what size engine

what's the eighth letter of the VIN ?

Most likely it is a 305 V-8 could be a 350 but doubt it.

8th digit in vin: F or G or H=305 V-8 4bbl carb L or M=350 V-8 4bbl carb

good luck, mark

How about from the engine? I suspect I might have a 350 but my radiator shroud says it's a 305....

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 KJ's successor

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson

look on the engine behind the heads around the flat area where the distributor mounts.... newer ones give the displacement in liters (i.e. 5.0 for a 305, 5.7 for a 350) I *think* some of the older blocks had the displacement in CI. I'm only talking 1 gen small blocks, not the LS1 based current V8's.

-Bret

Yea (basically what Bret said) you will have to climb onto the engine with a flash light. Look at the back of the block where the trans bolts to the engine (between the head and fire wall). On the top back next to the back of one of the heads, on the block, should be written the size of the engine (drivers side I think). If the engine is dirty this may be very difficult. The 350 and the 305 are virtually the same engine with just a larger bore size so they use the same plugs, rotor cap and so on. See if it is possible to contact the original owner and ask if the engine was changed. If it is a newer engine it may be necessary to get an idea of the year when it becomes necessary to replace internal engine parts.

good luck, mark

It's changed hands one too many times. I'd like to know though, because I think I'm going to need some "gaskets" soon. There is white slimy gummy gunky shit in the oil-breather tube.... Ya, those kind of "gaskets".... sigh

~KJ~

Well an engine that is driven short distances will not run enough time to completely burn off all of the moisture in the oil. So it is not uncommon to see a little tainted oil on the oil filler cap, the PVC valve or so on... If you do not see water it in the oil (looks like tea with milk in it), it isn't running hot or you don't see bubbles in the coolant over flow tank; you probably don't have head gasket problems. The shop manual that I have on hand says "the engine code is on the pad located immediately forward of the right hand cylinder head". So that means it is on the front of the engine where the water pump mounts below the passenger side cylinder head or on the rear of the block stamped near the oil filter. This is the serial number of the engine so you will have to take this code to a friendly GM dealer. They should be able to give you the information you want. So look for this engine VIN number or look for the engine size marked on the block as I said in an earlier post.

good luck, mark

"> Well an engine that is driven short distances will not run enough time to

Well, if you call 1/2 hour drives, 15 min high and 15 min back roads "short" I guess so. Thats the daily commute. My girl lives about 10 min by highway and 20 minutes back road away, and thats say 2x a week.

All I know is that I've seen this gunk in two engines before - both lost the gaskets within weeks. I'm not too worried about this one though, I know I should be able to pop these off and put new ones on in my drive way.

Funny how when you CARE for your engine, you can see things coming. I changed the oil in my 72' Malibu the day after I got it to my house, flushed the coolant, checked tranny fluid level, power steering etc.... 3,000 miles later I changed the oil again. I swung the filter in an arc to get some more oil out - I like to bring the filter "just to make sure" and I drew a pretty silver streak across the oil catcher. I came into work the next day "my engine is going to die within the next few weeks" - 3 weeks later I slipped the timing chain, chewed off most of the teeth and tapped alot of the valves, bent 5 rods.... But now I have a little bit more experience (and a lot less money)

As for the look of the oil, I've seen that before 1/2 the way home on a 4 hour all-highway drive.... Go chevy, made it home! 1992 corsica sat for about 9 months, and under 5 feet of snow I crawled in and "decided to test it" it cranked over on the first turn, in about 3 seconds. This is with milky oil! Go AC-Delco batteries, go Chevy!

But I've also read that a head-gasket leak that isn't "too" bad can put water in the oil, that can be evaporated off by the heat of the engine - and thus show no signs in the oil. The over flow tank has no cap, so I never see bubbles. But I have no over heating/random heat problems what-so-ever, so it isn't bad enough to affect my t-stat.

My best guess is the headgasket. I've been wrong before though.

Thanks for the help on engine size. I plan on turning some wrench this weekend. Funny how winter hours take the drive out of a driveway mechanic. Mayhaps its time to go inside and work on the 72' ducatti?

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 Tach Says: 57,000 Now Is It: 157,000 - 257,000 - 357,000 - 450,000? Brake Pedal Says: 157,000

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson

If you call around i bet you can get a CO test kit. Test the antifreeze if you get high levels then you know the head gaskets are leaking or you have a cracked head. This will tell you what is going on long before you see bubbles or cooling problems.

Good luck, mark

i hate to be a pain in the ass, but pvc is a kind of plastic (poly vinyl chloride i think). positive crankcase ventilation valve is a pcv valve

good point, i read it as "pcv" but it did say " pvc"....