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Old 12-03-2006, 07:31 AM
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TonyMadrid TonyMadrid is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Sparrowbush, NY
Cobra Make, Engine: A&C 351W, C4
Posts: 407
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Default Some things to consider

With little or no oil pressure my fear is that not only the rod and main bearings may have washed out, but also the piston rings may not have gotten any lubrication.

If the rings are running dry you run the chance of fuel washing out the cylinder walls and the rings then scoring the walls. I would definitely do a compression test to give you an idea of any possible damage to the cylinders and rings.

The high exhaust gas temps (EGT's) could definitiely be caused by not enough timing. The lack of oil pressure would add to the high heat situation.

When you check your oil, in addition to looking for any metal particles, which sometimes may not be visible but will look like a silver or grayish contamination in the oil, also smell it for any traces of fuel that may have washed past the rings.

After checking the oil condition do a compression test - you are looking for consistency in readings from cylinder to cylinder. However, you want to make sure that the readings aren't excessively low. If they are then you'll have to pull the heads and have the cylinder bores measured to make sure they haven't worn excessively overbore. If you are lucky you may be able to save the cylinders with just a honing, or you may have to overbore the cylinders further. I don't know what block you have and whether or not it has already been 30'd over. If it has and the walls have been scored excessively, you may be able to go to a 40 overbore and depending on what year block, some say you can go as high as a 60 overbore.

I hope things are not as serious as above and my intention is not to scare or worry you, but it is important that you be aware of what may have happened. What is important is that the engine did not cease.

No matter what else you do, you definitely must pull rod and crank journal caps and check the condition of the bearings. The bearings are very soft metal (usually coated babbit) and they can score quite easily.

I attached two pics of washed out bearings; I hope they come through. If not e-mail me and I will send the pics to you via e-mail.
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