fuel in oil on 1957 corvette

[Paul Y.]

Re: fuel in oil on 1957 corvette

Can one check for a bent rod by carefully checking the piston pairs, 1-4 and 2-3... through the spark plug holes? If the rods are not bent the depth through the plug hole to the top of the piston should match no?

I have been able to hear a bent rod by turning it over with the starter(coil wire disconnected)

[Patrick N.]

Re: fuel in oil on 1957 corvette

How bent is bent...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]37735[/ATTACH]

Ha- I think that qualifies as catastrophically bent

[Patrick B.]

Re: fuel in oil on 1957 corvette

Can one check for a bent rod by carefully checking the piston pairs, 1-4 and 2-3... through the spark plug holes? If the rods are not bent the depth through the plug hole to the top of the piston should match no?

If the piston to crank counterweight clearance on a small block is anything like the clearance on a big block, I would say that the chances David has a bent rod are pretty small unless he hears a scary clanking from the engine while running. I had the misfortune of having my first Corvette (a junky 67 427/435 in 1971) start after the 3 -2bbls had leaked several quarts of gas into the engine. It immediately started to clank like the worse rod bearing failure you have ever heard. After draining about 3 gallons of oil/gas out of it, I removed the oil pan thinking I would find fried bearings. However, all the bearing were good. I was mystified until I saw a shiney spot on the bottom of the pin boss on one of the pistons. It was barely rubbing the crank counterweight, but it had made a loud and aweful clanking when the engine ran. The rod was barely bent and you would not notice it holding it in your hand unless you knew something was wrong with it.

By the way, be sure to ground the coil before you turn the engine over with the spark plugs out - especially if the car is in your garage. Don't ask me why I know the importance of this step.