bittersweet luck

[Anonymous]

we got my buddies freshly rebuilt 250 in his 71 2dr the other day. we had it ready to run and tried to start it. the timing was a little off so it didn't start in the 3-4 minutes we were playing with the ignition timing. its probably better that it didn't though since we noticed a deluge of oil draining down the divider plate that goes between the engine and tranny (what is that plate called anyway?). we both almost cried when we thought we'd have to pull the crank and replace the rear main seal. when we got the motor back out of the car though we found something very peculiar. what purpose does an oil port have on the back of the motor if it is covered up by a backing plate and a bell housing. we found a threaded hole in the back of the motor. we thought the hole had a back/bottom to it so we didn't put a bolt or plug in it. why would we need to put a plug in a hole that doesn't go anywhere? as it turns out, the hole DOES goes all the way through into the crank case. what the f@#k? why is there a hole like that there? why? why? why? why? well my buddy and i both feel like complete retartds. at least we didn't have to pull the oilpan and crank and timing gear cover and rod caps and main caps and our hair out and... you get the point i'm sure. the motor is back in the car on the mounts again. this time the hole is plugged. lets just hope the rear main seal isn't leaking too. i dont think it is. keep your fingers crossed for us anyway.
signed,
me

 

[61Futura]

Let's call that plate a "crush plate"

 

[addo]

Sandwich plate over here.

At least there was no real damage done.

 

[xctasy]

The oil system is working just fine!

Well done. Normaly, an Allen headed bolt or' grub screw' sits there. They use it for clearing the oil galleries.

you've done that job well, some engine builders don't even clear the galleries!

 

[Falcon62]

Another good reason to bring oil pressure up using a drill motor before trying to start the engine.

 

[Anonymous]

Another good reason to bring oil pressure up using a drill motor before trying to start the engine.

uh huh i told my buddy about pumping the poil thru the motor with a drill. tell me if i'm wrong though. wont it wash away all the assembly lube if i do that? does it matter if the assembly lube is gone since there is fresh oil there in its place? now i feel REALLY dumb because i had thought of this and not done it. duuuuuhhhhh!
.
i found a transmission cooler adapter line (like the one that comes in a tranny cooler kit). i cut the 2" long piece of line that went all the way through it and then plugged the fitting with jb weld. im not a big fan of using jbweld, but hey, this is between the tranny and the motor and no one will ever see it. it threaded perfectly into the hole so i used it vs guessing about the right thread pitch at the store. crisis averted... for now anyway :roll: .

 

[Falcon62]

Actually, it won't wash away the assembly lube on the one place it matters most, cam lobes. Using a drill motor doesn't require you to crank the motor and there's no way to 'wipe' the lobes clean if the cam isn't turning.

Far as I'm concerned, assmebly lube everywhere else is just a 'feel good' thing as opposed to a necessity. It certainly won't hurt anything. The only other places I use assembly lube is on the timing chain and gears, a light dab on the rocker tips and pushrods, distributor drive gear, and sometimes, as packing in the oil pump. I quit doing this after reading somewhere that it can clog oil filters. Now, I either lightly coat the gears, or as I've done on the last few engines I've built, just fill the oil pump with oil.

Everything else gets a generous coating of the exact same brand and weight oil I intend to use for break-in. I always fully prime the engine before firing. That way I have instant full pressure on start-up, know if I have leaks beforehand, and have no concerns over pump priming with a load on the engine. Just something I do.

You were on the right track, should have followed your instinct.

As to your homemade oil plug, JB Weld is great stuff and I use it for a lot of things. In this case, and IMHO, the peace of mind is worth a trip to the hardware store for the correct pipe plug. No need to have the JB Weld fail, and leave your buddy with a blown engine, and you with one less buddy.

Just my $.02.

 

[rbohm]

8) i use assembly lube on bearing surfaces, cam lube on the cam lobes, motor oil on the cylinder walls, and pack the oil pump with vaseline. the neat thing about the vaseline is that it dilutes in the oil during break in, and never congeals again, though i change the oil right after cam break in anyway. as for the rear galley plug, get the right one and dont depend on jb weld to seal the galley.

 

[Anonymous]

it gets worse. we got the engine running. runs great! the problem is that we left the house without refilling the radiator for the second time. the thermostat was closed when se filled it the first time. we didn't refill it after the thermostat opened. we let the cam break in and then let it idle for an hour. dumb stupid crappy dummy idiot light never came on because there want any coolant flowing across the temperature sending unit. no steam, no leaks, just a soft klunkity that moved on to a loud klunkity. we stopped the motor when we heard it. might have just overheated, might have spun a bearing, might have thrown a rod. i havent pulled the motor yet but i went ahead and rechecked the prices for some things. crank kit is $135 and connecting rods are $26 a piece. $200 for remaching the block an $60 for a gasket set.
.
someone said i should fill the radiator and start it again to see if the knock goes away. i personnaly think i should pull the motor cause i really dont want to see a rod come through the side of the motor. what do you think?

 

[Guest]

I have heard of doing a couple of things with the thermostate with a "fresh" rebuild. One, I have heard of people leaving the thermostate out during breakin. The second thing I have heard of is drilling a 1/8" hole through the outter ring of the thermostate to help rid cooling system of a airlock.

Personally, I would fill the cooling system and restart the engine to see what it sounds like. IF it still knocks then I would not run it anylonger. If you spun a bearing, the damage is probilly already done. I would say you have not chucked a rod yet, normally there will be no questing it when that happens. Usually you wind up with a big hole somewhere. This is just my 2 cents worth, hope it may help a little.

 

[BIGREDRASA]

Fill the system, burp it, and start it. Cross your fingers, knock on wood and say a prayer. Start it with the radiator cap off, and let it warm up. Blip the throttle, and watch for bubles in the coolant (or a geyser if the head is cracked or gasket blown ). If all looks and sounds OK, run a compression test. You may have gotten lucky, as long as you had plenty of good lubrication.

 

[Anonymous]

started the motor. let it idle for 2 minutes. runs great, sounds bad. remove engine. disassemble and take to machine shop to see whats salvagable. could be bad or it could be really bad. i dont think the bill will be more than $200 to get it running again. wish me luck.