350 Mag Head Removal

[FreeBeeTony]

I pulled the boat yesterday and removed the port side head today. The valves looked ok from what I could see. One thing I did notice was the top of the #5 piston looked kinda clean.........see pics.........the #3 cyilnder is where I thought the problem was. The head gasket did appear to be a little dark in between the #3 and #5 cylinder.....not burnt just a little dark.<br />What does this pic show if anything? <br /><br />

]<br /><br />Here is a pic of the head (pardon my toe!).................the #5 cylinder is clean here too!<br /><br />

<br /><br />And a pic of the head gasket the pic makes it look worse, but you can see what I am talking about. The head bolts didn't seem that tight........I didn't use a torque wrench to remove them, but thought they could have been tighter. Is it possible it's just that the head wasn't torqued properly? But why did #3 seem dead and #5 appears to have the problem.<br /><br />

<br /><br />I hope I am on to something here.......I plan on pulling the other head next w/e.

 

[Don S]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

To me, it looks like water intrusion. It's been steam cleaned.<br />Possible cracked head, block, bad head gasket.<br />Get the head magnafluxed and check the block very carefully.<br />Usually there is a noticable miss in the engine when it does that.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Hi Don, how does the head gasket look to you? Did you see the last pic?<br /><br />What do you think about the test I did shorting out the plugs and #3 seemed dead? How does this compare to having #5 steam cleaned? <br /><br />It didn't miss until ~3000RPM remember.....could it be that the head gasket didn't fail until higher rpm?

 

[Don S]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

You never said it missed, you said it bogged. Big difference. The head gasket picture isn't clear enough or detailed enough to see any obvious leaks. I did download your picture and changed the brightness, contrast, and other settings, but didn't see anything obvious. But there are 2 sides to the gasket.<br />The dark space between the cylinder is fairly normal. Even if it was a big gap, you would loose compression on those 2 cylinders, but water wouldn't be the problem.<br />Get that head checked for cracks.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Sorry Don...maybe I used the wrong terminology and said bog instead of miss, but it seemed more like a bog to me.<br /><br />The other side of the gasket looks pretty similar. Here is a pic.<br /><br />The engine did not run hot, no water in oil.......<br /><br /><br />

<br />I plan on getting the heads checked out after I pull the other side.<br /><br />Could it be that it just wasn't torqued properly?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

I got to Agree with Don,........ Steam Cleaned.......<br /><br />From what I can see,.... The gasket was about to fail between 3 + 5,....<br />The water might possibly be coming from the lower water port by the exhaust manifold(right in front of your toe),...The lines on the gasket,+ block look vauge in that area,...........<br /><br />In the pic.s,.. Is the gasket laying as I look at the Block,.. Or Head,..??? 1,3,5,7,.. Or 7,5,3,1(I suspect)...????<br /><br />As you already know,...... I wouldn't waste to much Time, or Money on that set of Heads,......<br />Those heads Appear to be a set of what's known as the Light-Weight Castings,.....<br />Not the Best canidates for the extensive work we talked about,......<br />What are the casting #s on the tops of the heads,..???<br /><br />Vortecs are Looking Better,......... <br /><br />I'd Clean,+ Check the block for Flatness,.....<br /><br />A Good Through Inspection of the Block,+ Heads by yourself will Probably reveal Something Else,........

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Hey Bondo......the second pic of the gasket is 7,5,3,1 from left to right.<br /><br />The casting # is 14102193.<br /><br />I wasn't planning on replacing the heads because then I will have to replace the manifold also.........

 

[Don S]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Can you take a Hi Res picture of the area between cylinders 5 and 7 on both sides of the gasket?<br />The areas circled in the pic below is what I would like to see closer. Also look at the head and block in that area.<br /><br />

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

here you go Don........hope this helps.<br /><br />

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[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Would this be the Vortec intake?<br />#2116?

 

[Don S]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Sorry Tony, don't see anything in those pics that says "Water Leak". Hopefully someone else will see something I missed.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Thanks Don.........<br /><br />How much do you think it would cost to check the heads?<br /><br />If it is cracked.....maybe I will replace with the Vortec as bondo has suggested.<br /><br />Where would the crack be in the head?<br />Where would I look in the block?

 

[Don S]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

<br /><br />OR<br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />Which wild a$$ guess would you like?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Which wild a$$ guess would you like? <br />

Pull the Valves,+ Look in the area between the valves,.............<br /><br />The area you thought about making Thinner to accomadate Larger Valves,................. <br /><br />Ayuh,........ Part # 2116 would be the 1.........

 

[rbezdon]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

tony, in the picture of your block in the first post I see green antifreeze in the block water passages. Do you have a closed cooling system??

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

yes vatter.......it is a complete FWC'd system (block and manifolds).<br /><br />why do you ask?<br /><br />bondo......why should I look in between the valves?<br /><br />don.......guess I shouldn't ask any questions? I don't deal with machine shops much.......thought you (or someone else) might have an idea...

 

[Bondo]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

bondo......why should I look in between the valves?<br />

That's My wild assed Guess,.... Where the Cracks'll Be..........

 

[Scaaty]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Ya sure you don't have a leaky exhaust manifold? I went through your post, and it sounds just like my motor did (manifold let go last month), only I got water in my oil. Maybe you have a leak higher up in the manifold that lets water in while running, but drops when shut down, therefore no water in the oil getting by the exhaust valve. Same symptoms though. Came back with a ticking noise, sluggish, more throttle, less RPM. 150psi all cylinders except for the one shooting water out cranking it over. Drained the block and manifold, and cranked until dry, then filled the block only, and okay. Filled the manifold again, and water again out the hole. Been busy lately with Marvel, fogger, and lots of oil changes, as I had water in the oil. Take a second look at the man's and gaskets maybe?

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

To check the manifold......can I just plug the bottom hole and fill with water?<br /><br />How can I get water in the cylinder while running through the exhaust manifold?<br /><br />What about the symptom of #3 being dead? Can this be related to the condition of the #5 cylinder?

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 350 Mag Head Removal

Check out these pics ............almost looks like my engine.