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Small block top end questions

plumber mike

plumber mike

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 7, 2008
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Location
Lead, So Dak
One of my service trucks started blowing white smoke out the exhaust like 007.Laid about 1000 miles on it like this because I had to.Now it's time to repair it and I'm a plumber/wannabe mechanic.There is no antifreeze in the oil so an old timer told me it could be an intake gasket instead of what I thought as a blown headgasket/head.I was going to order my parts from summit to have here before teardown(it's a pre 81 350 in an 85 K10)and I don't know what to get.They list several bore sizes,so do I have to take it apart and measure before I order?I have also heard that head bolts are not reusable.Do I want new ARP(reusable in case I do it wrong?)studs or bolts?If I pull the distributor and mark the rotor can I just put it back the same without having timing issues?Is upgrading to 1.6 roller rockers just a bolt in affair while i'm in there?Do I need to worry about valve lash or stuff like that?Do I need to take the heads to a machine shop or are there things that i can check myself?Would I be better just buying new heads?
Just wordering what I'm getting myself into and pumping myself up.I figure I need/want to learn this stuff and the worst I can do is blow the motor:crazy:
That I know how to swap.Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted you guys to have all the info.Thanks in advance for all your help:D
 
Are you using water? Doubtful that it is an intake gasket. No water in oil because it is burning up in combustion chamber. Probably just a head gasket. You can get by on the cheap by having the heads surfaced for under a $100. Use a good gasket (FelPro). Every autoparts store should have gaskets in stock. Don't use a 1.6 rocker, you might start pulling valve studs out. Use the stock rockers. The machine shop should be able to supply you with the Headbolts. You can probably do this whole job following a manual in one long afternoon/ evening(not including machine shop time) if you keep it stock and come in under $200. Keep it simple. This is your service truck that you use for work!
 
plumber mike said:
One of my service trucks started blowing white smoke out the exhaust like 007.Laid about 1000 miles on it like this because I had to.Now it's time to repair it and I'm a plumber/wannabe mechanic.There is no antifreeze in the oil so an old timer told me it could be an intake gasket instead of what I thought as a blown headgasket/head.I was going to order my parts from summit to have here before teardown(it's a pre 81 350 in an 85 K10)and I don't know what to get.They list several bore sizes,so do I have to take it apart and measure before I order?I have also heard that head bolts are not reusable. Head bolts are reusable, but a fastener like that it's a good idea to replace. I've gotten by with reusing the stock ones several times though. However, ARP's are cheap insurance. Do I want new ARP(reusable in case I do it wrong?)studs or bolts?If I pull the distributor and mark the rotor can I just put it back the same without having timing issues? You can get the timing very close to where it originaly was. It would be a good idea to have it checked with a light soon after you get it running. Is upgrading to 1.6 roller rockers just a bolt in affair while i'm in there? No, the gain isn't really worth the cost. Especialy on a work truck. Do I need to worry about valve lash or stuff like that? Yes, valve lash is simple to do. Any repair manual will outline the prodcedure. Do I need to take the heads to a machine shop or are there things that i can check myself? Not a bad idea to have them checked for cracks/resurfaced. Sucks to put a cracked head back on the engine. Would I be better just buying new heads?
Just wordering what I'm getting myself into and pumping myself up.I figure I need/want to learn this stuff and the worst I can do is blow the motor:crazy:
That I know how to swap.Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted you guys to have all the info.Thanks in advance for all your help:D
Click to expand...


How many miles are on the motor?

When putting the distributor back in, if you haven't turned the motor over any, it should drop back into the same relative postion. Mark the body in relation to the intake, and the rotor to the body. It's a good idea to bring #1 up to TDC.

Valve lash is easy to do. Make sure the cam is on the base circle (anywhere but the lobe) for the cylinder you're working on. Tighten down the rocker nut untill all the slack is out of the pushrod, twising it while you tighten the rocker is an easy way to tell this. Then give the nut an extra 1/2-full turn. It's possible to do half the valves, then turn the motor to another position and do the other half. But I just follow the firing order. There's and acromyn for doing this, but I can't rember it (too early for me :rolleyes:).
 
toomany said:
Tighten down the rocker nut untill all the slack is out of the pushrod, twising it while you tighten the rocker is an easy way to tell this. Then give the nut an extra 1/2-full turn.
Click to expand...

So it's not misinterpreted, when talking slack, we talk about vertical movement, not "slack" that might be perceived from the free rotation of the pushrod.

The pushrod is rotated while the nut is turned, as SOON as you feel any resistance to turning the pushrod, that's where you go for the 1/2+ turn and stop. Might take a time or two to get the feel for it, but once you do it's pretty simple.

Only reason I mention this is because it's happened a few times on here..people tighten the rocker nut until they can't rotate the pushrod anymore (no slack, right? heh) which hangs the valves open.
 
Never mind, I just clicked on the link and read the article. That would be one long valve adjustment. Does anyone actually do that???

Martin
 
plumber mike said:
One of my service trucks started blowing white smoke out the exhaust like 007.Laid about 1000 miles on it like this because I had to.Now it's time to repair it and I'm a plumber/wannabe mechanic.There is no antifreeze in the oil so an old timer told me it could be an intake gasket instead of what I thought as a blown headgasket/head.I was going to order my parts from summit to have here before teardown(it's a pre 81 350 in an 85 K10)and I don't know what to get.They list several bore sizes,so do I have to take it apart and measure before I order?I have also heard that head bolts are not reusable.Do I want new ARP(reusable in case I do it wrong?)studs or bolts?If I pull the distributor and mark the rotor can I just put it back the same without having timing issues?Is upgrading to 1.6 roller rockers just a bolt in affair while i'm in there?Do I need to worry about valve lash or stuff like that?Do I need to take the heads to a machine shop or are there things that i can check myself?Would I be better just buying new heads?
Just wordering what I'm getting myself into and pumping myself up.I figure I need/want to learn this stuff and the worst I can do is blow the motor:crazy:
That I know how to swap.Sorry for the long winded post but I wanted you guys to have all the info.Thanks in advance for all your help:D
Click to expand...

You dont neccessarily have to get the heads machined. Just use a machinist's rule and see how flat the head surface is. Take measurements from all directions across each combustion chamber.
I agree with leaving the engine factory. 1.6 rockers might be fine for a little bit it will wear valve guides quicker and put more load on the whole valve train. I recomend a quality aftermarket set of roller tipped 1.5 rockers. They are usually constructed from better materials and machined to greater tollerances than the OEM ones.
I say use some quality factory replacment gaskets. Brand doesnt really matter, all that matters is thickness of the gasket.
 
Thanks for all the great advice guys.I said it is my work truck,and I work all of my trucks.But it is also one of my babies and I want to treat it right.I'm going to tear it down this weekend and take the heads in.Will they be able to tell me the correct bore size gasket to get? The motor was supposed to have about 12K on a rebuild when I bought it and I've laid another 12K on since I've had it.Maybe it was put together poorly.Maybe the head was warped/cracked prior to that rebuild causing gasket to go out early.I guess I will find out this weekend.Are 1.5 roller rockers worth the spend? I've got some cash tied up in this truck so why stop now:crazy:
 
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