Eike

Hi,

when I started my new 383 there was a huge white cloud behind the car. I adjusted the fuel pressure to get AFR 12-14 and the white smoke was gone. Engine was running stock tuned for about five minutes so far @ idle and up to 2000 rpm.

Today I wanted to measure the compression ratio and got a lot of water trough the pressure gauge :-(

As I just got an usb-endoscope (cheap china stuff) I took a look and got shocked gazing at all the water. Took a look at all other cylinders and they are fine. So the problem is definitely limited to the first one.

I was very careful getting heads and intake on. The heads are brand new AFR 195, milled to 70cc. Super Ram intake is used but worked fine at my old engine.

Can you give me some advice where to look for the leak? What is located around the first cylinder that could act as such a huge leak?

I applied some pressure to the cooling system while looking at the open intake valve but did not get water in.


Best wishes
Eike

EDIT: uploaded some pics ...


water at the spark plug hole after turnung the engine:




some waterdrops at the intake valve:




the piston is very clean, so the leak should exist already before I started the engine the first time:







I turned the engine (by starter motor) while the endoscope stayed at the spark plug hole. A huge amount of Water was spraying against the camera (all the green stuff):







I captured a video of turning the engine with the starter motor: http://jd-astronomie.de/vette91/383_...e_water_01.wmv

slow motion 50%: http://jd-astronomie.de/vette91/383_...e_water_02.wmv

slow motion 25%: http://jd-astronomie.de/vette91/383_...e_water_03.wmv

Just BOB

Was the back side of the intake valve dry? If it was wet, I'd suspect the intake gasket leaking. If it was dry, run the piston to the bottom of the compression stroke, pressurize the cooling system and watch for cracks in the bore. If the water trickles down from above it could be the head gasket, or if the heads are brand new, it could be a defective head.

DanielRicany

I was thinking the same thing. A leaking intake gasket could let water travel from the water passages to the intake ports. And especially because you say cylinder 1. Cylinder 1 and cylinder 2 are the closest to the water passages in the manifold. Check your oil, see if it has a milky white look to it, if it does, I wouldn't suspect a head gasket or head, I would suspect an intake gasket leak. If you pull the intake off and don't see anything that would make you think it is a bad intake gasket, then pull the head off. Get yourself a set of feeler gauges and a straight edge, call AFR and ask what the maximum allowed clearance is in the head. Then do the same with the deck. Look up what the maximum allowed clearance is for a 350 SBC.

I think there is a name for this measurement but I just can't think of it right now. Good luck!

envirotrans

This is were a leakdown tester is needed or pull the plug and put air pressure into the cylinder with the rockers off. check the cooling system for air with the piston at tdc then at bdc if no air comes out of the cooling system that means no cracks in the liner or head or head gasket. That leaves the intake gasket as the most likely cause of the leak.

Eike

I found it

The good news is an intake-bolt without sealant. Now I'm wondering to keep the 1010 head gasket or not. Many guys on this forum got a failure and changed to 1003 ...

envirotrans

That's good news, you may have dodged a very big bullet, if the cylinder had filled up with to much coolant it forms a hydraulic lock and will do major damage. DID you have just water in it or antifreeze????? If you had antifreeze in it drain the oil and change the filter before you restart it or do a compression test. If just water drain out a small amount of oil and check for free standing water. if you find water drain it and and filter. After you get it running again do a compression test on that cylinder, if it is ok then run the engine nonstop for about 30 minutes at operating temp to dry it out, then change the oil and filter again when hot to get the water out of the motor. Did you do a pressure test before you pulled the intake?


Mm

Dominic Sorresso

You may want to switch out the Felpro 1010. They have been known to fail. I have attached pics of my own experience w this gasket. You'll find other examples at 3rd Gen if you search there. My #7 spark plug was steam cleaned. The heads were TFS 23D 190cfm w 64cc chambers.
This particular failure happened about 8 years ago.