for damage, and I was going to simply clean and regasket the components, as well as replace old hoses and clamps, nothing major.

After hearing the input from you great forum posters thus far, it sounds like i've done no damage. I was just fearful because of the way my car was reacting (it was slowing speed against my will, I thought perhaps the engine was seizing). So I felt that breaking her down and checking for damage wouldn't be a bad idea.


Thanks,
-Brandon

 

Are all the foam seals around the shroud there? The purpose of a sealed shroud is to have the fan work directly with the radiator with no air leaks between them. I still say you are not going to find anything in a tear down that wasn't already there.

Danny

ps: Thats how I learn how to work on them by taking them apart too! However, before you know it, you'll have every bolt and nut off of it like me LOL

 

I just replaced all my cooling hoses on my 74 and that lower hose is a real ball buster. Like the previous posts have stated, be patient and persistent.

I bought all my hoses from Zip and I also replaced all the clamps as well. Everything fit very well, I just had to trim a few inches off the heater hoses. Keep the old hoses and use the old ones to get the exact length.

When refilling the system with coolant, I uses distilled water and anti-freeze as most CF members will tell you to use. Distilled water is preferable to tap water for use cooling systems. The minerals found in tap water can be corrosive to engine components, and can cause a more rapid depletion of the anti-corrosion additives found in anti-freeze.

Remember to bring the car up to temperature and turn on the heat to run water thru the heater core. Also, re-tighten all the clamps after a few test runs & recheck the fluids to make sure the system is topped off. Ask me how I know this.

Good luck.....

Steve

 

Stick it all back together and see what it does. If you had seriously burned it you would have seen it in the galley under the intake. If there was no white smoke coming out of the exhaust your heads and gaskets should be ok. Clean it up and reassemble. Lets see what happens

 

"hicswa" haha yeah tear down is halted for this point in time.

"steve~74" thanks for the tips, but quick question, when looking at zip products the closest thing I could find to 1977 L-82 hoses was this

http://www.zip-corvette.com/ProductDetails/ProductDetails.aspx?pid={AAF7C32D-BB90-4EA9-AF35-0252E3581EE5}&gid={097AD787-A15A-45CA-AFD9-F348EAC90BD0}&pname=76L-82+350+Lower+Radiator+Hose+-+%23379933+%28Correct%29&Referer=&Alias= &ptct=SGR-SR&CTitle=&

it's not the exact year but will it still be sufficient? Is there any other alternative? Those hoses seem more expensive than I expected, or is it just me?

I'm awaiting my rebuild book to arrive tomorrow, after studying it I will order my gasket and get some gasket maker and re assemble my baby =)

Can't wait to try and fire her up

Thanks again gentlemen,
-Brandon

 

Shop around.....try Paragon, Wilcox, Dr. Rebuild to name a few. Ask some other CF members who they buy parts from. Just remember, you get what pay for. Should it fit?....Yea....Will it fit?....That's the million dollar question, only way to know for sure is to try it.

Here are some photos of my new hoses after they were installed.

 

Nice photos thanks!