You win some.....

DaveG

Well-Known Member
Messages
173
Reaction score
0
And you lose some......
My 3.5, Megasquirt MS3/3X, 5 speed, and Hydroboost, transplant went really well.
Got an M30B35 from a local yard thinking I would nurse it along for a year or so 'till I could afford to go through it right.......
Got the MS3/3X tuned up really nicely. The GM Hydroboost brakes worked really well and the 5 speed made the car, as expected, a real freeway cruiser.......But......
The engine burned more oil then the Exxon Valdez.....at least a quart per tank......Funny it had almost no blowby when you pulled the oil cap.....It had the classic symptoms of bad valve guides but it also smoked badly at full throttle above about 3500 RPM.......
I had the head off before I put it in and knew the guides weren't THAT bad.....and no cylinder ridge.....So I was optimistic......Searching a few forums pointed toward worn ring lands......

When I stripped the engine I was AMAZED at how much the rings AND the lands were worn. Most of the wear was actually the bottom of the ring wearing away. It looked like an inverted Dykes ring! They had 20+ thou of side clearance.....

Bottom line is...Knowing what I know now, I would not bother doing just head work on any of these engines without at least stripping the bottom end and checking the pistons and rings.....BTW crank and block showed little wear. Just going to bore .020 over and put new bearings in the bottom end.....along with the usual head work.
DaveG
 
Last edited:
Top