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I got my new 331 and it is installed..........

Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

We had to wait for some gaskets to be mailed for CA. They are here and the engine guys should be here in about an hour. I hope to have the engine back together this afternoon. I'll put the rest of the stuff back on after he is gone (blower, radiator....)

Update. He had something come up and could not make it today. I am heading out of town for the week so it will be at east another week.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

Well the engine guy came over today and we put it back together. I need to get a couple new gates radiator shrink clamps and a filter to make sure nothing went into the oil before I put it back in. I had it sitting in an oil drain pan and it was uncovered for the last 2-3 weeks. I hope to have it running by next weekend. I still need to bleed the brakes and have the neighbor help me put the hood back on. I am getting close! :ecit
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

Take a video from the first starts.!! Thats always cool to see !!!
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

Well she fired right up! Ran it for 15-20 seconds and everything looks good. By the end of the time the headers were getting warm enough that the oil on them from removing and installing a couple times started to smoke. It scared me a first but when I looked at them everything looked good. I hope to have the brakes bled tomorrow, put on the hood and if the weather holds go for a drive.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

GREAT !!!

A video wold be nice !!! .... Because........................................ :lol :lol
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

Ran it for 15-20 seconds
Click to expand...

if the weather holds go for a drive
Click to expand...


Since your coolant leak from the improper head gaskets was not found until after the engine was installed it's safe to assume that this engine was not broken-in on a test stand... correct?

You need to break-in your camshaft before going for a drive. Discuss this with your engine builder for his input.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

He did give me some instructions on what to do but first I need to figure out how I am going to set the timing. With all the crap on the engine and the radiator shroud I can barely see the pointer. When I shine the timing light on it I can no longer see it. I think I am going to have to use a mirror and a friend to set this thing. I'll have him hold the light while I lay under the car with my handy dandy mirror. I'll have him twist the dizzy until it is set at 10 degrees.

I can tell the timing is off now because when I try to push the throttle it doesn't respond quickly and at one time it sounded like it backfired in the intake. I heard that and turned it off until I come up with a plan to get the timing adjusted. The last thing I want to do is screw up this engine because of something stupid like timing. I am half tempted to see if my tuner will make a house call to help me get it dialed in.

I had a couple other problems come up. I used threaded tod for my alternator rod and found out that it is not nearly as strong as the original stud. It bent the rod and caused the accessory belt to get off track. I replaced the rod with the original stud for the PS pump and everything looks good now. I also have a PS leak at the pump. I am using an adapter in the pump ((Saginaw Pump for a 71 Impala that is recommended by March). I have a 5/8" inverted flare fitting. I am wondering if I need the one with an O ring on it?

I had a fuel leak on the rail where I did not tighten down a fitting enough. That was an easy fix.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I think when you use a vacuummeter on the intake , and rotate the dizzy till you got max vacuum.Then you should be close to the timing you want.IMO.
You need to unplug the vacuum hose at the dizzy when you take this method.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I am running EFI so I don't have a vacuum port on my dizzy. I guess I could start moving the dizzy but I am concerned about detonation since I am runnig a blower. The last thing I want to do is blow a hole in my new pistons. Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

When you have EFI , does the dizzy have a fix or marked position?.
You have a sensor on the crank to find first cilinder and you have a MAP sensor , so your computer can controlle the ignition ???
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

The dizzy adjusts the timing like on a non efi car. The problem is I have to much stuff in the way to see the marker when the timing light is there. What I should do is use a coat hanger or some other thing to make a pointer on another spot on the balancer. Mark it with white paint and then measure over and make another mark at the 10 degree spot.
 
I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

"68EFIvert" said:
The problem is I have to much stuff in the way to see the marker when the timing light is there. What I should do is use a coat hanger or some other thing to make a pointer on another spot on the balancer. Mark it with white paint and then measure over and make another mark at the 10 degree spot.
Click to expand...

I think that you answered your own question right there. However it sounds like it is still going to be a 2 dude operation. One on your back under the car and one on top adjusting the dizzy. fd
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I just got back from the parts store and got a Mr. Gasket #1594 timing tape for a SBF. I'll find a way to mark it on the drivers side with a wire or simply mark the block. This should make things a whole lot easier than a mirror. Setting the timing should be a 1 person job.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I finally got the timing set. It was about 10 degrees retarded. No wonder it ran like crap. Runs like a top now! Now that that is done I'll be checking out why my battery keeps going dead. :cry
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

EFI still draws some current , after ignition off ?
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I can connect the battery and watch the volts drop by .01 every few seconds. By the time I charge the battery and then tried starting it a couple times the battery needs charging again. Heck even when I was timing the car I watched it drop from 11 volts to about 8-9 until the volts got low enough the computer wouldn't run. I have a pretty severe draw on the system somewhere. I never had this problem before the engine swap so it has to be with one of the things I added (Electric WP, Aeromotive fuel Pump, H20/Meth Pump or the new fan relay). I'll start disconnecting each one by one until I can find it.
 
I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

"68EFIvert" said:
Heck even when I was timing the car I watched it drop from 11 volts to about 8-9 until the volts got low enough the computer wouldn't run. I have a pretty severe draw on the system somewhere.
Click to expand...

Couple of basic questions. Why is it dropping voltage while it is running? Do you not have the alternator connected? With the added items is it putting out enough volts to run everything? What is the condition of the battery? fd
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a coolant leak!!!!!

I am questioning the same thing about the alternator. I have to double check that I have it hooked up correctly. It is pretty much a no brainer since all I had to do is make a larger cable to connect it in the same spot. I do have to check to make sure the plug on the alternator 3g is actually plugged all the way in. It should be putting out plenty of amps since it is a 130 amp alternator.

The only thing running when I had it going was the electric water pump, fuel pump, computer of course and the clock. I suppose my Optima battery could have gone tits up but I doubt it. I charged it again last night and it held the charge overnight when the negative side was disconnected. I am starting to think that I may have wired one of my relays incorrectly. Midlife hooked me up with a troubleshooting guide so I'll start with that.
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a battery drain!!

The wiring problem was pretty simple. When I had to redo the alternator stud I forgot to plug the alternator back into the computer harness. The computer basically turns on the alternator and it wasn't doing that. The bad thing is I came up with 2 more problems. The Meziere waterpump has a leak that I hope will go away by tightening some of the small allen head screws on the front of it. It is not leaking at the engine but rather on a connection of parts on the pump.

The other thing is I ran the car up to almost 210 degrees and neither set of fans kicked on. I need to see what is going on with them. I did not dry test the fans before install so that is the first think I will do.

The good news is I got the brakes bled and the hood back on. If I can fix these little things I will be driving it down the road!
 
Re: I got my new 331 and it is installed..........Now a battery drain!!

As long as you can fix the problem and it doesn't come back , you are on the right track.
Keep that in mind.
Some nice pics or vid would be nice !!!!
 
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