Hot Rods More Problems With My Crate Engine ?

I'm going to see this engine shop I use and see if he will try and diagnose it? I'm a chassis guy not an engine guy so we'll see. I took it for a drive today, it ran great with the right oil pressure. No smoke or leaks from the motor that I can see.

 

One of the things I've found out about small block Chevies (not neccesarilly a new crate motor) is if the CAM bearings (bushings) are worn----you lose oil pressure.

 

I'm fairly safe to assume that you purchase all your crate motors from the same dealer? you state that the dealer is not wanting to help you ..If it were me,I would change dealers to one that appreciates my money.There is one such as that not too far from you...might try Scoggins-Dickey n Lubbock,Texas they have a very good reputation too

 

Warranty as of the date I retired last year was 2 years or 50,ooo miles. The warranty is good at ANY General Motors dealership.

Again, as of the date I retired last year the owner could call the Powertrain Contact Center at 866-453-4123, follow the prompts to Technical Assistance. Have your VIN, miles,sales invoice. Obviously explain everything like you did here. BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN THE CASE NUMBER you are issued! This follows your request, this is more important than the name of the person you are speaking to. The tech will ask you a lot of questions and should give you direction. If they want it to be inspected by the selling dealer you should also inform them of your problem with them too. They can refer you to another dealership also. If it has to go to a dealership be sure to get a determination of what will and what will not be covered, this eliminates nasty surprises on your part.

GM Performance is pretty good about taking care of problems with their product.

 

I dunno........my Road Atlas indicates it’s a fur piece from Lubbock, TX to any place in Nebraska...

 

friend installed 290 hp 350, in 57 chevy, going threw a lot of oil, installed new valve seals, problem solved! most common problem with the sbc

 

Here is the data sheet for the new product: https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/PDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=481951&docFormat=PDF

If you can find the old CJ-4 product, that still has ~1300 ppm of zinc. The new CK-4 can have no more than 800 ppm.

The deal is, previous to CK-4 oil companies were allowed to have higher levels of zinc on oils that were co-licensed as Cx (or earlier) and Sx (or earlier) if the Cx was listed first on the package. Car mfgr's didn't like this, and with the new CK-4 spec they forced the oil companies to limit zinc & phos to the same level as with passenger car oils. Some oil co's now decline to co-license their heavy duty oils, while some like Chevron have decided to go with the co-license and limit zinc to 800 ppm. When you look at the package, or the data sheet, if it shows both CK-4 and SN, it has the reduced level of zinc; if it shows only CK-4 it probably still has the higher level of zinc.

 

Might have someone follow you and look at the tailpipe on de-acceleration and shifts to see if there is a puff of smoke.
That can be another indication of valve seals
Leak by test for rings

Good luck

 

The OP stated he was having cooling problems? That by itself should void any warranty. For a short time I fixed automatic transmissions to make part of my living. However I learend I had no control over how the customer would test the trans before the guarantee expired. I quit working on them for anyone but myself. I will not even sell a good used auto trans to a customer. I sell them all as cores to a rebuilder

 

I feel your pain. I to have built plenty of cars and motors, been doing this for 50+ yrs.. I have used crate motors including the ZZ4's and no problem. THEN, 2 yrs ago I ordered a GM 290 crate from summit to go in my 55 nomad. What a pain, #1- it started and ran rough, like crap and got hot just sitting there. New Walker radiator and good parts. #2- it had 8 inches of vacuum. So I did a no no, I checked the valve lash. It was 1.5 rotations after contact. I took it to the chevy house and the shop manager said, 1.5 isn't to bad. WTF. And no one would touch it since I checked the valves. So I pulled the cam and lifters and they were wiped, and used zinc add on the start up. Tried to call GM. No such number, so I called Summit again. They split the cost of parts to fix it. It ran better but still ran hot. After 2 yrs now of babying it in the summer it is getting broke in and doing better. I believe the 290 hp crate is a dog for some reason. This is the last GM crate motor I will buy. No support form GM. And yes, the motor is made in Mexico. But back in the day GM replacement motors or Target motors were made in Mex and had a high better nickel content and were good motors. So has the Mex assembly process changed?? Either way, I would avoid a 290hp Gm crate motor like the plague.

 

Change the Vaccum diaphram on the trans, if bad they'll suck trans fluid up thru the carb and out the exhaust

 

He is losing engine oil. not trans fluid.

 

Maybe he's getting blowby past the rings because the oil is thined out with atf, continue looking.

 

If the bad diaphragm is sucking trans fluid up thru the carb and out the exhaust like you state in your first post. How is that same fluid that went out the exhaust thinning out the oil?

 

My .02...... Since this is about motor oil, there's no need to confuse things with trans talk. My experience is when you're losing lesser amounts of oil, look to ambient (non-pressurized or non-vacuum) sources..... valve seals, valve cover gaskets, etc. When you're losing significant volumes, look at sources of non-ambient pressured oil.
This could be PCV, intake gaskets, head gasket, porosity (had one intake that pumped oil through casting... friggin' FE's). First look for the signs. Pull the plugs... are all oily or just certain ones. If all, look for the common denominator. If certain plugs, look to see what they have in common.... same plane in a dual plane intake, vacuum nipple, etc. One plug? I'd first look at potential sources of oil to only that cylinder..... likely the intake gasket for that cylinder.
It's all cause and effect, so don't throw parts at it. It'll tell you what the source is if you listen.......

 

What intake?

 

As I recall it was an Edlebrock 3 deuce 3 hole intake. Wasting a LOT of time trying to make that POS work.....

 

Sheesh, I just recommended someone buy a 290 HP crate motor. Shows how smart I am.

 

Subscribe. Inquiring minds want too know.

 

Several answers to the problem of his GM 350/290 crate motor using a lot of oil ,that it could be( valve seals). If it was the seals would'nt it show smoke out the pipes when you let up on the gas and then punch it. Also it would smoke on the initial start up? Just my own experience and 2 cents Gene in Mn.

 

in days past a sure sign of valve seal leaking was after stopping at a light when taking off a blue swirl out the tail pipe

 

Yes 20W40 is way heavy for a 290 horse motor that is new. But it probably has little to do with oil consumption.

Pull the inspection cover on your bell housing. I have seen more then one new engine leaking at the rear of the cam shaft and unless you are like *me and don't run an inspection cover it is going to be hard to notice at first.

*2 reasons that my motors seldom have the inspection cover. One is that I have trimmed everything off to fit it in the space provided or the other is that I am just too lazy to put it on. Don't be like me it don't look good on ya.

 

Solved all the problems and things are good.

 

Well come on...spill the beans. What'd you do to solve the problem? Don't leave us hanging...

 

Glad it's fixed but I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to know what you've found and fixed in the more than 2 months since we've heard from you

 

Lol that's what my Dad always said with Pennzoil. Self sealing .

 

....................Patiently waiting to hear what the problem was.

 

Can you provide any details for the rest of us?


Phil

 

Come on, will ya!



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