campervan

I just purchased a 1979 Chevy camper can today and when I pulled up to my lane I heard a knock that sounded like a main or rod bearing (hope not). I turned it off and now the van will not start. The headlights, horn and cig lighter work but it doesnt seem like anything else has power. Any ideas what this problem could be?

THanks

James

Chuzz

First thing to do is check your batter cables for clean, tight connection. You may just have a loose or corroded ground cable. Did the oil light come on? If so, maybe the engine just locked up. Let's hope not, but you don't state if it was really hammering loudly or just a slight knock.

campervan

I could not hear the knock at idle but I could hear it when I rev'd the motor and it did increase with the rpm's. My plan was to let it cool off and see if it changed. I don't think the van not starting is connected with the knock simply because there is no longer electrical power to anything but the horn and headlights. There does seem to be a lot of corrosion on certain grounding wires and others. There is a box called a dual battery isolator which has really corroded conections (btw as far as i can find there is only 1 battery). I did install a new ignition switch today thinking that may be the prob but it did not change anything. This sucks trying to get a van running that I just purchased just to see if the motor is also damaged.

Please help!

James

RacerX

check your starter. It may not have been bolted to the motor and probably fell out. turn they key and listen to see if the things whirs. Or the it may not have disengaged after you started the car and it burnt out.
Also, there may be loose contacts in your ignition switch.

campervan

I located the problem. The main connection to the starter was still connected but there were 2 smaller wires that ran off the same post that were burnt right off. I cut them down to good wire and then lengthened them and reconnected to the starter. Everything works now except for my gauges. Now I need to figure out why the gauges have no power.

The engine knock is still there but I do not hear it at an idle and it seems to get more noticable as the motor heats up.

RacerX

I had a extensive message but the damn Google Chrome messed it up.

1. try heavier motor oil
2. put external oil pressure gauge
3. check for power on instrument cluster
4. check for fuses on IC

5. I think you have good oil pressure but excessive main bearing clearance which is why you hear the knocking after it warms up. But try a heavier motor oil instead of 5W20, try 30W. 350s arent hard to come across so you ll be ok if you have to replace it.

6. I think the IC is probably fried. But they have used the same set-up from 1975 to 1995 so there should be plenty of them on EBay.

Chuzz

If the knock is more noticeable with increase in the engine rpm, then it's either the main bearings like RacerX stated or a rod bearing. I wouldn't drive it very far before dropping the oil pan and putting a crank kit in it if it were me. You can get a crank kit at Autozone or Advance pretty reasonable and it will come with new main and rod bearings. I would not purchase one that's been turned more than .020, but that's just my personal preference. You need to clean all of the corroded connections up too. It's a real killer on electrical and is probably the reason your gauges aren't working. You can use vinegar or baking soda and water. Baking soda and vinegar really work great, just use small amounts at a time. Dry your connections with an air compressor if you have one and use some new di-electric grease on them.

j_gallagher

the wires you "fixed" were fusible links. they should have felt different than regular wire. if you removed them you removed the fuse protection. that's ok as long as you know it so you can add fuses as needed.

canucklehead

Umm, 3 year old post.