84 Monte Carlo Engine Swap...or Camshaft Replacement ?

[Built6spdMCSS]

...plenty of times I was given the wrong info... I know who is giving me good info and bad info

Please elaborate on this given your vast knowledge and experience that you've shared with us here.

 

[Tynan918]

Wait so it's ticking?! So you sure it's the bottom of the motor that is rough dude 🥺

Can you share a photo of the dipstick? Your oil will help paint there a better picture.

Also, I figure to ask but have you pulled your spark plugs and seen what they showed?!

Yes it's ticking, not anything loud and it's actually kind of faint but it makes me worry.

It's not the bottom end, it's the top end because I can hear it in the valve covers.

When I took out my lifters and my rods, I didn't see if the rods were Bent by rolling them across a flat surface, I just cleaned them off real good and assumed that they weren't bent because I couldn't visually see it.

Here is a video of my camshaft and lifters visual inspection...

 

[Tynan918]

Please elaborate on this given your vast knowledge and experience that you've shared with us here.

I just did, when I spoke on checking my camshaft while I was changing my timing chain a year ago... I was told my camshaft is fine and nothing to worry about and not to pull it out because it would have been a bigger job... Well at that time I actually was in a house with the garage and I had the time and opportunity to do it, which I also stated...

I was still told not to do it and look where I'm at now, being told that my camshaft is worn and my lifters are worn and that I either need to swap my camshaft or swap the engine... Now that I don't live in that house and no garage...

Not to mention I was even told I wasn't going to finish the timing chain swap because I never dropped the pan... But I did without dropping the pan.


That's bad advice... But hey, we can make this into an argument, but you can always teach your old dog new tricks and there's always more than one way to skin a cat. There are new things that I have shown mechanics of 40 years that they had congratulated me on...

So don't make me out to be the bad guy simply because I'm pointing out that there's bad advice in the air... As if that's completely impossible...lol

 

[Tynan918]

Can you share a photo of the dipstick? Your oil will help paint there a better picture.

Also, I figure to ask but have you pulled your spark plugs and seen what they showed?!

I just did a oil change a few days ago after pulling my lifters and intake manifold... There was coolant and PB blaster mixed into the oil when I changed it, so what it looked like before that I'm not sure of... But the oil and the oil filter looked good.

I pulled spark plug number one out to find TDC while installing my distributor, cylinder number one look good...

 

[Tynan918]

Boring an engine is part of a rebuild, you have to pull the engine and completely disassemble it once bored you would need new pistons and rings, resized rods, rebalance the rotating assembly. as I stated I would not waste time doing this to a 305, the cost for machining, assembly and parts are going to be the same price for a 350 as a 305.

As far as Rhoads lifters they were designed to help with bigger cams making them more "streetable" and are not going to solve any flat tappet wear issues.

If your lifters were worn badly then all of those metal shavings are throughout the engine so it would just be a matter of time before the damage from that happens.

So basically if I don't want to tear this engine out of the car and apart to clean it of all the metal parts from the worn lifters, I'm better off swapping for a 350...

I need time to be on my side until I can get an engine to swap it with.

 

[565bbchevy]

So basically if I don't want to tear this engine out of the car and apart to clean it of all the metal parts from the worn lifters, I'm better off swapping for a 350...

I need time to be on my side until I can get an engine to swap it with.

If you can find an inexpensive good running SBC to swap in a 305 would be fine, I just wouldn't waste the time and money rebuilding a 305.

 

[g0thiac]

I just did a oil change a few days ago after pulling my lifters and intake manifold... There was coolant and PB blaster mixed into the oil when I changed it, so what it looked like before that I'm not sure of... But the oil and the oil filter looked good.

I pulled spark plug number one out to find TDC while installing my distributor, cylinder number one look good...

Coolant and PB blaster mixed into the oil?!

Honestly that doesn't sound good, like at all, I really now expect that motor to break any moment.

I would check all the plugs also 🤦‍♀️😢😢😢

 

[Tynan918]

Coolant and PB blaster mixed into the oil?!

Honestly that doesn't sound good, like at all, I really now expect that motor to break any moment.

I would check all the plugs also 🤦‍♀️😢😢😢

Yeah there was a small bit of coolant that poured into the pan and I use PB blaster to loosen up the lifters so that I can pull them out and that leaked into the crankcase as well...


Coolant and PB blaster didn't sit in the engine not even a day...

 

[Tynan918]

I would check all the plugs also 🤦‍♀️😢😢😢

I got two more moving loads to do with my mom's car before I can go out here and start tinkering with mine, but I will pull the spark plugs and show you what they're saying...

 

[g0thiac]

Yeah there was a small bit of coolant that poured into the pan and I use PB blaster to loosen up the lifters so that I can pull them out and that leaked into the crankcase as well...


Coolant and PB blaster didn't sit in the engine not even a day...

Okay, I get that part.

…However if you didn’t change the oil when you first got it, then you can only assume thats where the coolant came from really 🤷‍♀️😭😭😭