TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

I pulled my motor last weekend, due to dropping floor jack on my foot, I will be starting the tear down today. As previously stated, the car would burn oil at 1 quart per 100 miles. When I drained the oil for the pull, I found a glob of fine ground metal on the drain plug - again. So I am assuming this metal consist of my rings. Another wonderful fact - All 8 plugs were saturated with oil. #5 and #8 were the worst of the plugs, #5 had oil leaking from the plug hole - the plug was torqued properly and not cross threaded.

I'm going to document everthing I find in this motor and seek some form of compensation from the dealer that sold me this "certified POS" (Pre-Owned ****).

I'd like some help so I can determing the following:

Bad Rings - I would assume bad rings would scar the cylinder walls. Is there a way the rings can be measured to show how much they are worn? Or is it just painfully obvious when you see a bad ring?

Valves - How do I determine if the valves are still good?

Push rods - I would asume rolling a push rod on a level surface would tell you if they are bent.

Head warpage - I was thinking to use a level and check for gaps on the surface.

Block - I can measure for out of round, visual for cylinder wall damage, level and feeler gauges for being square...

Anything else I can check for while I'm in my garage?

The block is going to be machined, if salvagable, for this rebuild, but i need to get all my documentation together to approach this dealer and seek compensation.

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

for ***** and grins i ran a compression check. all cylinders were within 5% of each other except #2. Cylinder 2 was off 16% from my highest reading and 11% of my lowest (can post actual readings later).

Any other advice on what/how to check for damage would be helpful

todds87ss

Your compression is a good place to start...Sounds like the rings are not as bad as you think. Typically, oil loss to the cylinders comes from the valve train past the valves. Have the heads (valve guides) checked at a reputable machine shop, and ask for the results. Don't worry too much about the ground metal on the drain plug. I've never torn apart an engine or trans that didn't have some metal on the magnetic plug.
Sorry to hear about the foot...I did the same thing with a strut...danm near broke the foot!

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

Here's a before and after of the drain plug. The before sux because the camera focused on the wall, but, from the two images, you get an idea of how big a glob of metal was on the plug. I'll post some internal photos in the comming days...

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

my guess is cracked ring lands/cracked rings.......burning that much oil has got to be from no oil control on the cylinder walls.

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

I've set up a page at cardomain to post pics of the tear down. page 6 really shows the damage in the engine. I'll be posting updates on a regular basis.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/618615

I haven't taken the crank out yet, but I can see all kinds of no good in the motor so far. Let me know if something catches your eye in these pics.

amazing, the car (or the driver) ran a 13.1 on this crap......

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

WOW! thats even more oil on the pistons than I had with no rings/ringlands in my #7!

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

no **** man... Something ate this motor up bad. I should have the block completely stripped and pictures posted by Saturday evening.

What kind of abuse does this? NO2? FI? Running with out oil? All the above?

2001CamaroGuy

iTrader: (6)

is it possible that it was that out of tollerance when GM bored the block?

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

You're asking the wrong guy about possibilities... I believe anything is possible if you so long as you have the budget to back it up.

The car has 54k miles on it. I'm the 3rd or 4th owner. I would think if it was that far out of tollerance from the factory, it wouldn't have lasted this long.

Before to long, this is going to be a rompin' stompin' stroked 383. Now if I can just get Jim to send me the tracking numbers so I know when my stroker kit will get here...

Scalpel

iTrader: (4)

Using a level on your heads will not tell if they're warped. You must use a precision straight edge to lay across the head and use feeler gauges of different sizes to see if any can go under the straight edge and the head.

SAPPER

iTrader: (10)

Cannibal is very, very correct. To check tolerance of warpage, you must have, at a minimum, at actual machinists straight edge, @ $56. I used do work in a cylinder head shop, and if you're not sure what you're looking at, don't even attept to tear them apart. We used to charge more when people would bring us a basket case set of heads. Take them to a reputibal cyl. head shop and have them checked there. If you have the $$, invest in a new set. See Total Engine Airflow------------>
Bryan Tooley is a freind of mine and is by far the best in cylinder heads, I have ever seen.

Another_User

I think you might be better off buying those $999 heads at Summit Racing. At least then you know they have been checked and re-worked, plus have anice porting on top of it. I would just have the block and crank checked, have the shop put in new cam bearings for you, and assemble the rest at home.

Scalpel

iTrader: (4)

I'd get a seat of TEA heads. They ALWAYS perform right out of the box and have a 2yr/24,000 mile warranty, whichever comes first on the valvetrain.

TAQuickness

iTrader: (28)

All the components on this 383 stroker will be new with the exception of the block. However, since the motor was so royaly screwed, I'm wanting to inspect every nook and crany for damage. If you haven't checked out the pictures, visit my home page and see for your self. I've spent 6 days pulling the motor, tearing it down, and cleaning it up.

Since I have your attention, what's the best way to store the stock crank? I was thinking to degrease it, coat with wd40 then vacuum seal it.

jrp

iTrader: (16)

wow, great documentation . i dont think i'll take pics of my tear down. im interested to find out what the **** is wrong with my bottom end, spun main or rod bearing is my guess. no worries though as a nice forged 347 is going in its place