Oh, I am sooo close, I can taste it............

[strat1960s]

Howdy Ya'll

I replaced my bent air/fuel mixture screw this afternoon. I hooked everything back up and and made sure everything was secure.
The first 9 or 10 times I tried to start the motor, she sputtered and died. I gave the air/fuel mixture screw one more turn and twisted the dizzy back a hair and she fired right up. The motor sputtered for a few moments and then began to pick up RPMs. It went from 500 to 1000 and was still goin up when I saw all the smoke comming out of the engine bay. I shut the motor down thinking I had an oil or fuel leak and it was dripping down onto the exhaust. I couldn't see any noticable leaks, but I am very certain that my stock exhaust manifold doesn't like the new Aussie head. I have tightened the manifold bolts down as tight as I am comfortable with and I don't want to break them off in the head. Other than smoking up the inside of my house and garage and inhalling enough to taste it in my mouth, it seems to be ok. Should I press on with the cam break-in or should I address the exhaust now?? I could really use a second set of eyes, but I think my son is a little too young to be able to help. He's only ten and is scared to death to come into the garage because of the noise and smoke.
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Ted

 

[Anonymous]

Ted...

There will be smoke in the first few moments, there is a lot of cam lube and pre-lube in the engine, this should burn of rather quickly but protects the parts in the first few moments.

I pulled mine out of the garage and stuck the tail down the driveway, once that thing fires up IMMEDIATELY run the throttle up to 2000 and DO NOT LET IT IDLE BELOW THAT AT ALL!!! keep it running for 30 minutes, it should stop smoking in the first minute or two at that RPM.

It will pick up speed and the rpms may vary some when it is running, keep it cool and let it finish, do not turn it off or let it idle...

after the 30 minutes, then back it down to idle!!!


You might want to re-lube some of the parts now, since it ran a bit... but the cam will not get enough oil in the low rpm ranges. Do not let it run at 500-1000 anymore until you run the 30 minutes completely.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

did you paint the exhaust? if you did it will smoke....plus fresh paint ont eh head should burn a little on the exhaust ports. should get a little smoke like steam off a pot of boiling water...just thin and wispy. now if it is billowing black smoke then I would worry.

nick

 

[strat1960s]

It gets better......

I tried to run it without any help (a second set of eyes). I got it up to the 2000 RPMs and began my 25 minute break-in. I watched my temp guage go from 100 to 130, 160, 180, to 235 degrees. I shut the motor down and, honestly, I think it was on the verge of catching on fire. There are two tiny holes on the intake part of the head that lead to the exhaust ports. It was pumping the hot exhaust out right under the temp sensor line. The heat melted the wire loom that I put around the line. I know the motor was running a little hot, but I think if I take care of those two holes, my temp guage might show a more realistic temp. I am running the motor without a thermostat. I figured that would allow the coolant to run cooler. I may try the running a water hose into the radiator trick to keep the temps down.
I know, I am probably trashing my cam, but I will try to be a little nicer to my motor, I promise. I emailed AZ Coupe and hope to get instructions for plugging the two little "hot" holes.
With the excetion of those two little holes, should it really be smoking so much? It was exhaust, and something else. It was pretty thick, but not black.

Ted

 

[strat1960s]

Also,
I had the motor running for about 3 to 5 min. It was still smokin away. All my freeze plugs, hoses, and radiator are in tact.
Ted

 

[Falcon62]

235 is pretty hot, I'd definitely not want to run it long there. When you have to shut down before the cam break in is complete, just remember to get the rpm back up there and finish the break in once you resume.

Here's a tidbit that might help - when I first fired my 200 and started the cam break in, I placed a large box fan on a stool in front of the radiator to help with air flow. Expecting the engine driven fan to pull enough through the radiator (and a stock 4 blade Falcon fan at that ) with the car in a garage is really asking a lot, especially on a new engine. The fan really helped and the temp stayed at around 200 degrees during the cam break in. Also, set your heater to max and turn the fan on high. Every little bit helps!

Make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks as they will contribute to a higher than normal temp condition.

Unlike most, I use a thermostat, and the same coolant I plan to run, during the break in process.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes I also used a thermostat, and I ran a hose through the radiator, I hit 195 even 200 at one point, but never over 200...

Those two holes in the head go through to the exhaust ports, mine are plugged with stainless bolts sealed with Ultra Copper... they are tapped into the port divider I had installed...

This is normally a bypass for the thermostatic choke tube to the carb, you can and should plug those, if you do not have them tapped, then I would run a small pipe tubing from one to the other and pass the gasses through like it was intended to do... but if you have a temp gauge close to that heat (which is like hundreds of degrees then your reading could have been wrong?)

Still, best thing to do is check everything carefully, also make sure you go over every bolt after the breakin, and re-torque them all! specially any intake and header bolts...

 

[strat1960s]

Jimbo,

Yes, I will take my exhaust appart in the AM and work on tapping those two "hot" holes and run two bolts down inside to cap it off. Then I will work on putting it all back together again. I am also going to have to replace the wire loom that was melted from the heat and a battery cable that was a little too close to the exhaust pipe, I may also replace my fuel hose since it was in the same area as the wire loom. (I was hoping the wire loom was a little more temp resistant) Then I am going to drain my coolant and fill the system with water. I will set the hose to fill as fast as it drains. I should be up and running again by late afternoon or eraly the next day, depends on how messy I make things. LoL.
It certanly has been an exciting day!
Thanks for everyone's help.
Ted

 

[addo]

It's easy to see if exhaust is leaking past that stock casting. A torch (flashlight) will illuminate it in slightly shaded conditions. Dusk is ideal. Unless that's a mechanical gauge you've verified, all the temp readings are relative only. Check your oil for metal glint.

 

[Anonymous]

just to be humor...caus ethats who i am...

in reference to the title of this thread...I had that problem with a girl once.

 

[strat1960s]

the title was in reference to the snot in my nose. I had all kinds of soot in my nose from the exhaust smoke being so thick. LOL I took a while to get the exhaust taste out of my mouth.
Ted

 

[addo]

That's like the joke about the terrorist who tried to blow up a bus. He burnt his mouth on the exhaust. :roll: