LT1 Based Engine Tech 1993-1997 LT1/LT4 Engine Related

CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

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Old Aug 5, 2004 | 09:42 AM
  #46  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Hardee46360, man you are having some bad luck. You better get it fixed because if the Madden 2005 is better than NCAA Football 2005 it will be awesome.
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 10:01 AM
  #47  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by Hardee46360
Maybe i was upset when I posted, but it was not due to dirt, I am an X-ray tech, I work in surgury every day, I know clean! Like I said before the coolant issue must have been the problem, not the instalation. Still think the headaches and time and money spent would still not equal up to if I would of just crapped the LT1 and went with a crate motor, thats proubly what I am going to do now, besides lets face it, the LT1 is a hoar to work on, and it was an experimental engine for chevy, if it was so great they would still be making it today. Its powerful when new, but seems to require alot of work to keep it that way.
I can almost guarantee you that the coolant in the oil was the culprit, all it takes is one washed bearing for a second and the metal to metal contact. the softer bearing material will lose every time.

For instance, about a year ago I changed the cam in my cousins TPI motor in his 86 T/A, he had the responsibility of changing the oil before start up, he drained the oil and put in 2 quarts then got side tracked, we started the motor and it ran fine, I shut if off and checked it over looking for leaks, checking the oil showed no oil on the dipstick, I about crapped, he was behind the wheel and he said he didn't watch the oil pressure (he was 16 at the time). I assumed the worse but since it didnt sound bad I filled it with oil and took it for a drive, it lasted about 3 days then began a spun bearing tap.

A freind of mine as well blew a head gasket and his oil was milky, we drained the oil and flushed the block, replaced gaskets and oil, used a drill and spun the oil up into al the bearings (pre oiled) then started it up, it ran fine for a few days then crapped.

But on the other hand we have swapped cams and heads on numerous other cars and never had a problem.
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 10:15 AM
  #48  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

I think there seems to be a misconception about coolant burning up[ the bearings at a fast rate. It does not happen instantly. It takes driving around for a while with coolant in your oil for it to eat the bearings, also it eats them faster when the car is not running and it sits on the surfaces for a period of time. So many times in the service area we had cars come in with blown head gaskets that when the customer caught it right away, they had no problems afterwards. Some would come in after letting their car sit after blowing a head gasket that were completely ruined and needed all the bearings replaced. If you find a blown head gasket and immediately shut your car down and get it repaired ASAP and filled with new oil twice maybe more depending on how much got in the oil; then you will be safe. If you leave it for a few days or more, get a rebuild kit
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 10:35 AM
  #49  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

It's not the coolant "burning up the bearings" it's the loss of film strength in water-contaminated oil. You don't get friction from an engine that's sitting still, so let's not add to the misconceptions.

Running engine, loss of oil film strength, hydrostatic bearings = bad.

-Mindgame
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 10:41 AM
  #50  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by Mindgame
It's not the coolant "burning up the bearings" it's the loss of film strength in water-contaminated oil. You don't get friction from an engine that's sitting still, so let's not add to the misconceptions.

Running engine, loss of oil film strength, hydrostatic bearings = bad.

-Mindgame
No offense, but I work at a car dealership and after running your engine with oil/coolant and then shutting it down, the acid you just produced eats the bearings while it sits It also does it while running due to what you stated and it does it faster, but even so when you mix antifreeze with oil it creates a form of acid due to the chemicals in oil they add. Have you seen a bearing after sitting in oil/antifreeze? Have you seen a bearing after driving with the same concoction? Take a bearing and soak it in antifreeze/oil after heating up the mixture to 260 degrees, let sit for one day, look at the bearing afterwards
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 10:41 AM
  #51  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

i would have to say the dirt theroy could be true if you dont break the motor in. ive always seen a 30 min run time with straight 30wt then an oil change. this has never lead to problems.
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 02:01 PM
  #52  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

I've known people to run cars with blown headgaskets for a month, without spinning any bearings. I drove my Camaro for about two weeks with a headgasket blown, no spun bearings(it wasn't blown bad and I had no other choice at the time).
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 03:37 PM
  #53  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by FastZinTennessee
I've known people to run cars with blown headgaskets for a month, without spinning any bearings. I drove my Camaro for about two weeks with a headgasket blown, no spun bearings(it wasn't blown bad and I had no other choice at the time).
Did the blown headgasket blow between cylenders, to the lifter valey , or into a coolant passage?

The first two can be driven around for quite a while with nothing but a little extra tick noise and a loss of power as the key, the last would be alot more noticeable. Usually coolant into the oil making it milky and or water out the exhaust.
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 04:05 PM
  #54  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by grygst76
No offense, but I work at a car dealership
No offense taken.
By the way, your profile says you're a "beach bum". May want to clear that up.

and after running your engine with oil/coolant and then shutting it down, the acid you just produced eats the bearings while it sits It also does it while running due to what you stated and it does it faster, but even so when you mix antifreeze with oil it creates a form of acid due to the chemicals in oil they add. Have you seen a bearing after sitting in oil/antifreeze? Have you seen a bearing after driving with the same concoction? Take a bearing and soak it in antifreeze/oil after heating up the mixture to 260 degrees, let sit for one day, look at the bearing afterwards
No one is disputing the acidity of a glycol/motor-oil mix. Just making a point that that same mix, having extremely low viscosity, is going to lead to a scuffed bearing before acidity ever comes in play. We're talking about cars that typically get driven every day... only takes a minute of idling.

-Mindgame
Old Aug 5, 2004 | 04:10 PM
  #55  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by FastZinTennessee
I've known people to run cars with blown headgaskets for a month, without spinning any bearings. I drove my Camaro for about two weeks with a headgasket blown, no spun bearings(it wasn't blown bad and I had no other choice at the time).
I did notice some coolant consuption about a month before my heads blew, but I never noticed a lose ibn power or any white smoke, until the day it must of finally give, then nothing but a cloud of white smoke behind me. Also notcied that number 7 bolt was broken wich proubably led to the blown gasket, looked like it was broken for some time, thats also the place that the gasket broke! so maybe I was running coolant in engine longer than I thought.

PS. Sony decided to pick up the service charge for fixing my Playstation 2. I gave them a story and they bought it. I've had that thing for 4 years now
Old Aug 6, 2004 | 11:50 AM
  #56  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

I just gott say I did my CC305 and 1.6rr when i had 90k on the car, i have 120k now on the car and no problems.
Old Aug 6, 2004 | 12:16 PM
  #57  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

OK, I stopped reading after the second page... But for the record, I let coolant get everywhere. I didn't use towels. I scraped the remaining gaskets right into the cylinders laughing manically the whole time. And my car has about 4k on it since the head swap. And I haven't changed the oil yet. But I didn't do the cam at the same time.. I did the cam about 12,000 ago under equally sloppy circumstances. I guess some people just have better luck than others.
Old Aug 6, 2004 | 12:42 PM
  #58  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Originally Posted by Eddie95Z28
I guess some people just have better luck than others.
Yeah, there was some nut on TV the other day swimming around in shallow waters with a "school" of bull sharks. Probably the most aggressive shark out there, at least the one associated with most shark bites, and he made it out alive. I don't doubt he'll get bit one of these days though.

-Mindgame
Old Aug 6, 2004 | 01:34 PM
  #59  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

I also allways leave shop rags in the intake ports of the heads. It allways makes a nice little spark and flame like sparkler show out the exhaust on start-up. Sometimes I'll run a 1/2 cup of sand in with my oil for good measure
Old Aug 6, 2004 | 02:14 PM
  #60  
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Re: CAUTION!! About Hotcam and Heads

Well Aaron I Guess You Were Right About Catching A Lot Of Crap From The Guys By Posting While Pissed! I Do Believe There Is A Lot Of Experience On This Board And It Seems Like Most Of The Guys Have Good Input/advice When You Need It. We've All Had Our Share Of Problems, Thats Usually How We Learn. And Face It, With This Hobby There Are A Lot That Can Go Wrong No Matter How Careful You Are! Sorry About The Bad Luck, Hopefully Whitewater Rafting In A Few Weeks Will Go Betterfor You! I Know I Hope So Since We're Going With! When It Comes Time For The Rebuild Let Me Know And Ill Help You Out Instead Of Jay (who Might Be A Nice Guy But I Dont Trust) Chris



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