Well just when you think somethings gonna last forever............

My nearly 11 year old 331 has developed a coolant leak. I'm thinking the Canfield's are corroding from the inside out after being bolted on the block and run off and on for the past 11 years. I was getting a few dollar (silver dollar that is for you young-uns) sized puddles on the shop floor outta the mufflers, along with a faint whiff of antifreeze when I cranked her up. Now I'm getting some excess pressure in the radiator and off and on again overheating. I'm thinking one of the exhaust port floors has sprung a leak as there's no coolant in the oil. Soon as I can get some stuff moved outta the way I'm gonna get it in the shop and pull the heads and get em pressure tested. Also give me an idea as to how the short block has faired after 11 years of freeway blasts and runs up to 6500-7000 rpms. Other than the coolant leakin, it runs like a scalded dog, 'specially after putting in the Toploader 4 speed last year. Goes sideways in 1st & 2nd, nearly so in 3rd, even squats sideways a bit in full power shifts from 3rd to 4th.

 

there are some Guys on here that can help you get that suspension straightened out. something may be broken or loose.

 

Well you no doubt know more about the Canfields than I but it'd surprise me if they actually had a hole in them...

I have a set of Trick Flows that have approx 30K mi and over 700 drag strip passes that have never given a issue(at least of their own)... I've had them cut twice because of a blown head gasket from cyl 3 to water jacket and between 3 & 4(no coolant loss second time)... Orig I burned/damaged the fire ring when spraying it that led to gasket failure, required .007 cut clean it up, but also apparently damaged block deck as six year later blew again(no spray)... They are freshened again, cut another .010 and are goin on my 331...

 

Hope it gets figured out so I can break mine too.

 

Really ? You don't think the massive amount of torque has anything to do with it ?

 

I not saying they're somehow defective, only the age has something to do with the leak. Probably should have run a high ratio of antifreeze in my coolant system to better protect the aluminum. I don't think any of the aftermarket head manufacturers expect their heads to be on an assembled engine this long. Might be why the O.E's stayed away from aluminum heads so long in production cars.

 

I ran mine from '99 till '09 when the gasket blew a second time and #2 & 4 main webs were being used a thrust surface(yeah crank & thrust bearing was toast)... I'm gonna be pissed if they won't run another 6-8 years...

I have kept a 50/50 mix of antifreezein it, no evidence of corrosion whatsoever..

 

I've seen better durability than that for AL in general(especially the OEM stuff).. but you know how casting processes can go sometimes. Minor flaws leave those little ticking time-bombs hidden inside and sometimes they eventually catch us and go boom. So, there's that.

My better guess is that you may have a crack under/around seat?.. or as you say, a hairline crack located on the floor above the water jacket. Heads eventually going a little soft along with these higher power levels.. cumulative damage over time, you know?

The beauty of AL is that you can more easily fix just about any problem you could possibly run into on that casting.

I'd also be curious as to how your valve guides held up over time too. We know you'll get it all sorted out.. good luck with it all.

 

May be a few weeks till I can get the heads off, I'll let y'all know what the leak came from. Damn sure hate to take apart a great running engine like this but this isn't a problem that's gonna fix itself. If it's a leak that can't be repaired, hopefully all I'll need is another set of heads to get her back in fighting trim. That'll depend on how the bores look too. If they've got wear showing, then I'll pull the short block out and inspect the rods and mains. Worst case I'm gonna build another just like this one. If I really had the cash to play, I'd build a 363 around an aftermarket 8.2 deck block with a 4.125" bore.

 

It's always something, isn't it??

 

Yea, two weeks ago I got under my 96 E150 conversion van only to see the driver's side rear tire oozing gear lube onto the pavement. 10,000 or so miles back I replaced both rear axles, bearings and the seals as the O.E. axles showed the beginings of wear where the bearings ride the axles. I ended up ordering a Superior axle (on sale) and a Yukon axle from Summit Racing. The Yukon was a POS. Apparently missed the heat treat session at the factory, the National bearing had worn into the axle a good eighth inch. And you guessed it............................Yukon only has a one year warrantee. And the axle is a year and a half old.

 

300+MPH dragsters go pretty straight...

 

Yea, and it's not all due to the suspension. Of which there really isn't any. If you looked at one close up you'd see that. And on top of that you're comparing apples to oranges here and for what ?

 

comparing..."the massive amount of torque".

 

Well some of us got it, some of us don't.