The part i removed (do not know the english name) so i could see the holes in the pushrods looks like the original 430ci oil passage gallery...i wonder why i have the hollow pushrods...lets hope the valve lifters are stock. I will see all when we take off the heads. Thanks.
Hi, I still have a leak from cylinder 3 and 5 to eachother. Headgasket leaking there. No coolant problems and engine runs good, no noises or backfires. I found out while pressing air in the sparkplug hole to change the valve seals. When pressing air in cylinder 5 some air came out of cylinder 3. I am thinking of just leaving it this way cause you do not notice it when driving the car or when it idles. I drive my car stock. Plug from cylinder 5 looks okay not super clean as the other 7 but after highway driving it looks good. I probably drive it with this issue for years now. Any advise? Thanks in advance!
Keep running the leak, and the blowtorch effect will gouge a channel between the cylinders. I've seen decks hurt to the point where the gouge is 1/4 inch deep. Then you throw the block away.
Hello, To continue my first post regarding this issue: I have found out that both my left and right side have the exact same leak. (compressed air in Cylinder to replace valve seals). Tested with cold engine. I have been told that with a warm engine the leak is gone otherwise the engine would never run this well...could this be true? Any advise? Thanks!
that sounds crazy... get the leak fixed or you will be doing a ton of extra wrenching.. if you dont wanna check the block for straightness at least bring the heads to a machine shop i think last time i had a set milled it was 35 dollars apiece. cheap insurance for what could happen if you just left it like that.. carmantx has a pic where their race car firearc'd between cylinders like yours and it gouged the head between the combustion chambers. a gouge big enough for a small screwdriver blade to fit in.
You...must...MUST...FIX...THIS...if...you...don't...want...to...DESTROY...your...engine. There is no other way around this issue. Either the block or the heads or both are warped leading to a lack of gasket crush. It may be a gasket problem, but more likely a gasket problem was caused by the lack of flatness of the block decks and cylinder heads. You WILL blowtorch a passage in the block or head or both if you don't TAKE CARE OF THIS PROBLEM.
OK...I...UNDERSTAND...YOU....:beer This will be a winter project. I was just thinking that if I did not replace the valve seals I would have never noticed. I don't drive this car very much and certainly do not race it. Could you explain why the engine still runs well? Thanks again.
you may just THINK it runs well.. get it fixed and i bet you will think somebody worked some voodoo on it.
I know what you mean...I am thinking that spark should be terrible on these plugs but then again it runs strong and quiet. Is this because it is a V8? I mean here in Europe we have a lot of 4 cylinder engines and they would run terrible (backfire) with this leak.
I'd have a leakdown test done to the engine while it is HOT. That will tell the real story. I'd bet it goes away when hot. If it does then forget about it. I wouldn't expect the FelPros to leak between cylinders but the steel shim were another matter. Trying to get them to seal up between those inner cylinders on an original block/heads is tough. You can always take the heads off and have them checked for flatness and have them milled if necessary. I'd get a set of the orange crush gaskets from TA. I think they would do a better job of sealing up problem engines.
well when you have an engine with 8 cylinders you have more power to make up for the compression loss. and it just depends on what 2 cylinders it is.. actually i drove an s10 pickup 8 months with a 4 cyl that was firearced between cyls and it ran fine going down the highway but idle was terrible and finally it blew to another cyl. replaced head gasket over a year ago and its still kickin today... but i wouldnt reccomend that. i was 2 hours from home and had to get home that day is the reason i didnt send to the machine shop... and it only took me about 2 hours to change the head gasket. bottom line... get it fixed..
If it leaks between cylinders at whatever pressure you use to hold the valve during a valve seal change, (perhaps 100 psi???) it is certainly leaking between the cylinders during cranking compression (perhaps 150-ish psi, but conceivably more.) It is DAMN SURE leaking at combustion pressure. I don't care if it "seals up" when the engine gets warm. The whole time the engine is in the process of warming up, the hot combustion gasses are blowing past that leaking area, causing damage. 462Chevelle is correct. A 455 with four weakened cylinders is probably putting out "only" three times the torque of a typical European four-popper, instead of five times the torque. But it's still developing that torque at half the RPM.
Yes, it does have the original steel gaskets. They have been there from 1969. I will get fel pro's or the orange crush gaskets...Thanks for your advise!
I will take the heads off for sure after summer. At the moment I have both windshields out, a new vinyl top will be installed. I will not drive it too much after that with this leak...ofcourse I will let it warm up first, idle it for a while and be easy on it. But like you said it needs to be fixed. Thanks again!
I just finished my new vinyl top which was a lot of work. Now thinking of maybe doing the headgaskets...not sure though with only 800 miles a year. If I go I will use Fel-pro's or maybe McChord I already have. The original steel gaskets would probably not seal well (inner cylinders) if I stay off heads and block...what do you think? Thanks.
I don't understand what you mean. if you stay off? pull heads. get them milled flat use fel pro blue Gasket. and if the block looks ok. run it. that's the bare minimum i would do. also get valve guides checked . sounds like you have trouble keeping the values from leaking oil.
