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What's the blue flash on the rear passenger side of the engine? It looks like spark is jumping around.

Now that you have it running, what's the plan for the cam break in run I remember reading about?
C'mon now,......there's a timing light laying on top of the engine.

No break in required Jrich, This is a solid roller. You were reading the first chapter and must've missed chapter 3 where i decided to have a custom roller made, and cut the side of the engine open to relink 460 roller lifters back together.
 
We were way up,


Andddd now we're back down.

It's never ending.

Pulled Medusa off to get coated, and didn't like what I found.

There was an oil leak coming from the back of the engine somewhere and w/ the exhaust manifold in place, couldn't make out whether or not it was the oil sender, the cover plate, or the dipstick tube fitting ( all on the driver's side of the engine).All I could tell for sure was that it was dripping pretty decently coming off the back of the crossover water hose that I will fix once I got Medusa removed.

Turns out though that the oil leak is coming from the rear of the head on the exhaust side of the head, running down the block, and dripping off at the lowest point of the hose.

(Clearly,....I also must've missed that area w/ the Hylomar when I had the HG off) Only this time, there's no easy to remove water pump block off plate to expose some magic, unplugged hole.

That isn't even the part that concerns me.

This is:

920CE4A4-63F5-4789-95A9-1F469DEC5039_zpsf2kdkhln.jpg

That's Number 1 wet with engine oil. Spark plug was equally wet. The brownish splatter you see around the plug hole is a little water that must've ended up in the spark plug hole, and got cooked out during one of the many times it spewed water from this place or that. You can see #2 starting to color up nicely, and for the most part 3-6 look like #2, w/ #6 being a little sooty. I pulled the valve cover hoping like hell to see either a missing, or broken valve seal,..but they're there, both I and E.

I'm guessing the only thing that would cause this this early in the game is a broken oil ring?:shrug:

The only other thing I guess it could be is a non-firing plug, but I had that timing light on that wire and it worked perfectly, so spark is traveling down that wire, and the engine idles decently enough for it not to be wired out of order any more.
 
We were way up,


Andddd now we're back doexperienceds never ending.

Pulled Medusa off to get coated, and didn't like what I found.

There was an oil leak coming from the back of the engine somewhere and w/ the exhaust manifold in place, couldn't make out whether or not it was the oil sender, the cover plate, or the dipstick tube fitting ( all on the driver's side of the engine).All I could tell for sure was that it was dripping pretty decently coming off the back of the crossover water hose that I will fix once I got Medusa removed.

Turns out though that the oil leak is coming from the rear of the head on the exhaust side of the head, running down the block, and dripping off at the lowest point of the hose.

(Clearly,....I also must've missed that area w/ the Hylomar when I had the HG off) Only this time, there's no easy to remove water pump block off plate to expose some magic, unplugged hole.

That isn't even the part that concerns me.

This is:

920CE4A4-63F5-4789-95A9-1F469DEC5039_zpsf2kdkhln.jpg

That's Number 1 wet with engine oil. Spark plug was equally wet. The brownish splatter you see around the plug hole is a little water that must've ended up in the spark plug hole, and got cooked out during one of the many times it spewed water from this place or that. You can see #2 starting to color up nicely, and for the most part 3-6 look like #2, w/ #6 being a little sooty. I pulled the valve cover hoping like hell to see either a missing, or broken valve seal,..but they're there, both I and E.

I'm guessing the only thing that would cause this this early in the game is a broken oil ring?:shrug:

The only other thing I guess it could be is a non-firing plug, but I had that timing light on that wire and it worked perfectly, so spark is traveling down that wire, and the engine idles decently enough for it not to be wired out of order any more.

Oily plugs: valve seals, rings, sloppy valve guides, or lack of cc ventilation.... or, what i experienced, oil going past the turbo seals..

I had cc vent issues and that may have been what killed my chinee turbo, but it sho nuff pushed it past the seal when it backed up in the drain hose due to excessive cc pressure..
 
Oily plugs: valve seals, rings, sloppy valve guides, or lack of cc ventilation.... or, what i experienced, oil going past the turbo seals..

I had cc vent issues and that may have been what killed my chinee turbo, but it sho nuff pushed it past the seal when it backed up in the drain hose due to excessive cc pressure..
I only have one plug that could be considered oily
 
I hate to say it, but I highly doubt that you have bad valve seals (unless of course the guide is as sloppy as a hot dog sliding down a bowling lane). I would leak the motor down first to check the ring seal.

FWIW, I don't run any valve seals on my exhaust valves and never have any oil in my cylinders.
 
Just
I hate to say it, but I highly doubt that you have bad valve seals (unless of course the guide is as sloppy as a hot dog sliding down a bowling lane). I would leak the motor down first to check the ring seal.

FWIW, I don't run any valve seals on my exhaust valves and never have any oil in my cylinders.
just did the first of the two typical cylinder pressure tests, cold cranking compression all cylinders are w/i 5-10 lbs of each other, w/ the #1, and the #6 being the highest of the bunch. Gonna leak #1 when I get home.

I'm a little more confident that it's not a ring seal thing, and more likely some other way oil is getting in through the intake port. I'll know in an hour
 
Today I went and bought two new diagnostic tools: I bought a compression tester, and a leak down tester.

But,..........

I bought them from Harbor Freight.

I looked into the purchase reviews on the leak down tester. People complained that the instructions were vague, and hard to understand. Some didn't like that the tester was calibrated to work at 15 P.S.I. Those that liked it, said that the instructions weren't that hard, and that the fact that it was intended to work at 15 P.S.I. would reduce the chance of high pressure just pushing the piston back down in the bore. They did state that the instructions provided w/ the tool was incorrect, and some listed their remedy for getting the thing to work, and the 39.00 price was about half of what a "name brand" piece would cost.

So I bought it.

I performed the compression test first. So as to have a reference to compare the suspect #1 cylinder, I started at number 6 and worked forward.

It went like this: ( cold, with the throttle closed)
6. 170
5. 160
4. 165
3. 160
2. 160
1. 165

At least there was consistent cylinder pressure.

When I opened the leak down tester, I first followed the instructions that were provided.

Leakage said 0%, but I could here air escaping into the crankcase, so I knew that was wrong.

I looked online for the "corrected" instructions, and followed those instead.

Now there was 40% leakage. I checked another cylinder, and it read 40% leakage.

I disconnected the hose from the engine and let the air blow out of that nozzle that screwed into the plug threads to see what the gauge said the leakage was when it should be 100%

It said 60%.

I dicked around w/ changing the settings till I got the thing to read around 20-25%, but it didn't stay consistent. Some times air wouldn't even come out the hose that screwed into the cylinder.

I'm saying that gauge is a piece of junk.

I really hate spending 80.00+ on a gauge solely for the purpose of telling me that I have air escaping into the crankcase, then putting it back in the box for 10 years.

But 40.00 bucks for this piece of crap is 100 % wasted. I'm taking it back tomorrow. It is unfortunately one of the tools that has a disclaimer on it w/ a "restocking fee" if you try to bring it back for a refund.

I did remove the intake, oil is not getting in there that way.

What ever tool I end up with tomorrow, I'm gonna stick a heat gun in the exhaust port and open the exhaust vale all the way, and heat that cylinder up so I can get a better idea of how it seals when it's hot. I still am removing the head regardless, The copper HG has spent it's last minute on that engine.

I spoke w/ Cometic again a few days ago and asked if they could make me a composite gasket for the thing, and I'll just let the gaskets' limitations be my max boost target. He want's to see my gasket. I'll send it to him tomorrow, after I leak that cylinder down w/ a real gauge.

He said that he may be able to make me a MLS piece, but wouldn't know that until he sees it. ( I don't know what's changed w/ them, but if they can make me an alternative to a stinkin' copper HG, they're doing it.)
 
Blow down compression tester AKA Leak down compression tester. This is from my days as an licensed Airframe & Powerplant aircraft mechanic. Most of the parts can be sourced through Harbor Freight if that is any comfort.
See the attached document , One small change: use a number 60 drill bit (.040) for the orifice .

You will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which is also a free download – Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Install for all versions

Or if you like one with much better pictures, see How to Make Your Own FAA Spec Leakdown Tester - evolutionm.net
 

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@jrichker,@84Ttop,@Boosted92LX,@rbohm, @mikestang63 @srtthis,@RacEoHolic330

Now I'm really conflicted.

If my home made from Jrichkers leak down tester is to be trusted (i.e. pic enclosed)

51E24A07-4EBD-42F5-9D3E-6307F988DD11_zps4e7sqhvj.jpg


I have race engine leakage. ( which isn't far from the truth, I have great pistons, and a great ring set.) but I didn't think those numbers were realistic on anything but the most professionally prepped engine. (and this is not one of them)

#1 has 7% leakage
#2 is 10%
3 is 12 %
4 is 10%
5 is 12%
and 6 is 7%

The above numbers almost follow the static cold cranking compression test exactly, w/ #'s 1 and 6 being the highest compression, and the lowest leakage.

I'm now really hesitant to remove that head save for two reasons:

1. Where the hell is that oil coming from? (bad injector?) too much fuel, not enough fire?
If the HG is somehow leaking and allowing oil to get sucked into the chamber, that cylinder should've been compromised across the board. WTF?
2. The rear oil leak at the back of the HG that is allowing oil to run down the back of the engine. How would I stop that if I keep the head on there? It has to be drain back oil, the old pressurized oil outlet that used to feed the stock rocker rail was tapped and plugged

I am now at a complete loss for what to do.


***EDIT after repeating the compression test to double ck the numbers, it's blowing oil out the #1 sparkplug hole,.....head's coming off.
 
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OK, I'm no expert by any means, But what's this look like to you?
CCCD1E41-90EB-4C3D-AE3F-8E1FF31325F4_zpsqyndzaj3.jpg

1,2,3
60CAFDDF-60F6-43B3-B1D2-542E7811754A_zpsc6fgakvn.jpg

4,5,6
D26FCC6B-B825-4B80-B688-110DA89542F4_zpslrbqjyzx.jpg

1,2,3
487AA411-99C5-4946-975F-73F5F5E12EC5_zpsaobvf9ok.jpg

4,5,6.

I'll tell ya what I think:

Water.

The last time I saw an engine this nasty, it had blown a HG. I think that water may have gotten into the chamber through that damn hole that water was running out the front of, and was actually getting into the engine that way. I think maybe reversion sucked some of it out of one, and redistributed to some of the other cylinders via the intake, as cylinders 1-5 show signs of water cleaning the piston. For what ever reason, 6 (the one that I said was all sooty)clearly didn't partake from the supply. I don't have any other guesses as to how it got there, but i do know this:


I am 100% NOT gonna put this piece of junk HG back on the engine.

It goes to Cometic in the morning.
 

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OK, I'm no expert by any means, But what's this look like to you?
CCCD1E41-90EB-4C3D-AE3F-8E1FF31325F4_zpsqyndzaj3.jpg

1,2,3
60CAFDDF-60F6-43B3-B1D2-542E7811754A_zpsc6fgakvn.jpg

4,5,6
D26FCC6B-B825-4B80-B688-110DA89542F4_zpslrbqjyzx.jpg

1,2,3
487AA411-99C5-4946-975F-73F5F5E12EC5_zpsaobvf9ok.jpg

4,5,6.

I'll tell ya what I think:

Water.

The last time I saw an engine this nasty, it had blown a HG. I think that water may have gotten into the chamber through that damn hole that water was running out the front of, and was actually getting into the engine that way. I think maybe reversion sucked some of it out of one, and redistributed to some of the other cylinders via the intake, as cylinders 1-5 show signs of water cleaning the piston. For what ever reason, 6 (the one that I said was all sooty)clearly didn't partake from the supply. I don't have any other guesses as to how it got there, but i do know this:


I am 100% NOT gonna put this piece of junk HG back on the engine.

It goes to Cometic in the morning.


Is the middle intake valve in the (edit)3rd pic really damaged as it appears?
 
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