engine troubles

[Michael Nielsen]

I second the sentiments on the 882s. I’m sure they get the job done in a factory setup, but I’ve heard bad things in performance setups. That sheds light on their relative weakness and doesn’t justify the cost. I think you’ve corrected your course on that, but I just wanted to reiterate what Rusty Nail said.

I have a set of 882s but I won't have them rebuilt I'm gonna go with my 487s. I have yet to call the shop but I'll call them in a little while and let you guys know what the deal is.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

Just called the machine shop today and i will be taking my heads down tomorrow. they said it'll run about 100 bucks each to have them completely rebuilt top to bottom. said they would be ready by Wednesday. I'll be starting my build forum soon so be sure to check that out.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

Build thread has been started and my heads have been dropped off at the machine shop. said they should be ready by Wednesday.

http://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/1977-chevy-k10.22046/

 

[Michael Nielsen]

@1987 GMC Jimmy ive run into a slight problem. the machine shop said one of my 487 heads is cracked really badly apparently. so now ive got some decisions to make and i was hoping for your impute as well as others. There is a guy selling a set of 487s for $125 that he bought from a machine shop. they are not rebuilt. Or there is a guy selling a rebuilt set of 487s for $450. Or the last options is buy a brand new set from summit that is a completely assembled set of heads. from the comments ive been reading about the summit heads say that they are built buy DART. so that already sounds good. and its only like $680 for the set out the door. so i was wondering what you guys think

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Since performance is not an object here, and I’m a cheapskate, I’d explore the first option. Your cylinder head guy will do a top to bottom rebuild for $100 each so that would be a nice savings from the guy who’s trying to make some money on his rebuilt heads and even better than buying new heads. They should be inspected for rebuildability, and the seller should concede to this. If he does, and they check out, I’d offer him $100 and see if he takes it. Tell him something like you’re a student and in a bind from trying to fix a PO’s stupidity. If he doesn’t concede to having them inspected, I’d give him his walking papers because you shouldn’t gamble your money on a stranger’s assurances. If these heads are anything like fuelie heads, I’d make sure whatever you buy used has accessory holes on both heads since these are an old casting. If you can come out of this head thing at $300 plus gaskets, I’d say that’s a fair price for a set of fresh heads that (hopefully) won’t give you trouble anytime soon.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

Since performance is not an object here, and I’m a cheapskate, I’d explore the first option. Your cylinder head guy will do a top to bottom rebuild for $100 each so that would be a nice savings from the guy who’s trying to make some money on his rebuilt heads and even better than buying new heads. They should be inspected for rebuildability, and the seller should concede to this. If he does, and they check out, I’d offer him $100 and see if he takes it. Tell him something like you’re a student and in a bind from trying to fix a PO’s stupidity. If he doesn’t concede to having them inspected, I’d give him his walking papers because you shouldn’t gamble your money on a stranger’s assurances. If these heads are anything like fuelie heads, I’d make sure whatever you buy used has accessory holes on both heads since these are an old casting. If you can come out of this head thing at $300 plus gaskets, I’d say that’s a fair price for a set of fresh heads that (hopefully) won’t give you trouble anytime soon.

the guy wont take less than 125 he was asking 185 for them. ill play the guilt trip and see what i can do but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I cant do anything on Saturday due to it being my high school prom. ill ask him if he would be willing to meet at a machine shop to have them checked out. its just a stressful decision. I am currently working for a neighbor rebuilding his 1952 ford customline with a flat head ford v8 that i just rebuilt so if it comes down to it i can make the money for the new heads in about a week. Im still driving the truck everyday for about 20 miles a day at least. i try to keep it under 2000 rpm at all times. I will figure out whats going on with the guy with the 487s. ive also have another sett of heads 882s that are tucked up in my closet that i could have rebuilt.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

The 487s are definitely better, but yeah, you do have those 882s. When people pose these questions, performance is the usual primary mindset. Reliability is not always the primary one. If those check out, I think it’d be a worthwhile avenue for $200 plus gaskets just to have an A to B engine.

To reiterate, you just need an engine that works correctly, right?

 

[4WDKC]

if you have 882s see how much to get them rebuilt just because its the cheapest option. If you have to buy heads buy heads that can be used for performance build later. It doesnt make sense to me to spend $4-600 rebuilding heads that you wont use in the future when you can get performance heads for that cost now.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

The 487s are definitely better, but yeah, you do have those 882s. When people pose these questions, performance is the usual primary mindset. Reliability is not always the primary one. If those check out, I think it’d be a worthwhile avenue for $200 plus gaskets just to have an A to B engine.

To reiterate, you just need an engine that works correctly, right?

i agree the 487s are better. I like performance but this is my daily and so really need something that can make the long drives to college and back (300 miles there)

if you have 882s see how much to get them rebuilt just because its the cheapest option. If you have to buy heads buy heads that can be used for performance build later. It doesnt make sense to me to spend $4-600 rebuilding heads that you wont use in the future when you can get performance heads for that cost now.

Im gonna pick up my set of heads from the shop and see how much they are gonna charge me for testing them for cracks and go from there.

im also gonna pull my valve cover of the head thats good on my engine currently and see what head it is. to see if I can get lucky with a match.

heres the part number for the ones on summit
SUM-152123

 

[4WDKC]

i agree the 487s are better. I like performance but this is my daily and so really need something that can make the long drives to college and back (300 miles there)


Im gonna pick up my set of heads from the shop and see how much they are gonna charge me for testing them for cracks and go from there.

im also gonna pull my valve cover of the head thats good on my engine currently and see what head it is. to see if I can get lucky with a match.

heres the part number for the ones on summit
SUM-152123

you can increase performance and daily drive the tuck as long as you dont go overboard with it. My concern with the heads you listed is it could make the compression low on the current engine and require future rebuild to use domed pistons to increase power. If you decide to buy heads you need to know what is in the motor before you order for it to be right. putting 72cc heads on an engine with 18cc dished pistons is going to give low compression and poor performance and putting 58 cc heads on and engine with flat tops would require 93+ octane.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

you can increase performance and daily drive the tuck as long as you dont go overboard with it. My concern with the heads you listed is it could make the compression low on the current engine and require future rebuild to use domed pistons to increase power. If you decide to buy heads you need to know what is in the motor before you order for it to be right. putting 72cc heads on an engine with 18cc dished pistons is going to give low compression and poor performance and putting 58 cc heads on and engine with flat tops would require 93+ octane.

This wasn't a performance build so I don't think it's got dish pistons. The engine currently in the truck won't ever be built for performance just as a driver. If I ever build a performance engine to put in something it'll probably be in a car. All I need this engine to do is get me from A to B. I'm pretty sure the one 350 head that's on here is a 76cc and the other one is a 305 head which is giving me the problem. So going down to the 72cc would increase compression by a little bit. But I'm pretty sure what ever I put on will be an increase compared to what I have right now. It'll cost me about $200 to get my 882s rebuilt. I'm going to the machine shop to pick up my bad set and see how much they charged me to check them for cracks. I'm gonna pull down my 882s tonight and see if I can see any cracks.

 

[4WDKC]

This wasn't a performance build so I don't think it's got dish pistons. The engine currently in the truck won't ever be built for performance just as a driver. If I ever build a performance engine to put in something it'll probably be in a car. All I need this engine to do is get me from A to B. I'm pretty sure the one 350 head that's on here is a 76cc and the other one is a 305 head which is giving me the problem. So going down to the 72cc would increase compression by a little bit. But I'm pretty sure what ever I put on will be an increase compared to what I have right now. It'll cost me about $200 to get my 882s rebuilt. I'm going to the machine shop to pick up my bad set and see how much they charged me to check them for cracks. I'm gonna pull down my 882s tonight and see if I can see any cracks.

A performance build doesnt have to be 500hp, it could be a 300 hp cruiser to make the truck more enjoyable on the interstate or get better mileage. Flat top or domed would be performance with 76 cc heads.

 

[Michael Nielsen]

A performance build doesnt have to be 500hp, it could be a 300 hp cruiser to make the truck more enjoyable on the interstate or get better mileage. Flat top or domed would be performance with 76 cc heads.

I'm pretty sure they are just flat top pistons with 4 valve reliefs. I'll have to wait until schools put before i can swap heads or do any work on the truck as I don't have any other way to get to school. So I'm still debating on what heads I need to get. I'm sure the 882s would be fine for a daily truck build if I can't find some others

 

[Michael Nielsen]

@4WDKC @1987 GMC Jimmy Got some interesting information. I pulled my valve covers today to confirm which side has the 305 head. and it turns out the side that is smoking is the 350 head its a 441. The 350 head is also the side that im 90% sure the pinging is coming from. I havent heard the ping in a while which is odd i ran the mid grade until empty and filled up with regular as its 2.63 a gallon here for regular and 2.80 fro mid grade. and so far it hasnt started pinging again.any thoughts on that?
the 305 head is an 801.

 

[4WDKC]

@4WDKC @1987 GMC Jimmy Got some interesting information. I pulled my valve covers today to confirm which side has the 305 head. and it turns out the side that is smoking is the 350 head its a 441. The 350 head is also the side that im 90% sure the pinging is coming from. I havent heard the ping in a while which is odd i ran the mid grade until empty and filled up with regular as its 2.63 a gallon here for regular and 2.80 fro mid grade. and so far it hasnt started pinging again.any thoughts on that?
the 305 head is an 801.

The smoking and ping could be coolant in cyl from a blown head gasket or cracked head, also would explain the mismatched heads as someone already replaced 1 441 and said Im not doing it again when it started having problems. Or someone ran the **** out of the last engine blew it up /cracked head, dropped in the vortec short block from a truck with cracked heads, threw some heads on it that were laying around. The stock piston dish is 14cc and based on some guesses I have created what I be to the high compression scenario comparisons. With the stock vortec block and 58 cc head you are seeing this compression and the same spec with 76cc heads is the second pic.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach