Called before the shop closed. They said 5 of the cylinders are not working (machinist will be coming into to take the rest of the engine apart to check the bearings, cylinder walls, pistons, etc...

They said the header bolts were loose, 4 leaks in the head gasket, the springs were not the correct springs for this camshaft (08-300-08)

http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp-Cams/249/...oductId=753159

The rockers were upgraded and these springs are apparently too weak.

Find out more tomorrow.

IF it turns out I may need to purchase another camshaft. What is the difference between the

http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp-Cams/249/...oductId=753159
and
http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp-Cams/249/...oductId=753159

I have a custom programmers chip, headers, 1.7 rockers. I also have to deal with AIRCARE (EMMISSIONS). With the 08-300-8, the engine had a nice mild lump to the idle.. would the 08-302-8 change that? Any more hp gain with the 302?

 

the 08-300-8 you can drop in and reqs no tuning, it reqs the 981 spring.

im running the 08-302-8 and i like it alot but reqs tuning. i went further and have a 20 thou gasket and a 8thou shave on the head which bumped my compression up to 10.41 on a 305. it too reqs the 981 spring. the 302 will be a bit more agressive.

we dropped a 300 in a friends L98 gta and i had the 302 in my car at the same time but being i bumped the compression up a few points it dosent sound like it would in a regular motor.

if you can tune, go for the 302, if you cant, go with the 300 but with the 1.7 rockers that will put you in the needing to be tuned range.

be sure to check the geometry of the rocker on the valve tip and pushrod lengths.

 

I just don't get how ALL OF THIS just suddenly happened as you described in the original post. Ignition problems, no oil to the top end, broken springs, etc all at once?!

 

I drove the car for 40mins thinking it was just the wires burnt thru again that day. They say one of the oil plugs in the block had popped out and was not sending the oil in the wrong area from what I believe was said. The springs are too weak for the cam I have, and the roller tip rockers (1.6) are not compatible with the stock heads and that the rods were being slapped. He's going to show me all the wearing. I will be taking my camera to see all this.

I have 1.6's I accidentally typed 1.7. The car comes with 1.5's and we couldn't get 1.7's to work without enlarging the heads and we couldn't at the time because of the smog equipment in the way.

 

it wasnt just the spring were too weak, sounds like you had a case of coil bind as well.

 

OK. Here is the bottom line final explanation.

1. There are metal shaving (type of goop) inside the oil cooler (they are removing the oil cooler as they said it's a waste of money (since I would need a new one).

2. The engine has stock heads and they said that 1.6 roller tips will not work with my heads as my heads don't allow for enough clearance. He showed me on the heads that with the rockers it created such an angle (because it's higher up) that the rods would NEARLY rub on the head themselves. The hole in the heads where the rods go thru are CIRCLE, the rods have play in them. As a result, the rockers need to have the guides on the sides; the roller tips don't and so the rods were sliding around that you can clear see the rods being worn.

3. The piston bearings were being worn on the edges all the way to the copper.

4. The springs were too weak for the larger 1.6 roller tip rockers.

5. NONE of the plugs had popped out, he explained the oil sensor is where the oil enters the block, from there there was a sludge blocking much of the inner lining of the entrance holes as it entered the block (3 holes on the top front of the engine) behind the timing cover. This is why he explained, how the oil guage indicated a good oil pressure yet MUCH of the oil being blocked to the rockers and rods, and some to the cylinders.

 

With the heads off you can clearance the holes if necessary. Additionally, hardened pushrods and guideplates should have been used.

No such thing as piston bearings. Connecting rod bearings perhaps?

Unless the rockers were contacting the springs or causing coil bind, they should NOT affect spring operation or life.

Sludge? Or metal shavings from bearing damage?

This sounds like a real mess, I feel for you. I think you got taken on the engine build and you've had a bunch of incompetent guys attempting to diagnose/fix your car.