Dave72dt Posted February 5, 2011 Report Posted February 5, 2011 With the engine out, and head off and you're going to pull the pan also, pop those 2 pistons out and take a look. Knowing that so many have been finding broken pistons and rings, now is a really good time to look. If it's not kosher, fix it now. No need to redo everything twice. Quote
JBNeal Posted February 5, 2011 Report Posted February 5, 2011 my 2 cents: take it all apart, clean & check everything, put it back together and fire it up with no worries. I'd rather find a defect on a work bench instead of on the side of the road, it's cheaper too. The '48 & '49 were parked out in the elements for decades, but when I popped the heads off I was relieved to find nearly flawless machined surfaces, but stuck rings on the '49 & a nearly broken ring on the '48. And the SLUDGE...it was everwhar! Quote
moparmonkey Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Posted February 5, 2011 Actually, the engine is still in the truck, and I hope to keep it that way for now at least. If I'm going to go through the trouble of pulling the engine and popping the pistons out of it, then I'm going to have the machine work done and rebuild it. No point it tearing it all down to put it back together with worn out parts. But at the moment I have a 340 and 4 speed that are about ready for me to put into my '72 Challenger (my daily driver), as soon as I get the 318 for my '71 Dart off to/back from the machine shop (so it can be my daily). And I'm just getting started. I certainly appreciate what you guys are saying though. I spent over $500 trying to get my '71 Dart running. I bought it with a "blown head gasket" that turned into "skipped time and bent a bunch of valves" that turned into "flat cam" and an improperly installed timing chain by the PO (not keyed to the cam!!! Looked kosher, was held in place most of the time by the bolt tension). Of course, I found out that last bit after tearing it down for a rebuild, after I had already bought new valves, lapped them in, replaced the head gaskets, tried to get it running without success, etc, etc. So, I do see what you're saying. But, I can spend a little time cleaning it up and seeing if it will run while I wait for my other projects to need my time. I'll only be out my time, and a couple of gaskets (bought for cheap on eBay). I fully expect to have to rebuild the 218 in the near future. But, I would like to see it run first. If I can spend a couple days cleaning and have it run, then I can tool around with it a little and work on some other small stuff. If after a few days I put it back together and it won't work, it will have to go on the shelf for awhile until I can invest more time/money into it. To be honest, at the moment all of my engine stands have engines on them, and my work benches are full! Quote
Merle Coggins Posted February 5, 2011 Report Posted February 5, 2011 I'd probably go with the 400 or 600 grit. You don't want to remove a lot of material, you just want to polish it up some. And use a lot of lubricant with it. Mineral spirits in a spray bottle works good. Or even a can of penetrating oil can work well, just keep spraying as you hone. Merle Quote
JBNeal Posted February 5, 2011 Report Posted February 5, 2011 dunno if y'all have tried this, but with the head off & the starter installed, maybe the crankshaft can be spun at low speed to see how the valves & pistons interact with the camshaft & engine block. Maybe shoot penetrating oil on the moving parts to get them pre-lubricated before final assembly. This would probably be the same as applying assembly lubricant to a completely disassembled engine. Quote
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