I Need A Quick Engine Diagnosis Please
 

All:

See what you think is the problem with this scenario:

I was putting the body on my SVC to see if the engine will clear the hood (and of course it doesn't)...I also noticed that the body needed to be moved forward a little bit...but it was rubbing against the headers. So I then realized I had the headers on backwards (passenger side on driver's side). So I smacked my forehead and proceeded to change them.

After I changed them, I decided to fire the engine up to see how much it will shake the car idling...I fire it up and it sounds totally awful on the passenger's side. It was really resonating on that side...sorry I can't describe the noise better. I shut it off because I thought I blew a header gasket. So I pulled the header off and checked the gasket...it looks fine, but there's a little soot around the #2 and #3 cylinder exhaust ports on the head just right above the head studs. (BTW, one of the header bolts was a little loose.) So...I put it back on, tighten all the bolts again...and fire it up again. Same noise. I let it run, take a stethoscope and check around to make sure the thing isn't coming apart from the inside-out...sounds fine. I shut it off. I keep the headers covered up on the end so wasps can't get in while it's sitting...and while I was putting the covers on, I noticed that header was about 30-40 degrees hotter on the end than the other side.

So anyway, there's my situation, and I'm worried sick. Do I have a blown header gasket, or is there something else wrong?

do a compresson test

Let me add that it revs, idles, and runs at a higher RPM perfectly normal. Actually it behaves the exact same as it did a week ago...just sounds different after I changed the headers around.

Did you swap a couple of plug wires on the passenger side? Simple but sometimes it happens...

I'd lean toward the plug wires too, it would almost have to be something that occured in the header swap.

Don't think so...they're Ford Racing wires with numbers on them. Plus they're custom length, so it would be hard to "stretch" one to reach another plug. Do you think I could have just blown a header gasket?

Did you leave a (some) bolt(s) loose where the header and sidepipe bolt together? Drop a bolt into the header?

Is the header touching something? I'm sure you checked this already, but if the header is touching anything, it would make an awful racket, although it wouldn't explain the difference in temperature.

Are you SURE you haven't mixed up a couple of wires? Maybe at the distributor?

A blown header gasket is a possibility, especially if you left a bolt loose. If you have checked all the above and haven't pulled the header off, now is probably the time to do that to check for a damaged gasket, but first use your stethoscope to listen around the header flange for a leak.

The sidepipes aren't on the car. Since my last post, I had one of my friends who works for Valvoline to come up and listen to it. He assembles an engine a day and consults out to Hendricks Motorsports...so I would trust his opinion. He says that it sounds like a header gasket leak to him...and he attributes the temperature differential to my Victor Jr. intake not having a very even distribution in fuel/air. Especially since I'm not using a carb spacer.

So I think I'll just order a good set of Percy header gaskets and try them. I'm probably just being paranoid anyway...you know how you get when you're listening to every single noise...and every thought is going through your head. :)

Paranoid is good
 

Paranoid is good when you are first starting an engine.

You should be able to tell if it is a header gasket. Since you said the side pipes are not installed, why not remove the header and see.

If what your buddy says is true, the people who make that Victor Jr, wouldn't be in business.

I would do a compression check just to see.

Hey, just my $0.02

:3DSMILE:

Like I said in my first post, I pulled the header off and saw the sooty spots on #2 and #3 cylinder exhaust ports. But I was just trying to affirm that it was in fact only a header gasket problem.

I would trust my bud's word...he sees this stuff everyday. Now let me add that in no way am I knocking Edelbrock, but the Victor Jr. is designed for higher rpm ranges...not just idling in the garage.

As a matter of fact, when I had the engine on a dyno, you could see by the thermocouples we were using that some cylinders were running leaner than the others. My dyno guy advised that I used a turtle down in the plenum to help even out the mixtures.

Sorry not to add anything here, and even worse, to ask a further question.... What the heck is a "turtle down in the plenum"???

Ignorant Englishman here.

Well I have never seen one in person, so I'm as ignorant as anyone out there. However, from what I'm told, it's a device that goes down into the intake manifold underneath the carb before the runners that helps disperse the air/fuel mixture evenly.

I hope this gives you some idea...hopefully one of the more experienced members can help out here.

I had the same cylinder temp discrepancies during my dyno tune & pulls using the Victor 427 single plane. You could be correct in your assessment since you stated it was at idle. Best wishes!

Can anybody shed some light on the turtle???

Thanks!

The turtle is nothing more than a blended spacer between the carb and the intake manifold. Canton makes one

http://www.cantonracingproducts.com/phenolic/85158.jpg

Circle track boys have been using them for years.....Only problem is, after a certain amount of time, the resin spacer gets saturated with fuel and starts to leak...Great for Canton, as they sell more of them, bad for the racers, as they have to buy more of them..........


Bill S.

I don't think that's what I'm referring to. I have a picture of one ina a MM&FF magazine...it looks to be like one of those things you put shower gel on and scrub yourself with. It actually goes dowin into the intake manifold. The picture above is just a carb spacer...albeit a phenolic one, but it's a carb spacer. Let me see if I can scan this pic.