The Ford Barn

Ian Curtis · 01-15-2023, 02:30 AM

I pulled the head looking for the source of a large cloud of steam on my '29 pickup. I found a crack in the head, so nice to have some resolution there. But that's not what I'm asking about. While the head was off I noticed lots of pitting in the combustion chamber of #4. There is some pitting in #2, and very little in #1/#3. The current pistons have no damage. See picture at the bottom of this post (pitting to the left of the hand)

I assume what caused this pitting is engine knock (detonation) at some point in the past? If that's the case, why is one cylinder so much worse than the others? I would think if you had something that made one cylinder knock (too much compression, wacky timing) they'd all knock and so you'd expect similar damage in all cylinders?

01-15-2023, 02:30 AM	#1
Ian Curtis Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Snohomish, WA Posts: 102	Combustion Chamber Pitting I pulled the head looking for the source of a large cloud of steam on my '29 pickup. I found a crack in the head, so nice to have some resolution there. But that's not what I'm asking about. While the head was off I noticed lots of pitting in the combustion chamber of #4. There is some pitting in #2, and very little in #1/#3. The current pistons have no damage. See picture at the bottom of this post (pitting to the left of the hand) I assume what caused this pitting is engine knock (detonation) at some point in the past? If that's the case, why is one cylinder so much worse than the others? I would think if you had something that made one cylinder knock (too much compression, wacky timing) they'd all knock and so you'd expect similar damage in all cylinders? __________________ "It is much easier to call someone else a genius than admit to yourself that you are lazy." - Dave Gingery