finally tore into cutlass today

[musthavemuzk]

day one

plan today was to tear down to the block to see what was going on.

then this next week get any work done and parts and such so we can put it all back together next weekend.

 

want to thank Jerome for his help today. while not knowledgeable on the 3.1 he has a few years on me and has tore many an engine down. so it was nice to have some experience around.

 

problem was axhaust gas in the cooling system.

pressure buildup in the cooling system

had random heat no heat.

this all started last fall. had to replace the lower intake due to broken fitting on lower intake.

got that fixed and went from northern MN to Kansas City,MO and then stopped in IA on my way back to MN to see my family.

had nothing but problems while there.

ended up getting a test done at a shop to see if there was exhaust gas in the cooling system. well there was. at least by the test performed.

so i drove it carefully back to MN and drove it for antoher week to and from work. which was about a mile each way. then one day it would not stay running once the gas was pressed. would idle fine but would not stay running once gas was pressed. so i got it home and it has sat. that has been since mid Jan.

 

basically i was hoping it was simply the head gasket (s).

 

latest to oldest listing of related threads by me.

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11022&highlight=

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8182&highlight=

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7791&highlight=

 

there might be more but not sure.

 

so today we get down to the block and well did not see what i was hoping for. was hoping it was a head gasket and then i could replace it and all would be good.

but from what we could tell the gaskets were good.

 

here are some pics i took

 

http://www.dbfanatics.com/forum/photo_album_view.asp?cname=cutlassheadgaskets&mid=16&cid=261

 

going to take the heads in tomorrow to see what they come up with.

then i guess go from there.

 

could be cracked head, block or I DUNNO.

 

any input or whatever is always welcomed

 

Monty

[phantomshado]

best of luck.

[phantomshado]

best of luck.

[Baddflash]

From looking at those pics it looks like there might have been a leak between the gasket and the head on the front cyl closest to trans, in the bottom right corner. It's hard to tell from looking at just pics but that catches my eye.

 

Good luck, I know it sucks when you go to do the hg and pull it to find it's good and your heads cracked.

[musthavemuzk]

thanx baddflash.

now that i take a closer look at the high res shot i do see what you are talking about.

 

mayb it was way infant in the stages or more infant than i originally thought. which is a good thing.

 

will look closer at the pics as well as the actual parts before i take it in so i can give them the full scoop before i say i am clueless and they check the heads and such.

 

thanx for the input.

 

it did take quite a bit of time to tear it down to the block but not as bad as i thought it would be.

started about 1030 cleaned up by 430.

for the most part it was easy, but some parts were a PITA. either with finding bolts or getting to them.

mainly the front pass side dogbone mounting bracket.

 

Monty

[Guest TurboSedan]

i agree. the bottom left of this pic: "gasket1.JPG" doesn't look good.

[musthavemuzk]

definitely glad i put pics up for others to see.

i tried to keep them big and did not reduce the quality as much as i normally do.

 

Thanx guys...

 

anyone else see this as well?

 

Monty