Over the last couple of months, I've been assembling the 440 for my 72 Cuda project as time and funding have permitted. This week I finally got the short block buttoned-up. The other night I installed the windage tray and 7 qt pan. Today was the day to roll it over and install the heads.
So I've got it on the stand and start rolling it over. I get it rotated about 90 degrees, and I hear a faint,
CLINK.
"WTF was that!?!?", I say to myself.
So I do another rotation and I here it again... twice.
CLINK..... CLINK So now I'm fit to be tied. I'm thinking I'm going to have to open up the bottom end to find whatever I left loose and is rattling around.
I keep rolling the motor over, waiting for the
CLANK signaling whatever it is has fallen into the oil pan, but it never comes.
After several more rotations, I trace the noise to the left cylinder bank, but I'm thinking no way did I have anything fall into the crank case.
Finally I start to thinking maybe something is in the water jacket. So I start peering through the holes looking to find something. Can't really see the into the far outboard corners, or in between 3 and 5. By this time though, I'm fairly certain whatever is rattling around IS in the water jacket and probably harmless, but I'm not going to stop looking until I find it.
So I popped out a couple of freeze plugs, and sure enough, I find a chunk of rusted cast iron flash. I flip the motor a couple more times... no more
CLINKIt was a frustrating detour, but at least the story has a happy ending. Only cost me the time, and a couple of 99 cent freeze plugs. Obviously, it could have been a lot worse.