Engine Blowout

[brit_trader2003]

I have a 1969 with a 1979 454 Engine.

I have just had my Gearbox rebuilt by a UK Firm and apparently they had to hammer my Torque Converter of the Engine. After this I had very low (zero) oil pressure. Later I suffered a blown Head Gasket, unfortunately I was doing 70 mph in the fast lane and had to cross 3 lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road. By the time I did the engine was making grinding noises.:cry :cry

I have just had a long chat with a mechanic who has 35 years experience with Chevvy Engines. He says that the UK Firm probably dislodged my Crankshaft a little when they hammered of the Torque Converter. This resulted in low oil pressure. So then my engine was not properly lubricated and cooled and so was running hot. This means that the old engine was getting worn. Eventually the engine running hot has caused the Head Gasket to blow. So water got in and the engine was probably partially seized. Apparently Chevvy Head Gaskets never blow unless there is some other reason. The long and short of this is that between the engine being old and what has happened that there is probably quite alot of damage.

Does this all sound reasonable to you all ? :confused

 

[Jacko]

Does this all sound reasonable to you all ?

Not really???
Usually a crankshaft doesn't easily become "dislodged" by a few good whacks, especially front to rear or rear to front.

A side load whack will cause damage, however.

One garage I know of has been whacking on harmonic balancers for 27 years now, and has never had a problem or callback.
Although I dis-agree with his method, I am making a point.

The smallblock Chevy is a tough motor. It would take some severe beating to actually dis-orient the bearing caps and/or move the crank.

 

[AKRAY4PLAY]

you said the tranny needed work, right?? why in the hell would someone whack on a torque converter?? just remove the three little bolts and it comes right off the flex plate. now, if they beat the converter off, there is a 99.999999% chance they bent the crank. bent crank = wasted rear main bearing = no oil pressure = blown motor. did you notice the low oil pressure right away after picking up the car from the tranny guy?? how far did you drive it before it blew??

harmonic balancers are another isse. i have seen people whack them to get them started on the crank. and finish the install with the bolt. straight front to rear impacts don't really hurt a motor, but sideways sledge hammering kills them. Brian

 

[bill81vette]

how do you hammer on a torque converter to get it on? it must be installed with the tranny as one unit,and then bolted to the flex plate,after the tranny is bolted to the engine.this would ensure they matched up

as far as getting it off its like AKRAY4PLAY said 3 little bolts and maybe a prybar between the converter and the flex plate it should pop off. if they had to beat the converter off then they didn't know what they were doing!!! good luck. bill

 

[brit_trader2003]

They tried to get the Gearbox and Torque Converter off the engine. As I said they had severe trouble and resorted to 'hammering' it off. I did not think this was very clever at the time.

When I got the car back, I did not notice that oil pressure was low at first. Eventually I did and started checking the oil and doing research as to why this would happen and what it meant. It could have been a damaged sensor or dodgy guage ? :confused

Subsequently the Head Gasket blew and I have major problems. It is only now that I realise the significance of the low oil pressure. Before you all criticize me, I have only had the car for 6 months now and have never owned an American car before so it is all a learning experience for me. It would help though if some of the professionals here in the UK were competent ! ad

 

[Stingray6974]

Although the three bolts hold the converter to the flexplate the snout of the converter fits into the recess of the crankshaft. It is possible for the converter to get stuck or rust in place. But hammering on it was the wrong thing to do. I would suspect damage to the rear bearing resulting in the low oil pressure. If you were to watch a machine shop straighten a crank you would see how little it takes to bend one.
It's unusual for a Chevy to blow a head gasket. It would take some serious overheating to do it. You will now have warped heads and/or block deck surface.
It sounds like it's time for a new engine and have a talk with the company that did the trans work.

Mike