HI All
My 76 350 had a little exhaust leak for about 6 months total miles driven with the leak was about 1000 miles. the engine got hot into the red for a few minutes after shutting down and letting it cool it runs very rough, sounds like the leak is louder someone told me that the head was cracked.. could that be true? there is no water in the oil, what about burnt valve , I have no clue and don't have a lot of money to sink in her at this time.. any suggestions to find out what may be the problem? the sound of the leak and the engine miss noise sound at the same time..
any help please??
Ken

I'm not sure you're giving us enough information. A small exhaust leak shouldn't cause a mis fire unless the leak is blowing exhaust on a plug wire. An engine will heat up some after shut down because it's not circulating coolant.
Start with fixing the leak, then check or replace plugs and wires. The wrong plug or timing and fuel mix will also contribute to overheating.
Come back with a bit more information and let us know what you find. Example; take all the plugs out, what do the electrodes look like? are they all the same color?

dave,
the engine got hot from losing water (leaking rad) I was driving engine was running good with a small manifold leak. radiator dumped and needle ran into red, after noticing needle in red i shut it down. now engine runs rough like only on 7 cyl , does that sound like a cracked head? I will take plugs out today and let you know
Thanks for the help
Ken

|UPDATED|10/22/2004 4:25:56 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

My guees is you have a blown head gasket. You won't really know the damage until you pull the heads / intake off. Any other guesses would be speculation. If you suspect the a craked head have them mafifluxed and this will tell you the answer. All of of this will dig into your pocket some but if you can get some help or a repair book it won't be so bad and should only keep you down for a day or so...

Sounds like a head gasket to me as well. Not a expensive repair if you know anything about turning your own wrenches. It will probably cost are $150 in materials, mainly gaskets and fluids. Its more time consuming then anything else.

Thanks guys
I will look into pulling the heads, is there any special tool needed for this besides all the normal wrenches and sockets? which repair book gives better illustrations. I do better with pictures

Ken

For removal, yes a basic socket set (1/2 inch drive for the heads). For reassembly, you'll need a torque wrench, which you can probably rent or borrow.
I'd think the best book for that would be "How to build your small block Chevy" It will deal strictly with the engine and is cheaper than a vette specific book.

If that book is not available go to your local auto parts store and check out what they have. I know our local Auto Zone carries a full line of books that include pictures. The guys behind the counter in these places will typically help you out too if you explain to them what you are doing.Good luck with your engine the picture of your vette looks good!

before you pull the heads do a compression check. this will tell you if you do have a bad gasket or head cracked. do this with the engine hot if possible as cracks may only appear when the engine is hot. if there isn't any water in the oil it dosent appear you have a cracked head but its not impossiable. also run the engine and see if the rpm drops when you pull each plug wire off. the engine should drop off equal ammounts with each plug dissconnected. could be as simple as a bad plug wire. (grounded). also i would retorque the heads and intake before i would pull the heads. another thing you can try is a bock sealant,(not leak stop) i have used this on my daughters car with sucess, costs about 6-8$ and has to sit overnight to cure

Thanks I will do that .. also a friend of mine said to check for steam or pressure in the radiator.. which sealant are you talking about?

Thanks for the help
Ken