paokanomike

Hi all! Ive been lurking on this site for sometime and really appreciate all the people that have contributed to this site!

I inherited a 1987 c4 coupe from my father who passed away a couple years ago. I was going to sell it but fell in love with

the car as I drove it back to South Orange county ca. from Arizona.
The car was rough shape so I went to work on the restore. So far I have
1 replaced shocks
2 Head gasket failed at 140.000 valve job and repair (total cost just under 500 for valve grind and gaskets)
3 clear coat failed sanded and primed myself and sent to body shop for repainting 2 color coats and 7 clear coats total

cost 150 for primer and sandpaper,650 to painter for repaint)
4 replaced IAC,tps,connectors,wires plugs distributor caps etc.
5 brake pads rotors

Car was running good but always ran hot and would get over 240 in stop and go traffic yesterday it got hot on the freeway

and overheated, when It cooled it off and restarted it it spit out a white steam cloud and missed for a few minutes. I

drove it home and it ran at 250-299 even after I refilled with coolant.
I think I have a cracked head or block.
If you were in this predictament or were faced with
1 Buy a used motor that has low miles from ebay or other recycler
2 repair the broken motor
3 install a crate motor
4 do a lt or ls swap
My goal is to have the car run as close to stock as possible and reliability is a priority.It has to pass California smog.

I have been looking at the zz swap but Id really like a long block l98 any help would be most appreciated.

Thank you very much

cadmaniac

Before you get anyone's opinion, you should really check to see the extent of damage. You might have a cracked head(s). Running an engine that hot is really not good for it.

Start the engine and see it air bubbles are coming from the radiator at the (removed) cap. If it does, pull the heads. If not and steam comes from the exhaust, with the engine cooled off, see if any of the spark plugs look especially clean or wet.

Now a choice. you can try to get away with head gasket sealers from the parts store...or pull the head(s) and see whats up.

With the heads off you can see (hopefully) if the block is cracked.

If so replace engine with a crate or used engine. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't rebuild an engine myself any more. Machine shops here in south Florida have had some real quality issues, and don't stand behind their work.

I'm sure others on this forum can give you even better tips!

Good luck.

paokanomike

So your saying repair... even when I got it running good it always ran hot in stop and go also it would lose water somewhere, the last repair was a full tear down sans block, if im going to tear down again I want a solid motor.. Ill have to think hard on this.
Thanks for the reply

cadmaniac

Pressure test the system and see if it leaks down. That's a real good indicator of cracked heads or block.

I would want to eliminate all other problems before tearing out the engine. Is there debris in front of the condenser or between the condenser and the radiator? Is the thermostat working? Is the water pump working correctly? Where is the water from the engine going (leaking or going out the tailpipe)? Is the cooling system flowing correctly?

Before pulling the engine, narrow the problem down so if you replace the engine you don't overheat that one too.

That would be really depressing.

cudamax

Are u kidding If u have dough LS Swap for sure. I'd be pulling that and setting it aside to play with latter. 300 degrees is pretty high man

cudamax

Check this out and tell me u don't want to do the same thing
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...-erod-ls3.html

cv67

If you decide to rebuild make sure your radiator in it is good, the fans/relays work properly NOW. THat way you dont overheat a new motor
GMPP has some nice crate motors lots to choose from good warranties.
ZZ4 is essentially the same thing you have now only a better alum. head
Id never put a used engine in anything unless I really knew whereit came from too much workin case somethings wrong

C409

..... Sounds like a blown head gasket ............

JrRifleCoach

Check it out first. The early Al head steel block motors had a history of head gasket failures.
Could be an easy fix and save your money for other repairs to come.

cv67

H.G. were done on the old 89 twice. Once by original owner second by the guy that bought it from me. Took the bearings along with it rebuild time.Dont know what it is with those heads non GM head gasket was used

Geardo

Go with some new AFR heads, LT4 hotcam, and headers, then enjoy the 400hp

DinoBob

I'm going to state the obvious; you were skirting disaster before theailure and should have addressed this issue before something bad happened. The signs were glaring.

You have done a lot of work and gotten off cheap in my opinion. But I would not invest the money for an LS swap in any early C4.

paokanomike

Ok so It started up and ran fine but it gets hot on the water temp gage first then the oil temp goes up after. how can I tell if its the block or the heads??

paokanomike

sometimes when I first start it it spits out a tiny bit of black water from the tail pipe but I thought it was normal

cadmaniac

Pressure test the system. If the system wont hold pressure, there is a leak in a head, gasket, or block. Also, see if there are air bubbles in the radiator with the cap off.
That is where I would start.

89onlyZ51

A pressure test won't tell you anything conclusive. You need a Block Tester.

NAPA sells them locally.

phat87

A friend of mine had has his 86 being rebuilt right now, same reason. He'll be ito it for 4-5k by the time its done.

My 87 was weeping coolant at the rear of the left head. Eventually I had it repaired. The head was cracked. Couldn't get a machine shop locally of alumi-weld amd machine so had to send it to Vancouver (BC).

I FORGET THE PRICE BUT IT WAS A LOT OF DOIGH!

The whole job came in at $3000. 1400 parts/machining and 1600$ labour ( @ 40$ per hour through a friend)

My advice go in to a GM Dealer and but a complete ready to go engine and put that in. Grate warranty, huge value.

paokanomike

Ok so Im going to tear it down again this week, I have spent tons of time on this car but it drives really good when it was running I think I can tear it down now in 8-10 hours but the rebuild takes twice that looking at 30 plus hours total all I can say is this time I want it solid please help me with any tips you may have

Thanks Ill post my rebuild as it progresses

cadmaniac

A pressure test won't tell you anything conclusive. You need one of these: www.blockchek.com

Thanks for the tip 89onlyz51.


I'll have to get one of those.

paokanomike

no such thing as a crate motor for l98 any more gotta go zz4 long block with mods pricey but its an option