First outing

[Hickory]

So on my first outing I have fairly large oil leaks by cork gaskets, I hate cork and never had good luck with them. Are there any tricks I should try? Valve covers and oil pan mainly. Secondly I am using way to much fuel, what should I look for. Wasn't it a fueling plunger with three rods that may cause this. To all I have meet at the Nationals it's been a ball.

[Hickory]

Sorry I should mention that it's a 49 Chrysler royal with a 251 and a ball&ball. The plugs are not carboned up.

[greg g]

Describe too much fuel.  Yes the step up valve can cause a problem.  Its default is open by spring pressure.  Manifold vacuum holds it closed till it drops under load or heavy acceleration to enrichen after the shot from the accelerator pump. I have seen a car go from 11 mpg to near 19 with a fix of the valve.  Smell your oil does it smell of gas?

[greg g]

You need to be careful tightening cork gasketsgaskets. Most tend to crank down on them causing gaps between fasteners, l usually start in the center, work out in a star pattern going around two or three times. In the case of the side covers over tightening likely warping the covers. Probably why the went from studs and nuts to thumb screws. There is no pressure in the valve galleys, except for what ever builds in the crank case and if they are draining correctly, there shouldn't be any oil pooling there there to leak.

[Hickory]

Plugs are clean, went through a tank of fuel in 130 miles. When I hit the throttle fuel pumps in from a port near the choke plate. Car hesitate s and sounds like a vacuum cleaner at part throttle. Besides that it runs good

[greg g]

Any wetness at the base of the carburetor? Black smoke?  How is your compression?

[Hickory]

Wetness at the base yes, when I look into the intake I can see puddle of fuel when it being cranked over. No black smoke, tail pipe is clean. Engine rebuild has 200 miles on it.

[greg g]

Check your float level.  While you are in there, remove it, and the it a shake near your ear. If you hear something it may have pin holes in it which will keep it low enough to not shut the needle in the carb inlet.  Check out the inlet valve, to assure the needle is seating and its not full of crud.  Then if the float is good set it a couple 32nds lower.  This modern stuff likes to expand when it sits in the float bowl.  This can cause the flooded condition you observed.  While there check that step up jet.  You said the engine is off o fresh rebuild.  Did you have the carb off the manifold?  If so when you put it back on, did you note the slot or slots in the carb to manifold gasket??  One of the slots needs to line up with the how in the carb base to feed that step up valve to keep it closed during high vacuum operation.

[Hickory]

Yes carb was off and the gaskets I used when I went through the carb had the four slots. All new balls, needle valve, float is good. The two pistons with the leather seals, only one came in the kit and I'm not sure if it was the step up valve or the other one. I also couldn't get the car to idle below 600 rpm. I think I'm gonna recheck the valve adjustment as the car sounds like a sewing machine. Now I have some time on the rebuild I want to recheck it. I did the cold adjustment at .010&.012 being the stovebolt headers are way to much in the way to do a warm adjustment

[Hickory]

With some timing adjustments and carb linkage adjustments I was able to get the idle down to 477 rpm. Now I'm thinking my mechanical advance springs are wrong.  At 700 rpm my advance is at 7 with the vacuum unhooked. One of the springs looks stretched out. Is there a place to buy new springs or a kit instead of sending the dizzy out.

[greg g]

Not sure about distributer small parts. I have several distributers just incase, but havent needed to pull one apart.  I run my engine at 5° btdc initial timing, but I am also at 8.5 to one compression. Idles at around 600.  Is yours the semi auto?  They are particular about idle and other carb settings.

[Hickory]

Semi auto fluid drive. I set my static timing at 0 tdc. I can adjust to have lower power  but feels Skippy at higher rpm or boggy at lower rpm and sweet at higher rpm. During my rebuild I shaved .045 off the head and .015 off the block. .040 pistons. Stock cam, stock valves and stovebolt daul dump cast iron headers.

[Dartgame]

Did you install the oil pan and valve cover  gaskets or did the rebuilder ? The pan cork  end gaskets are supposed to be left about an 1/8 inch long on each corner. I did mine that way and zero leaks. 

[Don Coatney]

2 hours ago, Dartgame said:

Did you install the oil pan and valve cover  gaskets or did the rebuilder ? The pan cork  end gaskets are supposed to be left about an 1/8 inch long on each corner. I did mine that way and zero leaks. 

 

In my opinion cork is the best way to go IF installed correctly. I used gasket sealer on one side only and greased the other side. By doing so I have been able to remove the oil pan a few times without replacing the gasket. If the valve cover gaskets leak the oil drain holes to the crankcase are blocked. 

 

 

 

[Hickory]

I rebuilt the engine, and I did leave them about 3/16 long. I have the pan off so I'm gonna check the straightness

[Hickory]

Like think that I have the oil pan leak taken care of, but it looks like my oil pump outtet cover gasket is leaking. Is this gasket available without buying a rebuild kit

[Jerry Roberts]

3 hours ago, Hickory said:

Like think that I have the oil pan leak taken care of, but it looks like my oil pump outtet cover gasket is leaking. Is this gasket available without buying a rebuild kit

See ebay item number 273009564468 .  This might be what you are looking for . 

[Andydodge]

Regarding cork gaskets on the pan and valve covers.......ideally you should completely clean the pan and valve covers especially where the gaskets sit, even to the extent of wire brushing the gasket area back to bare,clean, un greasy  metal then use a good quality contact cement on the pan and valve cover gasket surface and also the gasket side that is against the pan.covers and glue the cork(this also works for those neoprene versions) to the pan/covers..........let dry, you may have to use some alligator or fold back clips to ensure the cork properly adheres to the metal.......once done then the gaskets should not move and with a wipe of grease on their surface or even a thin film of silicon they should not leak.......or maybe not as much but also do not overtighten the pan gasket bolts and the valve cover bolts/nuts.............my Oz 2 cents worth.............andyd    

[Hickory]

I have not taken the cover off because I don't want to down the car yet. I might want ice cream later. But it looked like a 5 hole gasket around the pump. Would it be a gasket or a o-ring like the eBay part Jerry Roberts suggested

[Hickory]

I did just pull it apart and downed the car, it is an o-ring, I wall check at work before ordering one. Thank you everyone

[DJ194950]

O-rings have Not worked for me in that location.

 

It needs to be a special flat (square) style ring. They do come up on ebay at times.

 

DJ

[Dodgeb4ya]

You better use the special quad style profile  rubber ring like the link to ebay posted above. It will not leak.

Don't waste your time with a standard O-ring.

[Hickory]

I will if I don't have one at work. I work on diesel engines and have a large selection of square and quad rings in my stash. Now I will try to upload some pictures of my first outing with the car to the Syracuse Nationals.

[Hickory]

[Hickory]