[mr_penguin]

Originally Posted by rixcj

I bought a 360 off of ebay, and drove from RI to PA to pick it up.

I replaced the rear main seal, cleaned and painted the block, installed a Cloyes double roller timing chain and gears.

I also replaced the intake with an Edelbrock Performer, added a $50.00 used Holley 600 carb, a DUI hei distributor and some LiveWire plug wires.

Let me tell you...this engine was worth every nickle I spent on it. It runs so good, that I'm afraid that I'm gonna jinx myself every time I say so.

At a minimum, I would replace the rear main seal and the other seals and gaskets. I'd check the timing chain for slop, too.

Rich

Thanks, I had wondered about the rear main seal, I will add that to the to do list. The other major gaskets will be replaced too since I will be tearing it down enough to potentially put a new cam in it. The timing chain is already on the list, just because it would be one of the 'hard to fix later' items. I just started thinking about replacement intake manifolds, and was considering the Edelbrock performer, but I just started looking. Is that what most people are using?

Originally Posted by Matt1981CJ7

Start looking for the correct manifolds. The drivers side of a J10 won't work too well in a CJ.

Hope this helps,

Matt

Thanks, Matt. I'm going today to try to get the correct CJ manifolds. I have been reading your build, it has tons of information that I will be using! Thanks!

Originally Posted by Mike78cj7

Did u go to the junk yard in westville? I remember seeing a j20 that said don't touch and thought maybe it had the 401. They definitely using it when I saw it. I also helped take parts off a wagoneer just the a/c pump though.

Yep, Pauls in Westville. Definitely a 360 though, says so right on the block... Too bad, a 401 would have been a much better 'accidental' find. That was probably the wagoneer I saw, but it was missing a whole bunch more than the AC pump by the time I got to it.

[mr_penguin]

This weekend was not nearly as productive as I had hoped. I ended up spending all day Saturday at an auction, and picked up some nice cheap tools, but alas, accomplished nothing on the engine.

Today I started stripping off the accessories, and preparing to do a compression test. I got that far, but couldn't get the starter to engage. Either the jumper cables I have are too small for the job, or the battery I have isn't up to the task... Either way I need a new plan of attack.

I also went at it with a bucket of purple power and a scrub brush to try and get at least the top layer of grime off. It's starting to actually look like an engine.

One problem I'm running into: What are all of the ports on the intake manifold for? I believe the EGR is already blocked off (at the rear of the engine), and there seems to be some sort of vacuum switch in front of that, but what is the plate that I have circled in this picture? Does anyone have a picture of the stock intake with a listing of what each opening is supposed to go to?

[lucdog]

The plate circled is for the mechanical heat riser choke . With a electric choke it's not needed.
In a nutshell, warm air is pulled thru the choke, by manifold vacuum. The tubes it used are MIA.
Bill

[davbytrace]

Go to the edelbrock 2131 website. they have a labeled diagram of an intake.

[243]

That has "carwash" written all over it

[mr_penguin]

Originally Posted by davbytrace

Go to the edelbrock 2131 website. they have a labeled diagram of an intake.

I will do that. Thanks for the information.

Originally Posted by lucdog

The plate circled is for the mechanical heat riser choke . With a electric choke it's not needed.
In a nutshell, warm air is pulled thru the choke, by manifold vacuum. The tubes it used are MIA.
Bill

So leaving it as-is shouldn't cause any issues (i.e. vacuum leak)? Or should I try to fab up a block off plate?

Originally Posted by 243

That has "carwash" written all over it

It's definitely getting the pressure washer treatment after it's torn down a little farther. This scrubbing with tiny brushes is not going to work.

[mr_penguin]

So I was a little bummed out yesterday after having pulled the spark plugs, I found one that appeared to be oil fouled. My first thought was "great, it needs rings". That was when I got stuck with the compression test and gave up for the day.

Today went much better. I stopped by the autozone to grab some new battery cables and a solenoid, and rigged up a quick starter circuit. As I suspected, my jumper cables were the culprit and the new setup worked peachy.

The results of the cold compression test yielded ~175 psi on all cylinders, except for the one with the oil fouled plug (cylinder 4): 48 psi. With the failed compression test and fouled plug as evidence, I took off the valve cover, loosened the rockers on cylinder 4 so there was no pressure on the valves and pumped some compressed air into the cylinder to try and figure out how bad the problem really was. To my surprise, the air was all coming out the exhaust. Hooray, likely just a bad valve seal! Now I'll need to take off the heads and take them to the machine shop. I have no idea what to have them do with the heads, but I have figured out that much.

In my research, I keep coming across terms like 'decking' and '3 angle valve job'. What do these mean, and are they something I need to look into? What should I be asking for at the machine shop?

So after another solid evening of tear down (carefully bagging and labeling every bolt is tedious, but I suspect it will help upon reassembly) this is where I am at. I broke off the two large bolts in the exhaust manifold, but the heads are going in for work anyway, so I assume they will be able to take care of that. Goals for tomorrow include: finding a real engine lift plate, and getting it on the stand, then removing the intake and heads.

[mr_penguin]

Not much new progress to report. I spent most of the day yesterday looking for that engine lift plate, only to be looked at like I was crazy by every parts store in town. I learned that if no one knows what the heck you're talking about, you must be doing it wrong, so I will continue to use the (admittedly hillbilly) seat belt as a lifting mechanism. I did grab some grade 8 bolts for the engine stand. I managed to get the bellhousing and clutch off, but was caught off-guard by the unusual flywheel bolts. I have to locate a 12-pt socket in the correct size (which is?)

Meanwhile, I have began the process of obtaining replacement parts. So far the list is as follows:

Fel-Pro full gasket set
Fel-Pro Valley pan gasket
Melling Oil Pump Rebuild Kit
PowerForce Harmonic Balancer
Summit Racing Double Roller Timing Set

[mylittlecj5]

I can't believe that a parts store doesn't carry the engine lift plate. Normally they are in the tools isle.
If you have an Advance auto parts in your area, here is the link...

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_moto-engine-lift-plate-red-steel-2-4--barrel-lakewood_22901543-p?navigationPath=L1*14924|L2*15043|L3*16218&cm_mmc =ACQ-_-Google-_-National-_-Keywordless--StoreKeywordless--Ad#utm_source=acq&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=n ational&utm_content=keywordless--storekeywordless--ad

[Jon In Tucson]

Here is one from Harbor Freight that allows you balance the load.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-c...eler-5402.html

God bless.
Jon In Tucson

[bigredisb]

Even with your current findings on the one cylinder I think it was a good find. Those valve covers are awesome and it looks like a holley 80457 carb with quick change secondaries which is what I am running.

Did you try tapping the valve stem with the rocker out of the way just to make sure that you didn't have a valve sticking in the guide or a piece of carbon built up? The oily plug says that its been that way for a while and to me sounds as if it could be a burnt exhaust valve but maybe you could get lucky.

[mr_penguin]

Originally Posted by mylittlecj5

I can't believe that a parts store doesn't carry the engine lift plate. Normally they are in the tools isle.
If you have an Advance auto parts in your area, here is the link...

I tried Advanced Auto first, actually. I had seen that on their site and figured it would be a 2 minute in and out purchase. The guy at the counter showed me a load leveler that now looking back would have been a wise investment. I ended up just using the seatbelt to mount it to the engine stand, which worked surprisingly well.

Originally Posted by bigredisb

Even with your current findings on the one cylinder I think it was a good find. Those valve covers are awesome and it looks like a holley 80457 carb with quick change secondaries which is what I am running.

Did you try tapping the valve stem with the rocker out of the way just to make sure that you didn't have a valve sticking in the guide or a piece of carbon built up? The oily plug says that its been that way for a while and to me sounds as if it could be a burnt exhaust valve but maybe you could get lucky.

Unfortunately, not as simple as a stuck valve, see below.

After a long weekend of sister-in-law's wedding, I finally got around to pulling the heads and getting a little deeper into the beast. I never would have expected to have this much trouble with pulling the heads. I removed the head bolts, all of which came out without too much hassle, only to be stuck with a head that refused to budge. I tried prying it, a BFH, lifting with the cherry picker, jumping on the engine stand, nothing worked. I ended up using the little bit of knowledge I picked up last week, namely that a 1/4" quick connect for the air compressor fits the spark plug hole perfectly. I pumped about 100 psi into it and the head came off with a satisfying BANG. Repeated on the opposite side, and now I have both heads off and can survey the damage.

I immediately found the cause of the low compression, a broken exhaust valve. Interestingly enough, there is no scoring or other damage to the cylinder or piston, so by some miracle I have been saved a complete rebuild.

Also, I can still see crosshatching on a few of the cylinder walls, so I have a feeling this was rebuilt not that long ago. I pulled the oil pan, but I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for as far as condition down there.

Here are pics of where it stands as of today: I plan of degreasing the heads and taking them into the machine shop on Friday.

[bigredisb]

I am shocked the piston isnt all beat up on that cylinder. You must have gotten super lucky when it cracked it blew it out the exhaust.
I am not engine builder guru and I have tore a lot of stuff up over the years and I havent ever seen that before.

On your comment about the crosshatch and engine being rebuilt I can tell you that my motor was the same way. I recall reading a article someplace about the fact that AMC motors were built with a lot of nickel so the bores resist wear better. I cant remember where I read it but sometimes the internet is full of BS as well.

[bigredisb]

Are you planning on running a aluminum 4bbl intake? I only ask since it seems like you have a 4 barrel carb with an adapter down to 2 barrel?
It would be worth every cent in my opinion if not only for the weight savings.

[mr_penguin]

Originally Posted by bigredisb

I am shocked the piston isnt all beat up on that cylinder. You must have gotten super lucky when it cracked it blew it out the exhaust.
I am not engine builder guru and I have tore a lot of stuff up over the years and I havent ever seen that before.

On your comment about the crosshatch and engine being rebuilt I can tell you that my motor was the same way. I recall reading a article someplace about the fact that AMC motors were built with a lot of nickel so the bores resist wear better. I cant remember where I read it but sometimes the internet is full of BS as well.

Extremely lucky. I am still trying to wrap my head around how exactly that could have happened. I didn't get a pic of the piston, but it was just dirty, not damaged from what I could see. That's interesting about the nickel content, I thought I had read the exact opposite that AMC didn't use enough nickel which leads to issues with overboring. Like you said though.... can't believe it just beacuse you saw it on the internet.

Originally Posted by bigredisb

Are you planning on running a aluminum 4bbl intake? I only ask since it seems like you have a 4 barrel carb with an adapter down to 2 barrel?
It would be worth every cent in my opinion if not only for the weight savings.

I am planning on using an aluminum intake, but won't be using the 4 barrel carb. I am going back to my TBI setup that I currently have on my 258. I laughed pretty hard when I saw that 4bbl-to-2bbl adapter. Some people just don't understand physics.