I was hoping to get the winter out of my 5.2 but I think that's it... Dry knock is BAD on first start. Shakes like a dead hole, but doesn't have a miss and injectors are fine. When driving, anything over 2k it back fires and chokes. Throttle body is clean! It's smokin REAL bad! When cold oil pressure is only 40, and after warming up it drops near 0 on idle even with fresh 30 weight. If it runs for more then 15min it starts knocking like crazy... No check engine light.

Anyone think there's a way to make that motor survive the winter?

 

Doesnt sound good for you at all, from the sounds of it I would be happy if it could survive day by day. Thats just too many complaints all together, low oil pressure (with 30 weight), smoking, cold start knocking, worse when warm, shakes like a dead hole, backfires over 2k. If I was to make a guess, I would say the oil pressure or lack of will be your demise. Maybe try some Lucas oil treatment to maybe help you buy time and be easy on it.

 

Do a search on the plenuim gasket. There is a plate on the bottom of the intake with a gasket that will blow out and cause a major vacuum leak and it will suck oil from the engine. It could be that simple...we hope.

 

judging from the symptoms I would say its not the plenum gasket, luckily its easy to check, and its an easy/relatively quick fix.

I would test it, but also test the compression, that way you dont pull the intake manifold, fix the gasket, put it back on, only to find out that its got a blown head gasket and you gotta pull it all again.

 

Got my money on a timing problem slack in chain or even jumped timing

 

I agree, a compression test and leak down test would be the first things to do before ripping the intake off. Just trying to give the guy a little glimmer of hope.

 

yea if its only a plenum gasket then he is a lucky man lol

 

Haven't gotten around to checking anything on it yet. It's at my buddy's house and won't get to try anything till the weekend. I actually have a second motor waiting to go in. Just really wanted to get till next spring before having to do it.

But... I am interested in finding out if the plenum pan gasket would cause it to rap away, smoke as bad as it does, shake, back fire, and have like 2psi oil pressure at idle lol. I got nothing to lose in giving it a shot!

 

My job gave everyone off for the week WOO HOO!!! FREE TIME!!! I ordered an intake gasket kit and I'm gonna give it a shot!

Only thing... I found out after I ordered my kit that there is a much better kit from hughes engines which replaces the plenum pan with a thick solid aluminum one to replace the the thin stock one which is known to stop the problem from coming back.

Without the kit from Hughes, what would be a good way to make sure I get the most out of replacing the stock gasket? I was thinking about running some RTV along the inner side of the gasket before bolting it all back up to the plenum. Would that be a good or bad idea or make no difference at all?

 

Just changed all manifold gaskets and plugs. No more miss fire. But still tons of smoke. It no longer searches on idle but has no low end power and backfires at 2000rpm like 2 times every time. Anything over 3500rpm it feels like all the ponys are there but it starts rapping real bad!

 

Hows the fuel pressure? You sure you have the distributor set right? The base timing may be retarded or too advanced.

 

Did you do a compression test?

 

any bearing material in the oil when you changed it? I was thinking maybe a spund
rod bearing.