IT'S ALIVE ... sort of

I finally got everything back together Sunday night and took it for a short test drive. Thanks to everyone that helped with the minor stumbling blocks along the way. It sounds much better than it did before, but...

1. the idle is erratic
2. power delivery at part throttle is rather rough, as opposed to smooth and linear
3. it still smokes a little at full throttle, but not nearly as bad as before
4. it has used a very small amount of oil in the 420 miles that I have put on it since Sunday
5. It felt like there is not as much power as before (did not get a chance to port/polish the head)



Here is a little background on what I've done to resolve the smoking/oil usage problem and why. Removed/replaced the head with a rebuilt head. Replaced all gaskets. Replaced timing belt. Replaced accessory belts. Replaced front main seal. Replaced heater hoses. Cleaned tops of pistons. Replaced throttle cable.

All of this was done when it started smoking badly and using 1qt of oil per day. The compression was ~175 across the board before the head swap, so I figured that it was a problem with valve seals.


Here are my thoughts about what is going on:

1. Vacuum leak is causing the idle problem and strange power delivery problem. I've
been trying to track this down over the last couple of days with no luck. :banghead:

2. Ran another compression test last night and it was 175 across the board, so I am
thinking that one or more of the oil rings is failing and causing it to use some oil
and smoke slightly. :cry:

3. The cams did not get properly aligned when I reinstalled the timing belt. :bash:
Do I have to remove the valve cover again to check this? How will I know for
sure that it is correct?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brock

3. The cams did not get properly aligned when I reinstalled the timing belt. :bash:
Do I have to remove the valve cover again to check this? How will I know for
sure that it is correct?

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I think POS posted a pic of this a while back?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Titus

I think POS posted a pic of this a while back?

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Hmmm. can't find the post. :confused:

Yes, you must, at the very least, be able to raise the valve cover enough to see the alignment marks between the pulleys. At TDC (timing mark at zero on the crank), the intake cam 'E' should match the arrow. The exhaust cam 'I' should match the arrow on that side. You've got twelve degrees from tooth to tooth on the crank and twenty four at the cams, so it is very evident if you're off. It is VERY important to follow the manual when setting the tension, otherwise, it will appear that they are correct until it get's cycled thru a complete 720 degree cycle. It sounds like your problem.....
Merv

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brock

cleaned tops of pistons.

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How did you do that? You could have got some pieces of carbon, etc down the sidewalls, allowing oil to seep past the rings. I would never touch the pistons if they aren't out of the bore and rings all removed....too late now, but you'll probably be re-building the bottom end sooner or later. As long as it's not a quart-a-day, it's not a big deal, and might get better once the other problems are resolved. How many miles on the engine?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Titus

Hmmm. can't find the post. :confused:

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Could it be this one?? ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Could it be this one?? ;)

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Why yes.. yes I believe it was! ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MadMerv

How did you do that? You could have got some pieces of carbon, etc down the sidewalls, allowing oil to seep past the rings. I would never touch the pistons if they aren't out of the bore and rings all removed....too late now, but you'll probably be re-building the bottom end sooner or later. As long as it's not a quart-a-day, it's not a big deal, and might get better once the other problems are resolved. How many miles on the engine?

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I used a 5mm tall piece of 1mm thick aluminum to create a protective barrier for the cylinder walls and used a dremel with #530 and #531 stainless steel brushes. I also covered the top of the block and the other cylinders with rags so no debris would get into the cylinders or passages. After the top of the piston was clean I used a toothbrush to clean anything that may have fallen into the area between the piston and block.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Could it be this one?? ;)

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Thanks for the link. I'll give this a shot this weekend.

My old head with 115k looked almost exactly like the pic of yours.