I am pretty sure this is severe but would like to know where it is coming from. I jus got my 1973 Chevy Camaro on the road from a full restoration The block is a 4 bolt main 350 Chevy SB Carburetored. I had totally worked over EVERYTHING on this motor everything is new on this motor except the Heads and the block itself. When I first got the motor running 2 studs backed out of the heads and it threw a pushrod and 2 of my rocker arms were destroyed luckily the pushrod was jus laying underneath the intake and didnt fall down into the crankcase I was not happy with the guy that assembled my heads So I had the heads Reworked and put in ARP locking studs and guiding plates from the same guy that built my motor. I took it to get the front end aligned and get everything checked out It failed a pressure cooling system test and a block test failed imediately. I jus want to know if its in the heads or the block. My guess is the heads are cracked but I dont know. I don't think coolant was gettin in the oil cause I checked the dipstick and didnt see any traces of water but I could be wrong I havent drained the oil yet. Im jus wandering what I should do I worked so hard to get this car on the road and now its crippled and I need some advice on where to go from here. If you need more info on my problem please ask and ill reply as swiftly as I can. my e-mail address is camaro73@adelphia.net or my AIM is SCH411 If you want pictures or anything any help would be gratly Appreciated! thanks everyone!

 

If you want to check and see if there is coolant in the oil, just drain the oil and then let it sit... eventually the coolant will start to show up as little green bubbles.

You could always throw on some crappy heads and see if that makes the problem go away?

 

Quick check: fire up a cold engine and warm it up for a couple of minutes. Remove engine dipstick and drip oil on header/exaust manifold. If it just disappears, it's ok. If it sizzles = water.

Maybe it's just the headgasket(s).

 

Unfortunately you've GOTTA pull the engine! (or at least pull the heads off ). Be careful when pulling the intake, and see if the gaskets are/were leaking water into the engine there. Also, see if there are signs of the head gaskets leaking. Take the heads into a machine shop and have them pressure tested. If there are no (signs of) leaks there, then it must be the block, but my guess is it's likely the heads (or gaskets). My Dad and I have just gone through all this with his '73. He started re-assembling the motor today, but we had 2 problems with it:

- first, we put a set of heads on 2 years ago that were cracked and water was flowing out the headers! We put on new heads, flushed the whole engine with oil as best as we could, and the engine "seemed" to be ok.

- second, within the last month, the engine started running rough. Became hard to start, wouldn't idle, and when it was running, you could hear a bad knock. Pulled the engine apart, and there was a split intake gasket letting a ton of water into the top of the motor, which went through the lifters, chewed the cam, metal went through the oil and through ALL the bearings, as well as most of the pistons, so essentially the motor was F#($%D!

The moral of the story is engines don't run well on water. Get that thing apart, and get the water out ASAP. As much as it seems like a lot of work, you'd be safer to pull the motor and check the bearings to make sure non of them have been wiped. Otherwise if damage has been done, you'll be in our situation not long from now. All this has just cost us around ~$1200 to replace (complete re-build kit, new pistons, camshaft and lifters, re-machining the crankshaft, etc., etc.). It sucks.

Get your motor fixed! Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

I pulled the valve covers and drained the oil. Hate to say but it got into the oil too It didnt look too bad but it was there. I checked all the spark plugs the number 4 cyclinder plug had massive signs of water damage It was clean and starting to rust and corrode around the threads and base of the plug.All the other plugs seemed normal. all the rocker arms and pushrods and studs seemed ok but there were obvious signs that the coolant was leaking into the heads and circulating throughout the valve train mixxed in with the oil. . . So my next step now is pull the heads and see if the cylinder has gotten damage to it and check the heads gaskets.. ANy more advice?

 

If the water got into the cylinders like that and things started to rust, you gotta fix it. That happened with my Dad's motor when the water got into it, even the cylinder walls had some rust on them, and if you don't get rid of it (or see that no damage was done already) then when the engine runs, the pistons/rings will pick up this rust and start scuffing the cylinder walls and piston skirts, and then eventually (even if not right away) the scratches allow for blow by, reduced compression, and it never gets better.....only worse. My Dad explained a lot of this stuff to me, but I got to see first hand the damage that was done by something that seemed so "minor".

I think the smartest thing to do is pull the motor apart, inspect everything (bearings, cylinders, cam/lifters, etc.). Hopefully the bearings didn't get hurt, but if they did, replace them. Hopefully the cylinders didn't get scratched up yet, but check, and re-hone them and get new rings if necessary.

All this is a big P.I.T.A., I know, but if you could see our motor (which probably had ~2500 miles on it, tops!) then you'd understand what a little bit of water can do.

 

I took some pictures of it ill send you some so u can see what it looks like. Im gonna pull the heads tomorrow and inspect and decide from there.

 

My wife had a 95 mustang and the head gasket blew on that and coolant got in the oil about a half quart. Ford decided to replace the entire engine because they had problems with bearings after they had been exposed to the antifreeze. The mechanic said the coolant will turn to a grainy sugar like substance and cause all sorts of damage to the bearings.

 

I agree, get that thing apart and get the water out, especially from the cylinders. Since you know there's water, and you know the spark plug is rusted... you can assume other stuff is rusting too.

I just picked up an engine from a guy, apparently the engine was fine, it blew a head gasket and the guy let it sit for a bit.

The water corroded the cylinder walls so bad, its gonna have to be bored out to be repaired....