66 C10 sbc 400 compression issue.

[sweetlil66]

Roger that captain.
They matched the head with one they had- He said it had steam holes and everything. I mis-typed the warranty - The warranty is 15k miles.
200$
Thanks for all the hell guys. Will keep yall posted.

[1963c-10]

I would have posted if there was free beer involved...Glad you got the issue resolved

[sweetlil66]

Update.
Got the new head back on. Starts and runs great. Engine sounds good.
New issue.
Today when I cold started the truck the oil gauge showed 50psi. After running for 10mins the gauge fell almost to 0. *My after market - cheap gauge from orallys said 0 wasnt showing any oil pressure* If I gave it gas it would increase almost to 35/40

The one on the dash showed i had oil pressure. At first start up it went almost to the 60 mark and then after running 10 mins it moved down to the 1st mark (Between 0 and half)
If I gave it gas it would raise a lil past half way.

There is no knocking or such.

I thought I noticed a push rod tick on the side with the new head so I pulled the valve cover with it running to try and ajust it and noticed the very rear rocker doesnt apear to be moving as much as the others.

[Captainfab]

I hate to say it, but it sounds like you have a cam lobe going flat.

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

Update.
Got the new head back on. Starts and runs great. Engine sounds good.
New issue.
Today when I cold started the truck the oil gauge showed 50psi. After running for 10mins the gauge fell almost to 0. *My after market - cheap gauge from orallys said 0 wasnt showing any oil pressure* If I gave it gas it would increase almost to 35/40

The one on the dash showed i had oil pressure. At first start up it went almost to the 60 mark and then after running 10 mins it moved down to the 1st mark (Between 0 and half)
If I gave it gas it would raise a lil past half way.

There is no knocking or such.

I thought I noticed a push rod tick on the side with the new head so I pulled the valve cover with it running to try and ajust it and noticed the very rear rocker doesnt apear to be moving as much as the others.

[sweetlil66]

So my first thought was I steal had anti freeze or bad oil steel in the system.
I shut her down and changed the oil with new oil filter (This time I used 10/40) (The first time I used 10/30)
Within 5 mins or so the oil pressure was back down to 0 on the after market gauge.

So Im guessing Iv got a bad cam and a few bearing on the way out.
Ill get a test gauge tomorrow to make sure.
If the gauge shows low oil psi - Ill pull the lower end and have the crank turn and all that good stuff. Ill also Pick up a new cam and bearing set.

I wounder if the new oil pump could be having issues as well?

[Captainfab]

If you do in fact have a cam going flat, the engine needs to be completely torn down and thoroghly cleaned. That is the only way to get all the metal particles out of the engine. If you do not, you run a good chance of this happening all over again.

When you do install a new cam, be sure to do some reading on how to properly break in a flat tappet cam, and also be sure to use a break in additive, and flat tappet cam compatable oil. The lack of ZDDP in today's oils is likely why the current cam went flat.......using the wrong oil. Of course running the engine with water and anti freeze in the oil probably didn't help.

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

Update.
Got the new head back on. Starts and runs great. Engine sounds good.
New issue.
Today when I cold started the truck the oil gauge showed 50psi. After running for 10mins the gauge fell almost to 0. *My after market - cheap gauge from orallys said 0 wasnt showing any oil pressure* If I gave it gas it would increase almost to 35/40

The one on the dash showed i had oil pressure. At first start up it went almost to the 60 mark and then after running 10 mins it moved down to the 1st mark (Between 0 and half)
If I gave it gas it would raise a lil past half way.

There is no knocking or such.

I thought I noticed a push rod tick on the side with the new head so I pulled the valve cover with it running to try and ajust it and noticed the very rear rocker doesnt apear to be moving as much as the others.

What little experience I've had with high-volume oil pumps--NOT high pressure pumps or pumps with the optional high pressure spring in it--with even new engines we built, they would register real high pressure when cold, and then fall to extremely low readings once they warmed up a bit. I never learned how to interpret them or trust them. That was why I had only a little experience with them--I quit using them in the mid-sixties.

YMMV,
sam

[sweetlil66]

Thanks guys.
Iv called the shops around here and I can get the crank turned with all new bearings and a new mid range cam with bearings and lifters for 300$
is this a good deal.

I found a cam bearing tool for 30$s.
Will this one work for my sbc 400? or are they pretty much unavailable.
Here is the tool.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aa...0/media/images


Thanks guys.

[Captainfab]

All small block cam bearings are the same size.

You're taking a huge risk in repairing your engine this way..........

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

Thanks guys.
Iv called the shops around here and I can get the crank turned with all new bearings and a new mid range cam with bearings and lifters for 300$
is this a good deal.

I found a cam bearing tool for 30$s.
Will this one work for my sbc 400? or are they pretty much unavailable.
Here is the tool.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aa...0/media/images


Thanks guys.

['63GENIII]

X2. I hate to say it, but its back to square 1. On the positive side though, you should have a killer running engine when youre done if its done right. Take the time to do it correctly and right the first time around.
Posted via Mobile Device

[sweetlil66]

What am I doing wrong???
Im going to tear the engine down.
Have the crank turned and matching bearings.
Get a new cam with bearings and lifters.
Have the block vatted.
Start re-installing everything.

[Captainfab]

All you said before was you were getting the crank turned, new cam and bearings.

Sounds like you are doing it right, but you forgot you will need new rings, and the cylinders will need to be honed. Plus all new freeze and galley plugs, all new gaskets, new oil pump, timing chain, etc.

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

What am I doing wrong???
Im going to tear the engine down.
Have the crank turned and matching bearings.
Get a new cam with bearings and lifters.
Have the block vatted.
Start re-installing everything.

[sweetlil66]

The only thing Im not doing is have the cylinder bored. I going to reuse the pistons and rings. I dont have alote of money to work with... Id love to bore the cylinders but I dont see any piston sets for under 250 or cheaper.

[sweetlil66]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

All you said before was you were getting the crank turned, new cam and bearings.

Sounds like you are doing it right, but you forgot you will need new rings, and the cylinders will need to be honed. Plus all new freeze and galley plugs, all new gaskets, new oil pump, timing chain, etc.

Why do the walls have to be honed and why new rings???

[Captainfab]

You can not re-use the rings once they are taken out of the block. A set of cast rings is fairly inexpensive. A set of Molly rings is better if you can squeeze just a little more $$. There's no problem re-using the pistons as long as they are in useable condition.

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

The only thing Im not doing is have the cylinder bored. I going to reuse the pistons and rings. I dont have alote of money to work with... Id love to bore the cylinders but I dont see any piston sets for under 250 or cheaper.

[Captainfab]

You have to break the glaze on the cylinder walls so that the rings will seat. If the rings don't seat, you will have no compression.

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

Why do the walls have to be honed and why new rings???

[sweetlil66]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

You have to break the glaze on the cylinder walls so that the rings will seat. If the rings don't seat, you will have no compression.

Captainfab could you do me a favor?
cold you write me a list of things I should have done and price ranges?
Like vatting ,crank turned , cam bearing installed....

Not so much a list of part but a list that I would probably be better off letting a shop do.

Man this is killing me. Im starting to lose faith in myself and being able to do this.

So having the engine honed doesnt have anything to do with oversizing or boring? So I would just need rings.

[Captainfab]

Honing the cylinders does not mean you need new pistons, but it does need to be done when installing new rings. It doesn't need to be honed much, just enough to break the glaze and put a good cross hatch in the cylinders. Of course this is assuming there is not excessive wear in the cylinders.

As for the cost, I'm not sure what a machine shop would charge for that. It's been a couple years since I have had any machine work done. The last time I had a block bored and honed it was $120.00.

I'm not sure on turning the crank either. I would say somewhere around $80-120.00.

The cam bearings I used to pay $35.00 to have them installed.

Hot tanking the block was also $35.00 and throwing in all the tin was about $25.00

You can have the machine shop install all the galley plugs and freeze plugs, but they aren't hard to do yourself. Just make sure to put some sealer on them. And make sure you know where all the galley plugs are. There are a couple that most don't know about. There is one under the oil pump, and another at the rear of the left deck surface.

Do you have a book or engine manual of any kind? if not, you should probably get one to help you thru this so you don't forget something. We're always here to help, but that can delay things sometimes.

Originally Posted by sweetlil66

Captainfab could you do me a favor?
cold you write me a list of things I should have done and price ranges?
Like vatting ,crank turned , cam bearing installed....

Not so much a list of part but a list that I would probably be better off letting a shop do.

Man this is killing me. Im starting to lose faith in myself and being able to do this.

So having the engine honed doesnt have anything to do with oversizing or boring? So I would just need rings.