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Topic: Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics (Read 18569 times) previous topic - next topic

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #15 –
Vinnie,

O'Reillys carries SpeedPro rings that will fit the factory pistons for the majority of the roller blocks as they are a metric groove. Tear the motor down first and inspect the rings, rod bearings, and crank bearings. If they all look good then go back together and simply replace the oil pump.  This would just keep you from warehousing parts you don't need.

Depending on when you tear it down I can come down and help out. It's always nice to have an extra set of hands and I have a ton of tools.

Darren

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #16 –
Quote from: Aerocoupe;445793
Would venting the catch can introduce unmetered air into the combustion cycle? I know some guys put a filter between the filler neck and the intake to catch the oil in lieu of a catch can.

Darren

Ummmm yeah a little, but if it's blowing as much oil as Vinnie says it's pushing a lot more out the breather than it's pulling in...

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #17 –
Darren, in the replacement engine, The block was way too clean when I got it. Not one drop of sludge or anything inside, super clean outside (I didn't even have to clean the block of grease or oil, freeze plugs even look new. All of the crosshatching is there from top to bottom in all 8 cylinders. Everything is tight. The heads (GT40-P) were nice, I sold them off some time ago, didn't need them. I had questioned swapping the rings myself. The pistons are even pretty darned clean. All I have done to the engine was chase the threads and make sure the gasket surfaces were clean. The cam was in great shape when I pulled it as well.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #18 –
If it were me I would tear it down and check things as it would suck to be back into it shortly after installing it.  Worst case scenario it costs you a couple of hours, some assembly lube for the bearings and some fresh engine oil on the cylinder walls.  No matter what I would replace the oil pump as it is an unknown unless you know for sure its been replaced with a quality unit.  Again, this is just me Vinnie and I tend to go a little over board but to have that short block like it is and not check this stuff out would just eat at me.

Darren

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #19 –
oh, I agree. I already have the following on the shelf....

oil pump
oil pickup tube
oil pressure sender
rear main seal
dip stick and tube
NOS oil [pan
one piece oil pan gasket
Cobra intake gaskets
pilot bearing
Rollmaster timing chain (and the guy sent the German chain for free that Ed Curtis recommended)
E-303 cam (if I decided I want it)

I'll use the billet balancer from the current engine, and get a new water pump, rings, bearings, water pump gaskets and head gaskets. I think that ought to do it.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #20 –
I would keep the Ed Curtis cam over running the E303. That's just me. If you don't mind what are the specs on the Ed Curtis cam you're running?
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #21 –
0.573 intake      0.557 exhaust lift

215 intake and 223 exhaust duration

Lobe separation is 111

What do you think?
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #22 –
I'd run it Vinnie, the cam itself isn't the cause of any of your issues, and it's a custom grind, so assuming that the "new" engine will have the same parts in and on as the current, there's no reason to NOT use, I'd think. Plus, if you sold the E cam, there's at least 115, 120, bucks you can put toward something new. Or, keep it for later...

If it were me, and I had your engine combo, I'd definitely run the custom grind over the e cam.

And I agree with Darren, take 'er down to the crank and eyeball it really good...no sense in not doing it...it's only a couple hours wrenching and reassembling.

I wish to hell I'd have torn my block completely down. I'm going to assemble it as soon as my cam gets here, button it up, run it this summer as a daily/fun car, then over the winter, do a full rebuild, and bore it .030 over.
If I can find a better job, I'm going to put money aside for a supercharger...so either way, I want a known good and "as-new" bottom end and slugs.

I'd even be willing to get a stroker kit and go 331 or 347, but if I go that route, I sure as heck won't be able to pressurize the cylinders.

I'm also curious as to what you find is wrong with the old engine when it gets to the point of having it out and apart...just as a rough guess, I'd agree with your thinking that the rings are headed south..
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #23 –
Quote from: vinnietbird;445819
0.573 intake      0.557 exhaust lift

215 intake and 223 exhaust duration

Lobe separation is 111

What do you think?


Interesting but I consider the lift a bit much for a daily driver... Guessing it has a little better idle than a TF Stage 1??


Vinnie when you get a chance pull the PCV and just let it hang, also pull the breather tube from throttle body then take it out for a run to see if it still smokes...

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #24 –
Quote from: vinnietbird;445819
0.573 intake      0.557 exhaust lift

215 intake and 223 exhaust duration

Lobe separation is 111

What do you think?


I like it a lot better than an E cam.

Quote from: TurboCoupe50;445822
Interesting but I consider the lift a bit much for a daily driver... Guessing it has a little better idle than a TF Stage 1??


Vinnie when you get a chance pull the PCV and just let it hang, also pull the breather tube from throttle body then take it out for a run to see if it still smokes...


I've got a .533 lift cam in my Thunderbird. Runs fine.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #25 –
I agree 100% on replacing the rings and bearings. I have NO disagreement there. I think I will run the Ed Curtis cam. Afterall, it was made for my car.

Tom, I'll try that out with the PCV and let you know. Stand by for that info.

I'm going to sell my E-Cam now.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #26 –
wonder If the lob separation isn't the issue, been reading your thread.
seems your setup takes out some compression ,, fuel not done burning before hits able to the tail pipe?

I agree that lift Is very generous

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #27 –
Quote from: thunderjet302;445825
I like it a lot better than an E cam.



I've got a .533 lift cam in my Thunderbird. Runs fine.


Yeah but you car isn't a daily driver either... I'm of the thought anything more than .525-ish is giving the valve train a beating so would stay under that figure for a EVERY DAY driver, your cam would be the limit... In a weekend warrior that probably doesn't see 5K a year, it's a great choice...

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #28 –
My thoughts on that are if you want to run a decent lift cam then you need to step up the valve train. My Coupe has an Ed Curtis cam and it drives just fine and I beat the hell out of that car. I use Manley stainless steel valves, Isky 8005A springs, and Manley titanium retainers & keepers. You just have to watch the required open/close pressures and min/max install height on the springs versus the gross lift numbers so that you don't float the valves.

I'm not saying you have to have blah blah blah lift and duration to make a motor run because there are all kinds of  variables that determine that and of those one should be the intended use of the vehicle the motor is going in and the intended use.

Cam selection should be the most important part of a motor build as it is the brains of the operation.

Darren

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Thick gray/blueish smoke....New pics

Reply #29 –
Well, after I get this thing back together, and the Sport is back in fighting shape, I'm going to find a  wagon to drive around. A PT Cruiseror something like that. Can haul a few people, or an engine, and if it gets door dings at the store, I don't care, all the while getting good gas mileage and simple and, cheap.

For now, the E cam is gone now, it will be with it's new owner today. I'm taking the funds and using that towards new rings and bearings. I hope to have them by Fiday, then I can install them this weekend.

I'll keep everybody posted on this.

By th way, Tom.... I'm going to pull the pCV, cover the hole with a cloth and give it hit the road home today. I'll give it a little shakedown and see if it smokes after that. I'll inform you of those results after I get home this evening.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..