400

Status
Not open for further replies.

mugzi

Greasemonkey
Mar 1, 2007
132
0
0
have a sbc 400 that smokes a lil blue
what does that mean.
 
Engine is burning oil. Piston rings could be bad, or bad valve seals.

Does it go thru alot of oil? If so, try a compression test. If it shows up good, most likely valve seals. If it turns out bad, rings are probably going.
 
with it being the valve seals or the rings is it worth it. i have bought it yet, this guy is selling it for 500. and rite now i have a 200r4 trans and stock gears maybe 2.08 something watever that comes stock in 85 grand prix brougham. if i get the 400 can i keep the trans or if i rebuild it i should be just fine? and what about gears, would 373 be good or should i go bigger. i wanna drive it on the street and highway without draggin a gas station behind me.
 
mugzi said:
with it being the valve seals or the rings is it worth it. i have bought it yet, this guy is selling it for 500. and rite now i have a 200r4 trans and stock gears maybe 2.08 something watever that comes stock in 85 grand prix brougham. if i get the 400 can i keep the trans or if i rebuild it i should be just fine? and what about gears, would 373 be good or should i go bigger. i wanna drive it on the street and highway without draggin a gas station behind me.
3.73 is gonna be draggin a gas station behind you.
3.08, 3.23 max if your worried about mpg.
 
mugzi said:
with it being the valve seals or the rings is it worth it. i have bought it yet, this guy is selling it for 500. and rite now i have a 200r4 trans and stock gears maybe 2.08 something watever that comes stock in 85 grand prix brougham. if i get the 400 can i keep the trans or if i rebuild it i should be just fine? and what about gears, would 373 be good or should i go bigger. i wanna drive it on the street and highway without draggin a gas station behind me.

Pretty much anytime you buy a used engine, it is always a good idea to rebuild it no matter what. You dont want to put a used engine in and have it start knocking 4 or 5 thousand miles down the road, which just wasted all of the tiime you used putting it in the first time. If you plan on using the engine for a long time, just rebuild it.

I dont know how much a 400 usually goes for, I would try lookin on Ebay and see how much they usually go for.
 
chevy 400's are very good engines and kinda rare. for $500, running decently it's definately worth it. i'd rebuild it and make it alot more powerful. the 200r4 will bolt up (unless the the weird early ones with only the BOP bolt pattern) and if built right, will easily survive 500 or even 600HP. some are even supporting 900hp!!
3.73's are a really fun gear but 3.42's may be more practical.
 
okay i wanted to rebuild it but that means crank pinstons cam seals. wat about heads. i know a lil bit about engines but not much on the rebuild end. and the gears 373 are faster than 342 cause if so i can go with 373. the gas station wont keep up. i've alway wanted a 400 or bigger under my hood. its just my 305 spun a bearing and it may take time to rebuild. is there a cheaper dependable way to rebuild. and how long will i have before this 305 turn its last stroke.
 
At the very least, a rebuid consists of seals, piston rings, cam,crank, and rod bearings, freeze plugs, oil pump, valve seals. The engine will have to be disassembled and examined by a machine shop to see if it needs any more work. They will check all of the clearances of he engine and see if they are still within spec. Usually a more in depth rebuild will consist of boring out the cylinders, and getting new matching pistons, turning down the crankshaft journals, and using matching bearings. May also need to have the cylinder head deck machined down if it is warped.

The cylinder heads will also be inspected. As long as they are not warped, usually they will get a valve grind, new valve guides, valve seals, maybe new springs if needed.

It can get pretty expensive, but you can save yourself alot of money by doing some work yourself. Have the machine shop take care of all of the machining that needs done. You can assemble the engine yourself, you would need a few specialty tools. Just make sure you get a service manual for that engine and follow the procedure exactly. Make sure you keep everything very clean also.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact Admin@GBodyForum.com for info on becoming a sponsor