Going for the fix...

[blueskies]

Had a chat with my son about trying to get the Plymouth fixed for the road trip to Tulsa. I told him he could decide if we should bust our butts to fix it, or drive the FJ. He didn't even hesitate and said he'd much rather drive the Plymouth, and it would be worth at least trying to get it fixed even if we run out of time and leave it home anyway...

So, I found a couple of hours yesterday and got started. I decided to do the plug wire test again, just to be sure the noise was in #4. I started the engine and let it warm up a bit. I pulled the #4 wire, and reved the engine up to about 2k rpm, where the noise is most evident. With the rpms up, I held the #4 wire on the plug, and then off. Repeated several times. Wire on=bad noise. Wire off=no noise. Clear as a bell. Don't know why this was not so evident before chasing my tail in circles .

I put the car back up on jack stands, and pulled the pan off again. Couldn't get it off without destroying the gasket, so I have another on order.

I pulled the #4 bearing cap, and this time, pushed the rod and piston up into the cylinder with the crank at it's lowest point. I pulled the top half of the bearing out for inspection too. With the pistion all the way up, I could see the cylinder walls that are in the path of travel of the wrist pin. There is absolutely no evidence of scoring on the cylinder walls from the pin walking to one side or the other. I'm hoping now that it's just a bad pin bushing in the rod, and that the piston, wrist pin, and cylinder are fine. I showed the bearing to my neighbor for a second set of eyes, and he thinks the bearing looks normal, and says if it plastiguages to spec, it is fine. I also asked him about the wrist pin, wondering if I need to order another one if it's just the bushing that is bad. As he put it, the pins are made from steel that is "harder than the back of God's head", and it's likely that the pin is fine too.

I'm going to plastiguage the bearing one more time tomorrow night, before I pull the head, just to be sure it's not the bearing alone making the noise. If it comes out to spec, I'm going to pull the head. Once the head is off, getting the piston/rod out will be easy. I will send the rod/piston assembly to the machine shop that did my block work and have them install the new bushing. While the head is off, I'm also going to measure the lift on my cam, since I don't know what it is.

The oil pump/distributor wobble issue is a completely different issue, seperate from the noise. I think I'm just going to put the old oil pump back on, and call it good. It was fine before, and ran perfectly for 6500 miles.

Looking forward to getting this thing fixed, and hitting the road to Tulsa.

Pete

[Normspeed]

Good for you Pete! Be careful not to nick your rod bearing journal with the rod cap studs. Maybe slip a bit of tubing over the studs for the R&R. I'll be interested to hear if there is any visible problem with the piston/rings/wrist pin/rod once you get it out. I agree about the oil pump, I'd put the first one back in and go for it!

[Don Coatney]

Pete;

Glad you are going for the fix. I did not get anything done to my car this past weekend as the flu bug bit. I need to drop my fuel tank and fix the leak. I only have one more weekend to get ur done as it looks like I will be traveling for the last two weeks in May and the first week in June. I will return home just in time to hit the road for Tulsa.

I will be looking for you!

YOUR ARCH RACE RIVAL

[PatS....]

Glad that your son decided to have you fix it, now you don't have the guilt of not spending time before the trip with them. Hope that this is the cure as well.

Does this mean that after all this time, there's gonna BE a Big Race??

Hope someone takes a video!!!

[John Burke]

I'm with everyone else Pete....You'll be so glad you gave it the best you have....You allways remember the times you went for it and you never forget the times you quit....John

[Jim Saraceno]

Good for you Pete, it must be a real good feeling just to have a direction to go. Hopefully you'll pull that piston and see that it is the problem, fix it and be done with it. Hope it goes well and hope you get it to Tulsa.

[jd52cranbrook]

Go for it,,, good luck.

[Reg Evans]

Look out Pete!!!!!!

I heard that Don was removing the bumpers,spare tire,back seat,and the door panels. And that gas tank thing he's been talking about....well ,he's removing the stock tank and installing a small 2 gallon one.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Yes..but I think that is so he can haul more of that Tennessee mountain water...got to finance that trip to Tulsa somehow...

[Allan Faust]

Does this mean that after all this time, there's gonna BE a Big Race??

Hope someone takes a video!!!

Not hope Pat.... someone BETTER take a video..... As for the engine probs Pete...I hope that everything works out well....

Allan

[BobT-47P15]

Hope you are closing in on the fix, Pete. Good luck. Look forward to seeing you in Tulsa.

[Johnny S]

Go for it Pete.......the adventure of it all (including the actual trip to Tulsa) will be an adventure everyone will remember.

On another note....I caught the tail end of the news today on a report of someone (a distinguished gentleman over the age of 50) in Tennessee suspected of buying large quantities of nitromethane which could be use to propel heavy objects at high speed. Keep your eyes open. He may be converging on Tulsa!!

[James_Douglas]

Pete,

When you pull the piston, if you don't find anything obvious, make sure to measure the piston, barrow a dial bore gauge, and note the bore dia.

I once had a friend that had a noise in a cylinder and it turned out that they over-bored that cylinder. As soon as the "peaks" wore off the piston and the cylinder it started to slap and make noise.

Best, James