Suspected blown head gasket

[the rock doc]

Originally Posted by mike huddart

Please please, the chaps depressed enough as it is! As a matter of interest, is yours a Chevy or Ford? Mike

Chevy 427 and I was in a 30mph limit all the way!!!!

[Nick S]

Dear All,

Thanks for all your assistance, this is what I have done to date;

I spoke to the dealer I purchased it from, who told be it was an airlock and that the SBC was virtually indistructable. He agreed to repair it if I could return it to him, he also told me to start it up and run it....... I thought this was a bad idea so sought some further advise. I spoke to our local garage, who happen to have a guy who has vast experience with the SBC engine, he agreed with me that this was a bad idea.

I have agreed with original dealer to let DJS (my local garage) do the work and he will contribute towards costs. The reason for this is my trust in his ability had diminished due to his advice to start the engine.

I have compiled a check list of things I want doing, of which the garage appear to be fully aware (in fact I think they think I am a anal retentive half wit ~ it's not the first time this has been said and won't be the last)

1. Do both head gaskets as a matter of course, and I have asked for them to fit new stress / stretch bolts. I remember seeing an article about these in a magazine, where one had failed and somebody had located or fabricated a far better bolt, does anybody remember seeing this?
2. Change the thermostat
3. Oil filter and new oil ~ been advised to avoid synthetic and stick to mineral, any recomendations?
4. Have both heads tested for cracks & warps etc
5. It has 'solid lifters' at the moment, however the car was supplied with it's original hydraulic ones, I have asked for these to be refitted. Does anyone know if I will need the cams changing.

Any other suggestions / recomendations, I might as well get done whilst at it, please can the pure bloods among us resist the temptation to suggest changing the engine for a Ford!!!!!!!

Thanks for your assistance in my hour of need

Nick.

[mikey]

First of all be aware of garages that know the sbc inside out.

How many do they deal with? If the guys a friend then OK and even if he isn't he still may be totally amiable, but how many times have I heard this approach and then heard of big repair bills due to the 'if we change everythig appraoch we are bound to fix it'.

We will contribute to the price - you need to clarify in writing what that contribution is as the expensive bit will be the labour and not the parts and I guess they are talking about contributing to the parts if you are getting somebody else to carry the work out.

Have you carried out the simple checks that have been suggested here to ascertain what the problem may be before you dive head long into expensive repair.

If you want a professional to do it, ask what approach they will be taking to analyse the problem as a professional will take this approach and then advise you of costs prior to carrying out the work. Most will also invite you to look at the problem if its something like a blown head gasket/warped heads etc and advise you of whether other items may be carried out as they represent best value at the time.

If you feel nervous about your ability to sort it out and you think its the heads or a blown gasket, do the strip down yourself and ask if there are any club members close to have a look at it for you (leave the head gasket in place so you can see if there are any failure points). Its also very simple to run a straight ege and use a feeler gauge to check for warp.

Cracked heads - are they alloy or cast iron? If they are the latter, you may wish to consider new ally heads with the conversion rate at present (not as a repair, but as an upgrade issue).

In relation to head bolts, they are designed to stretch by a certain amount at the right torque and idealy an ATP teflon based or similar sealant/lubricant should be used on the thread to seal the thred against leakage and ensure the torque is consistent against a known resistance (friction). As to the bolt a good aftermarket brand is fine without having to spend a fortune on the competition variants as I think you may get a little bit of a shock with the price of these items.

Im only trying to be helpful and stop you being fleeced, but I would take a step back from automatically letting the local guy sort it out and think it through a bit.

If you want to PM me or better still somebody who live close to you I am sure a chat and help would be readily given and its probably better by a phone call.

All the best.
Mike

[TINKA]

False economy fitting used lifters IMHO even if they were on before ( unless you can put each lifter in the same position it was in before. For the cost of a new set against the damage they could cause I would get a new set. IMHO

Hope it is a simple fix and does not cost too much, see you soon

[mikey]

Sorry, I forgot the important and most worrying bit.

It sounds like you are saying that somebody changed the hydraulic lifters for soliid lifters at some stage during its life. Is the cam a solid lifter cam or one designed to run with hydraulic lifters. On a road car, you are normally better with a hydraulic lifter set up as it requires less messing about with re setting clearances etc, but you cant simply change lifters during their life as they have bedded with the cam. What is your cam and I/others will give you an opinion.

Mike

[mike huddart]

Dear Nick, I,m with Mike on this, in my experience local garages with "experts" you,d never heard of before need avoiding. there,s a hell of a lot of knowlegable guys on this forum, use them to help.Another thing that bothers me , whats this nonsense about lifters? You can,t mix solid and hydr aulic on the same cam you really need to do some thinking on this before you waste any money.......Mike

[Nick S]

Originally Posted by mike huddart

Dear Nick, I,m with Mike on this, in my experience local garages with "experts" you,d never heard of before need avoiding. there,s a hell of a lot of knowlegable guys on this forum, use them to help.Another thing that bothers me , whats this nonsense about lifters? You can,t mix solid and hydr aulic on the same cam you really need to do some thinking on this before you waste any money.......Mike

When the car was delivered it cam with 2no 'lumps' of wood, with numbered hydraulic lifters on (however the small box of bits has no cams in)

With reference to the garage, they are over the road from my unit and service all my 11no company vans / cars. Their man Matt has spent numerous years working for a competition team that race four cars all with SBC engines. Everytime I have rang him this week with an update on my requirements he already has it in hand. He is reserving justment on the cam / lifters until the car is taken in, I am just trying to mentally prepare. Am I being the over protective parent on this and should I just leave them to it.

Cheers.

Nick

[Dutch Paul]

Nick

In your shoes (if you really trust your local garage re SBC experience), I would first ask him to do the earlier suggested checks to actually find out where the problem lies, before going to the expense of removing the heads.

You may find it was just an airlock - or worst case a warped/cracked head.

Depending on the results of the tests, you can decide what repairs/upgrades to do.

As stated earlier, AFAIK a cam designed for solid lifters is different to a cam designed for hydraulic lifters and I would be reluctant to swap around unless you can ascertain what cam is actually fitted to the engine. If there is any doubt as to the type of cam fitted I would consider a cam/lifter swap for my own peace of mind.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[Nick S]

Originally Posted by Dutch Paul

Nick

In your shoes (if you really trust your local garage re SBC experience), I would first ask him to do the earlier suggested checks to actually find out where the problem lies, before going to the expense of removing the heads.

You may find it was just an airlock - or worst case a warped/cracked head.

Depending on the results of the tests, you can decide what repairs/upgrades to do.

As stated earlier, AFAIK a cam designed for solid lifters is different to a cam designed for hydraulic lifters and I would be reluctant to swap around unless you can ascertain what cam is actually fitted to the engine. If there is any doubt as to the type of cam fitted I would consider a cam/lifter swap for my own peace of mind.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

What would a set cost ballpark?

[tonym]

Originally Posted by Nick S

What would a set cost ballpark?

Nick, check this site out for chevy bits
http://www.real-steel.demon.co.uk/