I need some help. I have a 74' 351W with a Crane hyd roller cam, GT heads, Street Master intake and edelbrock 750.
I ran the engine very lttle during my build. Moving around the garage a little and a few trips around the block for sheer enjoyment and motivation.
My first few trips of any distance I had a (I thought) lean condition. Lots of missing, pops and sputtering at speed in 5th gear. The problem worsened. So I changed the metering rods for a little more rich fuel mixture. No real change, so I replaced the original metering rods. Obviously that wasn't the problem.
I gapped and changed the plugs,
oil and filter, and I advanced the timing per the specs from my original paperwork and the engine really came alive, but with a light tick at idle to louder noise at cruising speed. Not quite a knock, but more like a louder exhaust from one piston on the pass side. At a more open throttle I can't hear the noise at all. I re-checked the new plugs and there was no fouling.
Could this be a bad piston?
Could I have damaged something by driving with the timing off?
Could I have spun a bearing?
Is this something I could diagnose without the help of a mechanic?
Could I have a plug wire reversed?
How much damagage could I cause if I drove 10 miles or so to a mechanic?
business is still slow so funds are lean, but I can do some repairs at home, however, this seems a little more out of my league
You guys at CC are always helpful and greatly appreciated
Duff