the story goes......
got in the car one morning before work, blipped the key and it cranked (wop, wop, dead!) then the starter sounded like it had a stripped gear in it
this led me to change the starter - once that was complete, i cranked again, and (chug) nothing - so i'm thinking it may not have rotated enough times to do any damage - but i cannot be sure without inspection that i am not capable of doing - i don't have the funds to get the car fixed right now if it needs a new rod, so should i brave the task of the head gaskets and see what happens? then IF the rod IS bent, i'll have to have that done professionally - so that'll have to wait until i start bringing in some income!

 

Yea,,I know how that procrastination feeling can wear on you!!

I want to do a heads cam project and selecting the correct cam is killing me

Anyway, replacing the head gasket isn't really that complex. Its more time consuming than anything else.

I wont detail the entire thing but will highlight some stuff that is killer important!

! 1. The most important and possibly the most damaging, MAKE SURE that ALL the coolant is removed from ALL the head bolt holes before you reinstall the head bolts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't,,,you run the possibility of CRACKING your block!
Used compressed air to blow the air out and VISUALLY inspect the holes!

2. Make sure the block and heads are perfectly clean.

3. Clean the carbon off the pistons and combustion chambers.

4. DO NOT REUSE the old head bolts. There torque to yield and are only good for ONE use!

5. Make sure you get the little 90 deg rubber vacuum fitting on the back of the intake manifold. Its a bitch to work on after the manifold is back on:





6. Theres a GROUND wire on the back of the DRIVERS head. MAKE SURE you reinstall it or the car will not run correctly!

7. When you remove the water pump, you can use a wet and dry vac to suck the coolant out of the block and that will make less of a mess when you remove the heads.

Inspect the cylinder wall/s WELL AND MAKE sure ITS NOT DAMAGED.

8. Use distilled water and new DEX-COOL to refill the cooling system.

9. Rent, borrow or purchase a QUALITY torque wrench.

10. You can remove the powering steering pump without removing the pulley!

11, When your all done,,,,,change your oil, check your fluids, fire her up!

12. The knock sensors in the center of the valve valley plate should be removed and inspected. Make sure that there NO corrosion in the wells on on the connections. When you reinstall the plugs that seal the wells, apply some RTV to assist sealing the wells to keep water out.

BC





U

 

i have to take the water pump off?????
my last experience with a water pump on a vette was on my '85 L98 - what a PITA that was! i certainly hope this one is easier! that one took me almost 9 hours just to get the pump off!!!!

will checking for damage on the cylinder walls tell me right away of the rod is bent??????
and what kind of damage am i looking for? scoring of the cylinder walls????

 

I had the same problem except it was my smog pump.

 

You may not have to remove the pump! Im so use to doing CAM swaps that the pump must be removed for that!

On the cylinder walls, look for CRACKS. If the water leaked into the cyl when the engine was off, you have a very good chance that there wont be any damage. Damage (bent rods) normaly happens when you ingest water when the engine is running ( deep water puddles) through the air filter.

BC

 

If you were turning the motor over with the starter when the engine locked up, there's a really good chance you didn't damage the rod. The started doesn't have enough torque to bend a connecting rod.

Now then, if water poured out the spark plug hole, you've got a problem. There's no 'easy fix' for this type of symptom. Only two things I can think of are head gasket failure or damaged head. Neither sound very appealing.

Replacing the head gasket isn't really that hard. Read the guides, ask questions and take your time. It's going to run you around $175-200 for gaskets and bolts to do this.

 

One other thing to do if you haven't already is to check the oil for coolant. If you got antifreeze on top of the piston and let it stay there for a while I'll bet most of what was up there drained past the rings into the oil. So, I would suggest you drain the oil and change it BEFORE you turn the motor over after the heads are on. Then change it again soon thereafter. Even a small bit of water or coolant in a main bearing can toast it.

 

I think I have an issue with a head gasket, I get white smoke at start up, just a poof then everything is fine, so when the Alt is fixed I will be changing the head gaskets as well. Good luck man, If I had some time off I'd shoot by and help out.

 

thanks guys for all the suggestions, well wishes, etc.

i am currently shopping for head gaskets (i'll replace both while i have them off)

does anyone know what head gaskets i need for an iron block 408 with 6.0L truck heads???? is this a "standard" LS1 fitment gasket? or do i need something special?

 

I would make sure you inspect the heads for warping or cracks before putting it all together. Also check the block for any damage.

 

If you go with the 317 6.0L truck heads (or any 6L factory head) you will need 6.0L head gaskets. I use LS2 gaskets on my LS1 motor with 317 heads.

BTW, the 317s will drop your compression ratio. Unless you are going FI, I wouldn't recommend these.

 

Did you change heads? I sold you the car with LS6 heads.

 

I'm going to assume they are the same heads you sold it to me with.

i got confused because i remember reading somewhere on either the block or the heads it says something about a hummer (H2 or something)

please please please tell me i didn't get taken in a scam when my car sat for the 6 months after you sold it to me- that guy has taken some people to the cleaners and went out of business!

 

Chris,
That car started out a heads/cam car. I sprayed the LS1 motor alot so replaced it with the 408 before the LS1 blew. The LS6 heads floed very well so I had them put them on the 408.

No stories about anything with an H2.

I hate that you've had nothing but trouble since buying the car. Other than belts (faulty procharger) that car was bullet proof for me. I have alot of fond memories of that car!! Nothing quite like sraying a heads/cam car getting 1.49 60ft and running 10.80's @128 and only putting down just over 500RWHP.

 

Me too shawn, but that's how life goes! i have learned a very valuable lesson - it may be cheaper to buy someone elses "hot rod" but it's more "reliable" (if there is such a word for a hot rod) to build your own.
as if i had built it myself, i would have had warranties of parts and labor for just about ALL of the mishaps i have had with the car. and probably would have spent about the same money - but would still have forced induction on the car.

anywho, it's in the past now - in fact, i'm actually thinking about cutting the top off the car myself to make a targa (i LOVE that look of an FRC or Z06 with that targa removed!) especially if there is damage to the block or heads - as that car will probably sit for at least a year before i have funds to even attempt either of those.
and if i have to replace the block, i wonder if i can put in a 427 block with the same rotating assembly and the same heads(to save a few pennies)

 

I'm really enjoying my 427.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1910145

 

I would think that the puff of smoke at start up would be the valve seals leaking oil by after setting.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make

turns out it was the head gasket
(we replaced both of them since we were in it that far already!)

what it looked like is that someone used the gasket on that side TWICE - there were obvious double stamp markings in the copper surrounding the cylinders and the water jackets!

runs like a champ so far - no leaks, no hard starts - just a check engine light when i got on it - but i'll pull that code and reset it!

the guy that helped me was just short of being a genius - he was an LS1/2 GTO guy converted to a Corvette guy! and this guy knows his stuff!
and let me clear the air - when i say helped me, he did a TON of the work (in fact probably 80% of it and his knowledge is OVERWHELMING!)

 

That's great news. Glad you had a good outcome. Thanks for posting up and telling us how it got resolved.

 

i'm glad it worked for you