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Water leak. any ideas? UPDATED.
#1609823
04/20/14 03:33 AM
04/20/14 03:33 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
rebel
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
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i bought an engine last year from a member on here. it was a fresh build with newish looking parts from a proper engine builder. the engine has constantly leaked water into the oil from day one. i'm down under so there's no chance of any recourse from the build so i had to pull the engine & go searching myself.
originally i thought the machined surface on the alloy heads was too rough for cometic gasket to seal so i had them replaned to a smoother surface. that made zero difference so now the engines out on the stand being stripped.
on the strip down, when i pulled the oil pan i saw a water smear of oil/water coming from the front of the block on the pan. looking around the bottom of the cam chain saw more mixture, i though i was onto something. removed the front timing cover & we had a small amount of mixture but no sign of where it may have come from. there's no galleries in this section so i'm confused. anybody seen anything like this before?
Last edited by rebel; 04/24/14 07:08 PM.
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609830
04/20/14 10:17 AM
04/20/14 10:17 AM
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,675
Akron, Ohio U.S.A.
roadhazard
master
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master
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,675
Akron, Ohio U.S.A.
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I'd check for a crack in the lifter valley sides. You may have to do a pressure check and heat the block for it to appear. Might be more pronounced with the heads bolted on and torqued  so get a visual before yanking the heads. Sorry to see and hope it's a simple fix 
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: AAR-B4]
#1609834
04/20/14 07:51 PM
04/20/14 07:51 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
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aotearoa
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Quote:
That is a head scratcher.......
When you removed the heads, any indication that a gasket was leaking into the lifter valley?
no, the copper coat on the gasket was rather fresh so it left a nice imprint on the head & the block. i've ruled out a head gasket leak already.
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: MR_P_BODY]
#1609835
04/20/14 07:53 PM
04/20/14 07:53 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
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aotearoa
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Quote:
I always put a can/bottle of Stop Leak in every rebuild
on my junk... never had any water issues
did that at the start but it didn't fix anything.
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: AndyF]
#1609836
04/20/14 07:59 PM
04/20/14 07:59 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
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Quote:
Pressure testing BB and Hemi engines is pretty easy. I sell a simple tool that bolts on to the water pump mounting surface. Just hit it with a little air pressure and look/listen for the leak.
i made a fitting for the pump connection yesterday a bit like that. i'm going to bolt my Torque plate on the block with another gasket so it's sealed up & give it a go with water pressure. one of my crew does testing of water mains so he has the tools. we'll test it to 20psi later in the week. if it's not the block we'll do the heads next. seems strange that the milky oil is only at one end. this i why i think its local to that part of the engine.
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609837
04/21/14 04:07 AM
04/21/14 04:07 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 781
wine country
8urvette
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 781
wine country
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Quote:
Quote:
That is a head scratcher.......
When you removed the heads, any indication that a gasket was leaking into the lifter valley?
no, the copper coat on the gasket was rather fresh so it left a nice imprint on the head & the block. i've ruled out a head gasket leak already.
what tests did you do to rule out a head gasket leak?
A pin hole would be very hard to see and may only leak when hot Just wondering.
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609839
04/21/14 09:33 PM
04/21/14 09:33 PM
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,800
South Lyon MI
sleddinfool
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,800
South Lyon MI
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Going off of bad memory here... When I picked my engine up, I was blabbing with the builder about weird builds. He says he had one that there was some type of plug back in behind the oil pump that had a whole drilled too deep and into the water jacket.. Not sure if it was a BB or a SB.. He said it was an easy fix by either filling the hole with sealer or tapping it and putting a plug in it?? Kevin
71 gtx.....
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609842
04/24/14 07:22 PM
04/24/14 07:22 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
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Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
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Quote:
we did the water pressure test last night, found the source of the water. it seems that the #6 bore has a crack in it. the water/oil sludge residue in the front must has been driven there by windage from the front of the windage tray. so it looks like its sleeve time for #6. the block had been 1/2 filled to a point nearly 1 1/4" above the crack so we were surprised water could creep down there. now i'm wondering if this had been done to fix this problem in the first place.
Thats a big crack... what I've seen on filled blocks
is that it shrinks a bit and doesnt seem to make a
total contact to the cyl walls... I've seen multiple
filled blocks leak water if a cyl cracks
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609844
04/24/14 09:43 PM
04/24/14 09:43 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
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Master
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Romeo MI
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Quote:
i bought this engine from a member on here. it came from his engine builder when the deal was done. i'm starting to think i got shafted on this deal as it's been a pig right from the start. problem with being on the other side of the globe i can't get any recourse from this. looks like it's a suck it up n pay to get it fixed deal.
I dont know about over there but a sleeve is $100
and thats what I would do.. I've done it on filled
blocks before(had it done)
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609845
04/25/14 12:13 PM
04/25/14 12:13 PM
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,131
New Lenox IL
cudadon
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,131
New Lenox IL
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Quote:
i bought this engine from a member on here. it came from his engine builder when the deal was done. i'm starting to think i got shafted on this deal as it's been a pig right from the start. problem with being on the other side of the globe i can't get any recourse from this. looks like it's a suck it up n pay to get it fixed deal.
I think you should disclose WHO sold it to you.
This could save someone else from a BAD deal!
Did you get it for a cheap price? (doesn't look good now though)
Don
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: rebel]
#1609848
04/25/14 11:52 PM
04/25/14 11:52 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
Master
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Master
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Romeo MI
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Quote:
i bought this engine from a member on here. it came from his engine builder when the deal was done. i'm starting to think i got shafted on this deal as it's been a pig right from the start. problem with being on the other side of the globe i can't get any recourse from this. looks like it's a suck it up n pay to get it fixed deal.
Did you run this engine after you bought it
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Re: Water leak. any ideas?
[Re: MR_P_BODY]
#1609849
04/26/14 01:08 AM
04/26/14 01:08 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,647
aotearoa
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yes Mr P i did. when i received the engine, it was obvious the heads were brand new & had been ported, i pulled the oil pan & checked things from underneath. the bearings were new, pistons looked new. the lower section of the bores looked brand new as well. with the engine being wrapped up like it was, i assumed the seller was correct in saying it was ready to go. all it needed was an intake manifold & a distributor & water pump & it was complete. we could even tell it had run in grease on the Purple shaft cam.
i pulled the springs & fitted some weak outters to run the cam in, refitted the springs supplied & took the car for a drive around our country roads. it never liked coming back to an idle after it had been cruising.
i was plagued with a few problems with other components in the early part. the Dominator was constantly misbehaving so i sold it & bought a new 950 Quickfuel which did run better but not by a great deal. the starter motor had a failure, but it was new so it got replaced. the battery was having issues but that turned out to be the alternator which i replaced with a new one along with the battery.
the car, my '71 'cuda had been in hibernation for a decade so i was chasing other issues before i concluded it was the engine itself. i made 3 passes down the track in this time before pulling the engine,
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If nothing is obvious, pressure check is the best way to find it.
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