TomZ

OK, I'm about royally ticked off now...

I have a new 10 quart pan on my 383 and I went and installed one of those quick-release valves that makes things much easier when trying to change the oil.

I'm finally to the point of firing up the new engine (I've been waiting since October) so I began to put oil in the crankcase and started checking for leaks (always a good idea) and low and behold the damn oil pan plug started leaking... granted only a small drip but still a drip. The plug used a paper shim gasket to seal, but it looks like it does not want to seal. I tried tightening the plug some more but it still drips. Now, being that I still have to run through initial cam break-in and all that good stuff (while on the muffs) she is just going to have to leak for the moment (two and half gallons of oil is too expensive to just throw away), but I'd really like to make this problem go away (I can't stand a dirty, oil-coated bilge). Anyone got any good solutions on making this problem go away for good?

Thanks!

excaleagle42

hi tom, you may have better luck with a new teflon gasket that comes on a drain plug. they seem to conform to surface irregularaties and not get saturated like the paper.
Fran

TomZ

Yeah, that's something else I'm going to try when I get the break-in oil out of the engine. I had a teflon gasket with the original plug but since it had already been indented by the original plug I decided it would be best not to re-use it.

Thanks!
Tom

excaleagle42

Tom, have you broken in cams with a garden hose before? i just put two cams in but was going to wait until i was in the water so i didn't collapse a hose. i would rather do it at home though. Fran

jr

When I broke in my cams, what worked good for me was a T fitting I made out of the replacement hose fittings you can by an Home Depot. They are plastic to replace the hose ends when you run over one with the car and squish it. I bought some 3/4 inch I.D. hose, and a plastic T fitting and slapped it all together. Now I can use 2 hoses to the engine for higher revs. Now I don't exactly use muffs because I have a remote mounted water pick-up for my Alpha SS's but you can still make it work with muffs.

TomZ

I have the drive off of the boat right now so I'm using a hose connection with a valve at the intake on the thermostat housing. I used that last time without a single problem.

My biggest issue (outsde of the oil leak) is the exhaust. I have new inline mufflers to install but one of my hoses is caught behind the power steering rack (the hose was slightly pinched there... it was the only location where I could place the exhaust tip). I don't want to cut my hose because the damn things are so expensive... I'll only cut it once I'm sure of the proper length. Once I have that all straightened out, I'll be ready to fire it up... hopefully tomorrow if all goes as planned.

Thanks!
Tom

excaleagle42

jr and tom

good ideas, thanks
fran