Engine Rebuild Here We Go..... :(
04-18-2012, 10:26 PM
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Engine Rebuild Here We Go..... :(
Well, for the very few who have been following my threads will already know what has been going on, but for those who don't:
We recently did a top end rebuild on our 350. Just new gaskets and we rebuilt the supercharger. Before we started, the engine was leaking oil, and you could tell the supercharger needed rebuilding. We thought replacing some old gaskets would solve the problem. Easy enough right? Well, we get the whole thing back together, and the car is running great, better than it was before. But it is also leaking more than it was before. My brain was rattling. I couldn't think why it would leak more with fresh gaskets. I knew the valve covers were a little warped so I put them in this special oven I have at work that flattens metal. The process is pretty cool, but I won't explain it now unless someone wants to know. Anyway, I know the covers are perfectly straight, but they are still leaking oil, even with another set of fresh gaskets. I figured the rebuilt supercharger was making more power which was increasing the leaks, which was true. For the hell of it, and this was a worse case senerio, someone mentioned I should do a leak down test on the cylinders. So, sure enough, I did and and it revealed I was leaking 65% of the compression compared to the less than 20% it should be leaking.
So, for anyone who may not know: The piston rings are shot. Pressure is going into the crank case then relieving through the valve covers and anywhere it can. For perspective, there is so much pressure, it blew a breather off of the valve cover while I was driving. Quite a bit of pressure. The block in there now is also a 2 bolt main, so I don't know why the previous owner would dump money on a 2 bolt main like that. So my plan is to put in a 4 bolt main. I was hoping the top end rebuild wouldn't last too long so I could have the car for memorial day weekend for some of the shows around here. Now, I don't think it will be done in time. I can still drive the car, and it doesn't leak oil if I don't put the hammer down. In other words, I can't let the supercharger create any boost. Another dead giveaway, the supercharger is only making 4 pounds of boost when it should be making 8. Losing that boost somewhere, right past the cylinders.
Anyway, I'm a sad man, with a light wallet now.
Oh well, looking foward to the beast when its done. I'll make a thread about the new engine when we start.
We recently did a top end rebuild on our 350. Just new gaskets and we rebuilt the supercharger. Before we started, the engine was leaking oil, and you could tell the supercharger needed rebuilding. We thought replacing some old gaskets would solve the problem. Easy enough right? Well, we get the whole thing back together, and the car is running great, better than it was before. But it is also leaking more than it was before. My brain was rattling. I couldn't think why it would leak more with fresh gaskets. I knew the valve covers were a little warped so I put them in this special oven I have at work that flattens metal. The process is pretty cool, but I won't explain it now unless someone wants to know. Anyway, I know the covers are perfectly straight, but they are still leaking oil, even with another set of fresh gaskets. I figured the rebuilt supercharger was making more power which was increasing the leaks, which was true. For the hell of it, and this was a worse case senerio, someone mentioned I should do a leak down test on the cylinders. So, sure enough, I did and and it revealed I was leaking 65% of the compression compared to the less than 20% it should be leaking.
So, for anyone who may not know: The piston rings are shot. Pressure is going into the crank case then relieving through the valve covers and anywhere it can. For perspective, there is so much pressure, it blew a breather off of the valve cover while I was driving. Quite a bit of pressure. The block in there now is also a 2 bolt main, so I don't know why the previous owner would dump money on a 2 bolt main like that. So my plan is to put in a 4 bolt main. I was hoping the top end rebuild wouldn't last too long so I could have the car for memorial day weekend for some of the shows around here. Now, I don't think it will be done in time. I can still drive the car, and it doesn't leak oil if I don't put the hammer down. In other words, I can't let the supercharger create any boost. Another dead giveaway, the supercharger is only making 4 pounds of boost when it should be making 8. Losing that boost somewhere, right past the cylinders.Anyway, I'm a sad man, with a light wallet now.
Oh well, looking foward to the beast when its done. I'll make a thread about the new engine when we start.
04-19-2012, 06:40 PM
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The only reason for the
face is the reason why we bought the car is because we didn't think we would have to rebuild the engine. So now it is kind of dissappointing. Oh Well! Gonna be faster when the new engine's in.
