Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Well some may remember that last fall the engine in the '83 took a poop on me, which the end result was a dead block due to Total Seal rings giving up the ghost on me.

Since then I have been slowly trying to get this ed thing back together and it's been fighting me every step of the way.

I sourced a good used shortblock from an 87-88TC over the winter and by late spring I had finally gotten everything together with the old BV head I had.
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/longblock5_07.JPG)

Well in short order that ran for poop.  Just didn't sound right and I was seeing some weird oil issues.  So I pull the head off and check the flatness...opps...not flat.  There were some curious low spots between the combustion chambers.  So, I pull it apart and have it decked (the had to take .020" off of it....holy cow!).  So I get that back together and it runs exactly the same....*sigh*.  I'm almost ready to pull the head again when I have an epiphany....and double-check the rotation of the dist.  :punchballs: I had it backwards and thus the #2 and #3 plug wires needed to be swapped.  I do that and low and behold...it runs crisp and clean.

Well it runs crisp and clean for a few days.  I was fiddling with it and it began to develop a miss (mind you, the car has not left the drive yet) and then I'm sitting there fiddling with the tuning for the injector pulse parameters....and then all of a sudden the garage is filled with smoke....oil smoke.  WTF?!?!  Some more checking over the next few days reveals that the smoke only comes once the engine gets up to temp (160-180*) and there was some oil leakage from what looked to be between the head and block.  I had put the engine together with some non-undercut ARP studs and never went back to retorque them.  So I tried a retorque, but to no avail.  The oil issue was still there.  shiznit!  The ed studs loosened on the heat cycle and screwed up the seal.  So of the head comes AGAIN!.

This time I double-check the block and it's flat.  I say to hell with the studs and just get some new TTA bolts and another head gasket and button it all back up.  It starts up fine....so I wait until it gets warm....*sigh*..smoke.:toilet: and still oil leaking.  It's not coming from between the head and block though...it's coming from between the head and exhaust manifold.

(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/oil%20leak.JPG)

So I do more digging.  I do a compression check (155-160 across all cylinders).  Then I pull the exhaust manifold and find this...

(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/oilyhole.JPG)

The #1 exhaust port is COVERED in oil.  It's actually pooling on the lower floor of the exhaust port.  The plug doesn't seem oiled down, so I don't think the intake side is wet.  The rest of the intake and exhaust is free of oil. 

The only thing I can think at this point is that this head is cracked into an oil passage and once the engine warms up and expands, the crack opens and starts pumping oil into the #1 exhaust port.  There is NO smoke until the engine warms up.

So.....my big valve head is dead :(

Seeing as thing is on my last nerve and I'm wanting to get it running and driving with a little cost outlay as possible here is my last option before I toss the 2.3T into the corner of the garage.

(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/newhead_1.JPG)
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/newhead_2.JPG)

It's an old carb turbo head (79-80) that I used for a short while before I took the car off the road for repaint.  It had been "rebuilt" (read: new exhaust valve guides), and I didn't have any issues with it.  It just got yanked when I had it sitting next to the BV head and saw that the one head was actually a BV head (didn't notice it without anything to compare to).  The only problem is that it's STOCK and unported in ANY way.  The seats and guides are good, but I just can't drop it in like this so it's going to get a little work to open things up a bit :hick:.  I'm going to break out the die grinder and do a little bowl clean-up, unshroud the valves, open the exhaust port a bit and do a little polishing.  Then I'll have it decked .010" and put it all back together and HOPEFULLY have it running right again.  It sure as  hell better run right :beatyoass:

This is one of the reasons I won't be at CJ this year (the other is a trip I have the following weekend, and I just don't have the $$)

Anyway, once I get into the head with the grinder I'll post up some more pics.

 Chuck that really sucks. I've had my own fair share of 2.3t motor problems in the past. That is why I have 4 cracked heads sitting the the shop. All that in search of a good one. Anyhow Keep plugin away at it. I know it will pay off. I thought my T/c wouldn't ever make it back on the road. It did and now it is coming in for some paint. Hope I don't have your problems.

what about having the head furnace brazed? just an idea.

Not gonna screw with it.  It's an OLD head that had been beat on for a while.  It had an impact from a piston a few years ago (99-00) when an ARP rod bolt broke, so it probably developed a stress crack then.  It just took a few years before it finally gave way.

Keep chipping away at it Chuck. It's all we can do :(

Sorry to hear that Chuck.
It looks like you have it under control and back together soon, but if for some reason that head doesn't work out, I have a good stock one that I will donate it you need it.

Brent
:cougarsmily:

sounds like you and i share the same luck.

good luck with it! hope you get it running better this time around, amn thats one py turn of events!

It hates you because you painted it Pontiac Blue ;)
Sorry about your luck Chuck.

The new head is blue...and I didn't paint it ;)

I don't think the 2.3T likes you. It's the cars way of telling you to get that I6 turbo in there;)

I think it is just a test that all turbo coupes must do to see if you love them enough! Once you pass the test everything seems to go your way.

Guess I'm just lucky, out of 14 T/Cs owned, I'm yet to pull a head... Biggest engine repairs were replacing a noisy cam and swapping out a puked turbo... Repl a couple clutches and a bunch of fuel pumps...

Were you pushing crazy boost levels or were they stock? I'm guessing the higher boost levels messes with 'em.

Yes you've had good luck with yours but you have still had you fair share of  I'm sure of it. Every car needs to test its owner to see where it stands. The turbo coupes just seem to be a lot more picky than other cars.

holy !  someone has actually owned more turbocoupes then me?!

I've owned 57 since 2000, so yes.

 nice work there Chuck...hang in there. Despite all the issues with these cars it's still somehow more 'fun' to mess with them then to just jump in a new 2007 and drive (although I'm trying to figure out how to add a new Mustang to my fleet!)




Are they all cracked in the same place? Is it something you can only see after a magnaflux?

Of those 4 heads 3  only have small cracks that go up round the seats. It has been a while since I've looked at them. Also the 4th one is toast toast, toast. big crack in number one cylinder. Once I took it off the motor I was yes its toast. The same cylinder in the block is toast. I do have a good ranger round port, good 86 T/C head, and the Ranger BO round port I have on the car now. Yes I know plenty of people run a cracked head. But that isn't my style. Besides all the spares laying around are good for mock up and such.

is there anyway to fixed a cracked head or just s it? i just had a head check out for my 2.t build up and it came back with crack in two places. can they be fixed in some magical way?

there wouldnt have been any way for you to have known about a crack prior to all this unless you had it presure tested,, even at that, its still possible to miss a crack that needs operating temp ranges in order to locate it.
 
its garbage ,, sorry for all the bad luck.  Hope you get the carb'd one up and doing better.

someone shoud do a write up on the effects of crazy boost on these heads. might be useful for others,,ie- who's runnin what boost and the end results when problems occure.

Yeah, I know it's junk.  It's seen ALOT of hard use.  It was originally used in a carb turbo set-up that had been worked.  It's seen a piston slam into it.  I beat the hell out it after that and all was fine until now. 
Now I just need the time and motivation to attack the "new" head with the die grinder :hick:

im in a totally similar situation myself,, i know what you mean though.

Ok..today I was finally able to start the port work on the replacement head for this thing.  The ports/chambers are untouched.  I'm not going OS valves, but general clean-up and mild port work will still be beneficial.

Starting comb chamber....
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/headbefore.JPG)
After
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/headafter.JPG)

My plans are this.  Clean up the pockets and smooth the valve guide transitions.  Work on the big-side radius of the port and leave the short-side radius alone.  Unshroud the valves a touch and polish the chambers.  I'm just going to clean up the intake port and on the exhaust I'm actually going to raise the roof of the big-side radius a bit to improve the flow.  Nothing meticulous and fancy, just general work that I feel I'm obligated to do.  I mean I can't just drop a "stock" head back on there... :p  I have about 1-1/2 hours in the one chamber/intake clean up.  I figure another 1/2 hour for the exhaust port work (I already have the pocket work done) and that cylinder will be done.  3 more to go after that.  Then it's the work for the oil control cam bearings and then off to the machine shop for a .010" cut and then reassembly.

Looks good. If I ever get that TC that I want (one day when I have the cash) you can port the head for me;)

I had this same problem with my old 350  that's why I am not a chevy guy anymore lol  It sucks man, and I am sorry

you were doing good to get all that done in 1.5 hrs.  A lot of meat gone for sure.  Looks great though and you probably did that head more good than ford did.  Why would they choke off the valve stem area  like that anyway?
Its like they thought the intake valve needed more support or something,,??

got any pics of the cutting bits you use?  i only have a couple along with various stones.

I just have a std small oval-headed carbide bit.  I used that for the material removal and the general smoothing and then just followed up with a tapered sanding roll.

Does well enough for what I need to do.

With those pics it makes me think I could do a good job myself. Never tried it but looking at your work Chuck I have some good pics to use a reference. Now get that thing back on the road.

that looks great, chuck.  so you're not doing anything else to this head other then cleaning it up and mildly porting it?

Nope...

Ok, well I finally got the porting work done on the replacement head today. 
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/Tbird/2.3T%20Refresh/chambers.JPG)

Nothing fancy, just some mild port work.  One thing I did do was raise the roof of the big radius on the ex port to try and help smooth the flow.  I basically just raised it by 1/8".  Hard to really see in a pic and I forgot to take a side-by-side one.

Next item is the little work for the oil-control cam bearings (which deliver the oil to the top of the cam bearing where the load is instead of the bottom.  Then it's off to be faced and then time for reassembly.  I went ahead and picked up a set of drop-in springs with a higher seat pressure as well.

looks great. i need to do that to one of my spare heads so it will be ready if/when i pop a HG

ok,, i need some help here,,,,,,,,,

thats considered a MILD port job?????????????

id hate to see a major.

good job man,

Yeah "major" would have involved removing the valve guide bosses completely, hogging the bowls a bit more and REALLY opening up the exhaust port (enlarging the diameter as well as raising the port roof) ;)

Still std-sized valves too.

if you want,, i have a real nice set of valve seat cutting tools made by Neway if you want to borrow them.  Theres about 12 dies and guides with a T bar.  I can borrow it out to you till i need it back.

I appreciate the offer, but I didn't plan on doing big valves in this head.  I just want it back on the road.  I just had a serious mental block with dropping a BONE STOCK head on it.

what does polishing the combustion chamber do ?

Helps against carbon build up.

what chuck said, but it also helps to prevent detonation by reducing the the chance of a hot spot due to as cast roughness

That's a lot of work for a "temporary" engine. :p

j/k looks good.

ahhh i see . thanks for the info