My 2.8 with Refinished Heads

[Pabz]

I drove to work and the low coolant light was on, This was the case after the serp belt fell of and i drove it home, it overheated of course. I filled the resevoir up twice. The engine was running fine for a couple days, When i changed the TPS and Cleaned the IAC and put the stock air box back in, I did a relearn and the engine ran no problem. Let it run for approx 20 mins in idle.

 

So when i got to work the car temp was in RED, heard the clicking. Parked it right away.

 

End of the day i drive home and i start hearing clicking noise after car warms up. Clicks are faster when engine is reved up. Looks like it will overheat again. Looks like the car overheated. Could the oil be burning and start buildup in the system so that no oil is getting to the valves. I am thinking of doing an oil change and making sure the coolant is FULL, do you guys think i killed the 2.8?? Could it be the headgasket is the reason i am loosing coolant? Sounds like its comming from cylinder 4.

 

After changing the poly mount last night i test drove it and it was working great. No low coolant light and no leaks.

[Pabz]

I let the car cool down, and filled the rad, and resevoir. I am checking the oil and it is showing really high, almost twice the max, and it seems really thin, and brown, i havent changed the oil in a while amd i am thinking there is coolant in there. I am going to drain the oil and see what comes out. Thinking head gasket. But external leak, is it possible coolant is leaking into the oil?

 

One thing after the other, but i am so glad to be working on this car again. I would like it to work after i upgraded all this stuff.

[Pabz]

Searching around looks like i got the chocolate oil, Bad headgasket, Looks like i will be tearin her down finnaly. What gaskets am i going to need to get, intake, head gaskets, any advise would be apreciated.

[gp90se]

sounds like a head gasket or head is shot. throw a bottle of no smoke in with the oilchange, and use 10w30 (prime the oil filter first as in fill it with oul 3/4 the way) run it, till it warms up till operating temp, and check the oil level again. drive it around for a while (100-300 miles) and if it has gone up, your in need of a head or head gasket.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Damn you must have put it through some punisment... 2.8s are hard to kill!

[88Regal Limited]

Damn you must have put it through some punisment... 2.8s are hard to kill!

 

 

 

a couple of 5000rpm burnout contests?

[Pabz]

End of Day 1,

 

Coolant in oil, i just poored in some used oil, note the big difference.

 

Look how much i got done. BTW i am not excited about doing this project anymore,

Rather drop in a 0 Km L67 with that 6 speed transmission.

 

[gp90se]

I hope ya machining the heads because theres a damn good chance 1 of them warped when it overheated.

 

otherwise, junkyard heads from a good running motor and blown tranny car.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Wow so that's what blown headgasket-oil looks like! :shock:

 

I always take samples of my used oil, putting it in clear waterbottle and let it sit for a few days to see if any other fluids seperate.

 

Why not do a 3400 top end swap while you got the stuff off?? (I always wondered if it would make any difference with 2.8s- cool little motors.)

[White93z34]

sounds like you baked someing real good when you ran it hot, better get your heads checked.

[Pabz]

Just sitting here at work dreaming about the L67, if i buy 0 Km GMPP #12499469, what options for a transmission do i have, the only 4T65E I can find it from PATC Raptor 65-T for $2534 USD

 

Any part numbers on the G6 6 speed transmission? Will it need custom mounts??

 

Called local dealership and they have the L67 @ $6313 CDN

I sent an email to the guys at crateenginedepot.com to see if they can provide a better price.

[93CutlassSupreme]

drop in a junkyard 2.8 or 3.1

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Wouldn't a crate engine L67 just be the block anyways?? I'd find a good used one and change all the gaskets...

[Prospeeder]

i thought head gaskets leaked coolant into the combustion chamber and the engine burned it and Intake Manifold Gaskets caused Coolant to enter the oil?

[Pabz]

Well bolt Number 2 on 2-4-6 side was broken, as i was loosening them in reverse order 8,7, ... till i get the number 2. Thats when i noticed.

 

 

So am i screwed? Whats it gonna take? new head? Can i get the broken bolt out and put in a used head, and only replace this one side? Should i replace the gasket for the other head or leave as is?

 

So here is my car beside my new temp ride,

 

And here is how dirty the valley was

 

 

I am really considering swapping it out.

[Pabz]

Looks like i will be pounding a torx bit into it.

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17018&start=15

[R Dubya]

get your self a new drill bit and a set of easy outs. soak that thing in pentrant before you do anything to it so you know it is loose. drill a hole in the head bolt directly in the center and then use the easy out to remove it. It should come right out. make sure when you start that thing back up you change the oil and filter three or four times.

[Pabz]

Do you think the head is warped since that bolt broke? Am i going to have to find a new head. What else should i check/replace while i got this this apart?

 

What bolts requrie anti sieze compound? Any other tips when putting this back together. Other than this the engine looks to be in great shape. Needs alot of cleaning though.

[White93z34]

you should get the heads checked by a machine shop, 1. because the engine was overheated bad, 2. the broken headbolt. but unless that things got some stupid low miles, i'd drop in a good used 3.1 and call it a day. and your cars a 89. so that means all you gotta do is swap out your pcm, the existing wiring will work fine.

[R Dubya]

well if it overheated there is a good chance that it is warped so definetely take the heads to a machine shop so they can check them for flatness and they will pressure check them for cracks. how do the cylinder walls look, is there a ridge at the top?? if there is you may want to consider removing them the appropriate way to prevent unnecessary stress on the pistons and rings. how many miles? never a bad idea to have the valve seals done either since they are out. they will come with the headgasket set.

 

head bolts don't require anti-seize, they require thread lock which you can get at pretty much any parts store, but if you get new bolts, which you should, they may or may not come with it. clean out the head threads on the block with brake cleaner and an old bolt or appropriate tap running through them. other than that take your time, remember which pushrods go where and also dont lose nuts and bolts. change the oil pump drive seal and rtv around it when the new seal is in. anything else im missing others may be able to help. take your time and definetely check the heads.

[DaveFromColorado]

DO NOT use threadlock your headbolts! you should put a really thin coating of RTV on the bolts that go into the water jacket and on the others you'll want to use a thin coating of oil to get the correct torque figures before you go to your TTY point (tortue to yeild - ya know, that extra 90 degrees) . The use of threadlock is what causes these problems (breaking bolts) because the bolts get bound up before they've had a chance to "relax" and sink into the threads further so they end up with more stress in a smaller area causing the breakage. If you get the correct seal for the oil pump drive, you shouldn't need to use any RTV. Get all new head bolts, they are TTY also known as stretch bolts, meaning one usage only, once they've been torqued, they are too stressed, and have stretched beyond their usefulness.

 

I'd certinally have the heads rebuilt at this time tho, getting a decent valve job with good new valve stem seals - this will allow whatever machine shop that is doing the work to check all the springs for their appropriate pressures, and look at all the valves for straightness, along with inspecting the valve guides, and the bowls. If you're really ambitious, you may want to upgrade to the 3100/3400 heads/intake/plenum combo for better flow and more power. the 2.8 is an awesome motor when put together correctly.

 

--Dave.

[R Dubya]

interesting dave the GM manual told me to use threadlock on my headbolts on my 3.1V.

They are stretch to yield but also asked for threadlock.

[DaveFromColorado]

every machine shop I've worked with, and every shop I've worked at, or even been to, totally frowns on using threadlocker on any headbolts, for the reasons I stated above.

 

that's not to say some manual didn't tell ya to use the thread locker, but real world expirence is often better then what most manuals will tell you anyhow.

 

--Dave.

[Pabz]

Got the bolt out!!!

 

Ok i can get the heads machined at a local shop, gonna call tommorow for prices. right now i am taking the other head off. Man that torque strut mount is a bitch to get out. I can imagine how hard its going to be to put all this stuff back together, hopefully i dont end up with a bunch of extra bolts.

 

I dont really wanna go to a junk yard and take off some 3400/3100 heads, i think i will stick with the same ones. This thing is eventually getting a engine swap, Next summer. Just want to make it through the winter. Besides more power is not much use with snow on the ground.

 

There is a slight ridge at the top of the cylinder walls, should i leave as is or go the extra distance?? Whats involved??

 

Today i plan on removing the heads and valves and getting it preped for the machine shop. If i have time i will do the oil pump drive seal. I am taking this project real slow. Any other recommendations?

 

Thanks for all your help.

[R Dubya]

if the ridge is not massive then don't worry about it. it can be hard on the rings because they slap against it. good luck with the assembly.