83 Burb converted to 396 Big Block

[Rusty Nail]

Am I the only guy interested in pics of this supossed "396"?

 

[Stoney_06]

Am I the only guy interested in pics of this supossed "396"?

BWAHAHAHA! You're a troll.[emoji1] But #TrollChallengeAccepted And as such I will provide my proof in a long boring Periscope live stream of me talking to my buddy's trying to diagnosis what eventually ended up being a intake manifold leak. #NeverClaimedToBeGoodWithAWrench

https://www.periscope.tv/w/a1WE-DF4...HbPoWPeaMj7bHw2c3EFdQ75sV2Wn4DynhR3JddCJrOO3b

Enjoy. I might also take a picture in the morning if I remember.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[Stoney_06]

The 396 out of a 68 Chevelle.

You must be registered for see images

So, I went a cleaned up the temperature sending unit wire. No change on the gauge. I guess next I need to pull it to test the wire and gauge.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Rusty Nail]

Dude. That's hot!

Temp gauge...Paris Hilton...396...get it?
I freakin feen for a 396, that's BAD. ASS, man. Thay are WAY cooler than a 454,

 

[Stoney_06]

Dude. That's hot!

Temp gauge...Paris Hilton...396...get it?
I freakin feen for a 396, that's BAD. ASS, man. Thay are WAY cooler than a 454,

Haha! Well played sir. Haven't heard a Paris joke since Kate Upton did the Cat Daddy. [emoji1]

I like this engine. It runs great for a bit before it shakes down a new bug. The guy who had the swap done did a clean job but then only drove it once a year for about 30 minutes as a maintenance run. If I could just get these bugs worked out I'd be golden. Well that and get the 4 speed swap done since the 700R4 tanked 2nd gear.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

What four speed did you want to go with?

 

[Stoney_06]

Looking to go with A Muncie. Got a local hot rod guy who has the tranny, pedals, etc and is willing to do the swap out. Just working out the dickering over price/trade.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[MikeB]

The cylinder head is the best spot in my opinion. That gives you your truest operating temperature, I think.

My experience has been temperatures at both locations are close to the same at road speed RPM, like 1500-2500, but coolant at the cylinder head port gets hotter at idle.

Also, I like to know the coolant temperature near the t-stat, since that's what regulates coolant flow.

To the OP: I'd suggest getting a good quality mechanical gauge to see what really going on, because external surfaces are going to be a little less than actual coolant temperature. I did just that on a 69 pickup to determine the temperatures at various places on the unmarked gauge. Turns out at 180 degrees, the needle was well to the left of center. I ended up changing the value of the shunt resistor so 180 is almost at the center of the gauge.

 

[Stoney_06]

My experience has been temperatures at both locations are close to the same at road speed RPM, like 1500-2500, but coolant at the cylinder head port gets hotter at idle.

Also, I like to know the coolant temperature near the t-stat, since that's what regulates coolant flow.

To the OP: I'd suggest getting a good quality mechanical gauge to see what really going on, because external surfaces are going to be a little less than actual coolant temperature. I did just that on a 69 pickup to determine the temperatures at various places on the unmarked gauge. Turns out at 180 degrees, the needle was well to the left of center. I ended up changing the value of the shunt resistor so 180 is almost at the center of the gauge.

I picked up a mechanical thermometer to use as well. I think once I get the gauge at least in the ball park I will do just like your suggesting with trueing the reading. I would hate to lose this engine in the mountains where it gets used the most because I'm getting an inaccurate reading.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[Derick C.]

Do you have the right sending unit? May need to use the sending unit from the diesel engine.

 

[Stoney_06]

Do you have the right sending unit? May need to use the sending unit from the diesel engine.

I've been thinking about this. I picked up another sending unit for the 396 today and tried it. It appears to be doing the same high readings. I did move it closer to the thermostat to try and get a more accurate reading from that location. I'm going to look and see if I can find physical specs on the diesel sending unit. I'm also going to dig up a variable resistor for tuning the signal to the gauge in case I can't find a better unit.

Now since I tend to be redundant I'm thinking about doing a mod. I'm considering taking a thermostat housing, drilling and tapping a hole, and installing a little thermometer. This way if I'm having suspicions of the dash gauge I can pop the hood for a direct reading while on the trail.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[Derick C.]

I recently put a 454 in place of the 350 and I reused all the sensors and sending units from the 350. Had to get a reducer to use the small block temp sender.

 

[Stoney_06]

So currently all temps have maintained when checked with a no-contact thermometer. I went and did some quick tests and confirmed that the gauge is working correctly I just believe its getting the wrong resistance. I have ordered up a set of variable resistors so I can wire one inline to adjust the readings to the gauge. I've been doing some scrounging around and can't find a good thread that shows wiring a three prong variable resistor in-line. Do I just use the two outside prongs for the inline portion and the middle to a ground?

Additional development. My coolant system has started having "shudders". By this I mean it will suddenly clunk with a pulse that can be felt through the entire vehicle. You can feel it easily by hand in the upper radiator line and the coolant line going to the heater system. I used a stethiscope to listen for any possible breakages in the engine to try and catch it. Nothing from the heads or block. Nothing from the water pump. It does seem to become audible where the the heater line coming from the intake first meets a vavle/splitter. I also noticed that my coolant suddenly has a rust look to it. Engine temperature does not surge or fluxuate at all with the shudders. This problem began around the same time I started using the rear auxillary heater. Which is producing heat. I suspicion that since the Suburban sat for about 10 year there was some corrosion in the auxillary line. This might have caused a part to break loose and is catching in the system. I'm going to try and isolate the noise further but I'm also open to brainstorming solutions. Might just go get the whole system flushed.

Positive note: I think we are starting to get this sucker figured out and set properly.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk