Sudden Increase in Blow-by

[RPM]

Take it to Indy and have fun. Sounds like nothing at all or worst an intake gasket leaking. You would have so much help at Indy replacing and intake gasket in the parking lot if need be.

Just to be safe call one of the big suppliers and have the blower gasket and intake gasket sent to the hotel in Indy, just in case. You won't find a blower gasket at Advance Auto Parts.

 

[one finger john]

What's so hard ? Bring it up to TDC. I would leave the other spark plugs in to counter the possibility of the compressed air pushing and rotating the piston down. Do not leave the socket & breaker bar on the crank bolt. If the piston goes down and the crank rotates a stiff rap on the arm could occur. Feed the compressed air to the cylinder slowly and keep track of crank/breaker bar movement.
You will be able to hear air escaping into the crank case thru the oil filler. Leaking exhaust valve - thru exhaust pipe. Leaking intake valve - air escaping thru the intake manifold. Supplied gauge will tell percent of leakage.

John

 

[one finger john]

Take it to Indy and have fun. Sounds like nothing at all or worst an intake gasket leaking. You would have so much help at Indy replacing and intake gasket in the parking lot if need be.

Just to be safe call one of the big suppliers and have the blower gasket and intake gasket sent to the hotel in Indy, just in case. You won't find a blower gasket at Advance Auto Parts.

Just like the "big boys". Tell em that you're there for the"big race" and your "blower motor just blowd up". Need them parts ASAP ! Direct to your room !

Mention my name.

John

 

[2old2fast]

Just askin' when was the last time you washed out that breather. ??
dave

 

[benT]

Take it to Indy and have fun. Sounds like nothing at all or worst an intake gasket leaking. You would have so much help at Indy replacing and intake gasket in the parking lot if need be.

Just to be safe call one of the big suppliers and have the blower gasket and intake gasket sent to the hotel in Indy, just in case. You won't find a blower gasket at Advance Auto Parts.

No parking lot work needed - our shop is 15 minutes from the hotel and we got all the tools and room we need.

 

[2old2fast]

Thinking about this....if it was 1or2 cyl's w/a ring problem , the escaping oil vapor would come out in puffs ,[ think steam engine] whereas if it's pressure from the intake side , it would be steady , or at least that's what I'd think.....The 10# down is disturbing tho...
dave

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Setting up the leak-down on #1 right now. Doing this on my car is a PITA because there is 1.5" clearance between the front of the blower belt crank hub and the radiator-mounted electric fan!' Getting the wrench in there and engaged on the snout bolt, which is at the back of the 3.5" deep hub, is a ROYAL BITCH!!

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Well, I think I found the problem. 70% leakage on #1!!!! Leaking into the crankcase.

 

[2old2fast]

So long piston , it's been good to know ya
dave

 

[one finger john]

Are you sure it isn't 30% leakage? As in its in Chinese and might be backwards?
Wow. 70 %.
You should be able to hear air escaping past the rings into the crankcase, maybe even feel a slight breeze from the breather. Did you check the intake & exhaust for escaping air sounds?
Please for continuity, check the other 7 cylinders.

Wow

John

P.S. Watch those knuckles on the balancer bolt wrench.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

I was just about to post an update. I went through all cylinders twice and #1 three times. The second and third time I checked #1 it was 50%. I could easily hear the escaping air through the drain-back holes in the head. I may not have had the hose into the spark plug hole tight the first time I did #1. All the other cylinders were between 25-30%.

I have been suspicious of the ring seal from early on. I did not do any kind of a break-in procedure on the new motor. I pulled the heads off after about two thousand miles because I was getting oil out the breather when I stomped on the loud pedal. I wanted to see what the cylinders looked like. The cylinders looked brand new, with the cross-hatching still obvious. I don't think the rings ever did seal. I was planning to refresh the motor this winter because of that.

 

[2old2fast]

Buck up Spanky , could still be a head gasket......I'm suspicious of the test readings you're showing , generally , a good cyl. would be5%or less
dave

 

[one finger john]

"might not have had the hose into the spark plug hole tight the first time". Didn't the hose for the spark plug holes come with a threaded end?
Maybe you can dingle ball hone it, run cast iron rings and drive it another 9,000 miles. Might even run better.

Still gonna tow it to Indy anyway?

John

IN FACT ! ACTUALLY ! IN REALITY ! A well known after market ring manufacturer has gone on record that there is no need to hone piston bores when re-ringing said bores. If the bores are uniform with no damage then new rings can be installed and run in the usual manner.

BELIEVE OR NOT !

JOHN Again !

The previous message was viewed on the international internet system and is deemed to be truthful in all manners.

Why would they lie?

 

[RPM]

Pull the rockers off that cyl just to make sure, but it sounds like you found the problem.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Dave, I am skeptical of the raw numbers myself, but I think the relative numbers are useful. I could hear leakage into the crankcase on all cylinders (I had the valve covers off to make sure the rockers were loose when I tested each cylinder).

John, yes the hose had a threaded end. I did the #1 cylinder first before I got a feel for how tight to turn the hose, so I'm not confident I had it tight the first time. No, not going to Indy. We'll see what shape the #1 cylinder is in before we decide what to do with the block.

Ron, I made sure there was no pressure on the rockers on each cylinder as I tested. I also used a stethoscope to listen to the exhaust runners and the intake manifold above each cylinder. I'm pretty confident there was no leakage from any of the valves, but I'll be looking at those closely on tear down.

 

[one finger john]

Seriously, sorry to hear the news. You could probably FedEx a short block by end of the week.

 

[Screaming Metal]

Maybe she ate a piston, but I don't think so. If she's running good. Now, could be the head gasket giving out. That would account for the steam, and very little coolant loss. Antifreeze makes a really nice mess when exposed to heat and pressure....
I don't think you caused any bad damage because she's still running OK, so chances are you found it before anything bad could happen.
Now, I'm not saying there isn't any damage, just doesn't sound like it, and she's running good.

One thing though, with all this crappy gas we are being thrown these days, its almost imperative to run some octane booster in the mix. Now, with a EFI, you can make the system adjust for that....but on a good ole hotrod motor, one with a blower, its not gonna stand for very much pinging....so your gonna have to be up on top of the timing.

But, yes, need to pull her down before bad things start to happen. A $45-$65 piston if run too long damaged could scrap a bore, a head, or worse yet, a broken rod....major parts to be replaced....
Glad you found it before bad things happened.
Breaking down at a event in no sweat. Get 5 or 6 guys out in the parking lot, do a full tear down in about 35 minutes....But benT was willing to rise to the occassion! Sweet!
Just glad you caught it in time....

Blowers, when the timings off and its pinging with bad gas....she'd eat a piston in a heartbeat. Gotta be careful with the blowers. They're fun, they're awesome, but ya gotta respect them. They need certain things....don't give it to them, they'll ruin your day....

 

[PotvinGuy]

Lee, have you ever torqued the head bolts? If they got loose, it could mimic a blown gasket. Worth a try. After that, guess it's time to pull the head and take a peek.

Probably not your problem, but I don't trust conventional PCV systems on our hot rods. Who knows if they are opening properly? I use a "calibrated orifice" (i.e, a pinhole) to constantly suck on the left side. The right side has a hose to the air cleaner. In normal operation fresh air is drawn thru the air cleaner into and thru the motor and then into the intake manifold. If crankcase pressure gets too high, the extra backs up into the air cleaner and then the throttle body and on into the intake. This arrangement is apparently common in Europe. My Karmann Ghia is set up this way. And it keeps oil off the valve covers and firewall.

 

[Lee_in_KC]

Thanks for the input, Kerry. I'm definitely going look into a different PCV set-up. My current set-up has never been able to keep up with the blower. And as I said above, I don't think my rings ever seated properly. Head comes off tomorrow... we shall see!!

 

[2old2fast]

Common problem w/ rings not seating is using the wrong finish for the rings...chrome rings require one type of finish , moly -faced another , also whether or not a torque plate was used .... consult w/engine builder..
dave