What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[MrMarty51]

It will be interested to see the cylinder measurements if you don’t mind sharing

Oh, not at all.
I did not get a thing done to the block today. Had plans to get out that stripped drain plug and scrub and clean parts.
Decided to make the 30 mile trip to Rosebud for church services. Took the 78 MG. Got back to town, 62 miles, 2.8 gallons of fuel and one full quart of oil. Yup, over 30 miles per gallon of fuel and a quart of oil every 50 miles.
I will try to get some cleaning and removal of that plug this week. Usually when I get home from work its, eat supper then I cant keep my eyes open.
Have to take a nap or three then its time for bed.

 

[Will L.]

Is it leaking the oil or burning it? If burning- a catch can can help.

 

[MrMarty51]

Is it leaking the oil or burning it? If burning- a catch can can help.

Leaking. Underneath of the truck, I guaraaaaaanteeee You it will never rust.
Oil cooler hoses are good too.
PO had those made from Aeroquip hydraulic hose so its not leaking from there.
It was the tensioner spring on the front crank shaft seal.
Now it will all get sealed up, new pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets and a load of Right-Stuff gasket sealer.

 

[jrsavoie]

Leaking. Underneath of the truck, I guaraaaaaanteeee You it will never rust.
Oil cooler hoses are good too.
PO had those made from Aeroquip hydraulic hose so its not leaking from there.
It was the tensioner spring on the front crank shaft seal.
Now it will all get sealed up, new pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets and a load of Right-Stuff gasket sealer.

I think Will was referring to the MGs oil consumption or leaks

 

[MrMarty51]

I think Will was referring to the MGs oil consumption or leaks

Oh boy, yeah, the MG is blowing the oil out past the rings.
Driving along, Give the gas pedal a nice shove, let off then press down on the fuel feed again, big O~L cloud of blue smoke.
Definitely burning the oil. Isles sweet and smooth, never fouls a sparking plug, might be contributed to that GM HEI distributor. Thats funny, GM ignition onna MG.
Never a drip or drop of oil hanging from the engine.

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

Just a FYI, find oversized pistons first then have the shop bore & hone to fit the pistons.

 

[MrMarty51]

Just a FYI, find oversized pistons first then have the shop bore & hone to fit the pistons.

That I shall do.
Have the shop measure wore bores then decide from there ?

 

[dbrannon79]

That I shall do.
Have the shop measure wore bores then decide from there ?

Are you going with gap-less rings and the works for this motor?

 

[MrMarty51]

Are you going with gap-less rings and the works for this motor?

Yes, gapless rings for sure and pistons.
I’ll check with the blocks and heads man and see if He will measure the inside of the large end of the rod journals then determine if they need work.
There is no one besides him that does any type of this work.
I used to have Carquest over in Billings do the machine work but they have stopped all of that too.
If Barney dont recondition rods then I’ll need to find a machine shop that can, and be reliable.
The shop in Billings that bored the Triumph trident jugs fit the pistons too tight and that engine had started to want to cease so I am not driving that motorcycle.
It is on the back burner until this truck is back together.
I’ll have to just do some searching and see who is out there.

 

[Will L.]

Oh boy, yeah, the MG is blowing the oil out past the rings.
Driving along, Give the gas pedal a nice shove, let off then press down on the fuel feed again, big O~L cloud of blue smoke.
Definitely burning the oil. Isles sweet and smooth, never fouls a sparking plug, might be contributed to that GM HEI distributor. Thats funny, GM ignition onna MG.
Never a drip or drop of oil hanging from the engine.

Yes- meant the MG. I always loved those rigs.
Get a can of “Restore” in there- it actually works without damaging anything.

Then a provent 100 is big enough. Not sure how often you need to add oil to offset the cost though.

Are you sure it is rings and not valve seals or both? Easier to change. If it smokes a lot first start in the morning thats indicator of valve seals.

Chris is on point about finding pistons before having the block cut. For the 6.5.
Doug’s question can apply to both engines. Almost every engine imo- don’t question it- just count on gapless rings just remember: gas =top ring, diesel= second ring.

 

[MrMarty51]

Yes- meant the MG. I always loved those rigs.
Get a can of “Restore” in there- it actually works without damaging anything.

Then a provent 100 is big enough. Not sure how often you need to add oil to offset the cost though.

Are you sure it is rings and not valve seals or both? Easier to change. If it smokes a lot first start in the morning thats indicator of valve seals.

Chris is on point about finding pistons before having the block cut. For the 6.5.
Doug’s question can apply to both engines. Almost every engine imo- don’t question it- just count on gapless rings just remember: gas =top ring, diesel= second ring.

I’ll see if I can find that Restore local. Quite limited on supplies in the parts stores.
Seems any more that when the old stock sells out replacements are NLA.
Wanted a 21/64ths drill bit. NAPA had none, been on back order for two months.

 

[MrMarty51]

Yes- meant the MG. I always loved those rigs.
Get a can of “Restore” in there- it actually works without damaging anything.

Then a provent 100 is big enough. Not sure how often you need to add oil to offset the cost though.

Are you sure it is rings and not valve seals or both? Easier to change. If it smokes a lot first start in the morning thats indicator of valve seals.

Chris is on point about finding pistons before having the block cut. For the 6.5.
Doug’s question can apply to both engines. Almost every engine imo- don’t question it- just count on gapless rings just remember: gas =top ring, diesel= second ring.

Oh yeah, MG on oil consumption.
Not a bit of smoke in the mornings or after it has set for a time.
It is all out the tail pipe while driving, accelerating then letting out of the throttle, then step slightly back into it throws out a fair amount of blue smoke.
Deceleration creates a vacuum and sucks oil past the weakened or stuck rings, slight accel burns it all out real quick and thus the blue haze on reacceleration.

 

[Will L.]

Rethinking that: a provent 200 would be better because the higher rpm means more airflow. Usually it’s simple power generation = size but the higher rpm might do better with a 200 than 100. Just remember - if you buy the cko housing DO NOT use the cko filters! You need the real ones.

Here is the restore:

Amazon.com

The 16 oz bottle is for v8, 9 oz bottle for 4 cylinder. But for $2 more I would get the bigger one. Pour in 9 oz now, then after a couple oil changes add the rest.

Me being me, I would kill some spotted tree whales first.
No cat to undo

Water bottle spray into the carb while engine is at 2,000 rpm to clean out all the carbon. Carbon will stick a ring also. It will smoke. When smoke is gone, somis carbon.

You can remove plugs and pour in a shot of atf into each cylinder. Let it sit over night. Then crank engine without plugs for 5 seconds. Install plugs and start.
Now a vacuum hose from under the carb and slowly feed it some atf. It will smoke again. A lot. Too much will foul the plugs.
Then do the water thing again for a minute or two to clear the atf.

Do all this before the oil change and at the oil change add the Restore.

All the atf and the water will remove as much carbon as possible and let the restore be most effective and hopefully unstick a ring.
Some folks say acetone but I don’t because none of the other stuff can hurt bearings- but acetone will. So will Mystery Marvel Oil (it damages). The only mystery is why people think putting it in the engine is good. It is a cutting oil- save that for drilling holes.

 

[dbrannon79]

If you have one of them fancy bore scope cameras, pull a few plugs and have a looksee. look up around the valve seats and see if those are more oily than the rest of the cylinder area. that will help give a visual on if valve guides or seals vs stuck piston rings. for older engines that don't care about specific oil weights, you can also dump in a bottle of Lucas oil treatment with the restore. Just by wise on the amount going in compared to the oil capacity. you can thicken things up too much if the engine only takes like 4 quarts to a change.

that stuff works great on bad rod bearings too LOL, I had an old jeep Cherokee back in the day, one that Chrysler had used a GM 2.8l engine in that was externally balanced. some PO had replaced the flexplate with one for a chevy with the same engine which had different counterweights and caused unwanted damage to the engine with the vibrations. after fixing the vibration issue I found the bad rod bearing. Ran two bottles of that stuff in it for a couple of years until I got rid of it. it still ran when it left LOL

 

[jrsavoie]

I’ll see if I can find that Restore local. Quite limited on supplies in the parts stores.
Seems any more that when the old stock sells out replacements are NLA.
Wanted a 21/64ths drill bit. NAPA had none, been on back order for two months.

I order Norseman drill bits from Fairbury Fastener, Fairbury, Illinois

Hardware Store | Fairbury Fastener & Supply | Fairbury

Largest distributor of industrial supplies in Central Illinois. Available in store and shipping national wide a wide selection of products including Norseman Drill Bits, Milwaukee, Makita, Spyder, and much more!

www.fairburyfastener.com

 

[jrsavoie]

Rethinking that: a provent 200 would be better because the higher rpm means more airflow. Usually it’s simple power generation = size but the higher rpm might do better with a 200 than 100. Just remember - if you buy the cko housing DO NOT use the cko filters! You need the real ones.

Here is the restore:

Amazon.com

The 16 oz bottle is for v8, 9 oz bottle for 4 cylinder. But for $2 more I would get the bigger one. Pour in 9 oz now, then after a couple oil changes add the rest.

Me being me, I would kill some spotted tree whales first.
No cat to undo

Water bottle spray into the carb while engine is at 2,000 rpm to clean out all the carbon. Carbon will stick a ring also. It will smoke. When smoke is gone, somis carbon.

You can remove plugs and pour in a shot of atf into each cylinder. Let it sit over night. Then crank engine without plugs for 5 seconds. Install plugs and start.
Now a vacuum hose from under the carb and slowly feed it some atf. It will smoke again. A lot. Too much will foul the plugs.
Then do the water thing again for a minute or two to clear the atf.

Do all this before the oil change and at the oil change add the Restore.

All the atf and the water will remove as much carbon as possible and let the restore be most effective and hopefully unstick a ring.
Some folks say acetone but I don’t because none of the other stuff can hurt bearings- but acetone will. So will Mystery Marvel Oil (it damages). The only mystery is why people think putting it in the engine is good. It is a cutting oil- save that for drilling hole

Wanted a 21/64ths drill bit. NAPA had none, been on back order for two months.

I order Norseman drill bits from Fairbury Fastener, Fairbury, Illinois

Fastenal, - only get their good bits. Their cheap bits are crap.

MSC, Granger, McMaster Carr, Kimball Midwest, Lawson Products, all sell quality cutting tools.
You can also order online from the tool trucks

Hardware Store | Fairbury Fastener & Supply | Fairbury

Largest distributor of industrial supplies in Central Illinois. Available in store and shipping national wide a wide selection of products including Norseman Drill Bits, Milwaukee, Makita, Spyder, and much more!

www.fairburyfastener.com

 

[jrsavoie]

Rethinking that: a provent 200 would be better because the higher rpm means more airflow. Usually it’s simple power generation = size but the higher rpm might do better with a 200 than 100. Just remember - if you buy the cko housing DO NOT use the cko filters! You need the real ones.

Here is the restore:

Amazon.com

The 16 oz bottle is for v8, 9 oz bottle for 4 cylinder. But for $2 more I would get the bigger one. Pour in 9 oz now, then after a couple oil changes add the rest.

Me being me, I would kill some spotted tree whales first.
No cat to undo

Water bottle spray into the carb while engine is at 2,000 rpm to clean out all the carbon. Carbon will stick a ring also. It will smoke. When smoke is gone, somis carbon.

You can remove plugs and pour in a shot of atf into each cylinder. Let it sit over night. Then crank engine without plugs for 5 seconds. Install plugs and start.
Now a vacuum hose from under the carb and slowly feed it some atf. It will smoke again. A lot. Too much will foul the plugs.
Then do the water thing again for a minute or two to clear the atf.

Do all this before the oil change and at the oil change add the Restore.

All the atf and the water will remove as much carbon as possible and let the restore be most effective and hopefully unstick a ring.
Some folks say acetone but I don’t because none of the other stuff can hurt bearings- but acetone will. So will Mystery Marvel Oil (it damages). The only mystery is why people think putting it in the engine is good. It is a cutting oil- save that for drilling holes.

Marvel also works for rust prevention. I used to use anything and everything handy, whenever I was under a vehicle.

People that I hired to work n stuff hated following me. If there wasn't never seize or locktite present. It probably had a coat of some kind of stuff rust prevention.

I use a can of the 4 cylinder Engine Restorer on the 2014 Honda CR-V, every oil change.

 

[MrMarty51]

This is a cheap chinesium set of center punches but they have been used many times.
I even have used a bushing around some of them to reach larger diameters.

Punched the drain plug

Then heated the block around the plug with the bernzomatic. That didnt work, couldnt get the engine block hot enough so got out the oxy/acetelyne torcher And that warmed it right up.
Still took a lot of pressure on the crescent wrench hooked to the easy out

 

[ak diesel driver]

I'm surprised there was that much clearance behind it

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

That goes in the water jacket, and is recessed so the motor mount spacer plate doesn't interfere..