I had hoped against hope that I had nothing but a bad head gasket causing the billowing out of my tailpipe.
However I got the head off today and it sure looks like my head gasket is fine.
So I am afraid it is rings.
So that means I have to save up for at least a year before I can have my engine rebuilt!

 

Ouch. Well, my dad replaced the pistons and rings IN THE VEHICLE. It wasn't easy, but he did it.

 

That is too much work for me. I felt like I was going to pass out just getting the freaking head off. the hell with it, let the damn car sit in my garage and rot!

 

Flip the heads over and lock for a crack in the casting between the exhaust and intake valve from the combustion chamber side.

 

Oh I can't tell. I could have sworn I had white smoke. Maybe I imagined the water level in the radiator going down.

Maybe one day, years from now when I am dead, somebody will find this hulk sitting in a garage or a field!

 

White smoke / antifreeze has nothing to do with the rings , they only control the oil , if you are losing coolant it could ba a crack in the block near a frost plug or just a bad frost plug , a cracked cylinder wall , the oil should be milky if so or a bad gasket of cylinder head

 

Have the heads pressure checked or magna-fluxed. That will let you know if the heads are or are contributing to the issue.

 

It sounds like you are giving up. Not cool. There are plenty of people that will help you find the problem and solve it.
Find an engine builder near you, a good one will tell you what it will cost and how you can keep your price down, and what you can do your self.

 

Could the head be damaged in some way that I can not see, which would let water in to the cylinder? The water passages look pretty rusty. If so how do I find out?

 

OK heads are off the car. Is there any way to tell if the rings are bad. Would the cylinders be scored or anything?

 

Do you have headers and dual exhaust on that car? If so was it only white smoke out the one side? May only need to fix the one side.

 

I have the original Magnum exhaust manifolds. Dual exhaust. I am not actually sure if it was white smoke. It is getting hard to tell (my eyes are not what they were)

Well I am getting my head magnafluxed Monday. If it is good I am going to go after the rings next.

 

The back cyl looks fairly clean ? An indication it is blowing oil or coolant. IF the motor sat for years ? the rings are probably gummed up

 

Magnums were VERY prone to cracking between the seats. Machinist is going to magnetize the heads and then shake a magnetic powder on the head in different areas. The powder will get stuck in the micro crack to reveal its location. You can save money by labeling the valves and each corresponding chamber, then disassemble the heads and springs.



Unfortunately is is very easy to test for bad rings with the heads on and since yours are off you cant preform the test.

 

What did the intake gaskets look like?? they can also leak causing the same problem. One thing for sure it is not a piston or ring problem. Was there intermix in the oil????? Also when you get it back together before you start it make sure you change the oil. Look for sign of wash down on the pistons (one piston real clean) also look in the intake and heads for a clean runner this will point you in the right direction as to where the leak is. Good luck Dont ever give up!! we are all here to help you through your problem, We've got this but you have to be our eyes.

 

This engine by the picture look like a fairly freash rebuild. It looks like there is a crosshatch pattern in #8 cylinder also the paint looks pretty fresh. Do you know anything about the car?? Or whats been done to it??

 

Not much. The guy I bought the car from was in the middle of a move. I cannot reach him.

It always sounded like it was running fine. It does have a custom cam. So even that was hard to say.

The motor came out of a wrecked 1996 Dodge Ram.

I was never sure but I think the smoke was white, it was hard to tell.

Oh here is the cam info.

Cam is a custom grind from Oregon cam grinders using the stock cam blank, push rods are comp cams .050 longer then stock.

The cam specs were .496/.496 lift at 1.6 ratio rockers (stock) and .224/.224 duration at .050 lift on a 112 lobe separation.

 

If your somewhat handy you could make what I have. A 4 hole plate, tapped in center for air fitting and a thick rubber gasket. I bolt it on one cylinder and do a leakdown or blowby test with air to check rings only.

 

Hey can I get a photo of that please?

 

It's a simple 3/8" or 1/2" thick piece of plate steel with a hole in each corner for a short bolt into the block.