So I was reading through the post about the PCV valve and I saw where Nate mentioned not bead blasting the breather tube....information which would have been helpful about a week ago. Anyways, needless to say I bead blasted mine about a week ago with glass bead and have painted it to prepare it for the engine which has been rebuilt. So, what are my options at this point???? I already bar-b-qued the tube and got all of the junk out of it. Can I just run a bunch of water through it in an effort to make sure there is no glass bead in it??? I paid a fair amount to have the engine rebuilt and it is all original so I would prefer not to destroy it. I did not blast into the tube but I did not protect the openings either. My tube just has the opening where it installs into the engine and at the end of the tube. I do not have the tube which has the side port for the PCV valve. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Road Draft Tube This is just the old stock tube correct ? . I'd go get another one and toss this one out after smacking it with a single jack to ensure it doesn't wind up on another engine . Failure to replace it , will wind up with an extremely fine abrasive paste in your oil , this will wear everything in the engine out of spec. (loose) sooner than you think . I's an " Oops ! " but not overly expensive to recover from unless you decide to wash & keep it and tempt fate . Long Beach Auto Swap is in a few hours , get one there or look around the Mojave Junk Yards .
I agree with Nate, the cost to replace the part is so low it simply isn't worth taking a chance. I assume the tube you have is the two piece design where the top piece is slid over and spot welded to the tube? This overlap area would be the perfect hiding spot for the glass media. That being said here are some more articles for ya to read: http://virtualindian.org/2techclean.htm http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30598 http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTips/enginering_bulletin_cleaning_pis.htm
A small block Chevy filler oil filler tube will fit in to the six. I used one on mine and just welded a baffle in to it and put a K&N breather on it... Big Tim
Nate and Lakeroadster - Thanks for the replies....but.... I think the breather tube would be easy enough to come by however when I was reading the thread on H.A.M.B that Lakeroadster put up I noticed that one comment said not to blast "some intake manifolds". Well I must come clean - I also bead blasted that too. However I did notice that there are suggestions for cleaning these parts. Most of which said to use really soapy water and essentially soak it in the sink while the boss isn't home. Drain water and repeat several times. They also gave a suggestion to use the following product from Eastwood: http://www.eastwood.com/glyptal-red-enamel-set.html I was thinking maybe doing the cleaning method on both the breather tube and the intake and then sloshing some of the paint from Eastwood around on the inside of both the intake and the breather. So I guess my question is do I need to be worried about the intake??? Just the breather???? Or both??? And do you think the cleaning and painting method I mention above would work??? Or just another bad idea on top of something already gone wrong???? P.S. - I also bead blasted the exhaust manifold but I assumed that would not be a big deal because everything is leaving at that point but please correct me if I am wrong.
If you were to paint the inside of that tube with some red primer like we do on the inside of the block, then wouldn't that seal it? anybody, what do you think?....Big Tim
Steve, The concern with the intake are all the passages, nooks and crannies that can't be cleaned properly after bead blasting. Some intakes are worse than others.... what type of intake are you using?
Stock Intake I am actually just using the stock intake. As best I can tell it is the original one. I have attached a pic of it.
We got a buncha road draft tubes hangin' up in the parts pit. We can fix you up with a good one as long as you promise never to get any silica sand anywhere near it again.
Dzt - I will send you a PM. For everyone else, any thoughts on using the intake manifold even though it has been glass bead blasted???? Is there potential for something to get in the newly rebuilt engine and do it harm???? Also am I ok to use the exhaust manifold since it too was glass bead blasted???? Any input would be greatly appreciated....
The intake manifold really doesn't have any hidden areas like the roadraft tube does. I would a think a good shot of compressed air & then a good strong stream of water will clean it out OK.
If it were me I'd flush it out really good using the techniques described in the above links and use it.
