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Fresh 401, Quest for Oil pressure
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rang-a-stang View Drop Down
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Joined: Sep/25/2018
Location: Camarillo, CA
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Points: 272 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rang-a-stang Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/14/2020 at 8:28pm
Originally posted by AMXFSTBK390 AMXFSTBK390 wrote:

rang-a-stang, Your heads are in very good hands at Valley Head Service, Northridge, Ca. A former employee of their's named Jesus ~three years ago rebuilt my 73 401 Cherokee heads. Jesus really knows AMC heads.  He showed me a album with several impressive dyno sheets on AMC engines the shop had built.  Hot Rodding magazine did a four page article on VHS decades ago stating VHS is the best head shop on the planet. Jesus said he was the foreman of the shop then. There is a photo of Jesus machining a head. 
I wish I had the coin to have them do my heads! I am SURE he could work some magic but I am just going to have them do my rotating assembly. I had my heads done earlier last year at Jim Grubbs Motorsports in Valencia. I have the early 58CC 3216090-1 heads. They still look good so they will just get a good cleaning and go back on. I port matched them on both intake and exhaust, the valves have Viton seals, and all Comp Cams hardware. My cam is fairly mild because I run A/C, power breaks, etc. and my compression is only about 9.5:1 so the heads are not really the choke point. 
Originally posted by turbo turbo wrote:

Well there you go......second time will be the charm.....Stuff happens sometimes
Live and learn! It's just this "learn" is going to cost me about $600 in fluids, gaskets, cleaners, machine work, bearings, etc. etc. etc. 
It's kind of painful knowing this is almost certainly self inflicted. If this was just about any other motor, I would throw some bearings back in it and drive it. But I really don't want to kill this thing. It does see 6000 RPM every once in a while and my teenage son drives it occasionally so I need this to be done correctly. 
79 Cherokee, 401
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tsanchez View Drop Down
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Points: 4303 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tsanchez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/14/2020 at 9:19pm
With gasket it should have .001 clearance, any more and it will lose pressure when hot because the aluminum expands faster then the steel gears
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Points: 28 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DarkMonohue Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/14/2020 at 10:47pm
Going to have to subscribe to this one.
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rang-a-stang View Drop Down
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Joined: Sep/25/2018
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Points: 272 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rang-a-stang Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/15/2020 at 11:18am
Originally posted by tsanchez tsanchez wrote:

With gasket it should have .001 clearance, any more and it will lose pressure when hot because the aluminum expands faster then the steel gears
Copy. I'll get to the oil pump as soon as my engine gets dropped off at the machinist. 
Originally posted by DarkMonohue DarkMonohue wrote:

Going to have to subscribe to this one.
Hey! I know you!
************************************
Finally got the lower timing sprocket off the crank. I had to get a a special pry bar to break it loose. more info here:

Cam looks good. No visible damage or abnormal wear to any journal or lobe. 

I plan to clean my cam with mineral spirits and brake clean, then re-use it. Is there anything else I should do to prep it for re-use other than lube it up before install?

Block is stripped and just about ready for it's trip to VHS. I hope to go first thing Saturday morning after a church event I have. 


When I drop it off I plan to ask him to set my main and rod bearing clearances to between .001 and .002 with the goal to be .0015 on 1, 2, 3, 4, and .002-.0025 on #5. I am also going to have him tank it. He is going to clean my pistons, dingle ball the holes, and re-assemble the crank/rods. Anything else I should ask him to do/check? For a history, this engine is .030 over and was bored using torque plates. Rods were re-sized and blueprinted with ARP hardware about 8k miles ago and the rotating assembly was balanced. I did not deck the block or the heads and I did not line bore the mains or the cam. I plan to try and CC my heads while he has the block because I have never done that and I would like to verify them. 
79 Cherokee, 401
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Points: 5121 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rebel Machine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/15/2020 at 4:28pm
Cam bearings look okay?

-Steve-
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rang-a-stang View Drop Down
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Points: 272 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rang-a-stang Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/15/2020 at 4:57pm
Originally posted by Rebel Machine Rebel Machine wrote:

Cam bearings look okay?
-Steve-
They do. They will get replaced because I do not want them to wear out before my mains/rods but I see no gouges, no copper, no abnormal wear patterns. Although, I am just looking down the cam hole and not from the bottom up (because my crank and rods are in the way). 
79 Cherokee, 401
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rang-a-stang View Drop Down
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Points: 272 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rang-a-stang Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/16/2020 at 1:23pm
So Hurst390 and SC397 both recommended:
Originally posted by Hurst390 Hurst390 wrote:

...you ...need to run a long 5/16 bit in the main feed holes....
and
Originally posted by SC397 SC397 wrote:

...Once you clean up the main feed holes, de-burr the slot at the cam bearings with some emery cloth.
Rick also sent a link to where he did this on another engine. BOY AM I GLAD HE DID!!! My #5 was at least 1/3 blocked. The other 4 had some flashing in there, too but not nearly as bad as #5 was. 

I looked down each hole just to see how bad they were. It's hard to see down there and there is almost no way to take a picture so you will have to take my word for it. I used a 16" long 5/16" drill bit a buddy loaned me and started. I did #5 first since it would be the easiest to see when it has made it's way into the oil passage in the lifter valley. (sorry for the blurry picture, I didn't notice it was blurry and stressing this task)
 
I went a tiny bit a time and kept peeking down the valley for when the bit poked through. Once it did, it looked like this:

Then I took a paint pen and marked my drill bit so I would know how deep it was. This was so I would have an idea when I was getting close to poking through in the other passages:

Then I repeated this for the rest of the oil passages. When I was done, I covered up the block and crank. I'll load it into the back of my Mazda later tonight for it's trip to Northridge tomorrow morning. 
79 Cherokee, 401
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Points: 311 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rgsauger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/18/2020 at 7:32am
Great pics.  Why did it need rebuilding after only 8k miles?
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BU1 View Drop Down
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Points: 2017 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BU1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/18/2020 at 8:53am
Unlike Playboy you need to read the stories here. He explained his problem in his posts.Wink
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Points: 2726 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Buzzman72 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/18/2020 at 1:29pm
Originally posted by BU1 BU1 wrote:

Unlike Playboy you need to read the stories here. He explained his problem in his posts.Wink

POST OF THE MONTH!!!
Buzzman72...void where prohibited, your mileage may vary, objects in mirror may be closer than they appear, and alcohol may intensify any side effects.
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