Thread: Exhaust in the coolant

Hoges

I was just reading your head gasket thread, thanks for the extra info

I was thinking adjustable pushrods may be the way to go rather than shims.

All the fancy options soon add up that's for sure !

The only things I am considering are a bit of mild port shaping and possibly the Crow "highway" cam.

How about the oil pump, worth looking at while the donk is apart?

Steve

My engine only had about 135K on it when I did the gaskets etc and the oil pressure was ok so I didn't replace it. I was very surprised at how the cam had deteriorated but that may have been due to poor maintenance by POs (previous owners)

I was stuck for time but I would seriously consider adjustable push rods (there's a reference somewhere here about bespoke push rods from the USA ... surprisingly cheap). That way you can get the whole thing "exact".
I also thought about a Piper or whatever cam to shift the torque band down about 300 rpm. You need to be quite careful about lift or you may start running into interference problems on these heads. There are extended excerpts from Des Hammill's classic (out of print) book on Rover V8 engines to be found on google books. The important bits about cams etc are available to read!
Adjustable push rods are larger in diameter and IIRC require a 5/8" clearance so drilling out the clearance holes for standard push rods is probably best done in the machine shop at the time the heads are done..

All the above comments. Very insightful. Where to draw the line hey. Does the TRS small block come decked to suit quench volume - that was something highly recommended me, but had to calculated based on choice of gasket, and head skimming and bowl volume of piston. And does it have HC pistons fitted?

I thought new blocks were "out of print". So are they supplying refurbed second hand blocks?

I managed to get a new block last year. But it was in somebody's storage. Not off the shelf as an orderable item.

TRS don't do the job, they farm it out to an engine shop around the corner that comes highly recommended by an independent source. The problem is that the blocks are already cracked and then even the top hat liners will move a bit. The only thing that stops the liners moving is the clamping force of the head and gasket. Once the gasket relaxes, failure is not far behind. I had precisely that problem in a customers RRC with one of their 4.6 short motors last year. Not hard to fit another gasket though and I've done the ARP studs up a bit tighter than before. All good so far.

They basically do the best they can with what TRS supplies to them. I suspect TRS mainly gets 4.6 engines done with already cracked blocks. They're way too common from what I've seen of the wretched things. When I saw some new short engines in their shop a few years ago they didn't think it was worth top hatting them in advance.

It is why you wouldn't get a changeover engine if your engine only had a loose liner without a crack (as I recently observed on a 200K old P38). Better the devil you know.

I am still hoping it's a head gasket and not a cracked block, cracked head or slipped liner

Tomorrows tests should provide more pointers

Oh and I have been well warned off the TRS reco motors now
Steve

Well I was hoping in vain

Number 3 spark plug looked very odd and a look into the cylinder with a borescope camera confirmed that there was coolant present.

So I am going to use some Rislone block sealant for now and see if that fixes it and gives me time to work out my next step. Which long motor to get is the question now.

Steve