K10 Project

[JoeliusZ28]

This thing with the clutch locked up sounded like a goddamn tornado... Could feel it in the steering wheel and shifter on my way home i thought the 4x4 hubs had engaged themselves somehow at first.

[JoeliusZ28]

Good news and bad news.

Good news is the coolant (water) is finally clearing up from being nasty brown. I think in on my 11th drain/refill of the radiator now.

Bad news is been wrestling a new problem for about a week now. Ever since i started this flushing process its gradually developed a noise in the engine bay that i dont like at all. Its not a mechanical sound, and sounds more like an exhaust leak but it doesnt get louder when you rev the engine (if anything it gets harder to hear over the fan/accessory noise). Its Most noticeable at idle and on the passenger side of the engine. I replaced the manifold donut last night because that had to be the culprit and no bueno. Truck still runs and drives great although i am still not happy with the idle quality. (I never have been). Ive been driving it all week and it hasnt worsened, but my sand dunes trip is next weekend and this has me nervous about driving it 3 hours there and back. It could be nothing/something stupid like a manifold gasket but i cant help but be concerned i might be dealing with the early stages of a blown head gasket. I went over the whole thing with a stethoscope last night and i cant find where its coming from. Ive got a friend with an original 305 in a k5 and his truck idles smoother than mine. Im thinking a compression test might be the next step.

If anyone thats been around small blocks a while would be willing to come take a listen some time id appreciate it.

[MP81]

Sure it's not just a lifter?

[JoeliusZ28]

Lifter would tick and it would be consistent. There isnt much of a rhythym to this noise.

[GlennT]

No rhythm? Hmm... Maybe an intake leak, or bubbles in the cooling system?

[Darren]

I am just going to say this because I have been following since you bought the truck. But I honestly think you are over thinking some things and are overly concerned with others. The good news is that engine will run forever even if its hurt. The idle could be something as little as a vacuum leak somewhere. I had a vacuum line that had the smallest of holes in it and was affecting my idle, replaced the line and bam idles great. Could also be the return spring strength or tension of it, I had that issue to affecting my idle as well. The noise could be the exhaust manifold bolts (had that issue with my headers) if they have been taken off before and loose, or backing off slightly. Yes I agree on the electric fans but that can be done really cheaply, get a set of LS1 fans (assuming they will fit) and the painless wiring kit and bam for about $125-$150 you are all set.

Remember its a carb'd sbc, not much to these things. They are never perfect, temperamental, and love to be driven.

Still would love to see this thing in person sometime.

[TSTONE]

What you're describing sounds like an intake gasket leak.

Try spraying carb cleaner or starting fluid around the edges of the intake when running more so when cold started and see if the idle surges.

[JoeliusZ28]

All good ideas thanks guys, the starting fluid is a good idea i hadnt thought of. And Darren thats a good point on the vacuum lines it is on my list to address those. I replaced a couple that were cracked but i want to replace them all. Im less concerned about the idle than i am the noise (unless they are related).

Also this started right after i replaced a leaking EGR gasket. Possible the new one is leaking worse?

Im definitely not afraid to drive it right now im just afraid to take it all the way to the dunes and back i havent taken it on any long distance trips yet.

[JoeliusZ28]

And Darren if i dont run into you on woodward soon ill cruise down to your place with it sometime. Been so busy with school and working on it lately i havent been to woodward much at all this year.

[TSTONE]

(unless they are related).

That's what I'm thinking.

They actual start sucking air in around the intake. I've heard them making a ticking noise and it could certainly affect idle quality.

[JoeliusZ28]

Well it made a 3 hour road trip today with no issues so whatever it is cant be too serious.

[JoeliusZ28]

So it made the 3 hour drive back with no issues as well. As some of you had suggested it seems to be that the sound its making is an intake gasket leak, and its likely the cause of my crappy idle. Going to deal with that in the fall when the season is over.

Last night i tore apart the speedo cable and cleaned/lubricated that. No more wobbling needle at 25mph.

Truck will be making the trek to silver lake this weekend!

[JoeliusZ28]

Took the truck to the sand dunes this weekend on my annual trip with cousins. What a rollercoaster of a weekend. Ran great the entire 200 mile drive there no issues. Ran fine for half of friday as well cruising around the dunes. Then I tried climbing test hill twice. It came no where close to making it lol. Engine suddenly started running extremely rough at idle, shaking the entire truck. Obviously i became a bit concerned, so i let it cool off and came back to it later... same thing. Figured id try driving it back to the campsite and oddly it drove fine but everytime it returned to idle it had the same horrendous shake. Ended up determining it was a stuck EGR valve. No parts stores in the area had one in stock, so I did the only thing i could and fabricated a block off plate out of a bud light can! Slapped it together, it started right up and idled perfect. Drove it around on the dunes the rest of the weekend with no issue. Also tried test hill one more time and i came about a trucklength short at the highest point, way better than the day before.

Next came the drive home... not long after leaving the camp site i noticed i was getting what sounded like spark knock under part throttle in high gear. Figured maybe the egr delete had something to do with this, so i turned my distributor advance back a bit (maybe 1-2 degrees) and filled up with premium. It didnt seem to have any effect, so i just hit the road and hoped for the best. By the time i got back into the detroit area the noise had gotten a lot worse. It sounded like it was coming from the trans, i could feel it through the shift handle and it seems like the noise changed if i moved the handle around... so i began to suspect a bearing failure in the trans. Now im at the point im not sure if its the trans or spark knock. Did some reading today and found that you want about 5 degrees less vacuum advance if you delete EGR.

So im hoping its just spark knock and a new EGR valve will fix everything. Worse case scenario im pulling the trans again or i did some damage to the engine from the drive home. I am going to try a new valve tonight and overall just try to get the damn thing to idle right before i drive it anymore. Im at the point im ready to rip off all the emissions shit, but I really dont know what im doing with carb/distributor tuning enough yet to be confident jumping into that. Clearly deleting the EGR and not adjusting for it was not a good strategy.

Also we camped next to a guy that had a 1000 Turbo RZR with a tune and 31" paddles. He took us for a ride, all i can say is damn that thing moved

Anyway, on the brighter side heres some pics from the weekend:

Convoying over toward grand rapids:


First day on the dunes:




Fabbing the bud light can egr blockoff:



This was a bachelor party that took a shorty bus on the dunes, it was awesome and we couldnt believe how well it did.


Day 2 pics

[white97z28]

That's awesome!!! Such a good looking truck!!!

[JoeliusZ28]