Putting a Chrysler Industrial Hemi in a 52 Dodge truck

If the preload on the lifters is wrong it could hang the valves, which would account for your lower compression numbers.

In only 12 miles it shouldn't have caused you any long term damage, but it's pretty easy to burn valves if they're hanging open like that. Still, I would think once you adjust the preload correctly you should probably be ok.

 

Hang in there Dan, you just about got it whooped! I had a similar situation with my 56 Savoy. For every problem I corrected 2 new problems surfaced. There were many times I wanted a nice Savoy bonfire. A good friend of mine kept me from insanity and helped a lot to get the possessed car going. Very kool truck you got there.
Andy

 

what hubs did you use? doing the same thing to my dodge with 1 1/4 spindles. just wondering what would fit. thanks

 

rameisei.....I used the disc brake kit from www.rustyhope.com

I finished up adjusting the pushrods. Then i did a compression test on all cylinders. Readings are:

Pass side..... 115....115.....115.....120
Front
Driver side...120.....100.....100......98

Fired up the engine and it didn't help at all...stll doesnt feel smooth at idle.

I dont know what else to do.

Anyone around or close to Greensboro good with hemis?

 

Can you do a leak down test? That would be my next step.

If not, you can still try redoing the compression check and squirting a little oil into the low cylinders. A few squirts of oil can help tell you if its the rings that are causing you problems or not. If the compression jumps up much more than 10 psi, you likely have a ring problem. If it doesn't change anything, its the valves (or maybe a head gasket).

You can do the same procedure on one of the good cylinders too, the compression will jump up a little even if the rings are good. But compare the good cylinder to the low ones, if the low cylinders change more than the good cylinder you know its the rings.

 

Dan,
Did the compression change in one of the cylinders that was originally low?

 

Is it possible thay you have the cam timing off a bit? Have you checked for vacuum leaks at the intake to block infaces or between the carb base and manifold?

Have you run it enough to get a reading on the spark plugs? Did you do the pull a plug wire one at a time to try to see if there is a missfire. Are all you plug wires firmly seated at the cap and on the plugs, Have you run it at night to see if thee may be some arching from wire to wire or from wire to ground? Guess you can aslo mist the wires with a spray bottle to check this.

 

Compression only changed a little bit. Holes 3,5&7 are closer to each other now...but different than the rest of the motor by 15-20%.

Not sure about cam timing...don't even know how to check that (but I suspect I'd have to pull the front off the truck and remove the front of the engine). How would I check this?

Checked for vac leaks using an unlit propane torch (check at all the intake seals, the power brake port on the manifold, the power brake vac line at the booster and the carb base...no change in the way the engine runs)

Plugs were all a bit sooty looking...none really different from each other. Not sure if it's because it's not really running right or long enough. I cleaned them all before reinstalling and no change in how it runs.

Wires are all seated well...haven't run it in the dark...will check that tonight.

 

Dan,
You can give Bob Walker a call at Hot heads, here's his info:

Hot Heads Research & Racing, Inc.
276 Walker's Hollow Trail
Lowgap, NC 27024

Phone: (336) 352-4866 Fax: (336) 352-3892

E-mail: [email protected]

He may be able to give you some guidance.

Andy

 

smallest they have is 7/16 & the push rods i have need a 3/8!

 

I bought a long 3/8" craftsman wrench and was able to get the job done. I also bought a small set of ignition wrenches, but only needed it on one pushrod.

 

Latest update on my running rough issue:

My plugs were pretty black, so i figured i would try a new set. New plugs have the washer removed and are at a 35 gap.
Still didnt help. The problem seems to be the number 7 hole. When i pulled that wire, the engine didnt start to run differently. Same as before i adjusted the pushrods.

So i swapped plug wires with one where it did make a difference and the same result. So it doesnt seem like the plug wire is bad.

I looked at the rotor cap and it doesnt seem bad or cruddy.

Still puzzled.

 

...if the plug is good and the wire 'appears' to be good then the dizzy parts are next in line...

Perhaps you could try a different distributor??

.

 

The only other one i have is the stock dual point setup...would that plug right in or would I need different connections? I have the hotheads msd setup now.

Is it possible that im not getting fuel to just that cylinder? I have an Edelbrock 650 thunder carb.

 

Not to be an azz here, but you only have 15 miles of short drives on the truck right now. Since everything seems to check out OK, personally I would run that thing through a few long run processes. Unless it is shaking you out of the truck, go drive the darned thing.
Take a few cruises from a cold start, through a nice mild highway drive of at very least a 1/2 hour long, after the motor reaches operating temperature, before returning home. I would recommend at least 4 of these driving cycles.

Short drives around town does not give a fresh engine enough time to seat everything, in my opinion. Until that motor reaches operating temperature, the cylinder walls and pistons are not even round yet. If your not running the engine for 30 minutes after it is warm, your not even getting all the moisture out of the exhaust system. Engines take their set from going through the cold through warm (180 degrees) back to cold cycle, if your not completing the full cycle several times, the engine is not seating itself. Short cold engine drives do more harm then good.

After the truck has been run through a few heat cycles, then you can determine what is going on with the engine, if need be. Way back in the 60s, until an engine had 500 miles on it, most dealers were reluctance to adjust anything that was not obviously out of adjustment. The only way I can't see that thought still applying today is if the engine might not live through those first 500 miles, like a race engine.

For the record, I've had a lot of good engines that have gone well over 100K miles that have never had a smooth idle. A guy can get used to it.......Gene

 

I had a similar experience with the 440 in my Savoy. I could not get the thing to idle in gear. I put a high stall converter in it; it helped but did not solve the problem. I changed the carb several times (even a brand new carb); problem still exists. I installed a Mallory hi fire box on it - no change. I changed plugs and wires numerous times - no change. The last time I changed wires I noticed my wire boots were a little charred. The hugger headers were charring my wires. I put the original manifolds back on - surely this would solve my problem - it helped but did not solve dying in gear. A friend of mine told me to replace the Mallory Unilite distributor - I bought a cheap HEI distributor or of the auction site and my problem went away.
I don't know if any of my rambling will help you, but keep the faith you will resolve you problem.
Andy

 

Made some progress yesterday. Another local pilothouse guy in thr area came by (Jared) and helped out. We tweaked the timing and it helped a bit. Then we pulled the pwer brake vac hose and that helped quite a bit more. The must be a leak at the booster because with the line pulled and the port blocked off, the #7 hole doesnt seem dead ( it makes a difference now if i pull that wire with the engine running).

Its still not perfect, but its way better and its drivable. Maybe some carb tuning would help smooth it out. It runs a noticeably rougher when cold, then smooths out a lot after the engine warms up.

Need to figure out whats causing the leak at the booster, but i can run it non-powered for now...it stops fine.

Going to take a series of drives going a bit further each time to see how it goes.

 

Are you sure you don't have a leak at the intake? I seem to recall there was some problem there earlier on.

 

I put a rubber hose on the end of my propane torch and waved it around the intake gaskets and the engine didnt seem to change at all..but i wouldnt rule anything out. Can you think of another way to test for a leak there?

I do have double gaskets on the intake to make up for a gap between the head and intake surface..but sealed them up with rtv and the bolts are tight.

 

vacuum windshield wiper hose????

Have you ever tried a vacuum test with a gauge hooked to the intake manifold, Those gauges can tell you a lot. Is the power brake booster diaphram in good shape?

scroll down and click on the green buttons

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

 

Dan,
I check for intake vacuum leaks with a can of carb cleaner. I use the small tube and spray at the potential leak area (spray a small amount). If a leak is present the engine rpm should drop.
Andy

 

That works well on the top side of the intake but if the leak is on the underside it won't help. I found this out the hard way. Dan you may want to pull your intake and take a good look at the gasket around #7 intake port.

 

I think I'd a sealed it with spray on copper-cote, gasket shellac, ect instead of RTV, especially between the 2 gaskets.

 

I agree, PLY 46. I think some additional diagnostics with a vacuum gauge will help nail down the root cause. I am also suspicious of the intake manifold. I think I recall reading about using multiple intake gaskets and some silicon goop to get a good seal? Maybe the intake port to cylinder #7 lost it's seal with some thermal cycling. Have you considered having some steel spacers machined for the manifold? Multiple gaskets and silicon seems questionable at best.
If it is the intake manifold, I would be tempted to install the stock 2bl manifold and continue to dial things in by driving it.

Good luck with it. I think you are almost there.

Scott.

 

Spacers are available. His intake was milled for use on another engine so he needs the extra thickness. I just question the use of something as gloppy as RTV for this application.

 

Spray the area with starting fluid...better on a 'cool' engine.

.

 

Close off all the vacuum ports (brakes, PCV, wipers) in the manifold and try it. If no difference pull off the intake and examine the old gaskets for areas that didn't seal around the cylinders that were not firing properly.
I glue the intake gaskets to the head with either Gasgaginch or Cop-r-seal then set the intake on the gaskets, insert the bolts and -snug- the bolts down. Let the glue dry overnight then take the intake back off, glue the topside of the gaskets and install the intake, torque the bolts. IMO, when asbestos was eliminated from gaskets the sealing quality dropped like a turd down a well.

I think you either have a weak ignition (petronix?), wiped cam lobe or vacuum leak.

 

Took a ride over to Rock's house and check vac readings...seems to be ok. We think it could just need some carb tuning, so that will be next.

Stopped off for lunch and gas on the way home, so i think I'm going to classify it as roadworthy for now.

 

Just noticed the other suggestions. We used carb cleaner and sprayed it on the gaskets near 7 and no change. I thought about having some gaskets made out of soft copper to get a more reliable seal.

 

Very little in the automotive world is as volatile as starting fluid...

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