1987 Chevrolet 350 tbi high idle

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
@85Sierra Classy Negative, there was no gasket yes I scraped it but I don’t have the new pump on yet. Bought a water pump at oreillys came home took the old one off sit the new one in place and I notice there’s no ear on top for the alternator bracket so I go back to oreillys and say it’s wrong one so the dude gets on the computer and it freezes. Next guy tries to help his computer crashes, so on so forth. Now I’m stuck with this water pump(hopefully gonna return it today). I ended up going to autozone so I could just get the parts I needed but they were packed. I ended up not getting home until past dark and $140 less in my pocket.
Edit: anyone got any ideas why the Lowe radiator hose was so soft on the end? I don’t know exactly when I replaced it but it’s within 2 years. Are they just made cheaply? Does my oil leak destroy them? Blows my mind every bit of it feels and looks brand new except what slides onto the water pump.
 

85Sierra Classy

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2017
Posts
25
Reaction score
24
Location
York PA
First Name
Ben
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
C1500
Engine Size
350
@85Sierra Classy Negative, there was no gasket yes I scraped it but I don’t have the new pump on yet. Bought a water pump at oreillys came home took the old one off sit the new one in place and I notice there’s no ear on top for the alternator bracket so I go back to oreillys and say it’s wrong one so the dude gets on the computer and it freezes. Next guy tries to help his computer crashes, so on so forth. Now I’m stuck with this water pump(hopefully gonna return it today). I ended up going to autozone so I could just get the parts I needed but they were packed. I ended up not getting home until past dark and $140 less in my pocket.
Edit: anyone got any ideas why the Lowe radiator hose was so soft on the end? I don’t know exactly when I replaced it but it’s within 2 years. Are they just made cheaply? Does my oil leak destroy them? Blows my mind every bit of it feels and looks brand new except what slides onto the water pump.
Oil dripping onto rubber seriously shortens it’s life. If your engine is leaking badly and dripping onto the lower hose that’s why it got soft. Lots of leaky small blocks do that. Maybe once it’s running right clean the engine real good and see where it’s leaking from.
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
I reckon while I’ve got the water pump out I’ve been trying to get as much crud off the engine as possible. I don’t personally know where it’s leaking as it’s a really slow leak but I asked the guy that put the clutch in for me if he could tell me and he said timing chain cover gasket. It does leak from very front of engine so I’d say that’s a viable option. I’ve left the truck parked for over a week with no drops on the ground but there’s enough of a leak my oil pan and lower rad hose are covered. Is there any way to possibly protect the lower hose without fixing the oil leak? I really don’t want to pull the oil pain right now.
 

Bextreme04

Full Access Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Posts
4,464
Reaction score
5,630
Location
Oregon
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
I reckon while I’ve got the water pump out I’ve been trying to get as much crud off the engine as possible. I don’t personally know where it’s leaking as it’s a really slow leak but I asked the guy that put the clutch in for me if he could tell me and he said timing chain cover gasket. It does leak from very front of engine so I’d say that’s a viable option. I’ve left the truck parked for over a week with no drops on the ground but there’s enough of a leak my oil pan and lower rad hose are covered. Is there any way to possibly protect the lower hose without fixing the oil leak? I really don’t want to pull the oil pain right now.
Looking at your pics, it seems more likely to be intake manifold gasket than timing cover gasket. The front gasket there is notorious for blowing out and leaking just like yours is. Timing cover gasket doesn't usually just start leaking.
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
You think my front china wall is leaking? I can’t tell if it’s gasket or gasket maker on it
 

Bextreme04

Full Access Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Posts
4,464
Reaction score
5,630
Location
Oregon
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
You think my front china wall is leaking? I can’t tell if it’s gasket or gasket maker on it
Without being there I can't be sure, but it looks like it from your pics. I'd spray the heck out of it with brake cleaner and scrub it all off as much as possible while you have the water pump off. Then you should be able to see where the leak is coming from after you get it going again
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
I’ve got everythint back together now I cleaned up a little bit but nothing a whole lot. It doesn’t look brand new but not everythint is covered in oil now. But I can’t get the damn lower radiator hose on to save my life. I’m about to return it and see if they’ve got a different one. The radiator side of it fit loosely and the water pump side is almost smaller than the water pump inlet.
 

Bextreme04

Full Access Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Posts
4,464
Reaction score
5,630
Location
Oregon
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
I’ve got everythint back together now I cleaned up a little bit but nothing a whole lot. It doesn’t look brand new but not everythint is covered in oil now. But I can’t get the damn lower radiator hose on to save my life. I’m about to return it and see if they’ve got a different one. The radiator side of it fit loosely and the water pump side is almost smaller than the water pump inlet.
You are trying to put it on backwards
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
It was a cut to fit and I’m not used to cut to fit that’s why I was trying backwards I eventuslly figured it out. Trucks all back together now I just need more coolant and to return oreillys water pump.
 

Bextreme04

Full Access Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Posts
4,464
Reaction score
5,630
Location
Oregon
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
It was a cut to fit and I’m not used to cut to fit that’s why I was trying backwards I eventuslly figured it out. Trucks all back together now I just need more coolant and to return oreillys water pump.
Awesome, hoping to hear good news!
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach

In all honesty I guarentee it was the lower rad. hose and not the water pump. But it won’t hurt it (hopefully) to have a new water pump. Sadly I did not get to use the new fan, the bolts for the spacer didn’t thread with the water pump and my fan/clutch assembly has a different pattern holding the fan to the clutch. I’m going to go get a couple gallons of 50/50 coolant and return that other water pump when I get my sister from school. I’ll time the engine after I’ve got sufficient coolant in and then replace the iac. I will for sure update as I progress.
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
You must be registered for see images attach

Here’s all the coolant I drained that I could catch. There’s no oil in it, the rainbows are from it catching oil off of stuff as it drained. I am NOT reusing it. I just wanted to inspect it and it is indeed orange on the bottom. I drained it almost 24 hours ago and the bottom has an orange layer of rust? Maybe? Anyways gross! Out with the old and in with the new!
 

Bextreme04

Full Access Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Posts
4,464
Reaction score
5,630
Location
Oregon
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach

In all honesty I guarentee it was the lower rad. hose and not the water pump. But it won’t hurt it (hopefully) to have a new water pump. Sadly I did not get to use the new fan, the bolts for the spacer didn’t thread with the water pump and my fan/clutch assembly has a different pattern holding the fan to the clutch. I’m going to go get a couple gallons of 50/50 coolant and return that other water pump when I get my sister from school. I’ll time the engine after I’ve got sufficient coolant in and then replace the iac. I will for sure update as I progress.
Looks good! Did your lower hose have the metal spring inside it to keep it from collapsing? Just FYI, you can get a gallon of concentrate from Wal-Mart for about $8 and its only about $1 for a gallon of Distilled water(make sure it is distilled). That's about half the price of buying pre-mix, which is about $11 for a gallon of 50-50. I just use a previously emptied gallon jug of 50-50 and pour out half of the concentrate into that jug. Then put half of the gallon of distilled water into each jug and use a sharpie to mark the concentrate jug as 50-50. Now you have 2 gallons of 50-50 for about $9
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
I thought about doing that but I didn’t know how much coolant I’d need and I didn’t even think about pouring half into another jug and mixing smh. The prices around here are around 13 for concentrate and 11 for 5050 either way I’ve always used concentrate during a flush or when I knew I’d need slot of coolant but hey thanks your your idea. My brain is mush right now I can’t keep up.
 

iamtherealJayy

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Posts
1,588
Reaction score
277
Location
Tennessee
First Name
Jacob
Truck Year
1987, 1978, 1976
Truck Model
V20, K10, K10
Engine Size
350, 350, 350
Truck is fixed. Hopefully. Heat is hot. Truck is not. Timing is set at 0° iac not replaced yet and idle bounces around from 650 to 750. I figure start jt a few times and let computer adjust to new timing before I change the iac.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
44,414
Posts
956,961
Members
36,736
Latest member
bartram89
Top