- Project Responder Blog
- Quincy Home Show
- New fan clutch installed
- Keeping it simple
- Trip to Chicago, part 3
- Trip to Chicago, part 2
- Trip to Chicago (fans fail), part 1
- Preparing for Chicagoland Emergency Vehicle Show
- Fan clutch fails - electric fan solution
- Finally decided to add a blog
Engine to be torn down
posted @ Monday, March 20, 2006
I took the truck down to A&K Machine Shop in DeSoto over the weekend to get some expert work done on the Holley Truck Avenger carburetor. Austin, the owner of A&K, showed that he had the right stuff when it comes to carbs. After removing the carburetor from the engine, Austin quickly tore it down and installed a 50cc accelerator pump, replacing the 30cc pump that came from the factory. He also installed a new squirter, changed the vacuum secondary spring from black to plain, installed a 3.5 power valve and installed smaller jets, dropping the front down to 65. After months of frustration with the engine performance, Austin’s work finally got us on the right track. It was most aggravating when the engine would stall and die when starting from a complete stop. It turns out that the 30cc pump does not deliver enough fuel to satisfy the big block and it ends up starving before the power valve can kick in. After taking the truck out for a test drive, the change was amazing. I could actually feel the vacuum secondary system kick in at about 2,000 rpm and from a complete stop, I no longer had to feather the pedal to get it to go.
Now it was time to swap out the distributor. But there was a problem. The engine was still loping badly and after pulling the plug wires, one by one, we found that the number eight cylinder was dead. We ran a compression test and found almost zero compression. Then we tried a leak down test and found air bleeding by the valves. This was not what we wanted to hear. However, Austin is the first mechanic we’ve met that has his act together and offered us a no holds barred diagnosis as well as a solution. So now it’s time to pull the heads back off of the engine block and let Austin work his magic. We’re going to have him install stainless valves and high end hardware. I want this engine to be working at 100% and I don’t intend to skimp by on this one. So stay tuned and as we muddle our way through this quagmire, I’ll keep you up to date and post some great news in the next few weeks when the truck is screaming down the road like a banshee on fire.
Link: Engine to be torn down