Pics of my 331 Trickflow build....

[BlackVert]

wow, that sucks man. i hope they are paying for everything, including the shipping. being at a similar point in my build (new motor just dropped in), i can imagine how bummed i'd be if that was happening to my motor.

at least you got a little taste of what it will be like. that must have been awesome!

my guess is that the heads weren't perfectly flat. even if they are new, they can still be a little off. that is why when my builder puts a motor together, he always recommends decking them before putting them on.

my guy just recently started my motor too ... i hope i don't have the same problem ...

 

[MattZ281LE]

I had the same issue with the dipstick on my 331 with girdle. It appears you cant run the dipstsick in the stock location in the block. I had a canton pan and moved it there. I think the girdle deflects the dipstick towards the rotating assembly.

As far as cometics. I had no issues with mine. I used no sealant, just ensured that the surface was well prepped and 100% clean. I use solvent to wipe down all surfaces prior to installing any gaskets. That was my first experience with them. I am trying the SCE ICS Titans this time.

Good luck. I would like to know what the cause of the leaking HG's

 

[gcomfx.com]

Everything was supposedly checked and double checked. I've heard of one other engine shop that stopped using Cometic gaskets in this area.

I had a new club member stop by last night that also has a 94-95 he's putting a turbo on. Well, he WAS having a shop do it, but after 2.5 months he picked up a tore down car.

Anyway, he got to see my car before I tore it down. Right now I'm down to the lower intake and fuel rail. I did get the driver side V/C off and checked the torque on the head bolts, they were all right where they should be.

I also grabbed the video camera. Got a small bit of the car idling, and even got a shot of the biggest leak on the front of the head.

One last thing, when I pulled the upper intake off. The center two chambers were soaked in oil. Any ideas on that one? I had the factory setup for the crank vent on the filler tube hooked up. No oil in my T/B. My PCV is hooked up. It seems to work. Didn't even blow it out of the lower intake.

I'm taking half a day off. My cousin got back early from taking one of their special needs kids to the hospital. So they are going to help me pull it this afternoon.

Ugh. Really not too happy. I'll post results when I get them. I'll post the video Monday hopefully.

 

[MattZ281LE]

Very frustrating...I know the feeling.

I have my opinion on shops in general. I found no good machine shops in my area. I ended up finally finding one shop with an ower that I could relate to. Its a 3hr trip each way though.

I was told that surface prep for cometics is essential. That includes level surfaces.

Hard to say on the oil. Post up some pics of the dissasembly, maybe we can see the details and get some opinions up.

 

[gcomfx.com]

The guy I went to has installed hundreds of Cometic gaskets. He says he's never had one do this. When the car was on the lift. It looked like the water was coming out from INBETWEEN the metal of the gasket. That could be an optical illusion though. Not a very big gap to judge from.

 

[blkcobra50]

Sorry to hear about all these issues you are having.

When I put my 331 together I used a Canton 7qt pan and fitment was great. The part number is 15-620S. The 15-620 does not clear a main girdle so make sure if you pick up this type of pan it is the 15-620S part #. The pan is closer to the ground but clears the stock k-member with prothane motor mounts. The T-style pan is a nice pan also, I've heard of problems with clutch cables but you have an AOD so that won't be an issue.

The only thing that I found was a little bit of a pain is that with the kit I purchased...Pan, girdle, pickup tube, dipstick and windage tray...the canton dipstick did not touch oil in the provision on the pan when 7 qts of oil were in the pan. I plugged the stock oil hole and used the pan provision but cut the stock dipstick to where I knew the pan was full and with no crank hitting issues. Works well now.

The oil in the intake could be oil getting past the PCV from increased crankcase pressure. If you take a look at the PCV grommet, valve and connections is there any oil collecting anywhere?

Keep us posted. Good luck

John

 

[BlackVert]

I have my opinion on shops in general. I found no good machine shops in my area. I ended up finally finding one shop with an ower that I could relate to. Its a 3hr trip each way though.

you should go see my guy, you might like him. he's just outside of DC in PG county

http://www.precision-engine.com/

 

[gcomfx.com]

I thought everything around DC was PG-13 or higher.

 

[yellow1995Cobra]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Totally sucks ! Hopefully you get it all squared away quickly

I have a used knockoff canton 7qt pan if you want it. It was in a shipping accident so its a little bent up on the bottom but im sure you could bang it out pretty easily. Just pay shipping and its yours. Pm me for pics.

 

[gcomfx.com]

I don't think I'll need the pan. Going to stick with the stock one at this time, but thanks for the offer.

Okay, here is the update. Friday I took a half day off from work. I wasn't really sure if we could pull the engine out by 5:00, but we made it! 4 hours and it was out of the car.

Just in time to pickup my kiddo for the w/e and haul the engine back to the builder in KS. We dropped it off, and he was shaking his head. I asked him if he wanted me to show him where it was leaking. He said No. I can see it.... everywhere.

Sunday he called me. He had torn it all down. The Cometic gaskets sealed to the block, and to the heads. They failed in between. They not only failed, they failed miserably. The places I seen the leaks was just where is was building up and dripping off. He said the inner gasket material was soaked with oil all over, BOTH head gaskets.

He's now trying to determine what to replace them with. Apparently Felpro doesn't make a gasket thick enough for my needs. I think he said mine needs them 4 thousands thick... Don't quote me on that.

On the pan, he said it'll be an easy fix. He's going to add a couple inches to the dipstick tube in the block. It was bouncing off the girdle into the crank. He's also going to weld on new plugs for the bottom of the pan.

So once we figure out what to do with the headgaskets, I should be back in business. I know many of you are experienced mechanics and our engine pull may not impress you. But I have to say, I'm real proud that this computer geek and a shade tree mechanic could pull this engine in 4 hours. I know it won't go back in that fast, but it shouldn't take too much longer.

 

[final5-0]

Wow Paul

I can only imagine how bummed all that made you feel

From what you tell us .....
It looks like your guy is gonna do the right thing

Sounds like you might have gotten some defective hg's

If that is the case here ....

Based upon my past experiences with projects like this .....

There can be an issue or two that that might arise after the build
and
After its all said and done ...
It could not have been avoided and was nobody's fault

Some of the time ... chit just happens

I wish you the best of luck and hope it all is easily made right

Grady

 

[gcomfx.com]

Bummed is right. I honestly don't know if I would have done this project knowing it was going to take this long. However, I'm here, so might as well finish it.

I think you are right, defective gaskets. Everything I've read about or seen, shows he did everything right. Just bum parts. Still not sure what he wants to put on the engine. Hoping I hear from him today.

I have a few things I'm going to do while the engine is out. Going to run a fresh tach wire to the wideband. It doesn't seem to be picking up the signal that well from the factory wire split for the monster tach.

Also going to wrap my starter wire with header wrap while I can get to it easier. Finish the putting the trunk together, the interior.... and if I have time, put a new CD player in the car. 3 day w/e coming up. I'm "hoping" to have the engine back in time to put it in over the w/e.

 

[ga94gt]

NIce build up man that thing looks awsome

 

[94GTLaserRC]

Man Paul...Ive been out for a week or so, and just started reading this again...I think I may sell my car afterall after reading this.
RC

 

[k00ksta]

EGR Valve clearance with the valve covers

Very nice looking engine. Makes me wish I woulda painted my block. Just a question, why are you running the intake spacer? If you're going to stick with the 94-95 TB setup, that makes sense, but you can just about as easily do the Fox setup and not have to worry about the spacer...right?

I had to also run a intake spacer to clear the egr valve ears from the valve covers and the upper intake. it would almost sit on top of it. Im running the track heat upper as well and pretty much the exact same motor build as him.

 

[gcomfx.com]

Man Paul...Ive been out for a week or so, and just started reading this again...I think I may sell my car afterall after reading this.
RC

I'll have this thing back on the road soon. Engine builder spoke with Cometic. They are working on a new gasket for our engines. It's a problem with the thickness and the material inside. They have a sealer they will be adding to them soon. In the mean time my builder was pretty confident the solution they gave him on the phone would work. I'll try to get him to tell me what it was when I pick up the engine. Cometic is replacing the gaskets at least.

If I can get the engine here by the 3 day w/e. We should have it in on Saturday and back on the road. I sure hope so. The following w/e is our Club Power Tour. If I have to drive the Focus instead of the stang, I'll be REALLY disappointed. Heck, I was hoping to have some timeslips by now.

 

[gcomfx.com]

I had to also run a intake spacer to clear the egr valve ears from the valve covers and the upper intake. it would almost sit on top of it. Im running the track heat upper as well and pretty much the exact same motor build as him.

What size T/B are you running? What heads? Do you have a tune?

I brought the video camera into work today. Hopefully I can make a quick movie on lunch of my idle. And my leak.

 

[MysteryMachine]

engine looks good man. Hope all the bugs get worked out in time

 

[gcomfx.com]

Vid as promised: http://www.100mphclub.com/movies/331_idle.mov 6.7MB

Car wasn't warmed up enough to idle in park, but did in gear. Figures. LOL I even snuck a vid of the defective gaskets in there. Water and oil coming out everywhere from both heads. This particular shot was the easiest to get on camera.

 

[blksn955.o]

Were are you guys cruising around? I will be down in your neck of the woods this weekend (not the lake).