Coolant in cylinders
 

We pulled the heads on my 67 Nova SS with a 327 and found coolant in the cylinders. Both headgaskets were toast on my new 700 mile motor. Any ideas as to why this would happen?

What was the condition of the coolant?....Joe

If you did not drain the coolant from the block, then just pulling the heads will allow residual coolant to flow into the cylinders.

If it was clean looking, that may have been what happened. Impossible to say without looking.

What were the symptoms?

"Both headgaskets were toast on my new 700 mile motor".


Interesting ... I have heard of using bread when attempting to remove a pilot bushing but have never heard of anyone using toast for head gaskets. Me thinks that might be the problem :dunno:

If you had steam coming out of the exhaust then you had bad head gaskets or a crack somewhere. If you didn't then it probably just ran out of the block and into the cylinders when you removed the heads.

The coolant was clean...a straight 50/50 mix. The motor actually hydraulic'd trying to start it. Very weird that both head gaskets went. One was severely compromised. I will try and post some pics.

Gonna need a lot of pictures.

Any mods to the block or heads or intake?

Couple of photos

It appears the use of sealant on the head bolt threads was way overdone and migrated between the gasket and block/head, preventing the gasket from sealing flat and tight. May not be the cause of the gasket burning out between the cylinders, but it should still be avoided when reassembled.
Could be the gasket itself was inferior for the task. What compression is it built to ?
The scoring in #4 needs to be addressed as well. Possibly the missing piece of the fire ring wedged between the piston and cylinder wall..

Sorry to see these issues you're dealing with.

Sorry to see all of this. Like Mitch mentioned, the #4 cylinder will need to be addressed. I'll also add, the rods will need to be checked for twist. Sadly, it's a rebuild all over again.

Tim

Be sure to check for bent rods. Also check the block deck and heads to see of they are flat.

Detonation
 

After an expensive rebuild of my detonated 327 my builder/machine shop figured out the timing mark on my larger harmonic balancer from a 350 didn't jive with my 327. At TDC the mark was out 14 degrees so he scribed a new correct mark on my balancer.
This wasn't the first motor I lost to a bad timing mark. The first build didn't have forged pistons so it was toast after 40 miles. The 2nd build lasted 700 miles...fingers crossed for the 3rd build!

I'd be looking for the correct balancer for the 327. They were much thinner and lighter. That 8" balancer might be stressing the crankshaft.

I would like to know which cylinders had coolant. I’d also like to know what valves were damaged, and a lot pictures.

L79's, L76's, and L84's all had 8" balancers

Same engine builder?

I always check the timing mark on a engine that I'm building using a piston stop before putting the heads on. I never trust it until I verify that it's correct. I even verify TDC on a running engine that someone brings to me for tuning using a piston stop in the spark plug hole.

The guywho did the machining did the reassemble this time.

To Freddie's point, I don't know of an engine builder who does a complete build, (including timing cover and balancer) that would not confirm TDC. With the variations in timing covers and balancers, there is no way properly know where the timing is at.

On a different note, did you hear this thing detonating?

Sorry to hear you are struggling like this. After everything you have shared, I believe the time has come for you to find a different engine builder.

I do the same, I think that's one of the most overlooked things on an engine.