Tcat55371 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Ok, since I have the motor apart again for the third time I am looking it over top to bottom. Cant see any cracks in the heads. No ridge in the cylinders at all and no cracks that I can see BUT.... On the very top of the cylinder I can see a little crack where the sleeve comes up to the top of the block. Now my way of thinking is this isnt a problem because the sleeve is pressed on from crank side out and the little crack I see does not go thru into the water jacket. It looks like there is atleast a ¼ inch all the way around the sleeve and no cracks. I have never had the sleeves out of a block but I know they are just pressed in and I dont think this is it but thought I would ask. It anything was getting into there and behind the sleeve it would end up in the oil and not in the water jacket. Sparkplugs were all clean and the top of the pistons all looked the same. Sorry if I'm boring you guys but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I did have a loose headbolt, the one right in the middle of the head above the ehhaust outlet and that one was wet. Other head exhaust outlet was dry. So it's on the passenger side whatever it was. Block is flat and I'm having the heads pressure tested again. The car ran 1500 miles before it blew the head gasket. I also bought new head bolts this time and I have cleaned the bolt holes out with brake clean. I am using Felpro pt head gaskets also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 might be a good idea to mention if this is the block that has blown head gaskets a few times? i've seen comments on here about these sleeves moving or shifting in the cylinder bores. but if your found a loose headbolt then it sounds like you found the actual problem. can you post a picture, i've got a number of blocks and have pulled apart a bunch and can't think of seeing this before. i'd be interested in seeing what it looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 ......Now my way of thinking is this isnt a problem because the sleeve is pressed on from crank side out and the little crack I see does not go thru into the water jacket. It looks like there is atleast a ¼ inch all the way around the sleeve and no cracks. I have never had the sleeves out of a block but I know they are just pressed in ..... They aren't pressed in. They are cast in place. The aluminium of the deck overlaps the top of the sleeve. Perhaps you are seeing this seem? about a 1/16" thick lip of Aluminium above the steel sleeve? Blocks that have been overheated, the sleeve will shift slighty, and leave a lip. In severe cases the sleeve will have actually spun in the block, and will now be egg shaped. Either tear it down for a full rebuild, or throw it back toghether and see how long he goes. That of course is when it's really bad and major. If all we are talking about is the tiniest hair of a seem, and it runs perfectly parrallel to the deck around the top of the cylinder, that is *normal* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 . It looks like there is atleast a ¼ inch all the way around the sleeve and no cracks. second post after re-read. Can you post a picture of this??? 1/4 inch??? That definatlety does not sound right. Also the wet exhaust port, look inside the exhaust outlet on the bottom of the head. Examine the area where the *wall* in the middle meet the edges. Are there cracks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcat55371 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Well I tried taking a picture but you cant see it. It looks like the top of the sleeve isnt prefect against the lip. The guy at the machine shop gave me a thick bar to check the top of the block with and I can not get a .002 feeler under it anywhere. I have done this motor acouple times now and the last mess before this was created by me using one of those brillo wheels on a drill to get the gasket material off. I messed the heads up and he milled them again for me. It went 1500 miles and blew the gasket. When you start the car and pull the rad cap cold you can see the pressure pretty easy plus it is smoking. After the car gets warmed up it's harder to see and the smoke stops for the most part. It sucks the overflow bottle dry in 15 minutes thou. Guess I will just put it back together one more time before I give up on it. I did find a loose head bolt when I went to take it apart. I checked to see where they were at and at 40lbs I went half a turn with the torque wrench. This loose bolt is the short one in the middle of the head right above the exhaust outlet. Ther rest of the bolts were at 55lbs where I had them. I also bought new bolts from Subaru and the washers to reassm this time. Well wish me luck. I sure need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcat55371 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Ok, tried the picture a couple more times. Only way I could get you an idea was to mark it with a crayon. If you look on the leftside of the yellow you will see a rough gap. It's not much but you can feel it with your fingernail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 What brand of gaskets are you using? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I am using Felpro pt head gaskets also. I'd assume these, if he's using them again...but you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcat55371 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yeah, I am using the felpro pt gaskets again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 T i don't see anything abnormal in that picture but maybe it's the picture or i'm missing something? i don't see much of a gap at all. it looks perpendicular to the sealing surface of the gasket anyway, so doesn't look alarming yet. do you know why one of your head gasket bolts were loose and is this the motor that blew a gasket before? only suggestion i have is maybe save the 6 pack for when you're DONE the work this time!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I happen to have an EA82T sitting "topless" on one of my benches. I took a close look at where Tcat says the problem is. I saw NO separation like you mention in any cyl. Is this the proper area of concern you speak of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcat55371 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yup thats the spot, where the sleeve meets the top of the cylinder. Yeah Gary this is the motor that blew them before and there wasnt a 6pk involved this time. Only do that for the cutting. lol There is a really fine 1/4 crack or rough edge where the sleeves top is. Guess when I get the heads back I will put it all back together and try again. Have no idea why the bolt came loose either. Going to try a different torque wrench this time too. My snap-on was recal'd 2 yrs ago but it's older then a lot of the guys on the forum. Will let ya know how it turns out. Wish me luck this time. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy FitzGibbon Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Make sure you clean out the bolt holes really well. Stuff can get packed in the bottom and brake cleaner and compressed air will not loosen it up. You need to dig around with a screwdriver first and loosen it, then blow it out. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 You are most welcome Tcat? I hope it helps answer your situation, and showed the helpful folk where your problem is. Here's gidonya mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Make sure you clean out the bolt holes really well. yeah J since you went hogsballsout and bought those new head bolts you can use the old ones as cleaners. air tools are sooo nice here, hope you have them. any way run an old bolt in and out a bunch of times and keep cleaning/oiling the threads. that job sucks without air tools and is a breeze with them. tear it up! glad to here that was only the sawzall escapade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcat55371 Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Yeah, cleaned them up good last night. Just waiting on the heads now. Have to take a picture of the smallblock Chev motor sitting in front of the XT. Figured if I took 8" out of the center support in the middle, the oil pan would drop right thru there and then just cap off the ends. That way my lower contorl arms are still mounted and then once the motor was mounted in place I could weld in supports to tie the front back together. Only thing I havent figured out yet is how to get the steering back in since the oil pan would be in the way. I could notch the pan depending on where it sat but not sure yet since I dont have a 350 tranny laying around to mock up with. OH and Gary, that was without 1 beer.... Maybe I better have a couple and then get the tape measure out for this. Other option might be to use a life kit to drop the motor crossmember down 4".... Hmmmm, sounds like a whole new thread maybe. :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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