There should have been a special retainer on it to prevent it from falling out the top. You are supposed to only be able to replace it by removing the oil pump.
thats not that bad, ive seen mutch worse patched together. question would be your budget and needs, then your wants and plans. the engine would benefiet from a complete overhaul, but if you cant afford it and have to have the car running, do the compression check suggested above. if it is good enough, put the motor back together with a rebuilt head and run it while you save the cash for a complete overhaul or motor swap.JM by the way, how far are you from georgia? there is a 200 listed in the parts section.
Daily Driver, low gas miles, that sort of thing. As it is, we can barley afford to rework the head which must be done. I think i'll give it a shot with just the new head, can't hurt right? Any tips on cleaning out this sludge first though?
just a thought,try to get your prices on machine work for the head work and block clean up and your parts for a rebuild, then go to one of the auto parts stores and see what a rebuilt engine cost(get it as complete as you can) and weigh the cost difference and reduce your down time,you could have the new engine installed and running in a saturday as you said this is a daily driver. Advance Auto parts has them for $1075.88 it's supposed to be a complete engine and there alot of stores in Austin,so good luck with it.
Ok i'm going to leave it and just do the head. I discussed it with my brother(his car) and he just doesnt have the money. I need to get all that slundge out though, whats the safe way to do that.
purchase the drill bit that attaches to the oil pump shaft. drain what you can out of the sludge and rinse the cylinders and such with transmission fluid. i usually put some in a spray bottle that can handle a solvent/oil. once that is drained out, put the engine together and fill the engine with four quarts oil and one quart trans fluid. run the oil pump with the drill for about five minutes and then you can put the engine together. then run the motor for about five minutes normal. now shut it down and drain the oil and change the filter. put in clean oil and dont run that oil more than a thousand miles. I did this with an old amc 360 and got another two years out of it before it spun the #1 connecting rod bearing.
I didn't realize that you had the engine out of the car. I would buy a complete gasket set, new rings and bearings and lifters and go through it. A budget refurbish, if your on a budget. When people ask if they should re-ring the engine, I always assume the engine is still in the car. As long as the engine is out, most the work is done.
Good point, just realized your turning it upside down. even if you plan to reuse the bearings, you could clean them off at least before putting it back in. but if you do a minor overhaul, it should run for quite a while longer that way.
Yeah its out. The reason we are iffy about it is that my brother makes about $50 a week at his **** job and cant afford ANYTHING. I mean like a couple hundred for a cheap rebuild kit is a bitch for him to buy. Whats the cheapest kit that isnt a waste of time?
Austin??? I am in Houston, and will be in College Station this weekend... I just pulled off some stock 1974 heads in really good shape. I had them cleaned, .010 off the bottom, new valves, new seals, etc. They probably only have 1000 miles on them. I you are interested in them, we could cut a deal that would likely save you some $$$. Just meet me half way in CS this weekend... Just in case you are interested. I just put GT40Ps on and those stock heads are just sitting on the garage floor, with brand new plugs (and a set of Split-Fires if you want them!). And an Edelbrock Performer 289 intake, and exhaust manifolds, and.....
Wait... I am sorry to lead you on, but when I went back and looked at the pictures, I noticed that yours is a 6-cyl, my parts are all for v8. My mistake... Sorry
In the first picture of the cylinder it looks like there is still cross-hatch showing. Maybe if the cylinders arn't cross egg shaped they are still good. Used to live in Austin, wife was at Berstrom AFB. Miss that toen. clint
