keithb7

I also run dual 6V relays. One for hi-beam. Another for low beam. A bit of a back up plan when driving home in the dark.

Your progress looks good. You’re earning your Mopar stripes. Most of us have been there too, in your position. Removing all old goop and re-installing the oil pan while laying under the car. Before you put oil pan back on Consider de-gooping valve area with kerosene and a brush. Scoop out what sludge you can. Kerosene and brush the rest. Let it drop down to catch a basin on your floor. When all is clean, then re-install oil pan. Finally clean out your oil filter can. Then you can safely run modern detergent oil. That’s what I did. While oil pan is off I pulled a rod cap and inspected the bearing. Measured crank there too. Might be opening a can of worms, but it is nice to know.

For anyone reading this, keep an eye out for hot-rodders who are replacing the drivetrain. Pick up a complete front and rear axle assy for nearly nothing. I did, and parted them out. I have 4 spare 10” drums for my ‘38 Plymouth. Another 4 spare 11” drums for my Chrysler. I threw out another 4 spares. Too many to keep. Nobody wants to pay freight charges from Canada for these heavy parts.

Too late for my comments but I’ll share for future readers. Wearing gloves I scooped up the sludge and lead goo with a 1.5” plastic scraper. One designed for drywall mud. I collected all that and put it in with my engine oil recycling container. It was sent out with recycling. Then I followed up with paper shop towels and kerosene. Then kerosene and a solvent brush. If needed, a narrow paint brush with the bristles cut short gets in tighter areas. More liberal use of shop towels. I may or may not have burned the shop towels.

Looks great, clean in there. Based on my engine those flywheel studs appear to be in backwards. On mine, the nuts went on the engine side. The bolt head with the flat cut in it, sat in a recessed groove on the clutch side of the flywheel. As seen here. View here is from the transmission looking through the bell housing here at rear of flywheel. You can see the transmission input pinion pilot bushing in the crank here.

Earlier you had mentioned a considerable ridge at the top of each cylinder. This indicates a high mile engine. Creating a tapered cylinder. The cylinder is wider at the top than the bottom. This is caused by the rings expanding during the combustion process. Which is when the piston is near TDC. If you’re proceeding to get the crank turned, the block cylinders sure could use a bore. If you don’t bore the block, new piston rings will not seal well. They’ll also likely wear quicker. If you are thinking of getting .010 over piston rings, then filing the ends to the proper ring gap at TDC; not a good plan. The gap will likely be too tight at BDC. Piston rings expand when hot. The ring gap spec accounts for this expansion, in a straight, true cylinder bore. Too tight of ring gap at TDC will likely end up with broken piston rings or a broken piston. I wish it were easier and an engine rebuild could be done on a strict budget. Unfortunately the measured engine wear dictates the extent of a rebuild. Doing a little bit to the engine this year, then buttoning it up to drive, and doing a little more next year could be catastrophic.

Out of curiosity, what did #2 journal OD measure?

Is there a cast part number on the cylinder head? Look at both engines. It might help me looking in my parts books.

She got a new engine in 1975! Just barely broke-in. Lol. I see 3 7/16” bore stamped on the engine rebuilder’s tag. 25” long. 4 ¼” stroke would be a 237 ci. Those were mainly reserved for Desoto. Same bore with 4 ½” stroke would be 250 ci. I’d wager the that’s what you’d have in the truck. Later they went to same bore 4 ¾” stroke for 265 ci used in the big Chryslers. The Industrial engine found in the combine should work. You could swap over needed automotive parts as needed. I believe there were set up for more continuous RPM. Different torque curve compared to an engine for a vehicle on public roads. Different cam. Different distributor. I am surmising here. Can’t speak of fact. My Mopar industrial engine book here claims the 8A 250 ci engine made 206 ft lbs of torque at 1400 rpm. 113 hp at 3600 rpm. Didn’t Industrial engines have sodium filled exhaust valves? To assist with extra valve cooling. The industrial engine you found could be a 265 ci. That would be a nice bonus! Looking at your rat-engine photo, 2 cylinders appear to be at TDC. 2 must be at BDC. Head is off. Easy to measure the stroke. It would take me about 3/10 of a second to say yes and bring that truck home. Cleaning that engine up, with a valve lap too. She might go. For how long and far, using how much oil? I can’t say.

Following up on what I ended up doing with my A/C system as outlined in post 1. Took my old compressor off and dumped the oil. It was clean and looked good. No failure in compressor. The original compressor on my car was a vane type. Prone to shorter life than a radial piston type. I ordered a brand new radial piston compressor off Rock Auto. It was prefilled with PAG oil. The proper amount they claimed. I installed the new compressor and re-installed hoses. I got way down under the dash and replaced 2 cabin fresh air intake filters. I booked an appointment at the A/C shop. Told them that I recently installed a new compressor and last year a new condenser and receiver dryer. I asked them to remove the new compressor and drain it. Install the correct about of oil. Replace o-ring seals. Pressure up system and test for leaks. They found none. They Sucked the system down for a while and refilled it with refrdigerant. Installed a new Compressor drive belt. They told me it blows ice cubes out the dash now. I agree. System works very well. I saved a ton by buying my own new condenser, dryer and compressor,then installing them myself. They had no issue with me doing that myself. Good guys to deal with. I'll be recommending them. Happy to say I'll be cool this coming summer!

If you are having fun, learning, and want to salvage the old engine, polish and run in a new set of standard bearings. LIke @Los_Control said. Plastic-gauge. Shim if needed. See how it goes. Cheap. Easy. I can buy new bearings at Vintage Power Wagons : https://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/products/new-connecting-rod-bearing-sets-std-230 I like the old NOS ones. These look good: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266766797305?itmmeta=01HWKTQMJAYW0Q17AN6V4961VH&hash=item3e1c8a49f9:g:CnwAAOSwl75mGdgr&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8P%2FOygEM2BNeu1SsjFAL78%2Bh1N%2FJkatXMtnliC0krcn7L6j6kCaZVaRMWxvHCAtA4HIiwai6hPcQ%2FAh5%2FLhRjtbhiQckQ3qYaomG22rdKD3fpuK47ov0YYKvxAJeHilwuuRi4yxzk0dEchBQv2kXbMxGxDaGhCVG9Fo%2B%2B9flAtHpHQ5P9UAgVrgO8uJ6JH2KE%2BhbZiCO2vwl4fE0f%2Bl2Xb4hmu2yUl1uxVQtZ8wqVucjV17TxFoWTXQX%2FeEJ5yrMr8X3d8pwDsbl%2F2yYas3Rarg%2BM75UjYo2Oe08rZ0E4HI2%2FMlIcow%2B7KSkjQE9PUNPOA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6LJ3vrkYw Plenty of options on E-Bay. I got my McQuay-Norris .002 polish bearings on there.

If you have to remove and grind the crank, you're pretty much all-in for an engine pull. Then you're that far in, does it make sense to re-use timing gears? New front and rear oil seals, gaskets. The front cover and inner retainer plate, all has to come apart. You can see how this goes together in my video below here. Big job. Where does one stop? You could consider just rolling-in new bearings, measure clearances with plasti-gauge. If it is not too far out of spec button it back up with the new bearings. Fire it up. Measure oil pressure and plan future repair options down the road. Maybe you'll get decent oil pressure and get some more years out of the old engine. Having a spare block and crank out behind the shed gives some peace of mind. 😀 I will admit, after opening up and measuring my engine, some head scratching, I kept going. There were a few meetings with myself at 3AM trying to decide how far I was going to go. Overall I loved the experience. When it was all done I was happy and satisfied. Yet I probably could have gotten away with cylinder hone, piston re-ring, valve grind and a full bearing roll-in. What I ended up with is a fully rebuilt and machined engine that will out-live me.

Appears to be stock size rod journals. Looking at the bearing shells shown I agree, acid corrosion. That engine was likely sitting for a long time with old acidic oil in the oil pan. Some dirt or carbon has scored the bearing. Pretty normal stuff. The crank journal in the background of the one photo looks nice and clean. Measure more, see what you've got across the six rod journals. Can you feel any ridges with your fingernail as you run down the length of the shiney smooth rod journal? You're 1/6th of the way there on making work scope plan. I'd likely already have decided to not put those rod bearings back in.

I have improved my valve set when using the cold method. Yet I prefer the hot method. A gauntlet glove on one hand/forearm is helpful to prevent burns. I shut off the hot engine. Make my adjustments. Then run it and test. I like the positive feedback when a running engine pulls the feeler gauge in, just right. Then I know its right and brings a smile. The wheel and inner fender window removal is great. After a good hot valve set, I come out from the car with a black sheen. Looking like I’ve been in an underground coal mine. Good times. I do enjoy a good hot flathead valve set. It’s rewarding and takes me back to 1950. Romanticizing a valve set…What have I become? Lol.

Wondering if you have removed your air filter assembly at the carb intake. Put your each to the air intake at the top of the carb. Rev up the engine a little at the throttle linkage, using your hand. Is the ticking sound coming from the carb intake area? This indicates a non-sealing exhaust valve. I personally have had this happen. Then I performed a valve grind. Another time I had an exhaust leak at the manifold. Right where the exhaust pipe bolts to it at the flange. Some high temp exhaust dope took care of that one.

In Canada I think Marine marked gas is still ethanol free. That’s what I run in my old cars. Illegal, yes. Lock me up! Hide behind pump so cashier cannot see. Show up with a legal gas can. Cashier will check that you have a gas can. All good. Fill gas can. Stuff fuel nozzle in your car. Proceed to slam all you can in there. Cashier is too distracted with other customers. Pay for your gas and leave. All good! Or go directly to jail. Lol.

Another vote for making your own. It’s like a puzzle to solve. You screw a few up. You learn. You get better. Building and shaping your first ever 3 ft line across the left rear axle housing? Order two 25 ft rolls of 3/16” brake line tube. 😄

Have you measured the stroke? very likely a 3 7/16 bore.

I think I’m a year with the electric 6V boost pump in Chrysler. No complaints. It will push through vapor lock. I have done so with it. I do like it spliced into ignition switch (wire to fuel gage). Then I cannot leave it on when I park the car. I have left the heater blower and AM radio on by accident. They were wired to direct non-switched power sourced. Dead battery the next morning. A sure way to ensure premature death of an otherwise good 6V battery.

It measures down to .0001, one 10,000th of an inch. Its accuracy is 2 10,000ths of an inch. It comes with a 2” calibration spacer. That one would be fine for me. If someone ground more than .0625 off, you’ll need a 1-2” mic. I doubt it is that even an option? Measure several times at the same spot. You’ll need to practice your technique. You’ll flub up. I know I sure did. Many times. Get the pen and paper out and a calculator. Scratch your head a few times. I did!

Not all bearings have the size stamped on them. If I were doing this I’d first of all get a paint pen. Draw an arrow on each rod cap pointing towards the front of the engine. You can number them as well just incase they were not stamped at the factory. Its so vitally important the caps go back on properly. If an oil hole is covered up by improper cap placement, you’ll be mad at yourself when the bearing starts knocking. The micrometer, if needed can be used to measure each shiny rod bearing journal on the crank. Measure each journal 3x. At each outer and, and in the center. As mentioned write down your measurements. You’ll get fumbled up a few times and think holy! That one is way out of spec. It’s likely your mistake when reading the mic. You are not doing the actual machining here. So a machinist grade micrometer is not required. You are measuring to ensure you get the right size replacement bearings. I looked it up. A new 218 rod bearing journal is 2.0615 to 2.0625 “. If they have been ground down you’ll come up with a smaller number than this. Max allowable taper or out of round of the journal is .001”. Rod journals are often ground .010, .020, .030 down or more. When I rebuilt my engine the surfaces were stock size still. True and even wear. I found a set .001” bearings on ebay. Designed for when just a polish is needed. I bought them and that’s what I told the machinist to do. He kinda a tweaked a little saying “it might be hard to get just .001 off the journals”. He did. The clearances turned out great. Great oil pressure! When installing new bearings make very, very sure they go in place properly. No oil holes are blocked. Re-install caps exactly as they came out. Be sure the lock washers are re-installed. Torque nut to 80-85 ft lbs. A Fowler brand mic on Amazon is not the cheapest junk. Not too expensive either. It’ll do fine. The principle here is they mill down the crank journal so its diameter becomes smaller. Then they make the bearings thicker by the same amount. So the crank is undersized, the bearings are oversized. This job is considered a major intervention. You are basically performing open heart surgery on your cars major component. Think it through. Pay extra attention. When in doubt, stop. Re-evaluate. If you make a mistake the engine may have to come out. At the minimum the wallet comes out. Sounds like an idea for a future video. Measuring your crank! I might do that. Keith

I bought some asian made micrometers. (not Mitutoyo).A 0-6” set. A dial bore gauge too. I really didn’t want to spend a lot. Possibly using them just for one engine overhaul. So I didn’t buy the best. Nor did I buy the cheapest. Sort of in the middle price range. I considered them to be part of my education costs. There’s no local course to take for rebuilding Mopar flatheads. I invested in myself and learned a ton. The tools allowed me to really dig in and find, and understand internal engine wear. Thrust and combustion forces. Uneven wear patterns. Etc. I measured everything I could, many times and gained a ton of experience. I researched why parts were wearing as they did. The tools really knocked it home in my pea brain. Proving the wear patterns. High quality tools are nice to have but not necessary. If you have time, scour garage sales and auto swap meets. You can find quality tools for great prices. That’s a bonus. I have found that I reach for my micrometers for other work quite regularly. They get used in my shop. The dial bore gauge? Awesome tool to own but it might, maybe, see one more use in my lifetime. I do like rebuilding engines. Who knows? Another opportunity may come along. If I recall (double check to ensure) your rank rod surface is in the 2 ⅛” range? Buying 1 single 2-3” micrometer would get you what need today. It won’t cost much. Then you get to learn how to read a micrometer! Fun times ahead. 😊

Plasti-gauge and a micrometer are your best friends here. Measure the crank throw bearing surface 5x at the same spot. Write down all measurements. Divide total by 5. This will get you a good number. Note the differences in surface wear near outer edges at crank counterweights. Expect more wear on the outer surface area due to thrust forces of the spinning crank. I believe the crank naturally wants to walk backwards toward the tranny.

Hi folks this topic is in regards to my daily driver, a 2006 Mazda 3: Last spring my A/C was not working. I found a rock had punctured a hole in my condenser. I purchased a new condenser. It came with a new receiver dryer as well. I installed both. New seals were used. I tested the system for leaks. None. Pulled a vacuum on the system for about an hour. I added 2 oz of PAG oil. The system calls for 6 oz of PAG oil, but 4 oz sits in the compressor they say. I added the proper amount of R132a and the system blew cold air. It worked for a little while then no more cold air. I left it alone over the winter. I just did some more trouble shooting today. The system still has a charge. No leak down. I have a gage set. When the A/C is turned on I am getting no increased pressure reading on the hi-low gauges. I measure 12V at the compressor, at the clutch wire connection. The compressor is not working. See some excessive wear on the compressor belt. Signs of a possible compressor seizure. I suspect I may have not added enough PAG oil when I installed the new condenser, then the compressor locked up. This is an original 2006 compressor. 18 years old. Vane style that are known to be problematic. Just the compressor clutch coil could be bad, yet for its age I figure it's lived a good life. I'll replace it. I was thinking I'd order a new compressor and belt. Install it with new seals. Then take the car to a proper A/C mechanic to flush the system out, pull a vacuum, add the correct amount of PAG oil, then add the proper R134a. I'll explain to the tech that I changed the compressor, belt, reciever dryer and condenser. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? I won't charge or run the system after the new compressor is installed. I'll drive it straight to the garage. Why am installing my own compressor? The cost savings are considerable. $300 for me to buy one and install it. $1000 at the garage, plus install labor. Or maybe I can do all this myself at home. I'm just unsure if I can flush out the A/C system properly and add the correct amount of PAG oil. How do I ensure I get all the old PAG oil out of the system? I've not done A/C work before and have limited knowledge. Thx. Keith

I’m sitting on the sidelines, watching. Minding my own business. I get dragged in to one of two discussions that will never be solved: 1. What oil to run? Zinc additive? 2. 6V or 12V? I’ll respond based on my experience and what makes me tick. 6V? Cool. I wonder how that system works? Let’s rebuild it and see if we can make my car perform like it did when it was new. I’ll learn a ton along the way plus it’ll feel good to fix something I know little about. Hmm. The wiring is old and crusty. A bit of a volatile mess. Do I order a new replacement wiring harness? Pretty pricey. Plus how am I going to improve my soldering and harness building skill-set? I’ve got plenty of time that I don’t seem to mind wasting. I sure don’t like paying someone else to do what I can learn to do myself. I sure don’t like letting money out of my wallet very quickly. Off we go. 6V it is. I’ll read and study all about it. I’ll make my own harnesses and upgrade wire gauge too. I’ll add relays & fuses. A 6V-12V converter too for my iphone. I’ll rebuild switches. Sockets. Salvage and re-use rare wire connections. Voila. My car starts up immediately and runs like a dream on 6V. I feel good. I like it. It’s different than everyone else on the road. It works well. People I meet like to talk about my 6V system. These experiences feed my brain good things about the vintage car hobby. I’d rather spend $1200 on books, tools and parts. Then another 40 hours of my time perfecting my skills, versus spending $1200 on a new harness assembly. So now I’ve appeased myself and quelled my curiosity. I like 6V and I’ll stick with it. Both of my cars are 6V and I’ll keep them that way. You can do whatever makes you feel good and secure. 12V if you like. The other 5 vehicles around my house are all 12V. They work fine too. No complaints except they are way harder to work on! Lol. Not sure I helped settle anything here. Now you just know me a bit better.