Woe is me. I''ve learned a lesson though...Don't try to save money buy
buying used parts. NEVER AGAIN! At the beginning of last driving season I
purchased a "used" engine from a guy in upstate NY (He's innocent in this).
The
motor was a fresh rebuild, balanced with a good looking build sheet. The owner
wrecked the car with about 5000 miles on it. I looked the motor over, judged
it to be healthy, and installed it last year. The engine had a slight knock
when it was cold, but seemed to run great...so I drove it all last season.
Toward the end of the season (on the way back from TRF party), the knock became
somewhat more pronounced, although it still disappeared after about 3 minutes
of
driving. The oil pressure and compression was great, so I kept driving.
In November I got a whiff of antifreeze and pulled the valve cover to find
water... I thought I had blown a head gasket. After much difficulty removing
a
rusted head, I found that three of the cylinders had water in them. I couldn't
figure out why this was causing the knock, so I pulled the oil pan and found
the main and con bearings were like new. The journals looked great. I
replaced the connected rod bearings and thrust washers anyway. I figured maybe
the
water was washing the cylinder walls of oil, and this was causing the knock. I
thought I'd make the best of the situation, so I sent the head off to mill to
9.5:1, new guides and a valve job, and I learned how to port the head. I
bought a nice set of headers and a free flow exhaust. I put it all back
together and guess what? ...the knock is still there, and I still smell
antifreeze.
Fortunately, the car runs great. The mods I made improved performance
considerably. The knock still goes away after about 3 minutes or so, and I'm
not
loosing any antifreeze. Yesterday I took it to a mechanic who put pressure on
the radiator and found antifreeze seeping from a small crack in the block
about 3 inches below the head on the right side of the engine between the 2nd
and
3d cylinder. So when did this happen? I found out that the car that had been
wrecked spent the winter outside in upstate NY. I guess it froze and the
block cracked then. But what is causing the knock? All I can figure is that
somehow the cylinder wall is warped...or something? I put some graphite sealer
in the radiator and the leak stopped. The question is (finally)...should I
drive the car? I assume that the crack was there all last summer, and I drove
about 5000 miles without event. I have another engine (the previous worn one).
I just can't stomach the thought of starting this project all over... I'll
probably rebuild the short block next winter, but driving season is finally
HERE! Any words of encouragement to lift my spirits?
Joe Davis
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