Re: [AMC-List] 360 Rebuild

["Swygert, Francis G MSgt 436 CES/CECM" <Francis.Swygert3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jay, since this happened suddenly, I think you'll find a holed or
cracked piston in the cylinder with no compression. It could have
dropped a valve too. The 35# cylinder may have a burnt or stuck open
valve. Was he running this thing hard when it happened? Might not have
been -- a valve keeper could have just given up, or some other condition
(like plain old metal fatigue, or a factory flaw finally showing up)
caused the problem. 

You definitely need to pull the head on the side with the dead cylinder.
Check the valves when the cover is off (make sure both are there), but
don't turn it over again. Pull the head and check the piston first.
Could be cracked and scratching the cylinder wall. I know you've spun it
some already, but one more time could scratch that much deeper. Even if
the wall is scratched deep you can have that cylinder sleeved and bored
to match the rest. Sleeving costs about $50 a hole now. If more than
three cylinders need sleeving I'd look for another block. I generally go
with more than two on a six, but that's just my opinion. If it's a hard
to find block (like a 401) you might want to sleeve all eight. Would
depend on the price of a replacement block. I do know a few people who
have had all cylinders in a 390 or 401 sleeved. 360s can generally be
found easy enough that more than two or three sleeves aren't practical.
You just have to figure what your time to retrieve and disassemble the
"new" engine is worth, and the wait if you can't get one immediately.

How long can you be without the car? The good 304 may have nearly as
much power as the tired 360, but if you're going to rebuild the 360 and
can wait 2-4 weeks there's no point in pulling the engine twice. 

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