rkk69olds

So I have my engine disassembled as far as I need to to go to replace, Heads, cam, timing chain and torque converter. This was my rookie build and only has 200 miles on it. Some rookie issues I believe that I would love your input in. See pictures for more detail

1st - fuel pump eccentric wear seems excessive for the low mileage. It was brand new at the time of installation. Wear on pump arm does not seem too bad

2nd - looks like I had a header leak that I could not see or hear. Picture is blurry, but you can seem carbon.

3rd - Mr Gasket Ultra Seal III gaskets burned through the middle port on both heads. Is this normal?

4th - Front cam bearing wear looks uneven, but not sure

5th - installed Mondello CS-120 .041" Bronze Cam Gear Spacer which they recommend for older blocks. It looks as though it deteriorated to the point of almost completely coming apart. Does this install between the cam and block or cam and timing chain? I put between cam and block.

I have learned alot and am making some changes, but man time and money spent is a bit frustrating

oddball

First builds are always fun .
How do the main and rod bearings look? My first build went to the copper within a few thousand miles.

1) Was the oil slinger installed? That's the large round piece, looks like a small pie pan, goes on the crank snout between the timing chain sprocket and the timing cover. If this is just a mark - and not a ridge - then don't worry about it.

2) I can't tell what's going on there...

3) If you have the exhaust crossover still open in the heads, and your intake has the crossover, then this happens. Next time, cut out the hole in the gasket to match the head. The thin metal covers that some folks sell as the cheap and easy way to block the crossover do NOT work. The only way to block it is to use the plugs (which tend to rattle) or really plug it by filling with metal.

4) Not necessarily. There's usually a (very very) thin protective layer. The bottoms of the cam bearings will show the wear.

5) Between the cam and block. IMO not necessary unless using a roller cam (in which case you also need other bits). Leave it out next time.

One thing that bit me big time - your exhaust crossover is obviously open, but you used the fiber gaskets. All this is fine - except did you ALSO install the large turkey tray gasket? What happened to me (because I followed common advice) was to run stock heads, a Performer intake, fiber gaskets, and the valley tray oil shield. Guess what? Oil still sprays on the bottom of the intake, burns due to the exhaust temp, turns into gunk, sits in intake valley. Bad things. You have to either really plug the exhaust crossover and deal with those ramifications (the crossover really helps in the cold), or install the turkey tray gasket. I would trim the tray so it just had very small tabs at the front and back that fit just barely under the fiber gasket - IOW, completely remove the actual port sealing sections just leaving the tray to keep oil away from the intake. You don't want to disturb the fiber gasket seal, but the tray needs to be held up away from the lifters. One of them I used the stock dimples, and that worked pretty well but a bit harder to trim.

Also, I noticed in your other threads your new cam specs. There's not much duration split (234/235, right?), so make sure your exhaust ports have as much work done as possible, you have good headers and good free-flowing exhaust.

bigD

i agree, i'd ditch the cam spacer. nothing else really looks out of line to me... as for your intake gaskets / bathtub gasket quandry, have you considered a mondello or dick miller valley tray? i'm gonna try one on my next build... i also got a set of the edelbrock crossover plugs and fitted them to the crossover ports. my next step is to drill 1/4'' holes thru them to allow some heat to get to the carb... i'm not too worried about them rattling, i've fitted them pretty tight... may braze them in too... dunno

cutlassefi

I agree with most everything except;
If your cam is really 234/235 at .050 that's fine, it''ll give you more midrange torque than a dual pattern with a larger split. However, you need at least 10.0:1 and good gears for that cam to work well.

The motors' apart, have the crossovers filled the right way, it's a cheap hp gain.

I don't use the bronze spacers for any cam unless the surface of the block is rough, otherwise you'll get what you got.

The biggest thing when assembling an engine is to be clean. Just when you think it's clean enough, clean it again. And have your clearances checked, Plastigage is useless.

oddball

bigD: That valley tray is what I used. It is not sufficient if the exhaust crossover has any heat in it. Even if you just have small holes in the plugs, you'll still need the full tray.
Those small trays are meant to keep hot oil from splashing on the intake and heating the intake up. It does not entirely prevent oil from getting up there, though.

rkk69olds

Thanks for the input guys, very helpful

Mark, the new cam I am going to install is the erson you sold me a few weeks ago. Really interested to see the low end torque gains with this cam.

To answer some of the other suggestions

I just got my new heads back and did not spend the $$$ for filling the crossovers. I spent $800 for the heads (2.02 intake, fully ported, etc...)and another 400 having them cleaned, checked, drilled for 7/16 studs, etc...

I have a mondello valley tray to keep the oil off the bottom of the intake. It seems to be doing the job.

The fuel pump eccentric wear is significant in my mind, but have not measured the material loss to really tell. I will mic tonight. I had a crank slinger installed and the oil galley plug has the correct hole drilled.

oddball

It's not. I promise. Your engine, but pull that intake after a few months of driving it.
Seriously, I had about 2 cups worth of burnt oil char in my intake valley after running the engine for about 3,000 miles. I got my tray from Miller - it's exactly the same - called to ask WTF and they said "of course it did that! Who leaves the crossover open?"

cutlassefi

Gotcha I thought it might be. Yes it should definitely help your low end torque. By the way guys the cam specs are 224/223 at .050 iirc.
Also whenever you use the oil slinger with double row chains you need to make sure it's not interfering with the lower sprocket.
Normally filling the crossovers is an inexpensive mod, my guy charges about $60, I'd seriously think about doing it that way.
Jmo

boondocker

"have your clearances checked", is there alternatives to plastigage?

coppercutlass

The alternative is micrometers, dial bore gauges, dial calipers . If you plan on building an engine more than once invest in them . For the intake gaskets i used the felpro steel shims on the intake not the full tray just the shim gaskets. My reason for doing this was port alignment. The mr. gasket gaskets where a little too thick the thinners one's seemed to fit better and so far holding up. I have the same issue with the center of the ehader gaskets burning up i didint feel like welding the center divider. I use the felpro blue header gaskets i have re used them so far 4 times with no issues .

cutlassefi

Yes, have your machine shop mock up a rod or two with the bearing installed. Then measure the crank as well to figure your real bearing clearance.
I just measured the bbo I'm doing now. Once I assembled a rod with the bearing in it it was different than measuring each part independently.

bigD

i appreciate the heads up on the valley pan situation! i agree mark, plastiguage is a joke...

you guys are making me rethink my crossover plugs...

rkk69olds

Since my heads are ready to be installed can I still fill the crossover without messing anything up?

bigD

yeah you can do a short fill.