Re: [AMC-list] crap, did I ruin my 195.6 ohv?

[Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx>]

I doubt you ran it hot enough to do any damage. When the head cracks it's usually a combination of loose head bolts (not retorqued regularly) and blown head gasket resulting from the loose bolts. They are usually run really hot at that point too. 

Just to make yourself feel better you might want to check the torque on the head bolts, as the slightly greater expansion and contraction may have loosened them a bit (that's one of the causes for having to retorque them in the first place, I think). Then just drive it! Check the oil and water after a couple days to see if any mixing is going on. If not, and it runs good, you haven't cracked anything. 

"That there was no indication it was unhappy" is the real plus! If it was run so hot that it started running rough I might be worried. Oh, the temp gauge reads like it did only because the temp sending unit doesn't register very well with steam running by it, it needs/wants actual water! With water on the sender it will register up at the top, but the water goes pretty fast once it gets there! 

---------
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:38:38 -0700
From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>

!!! The damned lower hose had popped off! So it was utterly dry. Now, if it
lost all it's water back at the ramp, it's probably OK, only went 1/4 mile.
But it stalled, so my guess is the carb was so hot it flooded. If the hose
popped off 1, 2, 10... miles back I'm screwed. I simply didn't look at the
temp guage, I usually do, but there was no indication that it was unhappy. I
was doing 50 in OD most of the way.

No way to know short of disassembly and magnaflux if I cracked anytthing
serious. Tomorrow I'll pull plugs and photo for a snapshot state. Obviously
if wet... crankcase oil is fine, and no bad smell.

Question: Should I retorque it this weekend and hope for the best? Or assume
the worst and take it apart now?

--
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AMC.html
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