Jeff Balazs

All's well that end's well..........or so the saying goes. I have known for a while now that the there was too much end play on the crank in my truck. I started looking at a possible solution recently and happened upon an interesting listing on ebay for a bearing set. This listing had a notation that this bearing set was made specifically for use when one of these engines was fitted with a fluid drive. I had never seen anything about a different set of main bearings for fluid drives. There is nothing in my Dodge manuals. So I started asking questions. The first group of people I queried did not know anything about this. So on a hunch that there actually was something to this I started digging deeper. Sure enough Bob (DodgeB4ya) knew about this Federal Mogul bearing set. Thanks Bob. I then spent some time with the seller and based on what he read to me from the Federal Mogul catalog it became apparent that they had created an upgraded rear bearing to handle what they had almost certainly determined was a weak spot in the stock bearing composition. I then got a hold of an old buddy of mine that is highly skilled machinist (artificial hearts these days) and an ace mechanic. Sure enough he knew all about these bearings. "Get a set" he said 'and we will just see if that doesn't solve your problem" Of course when I called the ebay supplier the next day somebody had already snapped up the last set in the size I needed. Couldn't believe that one. Fortunately it wasn't the last set in existence. My buddy helped me locate what we needed. Turns out he knows where mountains of NOS parts were just sitting collecting dust. Got what I needed for next to nothing. So then we dropped the oil pan and sure enough the crank was in fine shape. whoever had rebuilt it had used the standard type bearings and while they showed almost no wear on the running surfaces the thrust surfaces on the rear main shells were another story. The crank thrust surfaces looked perfect. We fitted the new bearings and all is finally well inside the old beast. .004" end play after several hours run in. My buddy Vic say's it is one of the quietest running flatheads he has ever come across. So all's well that end's well. Yeah!!! Y'all have a great holiday season and so long for now. Jeff

Please post photos of your progress as it goes back together. We are all pulling for you. This may just be the event of the holiday season. Jeff

Matt; Here are a few simple things to look for. 1/2 ton: 108" wheelbase, 16" wheels with 5 bolt type lugs 3/4 ton: 116" wheelbase, 15" wheels with 5 lugs on 5" center 1 ton : 126" wheelbase, 16" wheels with 6 lugs Jeff

Paul; Can you say East Bake Oven? You know I love you Paul......and you get an A+++ for gumption. But your baking technique could sure use improvement. Jeff If we all liked the exact same stuff this would be a very boring place.

Ed..... .......that was too funny! Actually I might be inclined to cut him a wee bit of slack on that one. Just a bit mind you. Melted tires don't really count as lowering do they? How about if I just say that Paul's opinion on this subject is by no means universally accepted ? Jeff

I cringe every time I see a lowered truck of any kind. Jeff

It surely would not hurt anything to try a new condenser ........ and I would definitely have a close look at the points too. Could be burnt...dirty or closing up. Either of these two items are a good starting point. Jeff

Brent; I will pass on that........but feel free to "paint" it up yourself. Jeff

The bulk of my DC troubleshooting experience comes from operating fishing boats in a marine environment.....so you should take it with a grain of salt. In that environment I learned early on that you won't always be able to see evidence of corrosion or dirt. Items like sealed ignition switch's were very prone to this and caused all sorts of problems. They typically lasted about 2 years and were trash after that......even when they appeared to be working. And I always carried a brand new spare. I broke a few of these sealed switches apart just to see what was going on and it was often a real mess inside. Any switch or solenoid can pick up increased resistance over time due to the effects of corrosion, dirt and wear. The same is true of wiring connections. They can look OK but the actual connection or mating surfaces should still be taken apart and cleaned. You would be surprised at how often this gets overlooked. I know we are not talking about boats here but there are some similarities when you factor in the age of the components in these electrical systems. I don't know how much work it is to swap the regulator and an ignition switch on this car but that is where I would start. The coil in the gauge or the gauge itself might be the problem but I would rule out these others first. Jeff

Have you tried swapping in a different voltage regulator? Also I would look for loose, dirty or corroded connections. I have also found that old ignition switches can sometimes create a path for odd faults like this. Just some ideas. Jeff

You could use the old ones temporarily to see if that solves your clearance issue at the removable cross member. With the position of these mounts being what it is a 1/4" in height difference of the mount will probably translate into something like 1/2" or so back at this cross member. Jeff

Oh I see. That would be miserable........ I don't think I could live with that one. Guess I got lucky there. Jeff

Bob I am really curious. What clutch pedal noise are you talking about? I wasn't even aware there was a potential issue with this. Mine is nice and quiet and is one of the sweetest clutches I ever had the pleasure of driving. Jeff

Tim; Just so you understand I was not suggesting you do a 2 BBL manifold or anything to do with a side draft manifold. I was just wondering if you had experimented with any of this. I do think what you are proposing is a good thing and should incorporate the tabs for the truck linkage. I feel certain there are probably more than a few truck owners that would ultimately decide to go in this direction. Jeff

Good point Hank. I have been looking for a spare B & B carb for some time now .....with no luck. I think I would prefer a 2BBl manifold with a pattern that would take a more readily available (and perhaps tunable) carb. I have not seen where anybody has fitted side drafts to one of these engines but I really have enjoyed the cars I have had with DCOE Webers on them. They are an amazing piece of engineering and sound wonderful when you punch the throttle. Jeff

Very......very nice. That is going to be one extra special car when it is done. My hat is off to you. Jeff

Mattimus; You can just add a ground wire to the sender itself. I saw this mod as done by Merle Coggins and it was just too easy to pass on it. Jeff

I got to thinking some more about this and recalled that there was an issue with some of these upper rear mounts a while back. Seems that some being sold were too tall. Sure enough there was a post by DollyDodge back in 2012 showing the different ones. This difference in height was about 3/8" (too tall) and I wonder if that might be what is causing the interference at the bolt in cross member? Looking at the photos you posted it does appear as if the rear mounts might be riding a bit too high.....but it is very hard to tell from the angle in this photo. I do know that Chrysler engineers were very proud of this mounting system and it was touted as being the best in the light truck market of the period. Jeff

I wired in a HD headlight relay this week. Makes a huge difference in this 6V system. I give this upgrade a big thumbs up. It is an easy and inexpensive job. Around $30 and less than an hours work. The halogen headlights are nice and bright now. I also started experimenting with LED lighting for the instrumentation. Had mixed result there. Turns out the one light I had the most hope for is polarity sensitive and does not work in the positive ground mode. I will have to continue the hunt for the right light "bulbs". I have some inverted single LED's in place right now and while I like the white light they throw the correct intensity is just not there. Jeff

Fernando; I am not surprised........I would bet most of these trucks have at least a few loose ones back there. Nature of the beast as the saying goes. Jeff

I don't know if all the glass one's are original. I bought some repops that are glass......and I have seen many at the swap meets here including Long Beach a couple weeks back. It seems like they are one of the easier items to find. I bought a NOS panel switch and knob on ebay a while back. Costly but the knob was pristine. Nicest one on my dash! Sometimes it is the little things......Boy would I like to come across a NOS Choke knob. Jeff

Hopefully the original poster understands that there should be a set of proper engine mounts in place. They are designed to dampen vibration and control rotational forces. They are present to prevent stress fractures at the mounting points and accelerated wear on key drive line components like the clutch and U joints. I can't think of a road vehicle that doesn't use this principal in it's basic design. Jeff

Can't say I have ever heard of anyone ever doing something like this intentionally. Best of luck with it?

The trucks have the same type mounts. They are shown and clearly explained in the manuals. Besides the obvious benefit of dampening vibration they also provide key alignment and torsional stiffening in the front section of the frame. If you were to eliminate them several items would be negatively affected....not the least of which would be steering as the rear mounts to some extent control the amount of frame flex seen at the steering box. Unlike more modern vehicles the frames in these trucks are designed to have a certain amount of torsional frame flex. This is engineered into the frame with the use of specific weight and cross sections in the frame members and the design of the removable cross member just behind the transmission. The frame member cross sections vary from model to model to allow for different wheel bases and gross weights. So a 1/2 ton frame and a 3/4 ton frame while they may look similar are not the same. And the same holds true for associated items like the axles or springs. Each model had it's own set of components which were specifically made for that application. Job Rated was not just a sales pitch. If you want to verify what I am saying I would invite you to do a study of the parts manuals, frame drawings and the appropriate sections in the service manuals. If you have the body off your frame as I did you can actually witness the amount of torsional flex by using winding sticks attached to the removable cross member. All you have to do is sight down the winding sticks and raise the rear axle on one side of the truck. This central cross member with it's 4 mounting points acts just like a torsion spring. In this design the built-in frame flex itself becomes an active part of the suspension rather than just a mounting point for it. Hope this helps. Jeff

Probably. They should be checked from time to time as things like this tend to settle and compress. I just went over the bed bolts on my truck. I had replaced everything with new about a year ago. Quite a few of the bolts took at least a 1/4 turn and some even more. Again best to check from time to time. Jeff