Does this cylinder look bad?

[Jayru 17]

Yea, my plan's to drive it like I stole it till it blows up at this point :)

 

Thanks for all the help & advice guys!

[Jayru 17]

Bringing this back from the dead for one final question guys.

 

So I've put about 100 miles on the car and i indeed have antifreeze in the oil again. Interestingly enough though the level hasn't gone down in the radiator.

 

I called a local machine shop today to get some prices on rebuilding the used shortblock i have. While talking to him i ran down the situation on the motor in the car now. He swore up and down that he thinks my leak is coming from the timing cover!

 

He said it's so rare for a block to crack, unless it was some high HP monster (which it isn't). He felt that if i did the head gasket/intake gasket and still had the leak, the timing cover would be where it was at.

 

What do you guys think? Is it worth me going through the BS of pulling the balancer and yanking the cover? I don't want to put any more money into this motor, but I'd hate to rip it out and pay $$ for a new one if that was the problem! Is it plausible?

Edited March 13, 2009 by Jayru

[Handegard 10]

I had a similar problem on my original 302, and my machinist gave me similar advice, so he's probably not talking out of his ass.

 

I did end up having a cracked block though, but I don't think thats how the coolant got there...

[S code 69 13]

It is rare for a clock to crack, but it happens. I've never worked on a Ford small block so I don't have an opinion in the timing chain cover, is it like an AMC where water passes throug it? if it's possible for water to make it to the oil there then I suppose it's worth a shot to check it out.

[Jayru 17]

It is rare for a clock to crack, but it happens. I've never worked on a Ford small block so I don't have an opinion in the timing chain cover, is it like an AMC where water passes throug it? if it's possible for water to make it to the oil there then I suppose it's worth a shot to check it out.

 

Yea, the water pump mounts to the cover, and the coolant passes through the cover to get to the block.

 

The PO did swap the 69 cover onto the 79 block, he may have never put the gasket on right, so i guess it's worth a shot. I'm gonna pull the cover during the week and see if i notice anything.

 

The only thing that stumps me though is why the coolant system held pressure when i tested it.

[Handegard 10]

The only thing that stumps me though is why the coolant system held pressure when i tested it.

 

Yeah, but you can only test it cold. Heat expansion might open the leak up ever so slightly, especially where too different metals meet... (Alu and Fe)

[69RestoRod 10]

The timing cover sounds like a good place to start. The water pump ports do corrode away.

[Jayru 17]

Yesterday upon a very close visual inspection, i could see some antifreeze pooling on the passenger side of the cover where the cover water passage meets the block.

 

I'm hoping that since it's leaking externally it's also leaking internally and this has been my problem all along.

 

Do i need to loosen the oil pan or can i just take the pan bolts out that go into the T-cover to remove it?

[Boogerschnot 12]

just remove the bolts that go into the oil pan and then the cover and remove it. You will need some RTV to put it back to gether and dont over torque the bolts or it will leak oil. And make sure you replace the seal on the cover and put lots of oil on the dampner before sliding it in to keep the seal tight..

 

Make sure you drain the cooling system and take a drain pulg out of the block becuase all of the water that is sitting above the timing cover is going to leak into the oil pan when you pull the cover. Or just change the oil again after you do the change.

[Jayru 17]

So i'm at a crossroads here.

 

I don't see any evidence that the timing cover was leaking internally (no antifreeze on the block walls behind the chain or the t-case/chain itself).

 

But their is a shit load of White milky buildup on the inside of the oil pan by the crank sprocket, it literally looks like white yogurt built up on the walls.

 

Could this be leftover buildup from the intake or headgasket leak and be what's still mixing with the oil? It's bright white, does that mean it's fresh? Should i drop the pan and clean it out? Or should i just assume the block is cracked at this point?

 

Ahh!

[Jayru 17]

So i decided to pull the oil pan.

 

By accident i may have finally found the problem!!

 

I noticed that the two lower drivers side timing cover bolts were missing a long time ago. I figured he had snapped the bolts in the block and left them when he switched the cover (since everything else on the car was rigged. I figured since their was no leak (externally) everything was fine. Therre was some dirt/goop in the holes though and i had scratched it out around the time i did my first intake swap.

 

To my surprise, when i pulled the cover today, the bolt holes were clean/empty. I thought, why did he leave these bolts out?

 

I took one of the other bolts and began to thread it into the bottom hole to check the threads, about half way in i heard a pop/fizz, and milky antifreeze shot out of the block (see where in pic below).

 

So what is going on here? Obviously there's a crack there, but here's my questions.

 

Does antifreeze run into those lower t-cover bolt holes from the block (I.E. the bolt holes protrude into the water jackets)? The crack is on the outside though, so it may not be causing my internal leak, and wasn't externally leaking up to this point.

 

I'm wondering if the dirt/goop he had in there was sealing something and when i scratched it out it may have started the leak internally? It would explain why their was so much right by the crank sprocket no? He must have left those bolts out for a reason.

 

Does any of what i just said make sense? Could i just squirt silicone on the bolt before installation and that would seal it up?

 

This is all very strange.

[Jayru 17]

Still interested in any thought responses to my post below, but after much thought, I've decided to just rip this POS block out of the car rather than have it nickel & dime me to death anymore!

 

Please no i told'ya so's, I'm already bummed as it is that i won't be enjoying the car this summer :(

 

Hope this thread serves as a warning call to anyone thinking about doing this in the future, you cant polish a turd i guess...