AMC 360 rebuild ideas

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Rinkle_Stinkle
Posts: 224
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:22 am

Re: AMC 360 rebuild ideas

Post by Rinkle_Stinkle »

letank wrote:Reading again your posts, as said by 440sixpack, the plugs look really good.

did you try to run the engine with the valve cover off on the noisy side to see if all rockers are moving and the oil is flowing?

No not yet. I'm actually biting the bullet and taking it somewhere to have it officially diagnosed. It'll cost me $150 and i'll have peace of mind and can officially make legitimate plans on what the next step is.

He is going to run a bunch of test and he said he will look over any other problem areas(additional cost) and give me a write up for future fixes. He also is going to show me how he determined the problem so in the future I can be more knowledgeable on how to diagnose these issues.

my issue isn't my ability to fix things, its my ability to diagnose problems. I just don't have the experience necessary to rely on when it comes to that.
1988 Grand Wag
AMC 360 with 96K
Edelbrock intake manifold
260H Comp Cam
Edelbrock AVS 4brl carb
Headman headers
2" to thrush muff with 3" tip exhaust

440sixpack
Posts: 332
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 6:31 am

Re: AMC 360 rebuild ideas

Post by 440sixpack »

I guess that's one way of looking at it. but if you have a 166k mile engine you're really just adding $150 to the cost of the rebuild.
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Rinkle_Stinkle
Posts: 224
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:22 am

Re: AMC 360 rebuild ideas

Post by Rinkle_Stinkle »

440sixpack wrote:I guess that's one way of looking at it. but if you have a 166k mile engine you're really just adding $150 to the cost of the rebuild.
I completely understand that however my thought is if I spend $150 now and find its something extremely simple that I over looked and get it fixed and gain an extra 50k miles on the engine then I think its very much worth it.

I'm not going to be doing a rebuild on this engine now, if I do anything it'll be a swap and that means if I get a new engine we are looking at 2500-3k, if I can avoid that for now then I think the $150 is justified.
1988 Grand Wag
AMC 360 with 96K
Edelbrock intake manifold
260H Comp Cam
Edelbrock AVS 4brl carb
Headman headers
2" to thrush muff with 3" tip exhaust
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Topic author
Rinkle_Stinkle
Posts: 224
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:22 am

Re: AMC 360 rebuild ideas

Post by Rinkle_Stinkle »

update:

The mechanic I took the jeep to said its 100% a lifter tap. He said that should not doom the engine though because it still has a lot of life left in it. after giving the full story of the purchase and the previous owner he suspects that because she was 92 when I bought the jeep that it probably sat a lot the last year or two which would explain the lifter tap.

he gave it an oil change (high millage oil) and a premium oil filter (WIX) and then he put in Marvel Mystery Oil in the crank case and in the gas tank. He explained that putting it in the crank case will only reach about 90% of the top end of the engine and that putting it in the fuel tank will ensure it reaches the other 10%. I drove it 5 miles and maybe my ears are playing tricks on me but I already hear the difference. the first 2 miles it was still there as loud as before but the next 3 miles it slowly seems to start working its way out.... There is still a tap but its really muffled and I feel like its tapping far less. Could just be the high millage oil he used though.

At this point he said I have 3 options:

1. live with it, do oil changes often and always add a cleaning additive for the next year and the goal is to bring life back into that sticky lifter.

2. rebuild the top end of the motor. He said that its not worth adding performance mods on this older engine but from everything he can see there should be no reason I can't get another 50k- maybe even 100k out of this motor if I take care of it. he does not however recommend the top end rebuild as he feels it would be more of a waste of money.

3. full rebuild or engine swap. He said this will be the end result (as it is the end result of all motors) the catch is when...

I explained I was going to try option 1 for now and just start saving for the inevitable swap that I know will need to happen within the next 2 years.
1988 Grand Wag
AMC 360 with 96K
Edelbrock intake manifold
260H Comp Cam
Edelbrock AVS 4brl carb
Headman headers
2" to thrush muff with 3" tip exhaust
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