Think it's time for a new engine....or replace the head gaskets

[carpeonnel]

Well I was on my way home tonight and about 12 miles or so from my house I notice a funny smell (kinda anti-freezy). Look at my gauges and the engines starting to get hot. Look in my rear view and I start seeing white smoke. Oh Sh$t! was my first thought. Well, truck was still running alright, still had oil pressure and the temp gauge would go up and then go down so I decided to limp it home. Well, when I reached town it was smoking like Dennis Leary. When I would take off from a stop light I would stop traffic until the smoke cleared. It started running like crap but it still had oil pressure and the temp was still hanging in there at like 230. So I got it home and the bastard is boiling smoke out the drivers side pipe and it's boiling water back up into the reservoir. No leaks, no knocks, and is actually running alright. So I figure I've blown a head gasket. The oil looks good and isn't foamy so would you say it's a safe bet it's a head gasket?

Either way I'm bout to have some engine work done inadvertently. I want to keep the TBI, but I what to have some more power. So what are my options? Would you rebuild the 5.7TBI I got or get a good crate engine from Summit or the like? If I buy a crate engine is there special considerations since it's TBI? I like the idea of a 383 (prob don't need it), but can I run it on my TBI? Anyway, throw some ideas my as to what you might do. I'd greatly appreciate it

 

[badmix]

A few questions.

1) how many miles on your present motor?

2) was it ever opened up b4?

3) whats your budget like?

4) what work can you do yourself or have to farm out?

If it were me. Id probably have your org. motor freshened up and gone thru. I like the idea of having the org. motors with the vehicles. Makes resale alot easier. And keep the receipts. YOu can get a bigger cam and bigger TBI, Holley makes a nice one. Look into your exhaust , make sure there are no restrictions in it. If you had the motor freshened up, I would get the heads checked, decked and some oversize SS valves put in with a typical 3 angle valve job and new seats. Maybe get the intake and exhaust ports port matched, also gasket match. THis helps get air in and out.

If you get a crate motor, it would be a fairly easy swap I would assume and you get a warranty which is nice. But if you soup it up or open it up to cam it up, you could void that warranty. I was going to go with crate motor in my truck, but I think ill just freshen up my motor with a typical .010-.020 bore and go thru the valves with new seats, etc.

Im looking for reliability more than anything, but thats me.

I see your running 4:10 gear with 38s. that has to kill your low end off the light power. Personally Id run 4:53 or maybe a lil higher with that size tire. Im running 4:10s and 33s and 700r IMO, its the perfect all around combo for my tire size. Just a thought. Proper gears wil wake your truck up alot.

 

[GNERGY]

When my 350 died I had a 383 built for $2400. installed. It runs at 9to1 compression. I like the extra low end torque and power over the 350.
It started out as a carb motor and I switched it to TBI when I bought my 91 burb. I had to change the cam to edelbrocks TBI cam. And I put a 454 throttle body on it.
I would do it again when ever this motor finally dies.
Tarey

 

[carpeonnel]

A few questions.

1) how many miles on your present motor?

2) was it ever opened up b4?

3) whats your budget like?

4) what work can you do yourself or have to farm out?

If it were me. Id probably have your org. motor freshened up and gone thru. I like the idea of having the org. motors with the vehicles. Makes resale alot easier. And keep the receipts. YOu can get a bigger cam and bigger TBI, Holley makes a nice one. Look into your exhaust , make sure there are no restrictions in it. If you had the motor freshened up, I would get the heads checked, decked and some oversize SS valves put in with a typical 3 angle valve job and new seats. Maybe get the intake and exhaust ports port matched, also gasket match. THis helps get air in and out.

If you get a crate motor, it would be a fairly easy swap I would assume and you get a warranty which is nice. But if you soup it up or open it up to cam it up, you could void that warranty. I was going to go with crate motor in my truck, but I think ill just freshen up my motor with a typical .010-.020 bore and go thru the valves with new seats, etc.

Im looking for reliability more than anything, but thats me.

I see your running 4:10 gear with 38s. that has to kill your low end off the light power. Personally Id run 4:53 or maybe a lil higher with that size tire. Im running 4:10s and 33s and 700r IMO, its the perfect all around combo for my tire size. Just a thought. Proper gears wil wake your truck up alot.

1) about 140k on my orig motor
2)Only replaced the rockers with roller rockers
3)4-5K is the max I wanna spend, but as always cheaper the better and I don't really wanna spend that much but I could I suppose
4) I can change motors as I did it before with my 86 but do I particularly want to - not really. I've talked to the guy that did my father's drag truck engine and he's quoted me about $750 in labor for him to do it right, which I'm comfortable with as I don't really feel like focking with it (and I really trust him).

right now it's got hedman headers and flowmaster super 40s so my exhaust is right where I want it. How much power could I respectively get out of my orig motor without sacrificing alot of reliability? As far as gears I'm happy with my 4.10s right now. I've got no overdrive like your 700 so if I go to 4.56s I'm looking at turning 2800ish rpms to go 65. Right now i'm turning 2200 and it's fine. Would 4.56s help me off the line - yes. Do i need it - not really. I had planned on going to either a lomax or doubler in the future to get my crawl ratio lower, but I guess that's the FAR distant future now

 

[carpeonnel]

When my 350 died I had a 383 built for $2400. installed. It runs at 9to1 compression. I like the extra low end torque and power over the 350.
It started out as a carb motor and I switched it to TBI when I bought my 91 burb. I had to change the cam to edelbrocks TBI cam. And I put a 454 throttle body on it.
I would do it again when ever this motor finally dies.
Tarey

I like a 383 but I don't really have that much knowledge when it comes to TBI compared to carbs, so that's kind of the only thing that scares me. When it comes to crate engines, what do you have run differently? If anything? If I bought a crate motor could I just slap the TBI on and go? educate me please

 

[GNERGY]

I know the TBI cam has a shorter duration than a carbed motor cam. If you get a crate engine tell them it is a TBI motor.
Check around local and see if anybody builds engines and how much they would build you a 383 for.
Tarey
I put a 454 throttle body on it cause it was cheaper than having a 350 throttle body bored and buying different injectors. I found the 454 throttlebody at a bone yard off a 92 one ton dually for $125.

 

[carpeonnel]

well, nobody really local around me is worth a crap and i don't trust them. I drag racing buddy of my father quoted me about $2200 for his shop to turn my 350 into a 383, but I don't honestly know how good he is. That's why I'm kind of thinking about a crate motor, just because I'm very skiddish now of getting screwed when I let somebody else build something

 

[GNERGY]

Thats not a bad price. Ask around about him and his work. All he has to do is get a 400 crank, turn down some of the journals and clearance the block for the longer stroke of the rods and the usuals and put it together.
You could always tell him what cam and timing chain you want. It's only going to run 9 to 1 compression.
What kind of warranty will he give you. Don't forget times are bad and he might need the work and is giving you a good price. I got a 24,000 mile warranty when I had mine built.
Tarey

 

[carpeonnel]

Thats not a bad price. Ask around about him and his work. All he has to do is get a 400 crank, turn down some of the journals and clearance the block for the longer stroke of the rods and the usuals and put it together.
You could always tell him what cam and timing chain you want. It's only going to run 9 to 1 compression.
What kind of warranty will he give you. Don't forget times are bad and he might need the work and is giving you a good price. I got a 24,000 mile warranty when I had mine built.
Tarey

truthfully I wouldn't really know what to tell as far as details about the motor. When it comes to motors I know the very basics I guess and usu the rest I ask my father. He's always been in to drag racing and I've always been into 4wheel. I usu go to him with engine performance issues. I'll prob gonna recruit him as my secretary to ask people questions . I wish he'd give me his engine as he's going to a 502 soon, but I doubt it

 

[GNERGY]

4X4 HIGH ( Scott ) will be able to give you good advice on an engine build cause that is what he does for a living. Maybe he can build you one and just ship it to you.
Tarey

 

[carpeonnel]

hhhmmm.... might have to shoot him a line and discuss things

 

[carpeonnel]

Have any of you guys ever dealt with motorcrate.com? They're located in Oregon and seem to have some pretty decent deals and pretty good motors

 

[carpeonnel]

well, I talked to the shop owner friend of my father's and prob just gonna see if he can replace the head gasket right now. He seems to think that it's prob just the head gasket and doesn't think I really f0cked anything up so I'm gonna trailer it to his shop. He quoted me $500-$600 bucks to replace the head gasket. So hopefully that's the only problem and i can get her back on the road

 

[parrothead200]

You may what him to check on the timing chain also. I had a similar issue with a carb motor that had about the same mileage. During the rebuild I noticed that the timing chain had stretched significantly and after talking to some trusted mechanics they enlightened me as to what high temps (230!) for extended periods (over 20 minutes) can do to your timing component. If this guy is going to get into your motor that far have him replace or at least check the condition of the chain. Just some friendly advice.

 

[carpeonnel]

not a bad idea. I'm just hoping that that's the only prob and I can keep this engine running til next year. I had planned on waiting til next year and getting it built into a 383, hoping to get it 4wheel ready this year

 

[parrothead200]

I only say that because it happened to me, just something to think about. If the engine still was running good when you shut it down it probably is not a problem but if this friend of yours is in there have him check it out. Also I would stick with the TBI if you are going to be doing any hill climbing or off camber driving. Plus those TBI units are super simple and as long as you don't start messing with the programming you should never have a problem with it. I have talked with a few mechanics that know about the systems and they did say stay away from the motors that came out in 87 with the TBI because of a very poor design in the heads andy manifold only in that year but if yours is stock for your 89 those heads should not be on your motor. Also if you have a 383 built make sure you have heads that will accept your TBI manifold because they are different from the other manifolds that are used on carb motors (bolt pattern).

 

[carpeonnel]

yeah I plan on keeping the TBI. My truck still runs alright. I cranked it up for a few seconds after I got back yesterday and it ran fine. Just smoking like a beotch. Gonna have to crank it up one more time to get it on the trailer. Don't figure that's gonna hurt it anymore just to get it on the trailer. Do you think it would be worthwhile to go ahead and have both heads pull and both gaskets replaced since they're already gonna be part way there. I'll have to ask him how much more it will cost, but if he's gonna do one I don't see why I just wouldn't get him to do the other and check it out

 

[parrothead200]

No, if you have duel exhaust and it is only coming out one side then it is only a problem on that side and there is no benefit of replacing both. It's wasted money. It smokes as soon as you start it? Is it white smoke or is it steam? White smoke is oil and I don't know if your problem is water and a head gasket issue. Plus usually water getting into the combustion chamber takes a while to produce smoke (steam) as it takes some time for the engine to warm up. Bottom line, take it to your freind and let him see what it's doing. Then go from there.

 

[Fordum]

I'm not all that far from you in distance, but I must be a long way in mechanics. $500 just to replace a head gasket sounds awfully steep to me. Now if he is going to machine the head, true the deck, and maybe a valve job, that sounds about right.
And at those prices, I can see why you would only do one.
But personally, unless you are just trying to get through a couple more months before a major rebuild, there is no way I would replace the gasket on just one side.
For one reason, both of them were put on at the same time, and so they should be in about the same shape.
One failed, how long will the other last?
Plus, the new gasket will be different from the other one. If its the same brand and type, it will still be thicker than the old one just from being newer. And if its a different make, odds are it will not be the same. Which means one side of your engine now has more compression than the other. How much more? No telling. If he trues the head gasket surface on grinder or milling machine, then there is going to be a lot of difference.
Of all the head gaskets I have put on or had put on over the years, the only time when I put only one on one side, was when I screwed up one side installing it and found it when I cranked the engine. Otherwise, its always pairs for me.

 

[carpeonnel]

no it's definitely smoke, not steam. $500 is for everything on that side. I think your train of thought is kind of like mine on replacing both of the head gaskets. But then again if I have both heads off and gonna rebuild the top end it seems as though I may as well rebuild the whole damn thing. I dunno. Just gonna take it to him when I get back in town and let him check it out. Now I will say his prices are a little higher than most on just about everything but he is very particular about his work. he won't cut corners on anything (think he's kind of OCD), so if he's s little higher than most it doesn't surprise me