Water in oil continued May 26, 2008, 02:02:14 AM The engine is pulled back apart and I am bringing the heads to a DIFFERENT machine shop to be checked but in all likely hood there is an issue somewhere in the block.We pulled the heads and timing cover only to find all gaskets perfectly pressed down, all cylinders containing equal carbon buildup for the few miles the motor received, using a standard lower intake in place of the GT40 one still showed pressure leaking out fairly rapidly from somewhere when pumped to 18psi, timing cover still looks brand new with perfect gasket seal around the water ports, all cylinder walls have no marks other than ring wear (we were looking up and down them with lights and mirrors to see if anything could be spotted by eye). RTV was around all gasket water jackets but the heads and they all apparently sealed great after looking at the gaskets. Water still getting in the oil.The water consumption either had something to do with cooldown/heatup cycle or changes in rpm's because whether driving 20 miles or 140 miles, for the trip the same amount of water (2 cups) would leave the radiator and show up right in the oil (most evaporating out with some getting stuck in the upper intake). The timing chain is also garbage as it is already stretched beyond being reusable - I found this a little odd. It was a heavier duty double roller that ended up being a $50 waste.If/WHEN the heads and lower intake come back from the machine shop (perhaps the timing cover too, but I doubt this is the issue) as "good", its basically time to junk the block, correct? I don't know what would have caused this as the block was supposed to have been checked for cracks before the machine work, but it is the only place I'm left to blame. We've pulled the heads and intake to recheck them so many times, I doubt any of their gaskets are to blame - each time they came off they looked as if they sealed great. Compression in all cylinders was very equal and right around and everything that disappeared from the radiator appeared to go straight into oil - none being burned off.-------------Opinions? Is there anything else to check? We cannot hear where the leak is with the cooling system pressurized and we've listened with stethoscope w/hose for probably 10 hours in total now. Helpful for minor air leaks outside the engine but all we hear inside is wind noise from slight air moving around the outside of chambers (intake runners, combustion chambers, crankcase, ...). I've been trying to decide on an aftermarket block or reuse my old one from the SO motor but it is coming time to decide where to put the money.On another note, it took me 4.5 gallons of gas to drive 140 miles in I-5 - going between 60-75 most of the time other than one short stop (traffic) in Tacoma, WA. Still ran excellent before being pulled apart for the summer... Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #1 – June 02, 2008, 10:21:05 PM well, only tip i can suggest is possibly sealing the motor and finding a smoker to blow smoke into the throttle body and seeing where it comes out at. ( use a tube in the throttle body and seal it to blow smoke in there.) that may be able to help your intake situation, im sure you could do the same thing with the radiator as well to find the possibly the culprit of the coolant going to the oil. dunno if this helps ya any but its a thought Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #2 – June 02, 2008, 10:42:06 PM if im right the blocks can worpe out of shape and not seal right Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #3 – June 05, 2008, 04:22:28 AM Another possibility is a micro-fracture between an internal oil return passageway and the coolant "jacket" surrounding a cylinder. Could be more than one. The fractures may seal from heat expansion, which would help explain the same amount of coolant loss despite different distances traveled. The residual coolant in the upper intake sounds like condensation of the coolant after it was sucked out of the crank case as steam/vapor (if your EGR spacer is not leaking coolant). You definitely want to have the block checked again, and throughly cleaned out, if no other cause presents itself.The condition of your timing chain sounds like a definite lack of lubrication. Oil and water/coolant make a nasty, gooey, hard to pump chocolate milk mixture. Given the results on the timing chain, I would check all bearings, journals and oil pump for excessive wear.A final thought... are you using an oil filter mounted oil cooler? Michael Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #4 – June 06, 2008, 11:33:48 PM In my opinion. 302s are too easy/cheap to come by. Theres not really any point in tearing that block apart again to have it checked for cracks unless you really want piece of mind.Pick up a running core from something or get an aftermarket block.Sucks about the leak. Any way to work out a deal with the machine shop that said it was "good"? Was the block running before the engine work or was it a facless core? Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #5 – June 06, 2008, 11:53:17 PM have the block acid dipped and pressure checked... it sounds like you have a crack in a cooling jacket. Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #6 – June 09, 2008, 10:29:17 PM Wow, late responses Some bearings were scored as are some piston skirts/cylinder walls so it was definitely running hot. I'm going to see what the NEW machine shop says about the pistons and crank but it may be starting over with a prebuilt DART shortblock so I can be done with this mess. An odd thing we found is that one bank of lifters still had oil buildup on the sides when pulled out while the other bank basically had none (after sitting for 3 weeks). The crankcase was steamed clean. The heads and lower intake pressure checked out perfect.Anyways, picked up some fresh gt40p heads with FMS headers along with a 13,200 mile 4r70w from a 2003 Mustang 3.8 (along with its attached motor I'll be getting rid of) for something new to mess with. I now have a set of original E6 heads, torn apart but good E7 heads, low mileage gt40 heads, and 0 mile gt40p heads with new valves/springs sitting around - got a collection going here. The old block will be junked and depending on what I head about the rotating assembly's condition, may be reusing the car's original block. It does seem to have thinner cylinder walls at the bottom than the first block I used though - I found this odd, being only a 1 year difference.Anyways, the car sits for a couple more months - in the season it should be out on the road! For now I'm stuck with the 124ftlb DD that rattles from everywhere including above the headliner.*edit*Oh, and the original machine shop said they both magnafluxed the block and pressure checked it when brought in last fall. I find this hard to believe. $700 in machine work down the drain. Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #7 – June 10, 2008, 01:18:54 AM After seeing the block, crank, and a couple pistons, the new machine shop thinks that the old one didn't bore to the correct measurements - the reason for the piston scuffing. They say that the scuffing on the piston skirts are very minor at this point and won't need to be completely replaced. With some minor cleanup and polishing, I guess it can be rebuilt with the same rotating assembly and stock block. I almost had an excuse to go with a $3500 DART block, Forged Eagle crank, H-beam rods, Probe pistons balanced to a 28oz flywheel/damper! Either way, I doubt I'd really need the 600hp I'd shoot for with that combo and the issues that arise during the way. Quote Selected
Water in oil continued Reply #8 – June 10, 2008, 07:33:23 AM Quote from: Seek;222807 It does seem to have thinner cylinder walls at the bottom than the first block I used though - I found this odd, being only a 1 year difference.Core shift, common issue...Since engines are cast using different cores, no two are going to be alike, even on the same day... I've seen blocks where cylinder walls were extremely thin to the rear of the engine, while another may be thin toward the front... Sometimes they are thin enough to be troubled with porosity(where the coolant weeps through the metal, though there is no crack) Quote Selected
Topic: Water in oil continued (Read 1256 times)
previous topic - next topic
