I layed under the lifted car, put a 3' long breaker bar on it, and lifted my body off the ground trying to crush that sleeve. It wasn't enough. Not sure what they did at the shop...
No power (sluggish) and overheating sounds like it may be 180 degrees out of timing, been there years ago, my .
I'm with the others that you didn;t set up the gears correctly. As for the overheating and converter question, the converter is fine with the gear ratio. Your overheating problem is most likely a bad thermostat, seeing as it suddenly erupts. Could also be head gaskets on backwards. Then there's the statement you made about "gets up to about 215-225"(which by the way is NOT overheating, but quite normal), are you guessing the temps from a factory gauge, or is that from looking a an aftermarket gauge ? And your ignition timing could also be a factor here, what did you set it at ?
if you thightened it as tight as it would go then you did it wrong. i suspect you didnt get it to crush. this will let pinion flop around. could you still turn the pinion after you tightened the pinion nut? could you still feel any play in the bearing, able to move the pinion back and forward in the support?
i guess for the rear ill just have to find someone close to look at the rear end? i have aftermarket gauges and the old 302 i had in it with a 180 thermostat and stock flex fan and it ran right around 180-185 all day long if i got stuck in traffic the hottest she got was 205. thats why i would think ive done either to make it run even cooler ( electric fan/ no hood/ took out the heater so it doesnt go through the heater core) . when i took the motor apart i cleaned and flushed every thing out i have no water in oil so i dont think its a cracked head or block. i know for sure i put the head gaskets on right with the front label to the front.. ill check for make sure im not 180 degrees out of timing i doubt it is it runs to smooth and starts to easy to be. i have the ignitor II system that goes under the dist cap and matching coil drove it for 7000k on my old 302 not one problem set at 8 degrees timing. i know im running lean right now cus the plugs are white and clean so that could be a problem and that i went from .035 gap to .045 gap thing i might need to back it down too. the balancer is brand so i dont think thats spun. ill check the vacuum advance too
yes i could still rotate it the first turn was not hard to rotate but had a good deal or resistance ( i could still turn it by hand didnt need to put a bar on it to turn) but after that it moved freely and no theres no play forward or back in the support
I have exact same kit as you probably, i have richmond ring and pinion gear set 4:11 gear ratio's, i also bought an install kit with all new bearings and motive gear mini spool, when i put it together i checked all preloads including turning torque, no howling at any speeds, so i would recheck your set up.
yea i got the kit from summit and the spool from ebay. would it be best to drive it to a shop when i find one so they can hear it our just the center section?
I personally like to hear them 1st, but you may call them and see what they want to do. Everybody has their preferred method of diagnosis.
I had one run at 180 degrees out many years ago, fixed that and it was like a brand new motor, but it did run just no power and overheating all the time.
I put my pumpkin in a 5-gallon bucket, and told the guys to just check the assembly. They gave it back the next day, said it all checked out fine except for crush sleeve. Been great since. I was pretty sure that was the problem from the beginning. All my wear patterns looked good, but I knew I didn't have the torque for crushing that sleeve with what I had in the garage. If I recall, it asked for 285 ft lbs, or some awful number like that.
oh dang 285?? theres no way i got it that tight i think my impact maxes out at 250ft/lbs and i dont have that powerful of a compressor
