Well as some of you may remember, I recently swapped heads and cam and promised a video of the final product... well, thats not going to be happening anytime soon. I took the car in to have it inspected and have some of valves adjusted since I couldn't seem to get it right at my house.

Well, it turns out I totally forgot to change my oil after I was done, don't know why, I guess I just got too caught up in trying to get rid of the tapping and trying to finish too many things at once. The mechanic told me my engine is now in very bad shape, they found quite a bit of antifreeze in the oil apparently. They said they COULD do somethings to help it out, but I probably won't ever get rid of the tapping and the engine will just simply not be reliable at all. My only other option is going to be a new small block. Could rebuild I guess, but if I do anything, I'm getting all new parts and block, and just making it an easier swap out.

Man, this really sucks, I put a lot of money and time into this and screwed the whole thing up by messing around with a couple minor issues. Looks like I'll be starting my future blown 383 WAY earlier than expected. I'm not putting any more money into the car unless it is going to be PERMANANT. Hopefully some of you guys planning to mod your cars read this and learn from my mistake.

 

what oil was in it? that shouldn't cause coolant in the oil...need more info.

 

Its amazing how overlooking a small detail can cause such an irreparable disaster. That's why its so important to NEVER rush and always think through everything. Sometimes even making a list helps.

I'm really sorry about what happened to you. Hopefully it works out.

 

If you had coolant in your oil your problems went BEYOND not changing your oil. Whatever happened would have happened anyways.

The purpose of changing your oil after a build is to drain out any crud that may have gotten in your engine after you tore it apart.

 

I just had regular 10W 30 conventional oil in it, I believe. I changed the oil and filter a couple months ago.

To be honest, I'd like to take another look at things myself and see whats going on... all this info is being fed to me from dad (who is pissed at me) from the mechanic. Apparently they found some coolant and metal shavings in the oil. I don't know how much of either was in the oil, but the guy is saying that usually when a chevy small block gets coolant in the oil, it's about done for. I think I remember slopping coolant into the crankcase and then saying "screw it, I change the oil right away anyways" .... which I obviously didn't do.

But I still have some hope for this engine as of right now.

 

You might be ok, it depends on how much coolant was in there and how long it cycled through the motor. You should be ok regarding the metal shavings because most of that should have been picked up by the oil pump pickup and oil filter before cycling through.

Just change the oil and monitor for any coolant loss. In the meantime, start saving up for the worst case scenario.

 

A little coolant that fell in from the work you did on the motor isn't great, but I doubt it's going to be the end of the shortblock.

 

I talked to the mechanic myself and got the scoop:

There was coolant filling about half the filter, some metal shavings, and some fuel because it is running rich. The oil and filter have been changed. His main concern was the metal, he thinks the rod bearings or something could have suffered, but I told him I got metal shavings in there as I was working so I'm hoping thats what those were. They don't want to touch the valvetrain, so when they get done with the inspection, we are towing it to the performance shop down the road and they should be able to adjust the valves for me and hopefully put an end to the tapping.

Why would it be running rich though? I have it tuned for the new injectors... Maybe the fuel got in there somehow when I kept trying to start it with the timing off? I don't know, but hopefully this performance shop can get everything working nicely.

BTW, I drove the car probably a good 5 miles or so to the shop and it had quite a bit of idleing time in my driveway as I tried to adjust the valvetrain myself. Hopefully I didn't damage anything.

 

If you were having that much trouble adjusting the valves/lash while the car was running you should have stopped and tried the non-running method. I find it quite easy, and I've done both.

 

I actually did do that at one point, twice actually, but each time there was always at least 2 valves that I didn't get right, so I would end up starting the car, trying to fix the few that were off, but somehow always ended up just starting over... don't ask how I had so much trouble, just pure inexperience I guess. Just couldn't get the right feel for it.

 

On my other car i replaced the intake gasket and i didn't drain the coolant so a little got in. I ran the car for 1 minute shut it off and changed the oil. Did this again after a 5 minute run and its been fine ever since. If you got coolant in the oil from your change it might survive if you can get the oil clean. If it was getting in there from engine damage that is a different story.

 

Shouldn't be getting in because of damage, I just spilled some in.

 

Damn it sucks to here this. I have been busy between work and getting my car ready for the shootout, but if there is time I can try and run out there to amish country and help you out if you need some help with it...

 

sorry to thear the bad news. i was wondering whatever happend with this. did you ever solve your oil pressure issue? try changing the oil a few times and hope for the best. my engine was a victim of a rich condition which diluted the oil with gas. but now im building a bigger better engine. if nothing else my engine breaking gave me a good reason to build a new one.

 

Well, hopefully once I run it to the high performance shop and get the valvetrain worked out, I should be good to go assuming I won't need a new block. I really appreciate the offer though, I'll let you know if I should need any help when I get it back. Too bad you didn't come down earlier maybe this wouldn't have happened lol.

Yeah, the oil pressure is ok now, nothing was ever wrong with it, it was just a broken sending unit. They changed the oil and filter today, once I get it back from the shops, I'll change both again, and again after I put some miles on it, and again until I get nice clean oil. I'm hoping the car isn't actually running rich, but maybe just got fuel in the crankcase from flooding it trying to start it so much without success.