Front Cover Woes

[AlohaJeff]

454 motor. As best as I can tell the replacement front cover / mount is Glenwood #894 (catalog #35205). I purchased the boat over a year ago and haven't had the time to get it ready or take it out on the water. It was running pretty good when I bought it.

While replacing all of the fuel hoses (badly cracked) on the boat I did a once over on all of the cooling system hoses. The previous owner used threaded plastic sprinkler pipe on the cam driven pump outputs. Both "fittings" had started to warp from heat. I'll be replacing these with metal versions. What worried me is the guy also used the same sprinkler pipe on the thermostat housing and front cover. When I started to unscrew the right side "pipe" out of the front cover I immediately said awwww crap. The pipe wobbled out and when I removed it I could see there were no threads in the front cover any more, they aren't stripped, all of the material where there were once threads is now an empty void. I felt around inside with my pinky and it's pretty bad. I also noticed the front cover was FULL of mud. Not dirt like I expected so I guess the system was pretty leak proof. We must have sucked up all of that crap when we put it back on the trailer (October 2006). With all of the water hoses unhooked I took a garden hose and pumped a LOT of dirt and other crap from the motor. After a few minutes of hosing there was 2 cups of sediment in the bilge.

So my questions are this...

Do you think I can get by with JB Welding a new fitting into the front cover that is missing the threads?

Did all of that muck that was sitting in the system for well over a year cause other problems I need to check for?

I started thinking a clean out system might not be a bad idea... using shutoff valves at the exhaust manifolds... good idea or bad idea?

-Jeff

[ls6vdrive]

Just flush it out real good and retap the hole...shouldnt be a problem

[hm66Howard]

I don't know if a Heli-Coil is available for pipe thread but, that is a possibility. If not, you can redrill and tap to the next size bigger.

[SonnyGlide]

Its a pipe thread right?
if so just tap out to the next size, install a bushing and use org. size fitting to keep ur hose I.D the same
I.E. org. thread was 3/8 NPT (-8AN line) tap out to 1/2 npt, install a 1/2npt male w/3/8npt female brass bushing, now Ur back to org. size fittings & hose again
just my red neck engineering :D

[AlohaJeff]

Here are a few pictures to show you what I'm working with. The issue is I don't have much left to tap. This is what I mean when I say there is a void where the old threads used to be. I think at this point the only option might be to drill the old stuff out and have a friend TIG weld a bung in place.

Can't figure out why one of the thermostat side hoses would have a big hunk of seal in it... is it a backwoods way to limit flow to one manifold?

Jeff

[hm66Howard]

Here are a few pictures to show you what I'm working with. The issue is I don't have much left to tap. This is what I mean when I say there is a void where the old threads used to be. I think at this point the only option might be to drill the old stuff out and have a friend TIG weld a bung in place.

Can't figure out why one of the thermostat side hoses would have a big hunk of seal in it... is it a backwoods way to limit flow to one manifold?

JeffThat looks like a piece of impeller from the water pump. Pull it out of there and check for more in all your lines. I see now what you mean about not having much to tap.

[AlohaJeff]

Yep, when I pulled the piece out of the pipe it started to look familiar. Another item to replace.

[pwderman]

Here are a few pictures to show you what I'm working with. The issue is I don't have much left to tap. This is what I mean when I say there is a void where the old threads used to be. I think at this point the only option might be to drill the old stuff out and have a friend TIG weld a bung in place.

Can't figure out why one of the thermostat side hoses would have a big hunk of seal in it... is it a backwoods way to limit flow to one manifold?

Jeff

The front cover you have I take has the two ears that cover the factory water pump inlets? You could just cut the ears off like a stock timing cover and make yourself up a couple of blanks out of 1/2" aluminum and drill and tap them. I've also seen them pre made but with smaller holes. Just a thought.

[AlohaJeff]

Found a new solution... Eddie Marine offers an aluminum plate that has the standard Chevy 2-bolt holes drilled in it with a threaded center hole. A buddy with a jet turned me onto it. My front cover has a nice flat spot where these plates can attach. I'll use a gasket and hope for the best. I purchased a pair of brass fittings that will thread into the aluminum plate and allow me to attach the hoses. Seems like a decent solution for $20 bucks... beats trying to weld to the cast cover.

Aloha

[pwderman]

Found a new solution... Eddie Marine offers an aluminum plate that has the standard Chevy 2-bolt holes drilled in it with a threaded center hole. A buddy with a jet turned me onto it. My front cover has a nice flat spot where these plates can attach. I'll use a gasket and hope for the best. I purchased a pair of brass fittings that will thread into the aluminum plate and allow me to attach the hoses. Seems like a decent solution for $20 bucks... beats trying to weld to the cast cover.

Aloha

Jeff that's what I was talking about in my first post. The only thing is the timing cover is intergal with the front mount which I couldn't see in the other pic. If you had a standard timing cover all you'd need to do is cut the ears off and bolt those on. Use a thin layer of silicone on the gasket to fill in any imperfections and you should be good to go.

[AlohaJeff]

Went to Eddie's Marine today and purchased the plates. Got home and attempted to remove the stainless steel allen socket cap bolt from the front cover. Snapped the head clean off with very little torque applied. Apparently the head of the bolt went into its plastic state when the last monkey messed with it. I stopped right there and went inside and had chocolate cake instead.

[RiverRacer]

I'd a had a beer instead!..:D

[AlohaJeff]

Boat is on the lake. It leaks a little water at the bad fitting where I knew it would. Engine idles great but above 2000 rpm it starts to pop pretty bad. Checked timing and it looked ok. Checked the the old Hays "Stinger" distributor and it still had all it's teeth on the gear (worn but not worn out) and it still pop'd anywhere 2000 and over. Replaced the Stinger ignition system with an HEI distributor to bypass the Stinger ignition box and simplify things. Nope. Still pop'd. Thinking it might be fuel and not spart I was going to try dropping a few jet sizes to adjust for running at 5200'. Pulled the carb apart and found what appears to be some residue from the glass tanks in the float bowls. Cleaned all of that crap out, put it back together with jets two steps lower in the primary and secondary and it still popped. Swapped out the double pumper for a bone stock factory adjusted Holley Truck Avenger 770 that I had left over from a different project, still popped. Checked and re-checked the plug wires. Then replaced them (one of the boots was cut by the previous owner to make install easier and was falling off. New wires didn't do squat. Pulled the new distributor and dropped it in again, triple checked the wires (18436572) making sure they were correct, still pops. Pulled a few plugs and it's not lean. It starts right up and idles great, but over 2000 sounds terrible. Checked the exhaust manifolds and the gaskets appear to be good and the fasteners were tight.

Could bad gas be causing the new woes? Any other ideas?

Right now the boat is at the dock and we just sit under the bimini and drink beer.

Found some rot too.

Aloha

[RiverRacer]

Pulled the carb apart and found what appears to be some residue from the glass tanks in the float bowls.
Could bad gas be causing the new woes? Any other ideas?

There's your answer right there, shit from the junk glass tanks, how long has this gas been sitting??, do you have a fuel filter???, it's probably full of crap also, need to clean the whole system out!...

[AlohaJeff]

Tried it with fresh gas from a 2.5 gallon jug. Still pops. Filter is new, hoses are new. Before I ever attempted to start the motor I pumped a bunch of old fuel from the tanks through a cheapy clear filter to see what was getting sucked out of the tank. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The crap in the old carb has been there for a while. The fuel is going through the original HPG1 with a new canister. New carb, fresh fuel, still no bueno.

I'm starting to think either stuck lifter or flat lobe. I'll pull the valve covers off sometime this week and see what's what. Whatever it is the motor is angry that I pulled it out of its coma.

Aloha

[RiverRacer]

The cam don't go bad sitting, a stuck lifter means they're hydraulic and you would have heard them right away, only other thing would be ignition might check that all out????

[AlohaJeff]

Pulled the exhaust manifold on the left side of the motor so I could get access to the valve cover. That's the side I thought I could hear a tick. Turned the motor over and noticed one lone rocker not moving like the rest. Then pulled the intake manifold to take a peak at the cam. It's missing a lobe. So tomorrow I'll drag the boat to the ramp, load it on the trailer and yank the motor. Time for a rebuild.

B.O.A.T.

Aloha

[poncho]

Bummer on the cam deal but after reading this thread seems your pretty persistent and i`m sure it will be right when your done,good luck

[RiverRacer]

Pulled the exhaust manifold on the left side of the motor so I could get access to the valve cover. That's the side I thought I could hear a tick. Turned the motor over and noticed one lone rocker not moving like the rest. Then pulled the intake manifold to take a peak at the cam. It's missing a lobe. So tomorrow I'll drag the boat to the ramp, load it on the trailer and yank the motor. Time for a rebuild.

B.O.A.T.

Aloha

Bummer sorry to hear that, good luck on the rebuild!..