Let's start at the beginning. Well, my beginning with Chaumière that is....
We bought her locally from an owner that had been good but had not made much use of her. That was the fall of 2006 and the Odo showed 07325. I got
to see papers that confirmed that this was 100K+. We had a plan for a northern tier tour that was not to be, and I am going to skip a lot between
here and the interesting parts. Suffice it to say that we put about 70K miles on her with little very difficulty and only 45miles on a hook when we
lost a rear wheel in Arkansas.
I have been getting oil analysis done pretty regularly for the last 9 years. About 4 years ago, the first hint of trouble showed up. Blackstone
listed Coolant as Trace. I changed my program to 3K mile lube oil service and kept the samples going. They stayed at Trace for a while more and then
upgraded to POS. In the mean time, I had borrowed a cooling system tester to try to find out what was going on. I could not find any leakage. There
was no detectable loss to the system level. I made plans to lift the intake during the next lay-up. (I do my best to not drive her over salt. Fender
Solvent as one professor identified it.) So, that made a good plan.
We did the pretty normal run of excursions this year and things were pretty normal up until we got to Paducah. The lube oil check then was down more
than expected. I carry makeup, so I made it up. Then we went from there to New Madrid (MO) and again used more lube than I expected. I made that up
from stores too. We were three days from home there, and at a subsequent stop, lube oil was low again, but so were stores and if the main engine is
losing/using lube oil at this rate, I could change to some other than Mobil 1. So, we hit a convenient Walmart and I pickup a jug. there was only
one more stop to the home mooring, so we tied into the FMCA stop again. The morning check was low, but not critical but I made it up anyway. It
would be inexcusably stupid to loose a good engine for a lack of lube oil when you know that there is an issue.
We did the run to the fall convention at Elkhart and the oil consumption was holding at more than a quart in 500 miles and the air filter housing now
had much more oil in it than it ever had before. This and I got to drive the coach to Elkhart. Mary usually drives in daylight and as good as she
is, she does not feel the coach the way I do. I was starting to be aware of loss of performance, but we made that run down old US-12 so it was a
tough sample to work with. I was convinced by the time we got home. What was also now a serious concern was the uneven crank. That is always an
indicator of problems. I did not need to do a cylinder leak or compression test.
I began to set up to remove and overhaul the engine, but that (fortunately) got continuously delayed and during that delay I had to run a friend owner
(Greg) up to see Dave Lenzi. We talked about Greg's knuckles and lots else (of course), and he had a frame with and 8.1 in his garage. I made
mention that this looked like a good idea for a major project. Dave disagreed (but what does he know?) and said that if you have serious engine work
to do, this is the best way to do it. He went on to explain how little had to be done to do this. I thought a long time and also read the thread
about how reassembling the FEAD (All that stuff on the front) was a lot like building a ship in a bottle) and decided that Dave just might be onto
something. Due to the limited overhead, I cannot lift the coach far enough to get the engine out the bottom.
Well, a couple of weeks back (when it was just warm enough to work in my barn). Greg and I pulled the front frame out. Then I lost about 10 days
because my barn's insulation is poor and the heater is undersize. If I can't get it to 45°F, I can't work without gloves. Gloves that are warm cost
too much dexterity to even handle sockets.
Finally, I got the intake up. In a very short inspection, I knew that Blackstone has been right. If you look at the included pictures, you can see
the corrosion to the shim gasket near the front left port. http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/engine-work/p64613-coolant-port-issues.html[img
Well that answered that, but it was not even half of the game. With the effort it took to lift the intake in the frame, I was not hot to try the same
with the heads. So, we lifted the engine out of the frame (a little trouble getting the transmission to let go of her friend) and hung it on an
engine stand that I have had for a while. As soon as I did, it became immobile. If you are going to mess with 455s, get a big and serious engine
stand.
I got the heads off and broke them down to find no identifiable issues, but I have not yet cleaned them and inspected for the cracks that might be
between the valve seats.
When I tried again to move the stand, it went down. Fortunately onto some jugs that were storing waste oil, a one year old fuel and the engine's own
oil pan. The fuel pump was toast. I have done most of the cleanup, and need to do some body work on the oil pan....
Then I got the biggest engine stand that Hazard Fright sells. It is about the right size and even can be moved with the weight of a 455 on it. After
I chiseled the pan off, and with Greg's help, we got the pistons out. #7 was about the last to come out. I had found bits of piston ring in the oil
pan including some oil scraper spreader so I knew it had to come from somewhere. This confirmed it.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/engine-work/p64615-piston-problem.html[img
Now that I knew that, I got out a ball hone to clean up the bore. After a few seconds, I could still catch the score with a finger nail....
A quick measure found that the block had already been bored 30 over... This might have been real bad, but a message from Dick Paterson (should I
believe him?) that there is plenty of metal there to bore out to 60 over.
Then I pulled the crank out and quickly discovered that it was already 20 under. I have not even looked for shells to handle more grind.
As it happens, Greg and I procured two 455s that Dale Osstyn had stored. They are passcar engines, and the older has a corroded bore from bad
storage, but one is a worn 4.125 and the noodle (nodular iron) crank is still good. This gives me lots of options. In the next few days, I am going
to be cleaning and measuring all this stuff, but as I will (no doubt) need the services of a good machine shop, I am going to be going to some and
looking to see what I have available. Those that I used to use for my professional work are all gone. This is a real shame as I did have several
that owed me favors and did great work.
So folks that is where I am today.
Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
We bought her locally from an owner that had been good but had not made much use of her. That was the fall of 2006 and the Odo showed 07325. I got
to see papers that confirmed that this was 100K+. We had a plan for a northern tier tour that was not to be, and I am going to skip a lot between
here and the interesting parts. Suffice it to say that we put about 70K miles on her with little very difficulty and only 45miles on a hook when we
lost a rear wheel in Arkansas.
I have been getting oil analysis done pretty regularly for the last 9 years. About 4 years ago, the first hint of trouble showed up. Blackstone
listed Coolant as Trace. I changed my program to 3K mile lube oil service and kept the samples going. They stayed at Trace for a while more and then
upgraded to POS. In the mean time, I had borrowed a cooling system tester to try to find out what was going on. I could not find any leakage. There
was no detectable loss to the system level. I made plans to lift the intake during the next lay-up. (I do my best to not drive her over salt. Fender
Solvent as one professor identified it.) So, that made a good plan.
We did the pretty normal run of excursions this year and things were pretty normal up until we got to Paducah. The lube oil check then was down more
than expected. I carry makeup, so I made it up. Then we went from there to New Madrid (MO) and again used more lube than I expected. I made that up
from stores too. We were three days from home there, and at a subsequent stop, lube oil was low again, but so were stores and if the main engine is
losing/using lube oil at this rate, I could change to some other than Mobil 1. So, we hit a convenient Walmart and I pickup a jug. there was only
one more stop to the home mooring, so we tied into the FMCA stop again. The morning check was low, but not critical but I made it up anyway. It
would be inexcusably stupid to loose a good engine for a lack of lube oil when you know that there is an issue.
We did the run to the fall convention at Elkhart and the oil consumption was holding at more than a quart in 500 miles and the air filter housing now
had much more oil in it than it ever had before. This and I got to drive the coach to Elkhart. Mary usually drives in daylight and as good as she
is, she does not feel the coach the way I do. I was starting to be aware of loss of performance, but we made that run down old US-12 so it was a
tough sample to work with. I was convinced by the time we got home. What was also now a serious concern was the uneven crank. That is always an
indicator of problems. I did not need to do a cylinder leak or compression test.
I began to set up to remove and overhaul the engine, but that (fortunately) got continuously delayed and during that delay I had to run a friend owner
(Greg) up to see Dave Lenzi. We talked about Greg's knuckles and lots else (of course), and he had a frame with and 8.1 in his garage. I made
mention that this looked like a good idea for a major project. Dave disagreed (but what does he know?) and said that if you have serious engine work
to do, this is the best way to do it. He went on to explain how little had to be done to do this. I thought a long time and also read the thread
about how reassembling the FEAD (All that stuff on the front) was a lot like building a ship in a bottle) and decided that Dave just might be onto
something. Due to the limited overhead, I cannot lift the coach far enough to get the engine out the bottom.
Well, a couple of weeks back (when it was just warm enough to work in my barn). Greg and I pulled the front frame out. Then I lost about 10 days
because my barn's insulation is poor and the heater is undersize. If I can't get it to 45°F, I can't work without gloves. Gloves that are warm cost
too much dexterity to even handle sockets.
Finally, I got the intake up. In a very short inspection, I knew that Blackstone has been right. If you look at the included pictures, you can see
the corrosion to the shim gasket near the front left port. http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/engine-work/p64613-coolant-port-issues.html[img
Well that answered that, but it was not even half of the game. With the effort it took to lift the intake in the frame, I was not hot to try the same
with the heads. So, we lifted the engine out of the frame (a little trouble getting the transmission to let go of her friend) and hung it on an
engine stand that I have had for a while. As soon as I did, it became immobile. If you are going to mess with 455s, get a big and serious engine
stand.
I got the heads off and broke them down to find no identifiable issues, but I have not yet cleaned them and inspected for the cracks that might be
between the valve seats.
When I tried again to move the stand, it went down. Fortunately onto some jugs that were storing waste oil, a one year old fuel and the engine's own
oil pan. The fuel pump was toast. I have done most of the cleanup, and need to do some body work on the oil pan....
Then I got the biggest engine stand that Hazard Fright sells. It is about the right size and even can be moved with the weight of a 455 on it. After
I chiseled the pan off, and with Greg's help, we got the pistons out. #7 was about the last to come out. I had found bits of piston ring in the oil
pan including some oil scraper spreader so I knew it had to come from somewhere. This confirmed it.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/engine-work/p64615-piston-problem.html[img
Now that I knew that, I got out a ball hone to clean up the bore. After a few seconds, I could still catch the score with a finger nail....
A quick measure found that the block had already been bored 30 over... This might have been real bad, but a message from Dick Paterson (should I
believe him?) that there is plenty of metal there to bore out to 60 over.
Then I pulled the crank out and quickly discovered that it was already 20 under. I have not even looked for shells to handle more grind.
As it happens, Greg and I procured two 455s that Dale Osstyn had stored. They are passcar engines, and the older has a corroded bore from bad
storage, but one is a worn 4.125 and the noodle (nodular iron) crank is still good. This gives me lots of options. In the next few days, I am going
to be cleaning and measuring all this stuff, but as I will (no doubt) need the services of a good machine shop, I am going to be going to some and
looking to see what I have available. Those that I used to use for my professional work are all gone. This is a real shame as I did have several
that owed me favors and did great work.
So folks that is where I am today.
Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
