Maintenance

[streetstang67]

I'm at college and I'll be going home this weekend. I only have a couple of days, but I want to work on the stang. I already mentioned that I have some leaks to fix, I'm not sure what I'll do about that, mabye theres some additive out there...A few other things needed to be done include carb adjustment, timing adjustment, and mabye oil change. I dont drive this car much b/c I'm at college. Anything else I should do while I have some time to work on it?

 

[Ozsum2]

I'm at college and I'll be going home this weekend. I only have a couple of days, but I want to work on the stang. I already mentioned that I have some leaks to fix, I'm not sure what I'll do about that, mabye theres some additive out there...A few other things needed to be done include carb adjustment, timing adjustment, and mabye oil change. I dont drive this car much b/c I'm at college. Anything else I should do while I have some time to work on it?

You need to give up on the snake oils. Carbs and timing don't need adjusted unless there is a problem. Timing only if you change the points. Oil change is always a good bet if it sits long. Charge the battery, run it up to operating temp.

 

[Opentracker]

Yep! No Snake oils................If the motor leaks it needs a gasket, if the trans or something else leaks fix the leak. Radiator stop leak is one of the worse things you can put in a performance car. On a non-show car sometimes if you can find the leak, clean the area with brake-clean and smear silicone over the leaking area, like on the oil pan or the trans. pan. Pick one leak and get the gasket and fix it. Do it again on your next break from school and before long you will have a leak free car. If you spend as much time working on it during your break as you do driving it, you'll have a better time.


John

 

[allcarfan]

Actually,

I have used that grey can of engine restore in years past. It worked really well. i had a leaky valve seal and it fixed right up.

I would change the oil and trans fluid. Might as well. Maybe flush the radiator...other than that, i wouldnt worry about it.

 

[Hack]

Every new car from the factory gets radiator stop leak. I disagree with saying that it shouldn't be used. I think that at least every other flush and fill should get a can of stop leak at the same time. The shop I use for coolant changes adds stop leak every time. It works great and I've never had a problem with cooling passages being plugged or anything.

I have also used other "snake oils". I do agree that you're only addressing symptoms and you have to fix the problem at some point. Oil stop leaks do help, and I've used engine flush products before to get more gunk out. Transmission stop leaks also work. If it's a bad leak, yeah fix it the right way. However, I drive nothing but old cars, and I'm not going to start tearing a car apart for a couple minor leaks. I'd be constantly doing it.

My 2 cents.

 

[Ozsum2]

Stop leak is a waste of money unless you have a leak that isn't too big and can't fix it right away. New car makers may add it to lube the new water pumps. Nothing more.

 

[Hack]

Stop leak is a waste of money unless you have a leak that isn't too big and can't fix it right away. New car makers may add it to lube the new water pumps. Nothing more.

yeah, that's right. the new car companies waste money. they don't save money where ever they can.

edit: ok I had a bad day at work today, but your post makes no sense to me.

 

[jikelly]

Stop leak is a good thing and has saved my buns a few times. Radiators never leak until you go out of town it seems. I usually add stop leak when I change radiator fluid now just to be safe.

 

[Opentracker]

I have used that grey can of engine restore in years past. It worked really well. i had a leaky valve seal and it fixed right up.

A smoking motor isn't the same as a leaking motor. I make what I call soup for old motors, it's a combo of no-smoke, engine restore and 40w oil. It does work to stop or slow down smoking enouph for you to drive the car without geting pulled over.

Every new car from the factory gets radiator stop leak. The shop I use for coolant changes adds stop leak every time.

Damn, no wonder they sell so much of that crap. What it does is coat the inside of the cooling system with stuff. That doesn't go away. From a performance standpoint that isn't a good thing. It doesn't let the liquid that is inside the cooling system touch the metal. The product called Water Wetter does the opposite. It helps the liquide inside the cooling system to addhear to the metal better for better cooling. If your going to build a performance motor that has had any of that stuff put through it, it should be boiled out or the motor may overheat on the track. Also not a good thing, not because of your car but because the track has to be cleaned up and everyone that is in your run group looses track time. Oil or water/coolant on the track is a no-no.


As you can tell I don't use the stuff even on a street car. I seam to be able to put together a cooling system on our cars using Ford/NAPA parts that doesn't leak.


John

 

[gp001]

Actually,

I have used that grey can of engine restore in years past. It worked really well. i had a leaky valve seal and it fixed right up.

I would change the oil and trans fluid. Might as well. Maybe flush the radiator...other than that, i wouldnt worry about it.

Wait till you have to pull that motor apart A friend of mine used it on his truck that had been buring oil. When we finally pulled the motor apart to do the heads it was a nightmare. That stuff bakes solid in the motor, the lifter valley was one of the scariest things I've seen. We had to chisel most of this crap out. Not even GM X77 carbon remover did it (and that stuff works great).

If you ever have to pull that motor apart run some X77 or other good carbon remover/ engine flush through several times to loosen that stuff. I sure wish we could have.

 

[Ozsum2]

yeah, that's right. the new car companies waste money. they don't save money where ever they can.

edit: ok I had a bad day at work today, but your post makes no sense to me.

Don't take your bad day at work out on me! New systems should not leak. New water pumps may need lubricated. I don't know what else to say so that it will make sense to you. Some folks are beyond help.

 

[Ozsum2]

yeah, that's right. the new car companies waste money. they don't save money where ever they can.

edit: ok I had a bad day at work today, but your post makes no sense to me.

Don't take your bad day at work out on me! New cooling systems don't leak. New water pumps may need lubrication. I can't help you any further. Some folks are beyond help.

 

[Hack]

Don't take your bad day at work out on me! New cooling systems don't leak. New water pumps may need lubrication. I can't help you any further. Some folks are beyond help.

Hehe, maybe I'm just beyond help. Did you have a bad day too?

Let me explain my objection to your post in a more simple and clear way. If lubrication for the water pump were the only goal the additive would be a lubricant for the water pump, since the stop leak would then be unnecessary. If stop leak were bad, a car company wouldn't put it in the car.

So if you want, try again to explain away my original assertion.

Have a great Friday.

Oh, and yes you're right: new cooling systems don't leak, when you put stop leak in them.

 

[302 coupe]

the water pump does not get lubricated by anything in the cooling sytstem, they have sealed bearings that are permanently oiled when they are made. Sorry Oz, but I thought you knew better.

Good day.

 

[Ozsum2]

the water pump does not get lubricated by anything in the cooling sytstem, they have sealed bearings that are permanently oiled when they are made. Sorry Oz, but I thought you knew better.

Good day.

Moron! Stop leak and all coolant additives have seal lubricants in them among other things, that lubricates the water pump. They do more than just stop leaks. I guess I should have taken the time to explain myself, but I though a "RED" letter guy must know a thing or two. My Bad.

 

[302 coupe]

Moron huh..I do believe that is a personal attack

the seals(only 1 is exposed to coolant in a properly functioning pump) are lubricated by the inherent lubricating properties of ethyene glycol. Not that a seal would need lubricating anyway, nothing rubs against it. Stop leak serves no purpose other than its name implies. When an auto manufacturer is churning out 1000's of vehicles a day, a little preventative measure like that can add up to a significant cost(and reputation) savings when the vehicle is purchased. When the Stop Leak product says anything about lubrication it is referring to a chemical in the product that softens the rubber and causes it to expand a small amount, which could in turn eliminate a small leak if it were leaking through the seal. But if it is leaking through the seal, the coolant has displaced the oil in the bearing, so instead of a leaky seal you're faced with a bad bearing. So, to sum things up, it would do no good to lubricate a water pump, ->moot point. Your thinking leads me to believe that putting armor-all on my tires is the same as repacking the wheel bearings. Like you said, some people are beyond help.

BTW, red letters are an indication of vast water pump knowledge

 

[Ozsum2]

Moron huh..I do believe that is a personal attack

the seals(only 1 is exposed to coolant in a properly functioning pump) are lubricated by the inherent lubricating properties of ethyene glycol. Not that a seal would need lubricating anyway, nothing rubs against it. Stop leak serves no purpose other than its name implies. When an auto manufacturer is churning out 1000's of vehicles a day, a little preventative measure like that can add up to a significant cost(and reputation) savings when the vehicle is purchased. When the Stop Leak product says anything about lubrication it is referring to a chemical in the product that softens the rubber and causes it to expand a small amount, which could in turn eliminate a small leak if it were leaking through the seal. But if it is leaking through the seal, the coolant has displaced the oil in the bearing, so instead of a leaky seal you're faced with a bad bearing. So, to sum things up, it would do no good to lubricate a water pump, ->moot point. Your thinking leads me to believe that putting armor-all on my tires is the same as repacking the wheel bearings. Like you said, some people are beyond help.

BTW, red letters are an indication of vast water pump knowledge

Don't start playing Miss Virgin here son. You have been dogging my posts for the last few days now. BTW, less than 1000 posts in 4 1/2 years means something.

 

[Route666]

lol yep it means he's not an egomaniac who opens his mouth every chance he gets.

 

[302 coupe]

I haven't been dogging your posts Oz, I usually respect what you have to say. You've given me a hard time occasionally in the past, I've taken it with a grain of salt, I figured you could do the same, maybe you can't. Everybody makes a mistake now and then, a real man admits his mistake and learns from it rather than arguing about it. I will fully apologize for hurting your feelings(call the wambulance somebody) if you can find any information anywhere in the world that says as fact that water pump bearings in a small block ford water pump are lubricated by the coolant. This is not an ego contest, I have nothing to prove via an internet pissing contest. As Route666 eluded to, I don't post in the classic tech section unless I have valid information to share or if someone is passing along bad information I may try and correct them if I can support what I have to say. Usually if someone else has already posted what I would have said, I won't post because I don't need to. That, along with the fact that I don't post whore like some, explains the 942 current posts. Whatever relevance that has to this topic of maintenance I have no idea. I'm through with this discussion, live in ignorance if you wish, its not my problem if you try and lubricate your water pump bearings or not. I'm outta here.....

oh yeah, don't ever call me son again