Jeff 96 SS

Well I finally got my fuel pump Issues taken care of with a Boost-A-pump so I took the TA back to the Dyno to try to Dial it in with Higher fuel pressure so I could take some of the stress off my injectors. We made some changes before the first pull compensating for higher fuel pressure made first pull its was very lean my boost gauge showed 18#s I have noticed a 2# gain since I installed the TH400 so that was what I expected. Changed a few things to get more fuel in next pull was rich I didn't watch the boost gauge. made more changes and everthing was way off looked through the data for both pulls and the pull we adjusted off of the MAF didn't max out WTF! it looks like it malfunctioned so we were way off on the adjustments we made. We pulled it again and also hooked an accurate boost gauge to see how much it was really making My gauge showed 14#s the accurate gauge showed just under 12#s this is when we noticed coolant all over the floor UHOH! Threw it on the lift and saw coolant leaking from the rear of the drivers side head. the passenger side head had it leaking from several places Great I lifted the heads! This is with block reicever grooved studded and the heads O-ringed and copper head gaskets. I'm going to try re-torking all of the head bolts and see if this fixes it. Does anyone have expeirence with with copper head gaskets will they re seal or do I need to pull the heads and get new gaskets?

Thanks

Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1

Sean94Z

Head Studs?

Jeff 96 SS

I have head studs I guess they stretched..

Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1

wingnut

Before you installed the studs, did you check for pre-install measurements? If you did, remove one stud (middle under valve cover - takes most stress) and check to see if stretch is within limits. If so, reinstall and re-torque heads. They should seal as good as any copper gasket can (many years of drag racing and in-pit rebuilds have proven this).

Are you running an aftermarket comp (FAST, DFI, etc…)? Are you on the wide-band? Most likely when you went lean, you experienced severe detonation and lifted the heads. I have seen this happen in Fords before. They actually drove off the dyno and never leaked again until a hot day at the track and the recorder showed and AF ratio of 13 to 1 under 18 – 20 # boost condition.

Is you MAF a draw through or blow through. Check for un-metered air. This can cause a lean condition and detonation.

If you can get Engineermike to chime in, he might have more ideas.

I hope this helps.

Wingnut

.

Jeff 96 SS

I didn't assemble the engine but I assume the studs were installed correctly. I'm using Ljs box and 75# injectors and stock PCM tuning it with Lt1-edit. The MAF is on the intake side of the blower. When I went lean I had no noticible Knock nor did the Dyno curve do anything erratic so I don't think it was severe detonation but who knows. I was using wide-band o2s during dyno pulls.

Thanks

Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1

wingnut

This might be redundant, but do you know for sure you lifted the heads? I have seen head studs leak through the threads that were not sealed correctly.

Just a thought.

Wingnut

Jeff 96 SS

I would think if they were leaking through the studs I would have noticed it before this was definitly a dyno related problem no leaks when i drove on the rollers mucho leaks when i rolled off

Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1

Brady

did you ever re-torque after initial startup?

Birdie2000

I was just gonna say the same thing that Brady said. I'm looking into having my heads o-ringed, and that was one thing I was told to make sure of. If you don't re-torque them, you'll have problems, but simply re-torquing them after the engine has run once should seal it up nice and tight from what I'm told.

Jeff 96 SS

I didn't re-torq them I'm going to try that next week. I hope I'm not to late. I think I will also throw a couple of those cadilac pills in. I'll let everybody know how it turns out.

Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1

sleeperz28

No dont do it!!! Putting capcels into your cooling system will clog your radiator. As for head studs....Depending on what type of sealent was used will determine if its your studs leaking. I have had mine leak in the past, orange rtv seals them the best. Other sealants would burn up after the motor hit a certin temp. Since your on the dyno maybe your motor got hotter then usual and burnt up the sealant your builder used???

good luck

wingnut

I hate re-sealing head studs on 4th gen f-bodies. I would rather have teath pulled I used the sealent recomended on my last build and ran lean during tunning (got hot like sleeperz28 said). Now I have a slight leak in the dr rear two bolts (right up through the threads). I think I will wait to reseal depending on how bad the leak is after break-in. Weekend recer anyway.

Wingnut

Jeff 96 SS

I retorqued everything and took it out for a ride no evidence of leaks after the ride. A few of the nuts did feel a little loose so I hope that was it. Man what a PITA that was I hope I don't have to do that again. I plan to hit the track next weekend I'll let ya know how it does.

Thanks for the help guys!


Jeff
96 SS Blown
96 TA 396 D1