ss25414

iTrader: (4)

I hope im in the right spot. Im looking for any help or insight someone may be able to provide. I have a mustang that i installed a golen 454 engine in about 4 years ago. It has a RHS block with Black label heads. The engine has allways run great and has maybe 2k miles on it. Last weekend I took it to a local car meet and while there I went down the road and got on the gas a little. Everything was fine and I made a u turn and smacked the throttle again but the car had no power? At first i thought the trans took a crap but soon realized it was running terrible.
I got the car home and check codes and found one in history for the cam sensor. Now when you try to fire the car it acts as if it is out of time? It will lock up while cranking and and back fire. It will run just really bad. I pulled the cam sensor and crank sensor looked at the wiring and everything looks good. Could the reluctor wheel have moved? I really dont know. Has anyone ever had this happen? The engine has been great. Still has great oil pressure just seems out of time? Any input i can have before i pull the engine would be great. And thanks for you time

lil john

Have you tried calling Golden Race engines, good guy (I like his 502ci 800hp combo)....I love to talk 2 Bryan @ LME ...no sales rep But owner and builder also Eric @ HKE...Luckily all in, or near Houston. LMR is good at pinning down a problem also. Jason @ TSP 2 if you can get past the sales rep's.

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

This is a Golen engine and i did call them. He's not real sure thought possibly the reluctor wheel could have moved. I will have to remove the engine to get in there and see i was wondering before I go and do it if anyone eles had seen this problem?

KiwiKid

The reluctor wheel is not pinned on as such, and if it was not the proper interference fit, it's possible it could move, and from your description of what happened I think thats a distinct possibility.

Drop the sump, if you can, and check it, before you pull the engine.

tadams72

What was the code for the cam sensor? Before going through all the trouble of dropping the pan or pulling the engine I would consider replacing the sensor. They were known to go bad on early LS motors. What you are describing seems plausible the cam sensor is the culprit.

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

I put a cam sensor in it that i had at the house and it seemed worse. I wrote the code down but lost the paper. I can not get it to set another code. Maybe ill try a new sensor just seems crazy to go bad like that. Ill try both new sensors first. Thanks for your input ive never had a ls engine do this

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Are you using an RHS front cover? If so, don't they have a provision for either a standard deck block or a tall deck block with the raised cam location?

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

yes this is a tall deck block. Im not sure on the front cover the engine came ready to drop in and has been running great with no problems.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Then yeah, you have to have the RHS front cover. If I remember correctly, it's just a disc and it can be adjusted to accommodate either cam location. If you have a code referencing the cam sensor, you may want to take a look at it.

blackonblacksls

iTrader: (1)

Cam sensor won't make the car run like ****.

You can run and drive the car with it unconnected if you felt like it

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

Well when you crank it over sounds like it hydro locking?

KiwiKid

Dumb question, but have you drained the oil yet?

If so, is it nice and clean as one would expect with only 2K on the clock? if its creamy looking or their is water droplets present its possible that you may have ingested water and bent a rod or worse.

Also suggest that you wipe your finger around the oil filler for any signs of creamy looking crease like substance.

The reason I am suggesting the above is that the RHS engine block has in my opinion a very poor design flaw in the way the installed sleeve's leave a gap about of about .080" by some .200" deep between the apposing flats on the deck face of the sleeve's.

We recently discovered that pressurized water was able to find its way up the outside of the sleeve and squeeze under the gasket and into the cylinder bore, on our own RHS block.

To fix that issue we scrapped and cleaned the narrow gap using a scalpel and brake cleaner then filled it with a two pot Locktite joint sealant. when it was cured we scrapped it flat with a razor blade and then fitted new Cometic gaskets that we copper-coated each layer by removing the two rivets.

The engine is now back in our race car and no trace of any water leak.

Cheers,

Mark.

HISS

iTrader: (52)

might be a stupid question but did you pull the plugs to see if it's in fact trying to hydro lock?

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

Yes new plugs. The oil is perfect. its got to be firing out of time

KiwiKid

Hi SS,

Thanks for the feedback, as I previously said, the reluctor wheel is not pinned, and I know that one of our competitors in the V8 Supertourer Series, discovered that he could drop the pan, and by using a pinch-bar easily move the reluctor wheel a couple of degrees to effectively increase the ignitions engine advance, which was worth 20BHP, because we set them 2º of the engines optimum ignition advance, in order to compensate for fuel irregularities, etc, with E10 fuel the Series runs.

We ended up making a no-go tool to check the reluctor wheel is in the right place, which is easily done by removing the sensor which by the way I assume you have already replaced?

So yes its possible that inertia could have caused a loose fitting reluctor wheel to rotate, but until you go to the effort of dropping the pan, if thats possible, you wont know.

Cheers,

Mark.

Krom

If it runs, wouldn't it be easier to mark the balancer and use a timing light to check?

KiwiKid

To true!

ss25414

iTrader: (4)

the car will not run. ive pulled the engine and the reluctor wheel looks ok but im pulling the crank out of it and taking it to the machine shop to have the press on a updated wheel.