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02 Dakota Quadcab SAS - 4x360x40s...

79K views 303 replies 37 participants last post by  'Mad Max' 
#1 Ā· (Edited)
here's our new wheelin' machine - '02 Dakota Quad Cab 4x4, 5.9/auto -
found it locally early last year. For now it has the basic 3" lift and 33s, rear Aussie locker and R/T diff cover and I welded up some armor and bolted up a winch. We wheeled it all this past season and we really love it. Granted it isn't as uber-capable as our last truck was (on rockwells and 46s), but this truck is SO much more pleasant to be in during all-day events, it does 90% of the trails we want to do as-is, and it's easy to upgrade.

Plans are for a a SAS with a Ford 60 and newer GM 14 bolt, 5.38s and auto lockers in both (either Aussies or Grizzlys), and 40s. Driveline will remain a small block tho we did entertain a 440 swap.

more to come, and here are some of the pics from last season -









and here are a few cool comparison shots to the truck it replaced - interesting (and deceptive) is both trucks are nearly the same length while the Dakota (currently) has about a foot shorter wheelbase -









 
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#251 Ā·
...been working diligently on a nice clean way to get the truck 'quiet' while also not melting the spare tire, and this is how I did it. There's now another big 3" in/out Walker QuietFlow 20146 muffler under the spare tire well, with three nice strong and rust-proof 1/8" aluminum heat shields linked together to keep the heat under control...I hope. 3" downpipe from the center exhaust routes into the muffler, and I have a simple turn-down tacked in place until I get the bed on and fab up the actual tail pipe. Main shield bolts up to the spare tire crossmembers, and the muffler bolts up through slots in the shield to the same crossmembers. Measurements indicate the rear axle has a full 6 inches of compression before it will contact anything, and in my experience that is 'plenty'. Look under any pickup - there's lots of empty space under there, and I'm usin' all of it.

Is the shielding overkill? - maybe, but this aught to keep my spendy Toyo from wearing out due to heat. I got the muffler and shields as close to the chassis as I could without hitting under articulation - testing will confirm or deny if my calculations are correct. Pics -



















the two connecting shields - one a 'wall' the other connecting to the main shield above the tire -



the three heat shields bolted together making a nice barrier between the 'heat' and the tire -

 
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#252 Ā·
our club had a UHF/VHR radio clinic at our place, and I took the opportunity to line up the hardware from tallest to smallest - some interesting comparisons. Also...yah the Dak sounds niiiiice with the 3rd muffler (y)





 
#253 Ā· (Edited)
...been a while since I've posted any updates, and I got one now. After months of deliberation I made me a Command decision: The 440 is coming out, and my original low-mile 360 is going back in, where it belongs. Everything gets 'simpler', plus it'll be lighter, quieter, cooler (more 'room'), with plenty of power, and 88 less cubic inches to feed when crawling the trails. The 360 will be set up basically be the same as the 440 was - I'm bolting on an Edelbrock 7577 intake, and a 2bbl 570 cfm Holley Sniper with HyperSpark ignition will top it off. The 2bbl Sniper will be SO much simpler, and for this truck that was a major part of the decision to swap engines.

I'm considering a cam upgrade while it's apart. While nice and smooth the cam in it now is 'tiny', and I'm looking at the following Hughes grinds to help it breath a bit better without sacrificing the nice smooth low end (probably #2 or 3) -

HUG SER9703ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 197/203 -114ĀŗLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER0814ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 208/214 -114ĀŗLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER1418ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 214/218 -114ĀŗLSA NEW CORE

HUG SER1822ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 218/222 -114ĀŗLSA NEW CORE

The 360 will be 'plenty' for this truck, especially with the 2bbl Sniper and HyperSpark ignition, and the 2bbl Sniper will easily handle a stroker kit if I choose to go there down the road. But since I'll have it literally down to the cam that's a perfect time to employ some natural gains there. I'm waiting to hear back from Hughes on recommendations, and welcome anyone else's too.

What about the 440? Well it's really a cool story - one of my best friends is buying it at cost, complete with the Sniper and HyperSpark ignition, just less the truck oil pan and manifolds, and even more perfect is it's goin' under the hood of a car he got from me a few years ago... - this car :cool2:



So yah - it's a grand plan and it's gonna be great :)
 
#254 Ā·
one of the inherent 'issues' with using a carbureted intake on a Magnum engine is whether or not the owner wants to retain the factory a/c and...more specifically...the big bracket the a/c compressor bolts to. There is a big aluminum bracket that houses the factory a/c compressor and alternator - nicely up out of the way, but the Edelbrock intake has what is presumably the heater port directly under the factory bracket...which...if you want to retain the factory bracket will require some custom work to either actually use the port for a heater hose, or use it for something else - I went with option 'B.

In my case I needed three ports - heater hose, EFI water temp sensor, and dash water temp sensor. The idea of using a 90* fitting under the a/c bracket for the heater hose would have worked, but I preferred not to snake the heater hose out and around. All said n done I ended up with three 3/8 npt ports. I drilled the two 1/8 npt ports open to 3/8 npt for the heater hose and EFI temp ports, and using an adapter used the port under the a/c bracket for my dash 1/8 npt port (via an adapter). Pics tell the rest of the story...





...original intake ports -


...and how mine ended up -








 
#255 Ā·
...heads are off, rockers/rods/lifters are out, and far as I can tell all look good. A few of the rear-most lifters had some caked/waxy oil built up in the middle which made them a bit more difficult to remove, but they eventually came out. I'll be disassembling the lifters next to give them all a good cleaning and inspection, keeping them each labeled to their respective holes. As usual...pics, including my shop helper this morning helping me unbolt the rockers :) -









and the cylinders looked great šŸ‘ -

 
#256 Ā· (Edited)
here's another example of the utility of an ultrasonic cleaner - bottom line = worth every penny ($80 from Harbor Freight). Plug it in, I filled it with 1/2 purple power and 1/2 water, turn on the heater and let it get all nice n happy, drop in a set of 125k-mile untouched rockers and hardware and push rods right off the engine, and here's a few pics of just how well the thing works šŸ‘











took the dizzy drive shaft straight out of the engine and dropped it in the tub -

Before -



after -



Lifters are all restored, oil pan and timing chain cover are off, and cam is out. Pulled/tanked the rear main cap, rolled in a new rear main seal...and that is as far 'down' as I took the engine.

Rear main, oil pump and pickup all cleaned and back on - can definitely see the difference from the others. Oil pump looks brand new - the internal tolerances were all right in spec, reassembled it with fresh oil and bolted it back on with new G8 bolts and blue locktite.

Should be installing the cam in a couple days, then bolting on all the fresh hardware







Meanwhile I've cleaned the decks, removed the grunge/buildup off the pistons, and am now chasing the head bolt threads. Noticed there's barely any ridge wall šŸ‘ -

Before -



After -

 
#257 Ā· (Edited)
Cool - since magnum heads are apparently notorious for developing cracks I had my machine shop check 'em out, and horray! - no cracks!, and the guides were good too! - double woot!! (y) . While they had them they gave them a thorough cleaning, light re-surfacing, installed the new valve seals, and the new Comp Cams springs.

Note - being a magnum ya haveta drop in the lifters before bolting on the heads...a rather important step I completely neglected to remember :mad:...

But...in the process of sourcing another head gasket ( :rolleyes: ) I discovered that Fel-Pro has a 'Severe Duty' version of their magnum 360 head gasket, pn# 519SD (as opposed to the standard duty # 9898PT), so I opted for the SD gaskets for my engine. Chased all the threads, cleaned everything spotless, lubed the head bolts with a light brush of assembly grease, sprayed the cylinder walls with a light coating of Amsoil Engine Fogging oil (to make sure the rings remain 'happy'), and bolted on the heads and valve train this morning. About 1-1/2 turns to secure the rockers and everything's looking good (y).

Note #2 - the Fel-Pro severe-duty magnum 318 head gasket is pn# 540SD





 
#258 Ā· (Edited)
so I wasn't overly thrilled with the OE Dakota (and Durango) oil pan - instead of having a nice big deep sump to contain all the oil they instead have a smallish sump combined with a 'deep' middle section, which combined 'contain' the 5 quarts of oil. Strange concept but I guess it works if the engine is 'flat n level'.....but of course for me and everyone else that take their magnum engines off-road and experience fairly steep downhill angles...well that's no bueno. On any sort of downhill descent the majority of the oil would rush right towards the front, leaving the pickup tube nearly exposed almost immediately - not awesome. I don't remember it being a problem when I wheeled the truck before the buildup and others have not indicated there being a problem either, but, still, as I was pondering this 'issue' I naturally started checking around for an 'off-road' magnum 360 oil pan, and discovered something interesting.

First off, turns out the oil pans for the magnum 318 and 360 share the same 'fitment' and bolt pattern - meaning the bolt pattern up to the block(s) and the front/rear timing chain cover(s) and rear main(s) are all the same 'size' - essentially using the same oil pan from the 318 to the 360, which is not true for the LA-series engines (360 is its own animal). I also discovered that...while the Dakotas and Durangos (with a mag 318/360) share the same oil pan...the Rams and Jeeps with the 318/360 mags use a different oil pan...with a way better sump. Huh, that's cool- wait!

See, lately I've been looking for a running magnum 318 for eventual awesomeness under the hood of our 71 Demon, and I recently found/procured one still inside a derelict but complete 94 Grand Cherokee parts Jeep for the wife's own 94 GC off-road toy. When I discovered the Jeep pans were the same as the Ram pans with their nice big deep oil sump I quickly ran out to peek under the Jeep and hot diggity damn - there it is! (insert happy dance!).

Since the Jeep is going to get a car pan (LA 360) I rapidly unbolted the Jeep's pan, hit it with some cleaner and the pressure washer, and brought it into the shop for 'comparison and analysis'. This is what I found -

This pretty well sums up the differences between the Dakota/Durango vs Ram/Jeep Magnum v8 oil pans - note the 'depth' of the Dakota pan vs the Ram pan - this additional depth is 'part' of the overall oil sump -









Pulling it out of the Jeep - nose-to-nose with it's bigger and much more intimidating brother -



With the pans side-by-side, I wanted to 'see' where 5 quarts (of water) came up to in both pans -



Dakota pan, with the oil level marked on the outside (strange design) -





Ram/Jeep pan -



In order to use the other pan the respective pick up tube and dipstick must also be used -





So - Ram/Jeep pan for me. But not to be outdone, I fabbed up a nice baffle and had Wayne TIG it in place, fully seam welded all the way around, so no seepage when aiming downhill. Now, with 5 quarts in the pan, tipping it forward retains about 75% of the oil in the sump vs over half of it rushing towards the front - even if I shut it off and park it for an hour, meaning less potential for air getting into the oil system, which is way more awesomer šŸ‘. I used a bore scope to peek through the drain plug to see how much room there was between the pickup tube and baffle, and the baffle is as close as I deemed appropriate.

All cleaned up after a few days soaking in the tank at my machine shop, and a final clean with a scotch pad and WD-40, then rinse with brake cleaner -







Filled with 5 quarts of water - just at the baffle line -



and finally bolted on -



 
#259 Ā· (Edited)
outSTANding! :cool: - filled the engine/filter with 5 quarts of Lucas 'Hot Rod & Classic' (high-zinc) 10w40 conventional (#10683) , plumbed in an old oil pressure gauge, dropped in the driveshaft and spun it up with the drill, and after about a minute all 16 rockers were flowin' oil, with ~70 psi showing on the gauge šŸ‘ . This confirms a magnum indeed does not need to spin the cam in order to get oil up to the rockers, instead it flows into the lifter galleys, through the lifters, out through the top into the pushrods, then out the tip, down onto the rocker pedestal, and ultimately, the valve tip. Cool design - fun to watch :)

Yah I know with a roller cam I don't technically 'need' the high-zinc oil, but I know it won't hurt, especially for a fresh break-in.



 
#260 Ā·
woot! Followed the Edelbrock instructions to the letter and used Gasgacinch and a front/rear bead of RTV to seal everything up, and torqued the bolts to a meager 12 lbs, but the intake is 'on' šŸ‘ . Tomorrow I'm hoping to hoist it into the engine bay and bolt it up to the tranny to finish motor mount and exhaust mock-up -



And used these nifty devices to confirm TDC - a compression whistle and a simple gauge -

 
#261 Ā·
alright - got a set of 2wd engine mounts bolted up to the block, and the engine is in place šŸ‘ . Now I can fab up the frame brackets, exhaust, and extend the shroud a couple inches, and it's pretty much ready for 'final assembly'.













 
#262 Ā·
so this was kinda cool. I was checking out water pumps for my 360, and I noticed something interesting about the Gates replacement pumps for the magnum engines - they have a really nice, 'better' bypass nipple in their pumps...at least in the pictures of their pumps. The original nipples are 1" NPT (I think), and they have two slots in the edge...the edge that is supposed to seal the nipple to the hose...and I just thought what a stupid way to design a nipple. But the Gates pumps have a nipple that is solid all the way around...and so I picked up the phone. Talking with the tech guy at Gates, I asked...hey can I order just the nipple? Long story short, he took my info and a few weeks later I found a small box with 4 of their full-ring nipples at my doorstep - they didn't even charge me which was just extra cool. In case anyone would like to upgrade their magnum bypass nipples, the pn is #43034.

Hat's off to Gates - I sent this schematic...and they did the rest šŸ‘



...I don't know how a nipple with two giant slots in it is supposed to seal to a hose...but the full-seal Gates nipples should definitely seal 'better'. Note the internal hex slots to install them -



and speaking of 'how to install them', I used a 1/2" bolt with a nut that fits perfect, and just crank it in -







oh yeah, it's painted :)



 
#263 Ā· (Edited)
horray - it's in...I think for good this time. Ultimately went with a pair of nice simple p-side motor mounts from a 94-98 Grand Cherokee (same # for each side), which gave me plenty of room for center dump manifolds šŸ‘ . BTW, the Wix 51515 is the 'longer' oil filer, which according to my research and talking with Wix is the same filter spec for the magnum...just longer, and hence 'more better filterage'...







Pics of the motor mounts and frame plates -





 
#264 Ā· (Edited)
alright - in order to 'match' the exhaust configuration I had with the 440 I settled on a nice set of Lil Red Express center dump exhaust manifolds, 4041466, that I got from a friend in my local Mopar club. These were the OE pre-smog center dump units on the mid-late 70's truck 318s and 360s, with the same 1-7/8" collector exit port size that are on the 71 340 center dump manifolds and the 02 magnum manifolds, and should work perfect for the truck. I have a pair of the 71 340 p-side center dump manifolds, but I decided on these because they have smaller port sizes (still bigger than the magnum cylinder head exhaust ports but smaller than the giant 340 inlets) have a bigger 'interior' and should flow every bit as good as the 340's, and have more cooling fins. I removed the p-side heat riser hardware, will have the holes welded closed, and just like the 440 manifolds the center sections had both warped 'away' from the head face, so also just like the 440 manifolds I flat-planed the head face to get everything nice n flush, and clean. Then I'll have them sand-blasted and I'll coat them with POR-15 Manifold Gray paint - should make for a long-lasting and leak-free seal for another 100,000 miles.

Meanwhile, the radiator is at C-fab (with my local TIG guru Wayne) getting a couple mods, and I'm whittling away on the remaining items before firing it back up including: ram-assist hoses, pwr steering pump mounts and plumbing, fuel lines and Sniper linkage, trans cooler lines, alternator wiring, air cleaner...and of course, exhaust.





using a nice flat steel plane and 36 grit paper and the majority of the elbow grease focused on the outer ports, after several hundred 'back n fourths'...the center section(s) went from no contact at all...to this -



...and ultimately to this -

 
#265 Ā·
...crossing off the list of small stuff. Bolted on the Jegs "Magnum" thermostat housing (#53251), sensors installed in the intake, and got a 45* heater hose fitting to make connecting to the heater hose a cinch. Have a nice HVH "Super Sucker" 2bbl carb adapter ready to bolt on, and used a children's Tylenol syringe to pre-fill the ram and ram hoses - worked awesome, very little mess, exhaust is nearly done, fuel lines done. Getting close to plugging in the EFI wiring...and firing it up.

45* heater hose fitting from Discount Hydraulic Hose (3/8 npt x 5/8 hose) - 4503-10-06 | 5/8" Hose Barb x 3/8" NPTF Male 45Ā°

Jegs Magnum t-stat housing - https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/53251/10002/-1#







 
#266 Ā·
...just like I wanted, the 360 turned out looking pretty much just like the 440 šŸ‘







...the 2bbl getting plumbed up -



 
#267 Ā· (Edited)
...had the manifolds sandblasted locally for $60, and not surprisingly upon close inspection noticed some minor cracks in the outer fins. Didn't appear to be too deep, at least not that I could see naked eye, and in light of trying to prevent further damage I ground out the cracks and cleaned up the channels. I was going to use POR-15 High-Temp exhaust paint, but the same place that blasted also does power coating, including Cerakote (essentially very high temp powder coat), and for just another $60 I opted to give that a try.

Modified the 440's y-pipe with 2" mains to match the manifolds (also the same OE size for a magnum 360). Considering the 'low-rpm' nature of this engine I can't imagine the design of these manifolds will induce any realistic performance limitations, and being center-dump I gain all the clearance I wanted šŸ‘ . All torqued to spec and ready to go -

blasted, showing where the cracks were in the fins -













 
#268 Ā·
trans cooler brackets and fan shroud extension are figured out and ready for paint šŸ‘ . Trans cooler brackets keep the lines away from the exhaust and engine pulleys, and the shroud is a 2-part unit that extends the tunnel to the now-further-back fan. I still need to trim the back edge of the tunnel extension to allow about 1/4 of the fan to be 'exposed' to allow the fan to 'expel' the air and not force all of it onto the front of the engine and accessories (alternator, pumps, etc) - should work great.













 
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#269 Ā·
Also relocated the radiator outlet port down a bit - should allow for cooler coolant back into the engine -

 
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#270 Ā·
well shoot. Started to refill my cooling system this morning only to discover that despite my best efforts to keep it safe the radiator somehow got a small pinhole...and coolant is leaking out (bottom pic). I've decided to go back to a stock off-the-shelf radiator and make this one available for $200 (normally an $800 radiator). I figure there may be someone out there who can use a super-high-capacity Dakota/Durango radiator and knows a good radiator repair place to fix the small hole and can take advantage of this one.








- Sam
 
#271 Ā· (Edited)
alrighty - the previous (OE) radiator is back in place (the same one the 440 first used), coolant has been filling the system all weekend, and no leaks šŸ‘ . The lower rad hose is an OE unit, and the upper is from the next earlier gen Dakota 98-99 ish (which does not have the rad cap 'insert' inline with the hose - the rad cap is in the radiator), I spliced the OE 02 rad cap insert unit inline, and worked perfectly to get around the A/C compressor - worked awesome.

I'm not worried about the OE radiator cooling the engine - it did so effortlessly when this engine was between the fenders before the buildup began and I'm sure it will do so again, not to mention the 440 initially ran 'warm' because I had the wrong thermostat in it, which is why I got the big Wizard rad to begin with. Plus, honestly I'm happy to have an off-the-shelf (read - easy to replace) radiator back in place - raises the reliability/maintainability factor to the very top šŸ‘ .

Made the necessary mods to (re)position the fan shroud back in place to centerline on the fan, the extensions are in place, trans cooler and lines are all in position and connected, and I'm giving everything a close inspection and once-over, and cleaning up the shop in preps for firing it all up. All systems "Go".

I decided to swap engines 4 months ago (Nov 29th), and after working ~1.5 hrs nearly every single morning since I'm happy to say the swap is 'done'. The original 360 had ~125k miles on it and ran perfectly, so instead of a full rebuild I decided to refresh/restore it down to the rear main seal. Here's a quick recap -

Bottom end: Original bearings and rings, nearly no ridge, new rear main seal
Heads: Tanked and fluxed - no cracks, and even the guides were still good; surfaced, new seals and springs to match the Comp cam, and Extreme Duty head gaskets #519SD).
Cam: CampCams 20-745-9: 212-218 (264/270), .480/.480, 114* LSA, with matching springs
Valve train: Restored the lifters/pushrods/and all hardware (sonic cleaner is awesome)
Oil Pan: Ram/Jeep magnum (not Dakota/Durango) with custom oil baffle, matching pickup tube, and OE '02 Dakota/Durango dipstick (required new 'full' 5-quart mark scribed on dipstick)
Intake: Edelbrock 7577, with HVH Super Sucker 2bbl carb adapter
Induction: Holley Sniper 2300 2bbl with matching HyperSpark ignition
Motor mounts: 94 Jeep GC (pass-side x2)
Exhaust: pair of mid-late 70's pre-smog center dump truck manifolds (4041466), Cerakoted
Alternator: OE 02 Dak, with old-school voltage regulator
Power Steering: PSC pump with remote reservoir
Valve Covers: Mopar Performance

Now it's time to see if I got it right :)











stainless bolts and nylon washers hold the shroud extensions in place - looks good, won't rust or mar the paint -



trimmed the back edge of the extensions to allow the back of the fan to be about 1/3 'out', which should help evacuate the air. Jury's out on whether that was a good decision or not, and I'll know soon -

 
#272 Ā·
One of my goals all along is to have as 'clean' an engine compartment as reasonably possible (meaning to be the least bit 'stinky' as possible), and to that end I routed the valve cover breather to the air box.



Picked up this nice stainless steel 5/8 bulkhead fitting -


...secured it in the airbox below the filter because I didn't want the engine intake air draw to be 'competing' with the breathers' intake air draw - probably inconsequential but whatever -


...and clamped on a simple filter just to keep debris out -


So now any valve cover 'inhaling' will come from the filtered clean air, and any 'exhaling' will at least be captured in the airbox...and such vapors should get drawn into the air cleaner and burned...which should help keep things less 'stinky'. I can't imagine it'll hurt...

Along the same vane, I came across some info stating that the Snipers run best with a 'fixed orifice' PCV valve. Many PCV valves...including the OE Mopar one I (was) using...have a variable orifice (and variable rate) based on the spring and plunger under variable vacuum (throttle) loads, but, there are many many many threads talking about how the 'variable' PCV valves can make a Sniper's ability to precisely meter the idle control quite difficult...and the solution from every reputable source including Holley tech and EFI Sys Pro is to use a 'fixed orifice' PCV valve. I am very surprised I'm only just now hearing about this, and it is not mentioned in the instructions anywhere. I only came across it when I was asking EFI Sys Pro about my gas tank vapor hose being routed to the secondary manifold vacuum nipple (no problem there BTW).

A fixed orifice PCV is just as it sounds - no spring-loaded plunger valve, just a permanent, single, small hole, in most cases I've read the hole is to be 0.100", or juuuust under 1/8" (0.125), although I'm told 1/8" is plenty fine so - the main issue being so long as the orifice size doesn't change. I can buy a simple fixed orifice PCV valve...but they're for a Chevy (of course) and bigger than the 1/2" Mopar valve cover grommet I have (of course).

So, I cracked apart my plastic PCV valve, tossed the plunger and spring, filled it full of JB Weld, clamped it back together, and drilled a hole through the epoxy just under 1/8", and stuck it all back together this morning. Problem (allegedly) solved.

Makes me wonder how much grief this issue might have been giving me the whole time with the 440 and the 4bbl Sniper... :unsure: ...

Standard Mopar PCV valve -


...gutted -


Filled with JB weld, drilled just under 0.100", and 're-assembled' (glued together) -


Meanwhile, as best I understand, this is the correct diagram for the front vacuum ports on the 2300 series 2bbl Snipers (and back of the 4500 4bbl units) -


- Sam
 
#273 Ā·
Fired up the 360 yesterday šŸ‘ - it fired right up, got up to temperature, and idled along just dandy - some of the normal fine-tuning to dial in the idle and such, and all seems to be well. Bit of lifter chatter (or something) on the p-side, so all is not 100% awesome, but I don't know if there is a problem or not, but it seems to run just fine, and I'm just gonna run it.

Throttle response is real nice - no where near as 'explosive' as the 4bbl was, and just like the tech at CompCams said the cam idles niiiice and smooth - ze-ro lope. I'll be running it more and more and just dial it in more and more.

No apparent leaks, exhaust is good, tranny engages, steering works - all in all a great new build start-up šŸ‘ .

Really hope re-using the original lifters wasn't a bad decision... - dang it why is it always 'something'... :rolleyes:

- Sam
 
#274 Ā· (Edited)
...I might have figured it out. I pulled the valve cover, and everything looked 'good' - all the rocker bolts were tight, and I could just barely spin the pushrods of the valvetrain on the base circle. So everything appeared to be 'good'. Wiped off the Fel-Pro reusable valve cover gasket and bolted it back together - total time to R&R the valve cover about 1/2 hour (Magnum engineering for the major win šŸ‘ ). So...having not found anything obviously wrong, what else could it be.

Remembering that Hemi's are very particular about the oil they use (particularly the lifters), I re-read the owners manual and there in black n white it says the oil viscosity spec for the engine is 10w30...and I had 10w40 in it (specifically Lucas Hot Rod & Classis w/ ZDDP) . I don't remember why I opted for 10W40...but I did and there it is (probably an 'old-school mentality' that thicker oil is mo'bettah - not). Now...it was a long shot, but knowing the Hemi's are picky about the oil they use I thought maybe the Magnum's are too - I know the tolerances of the hydraulic lifters are very, very precise, so what could it hurt. This morning I drained the 10w40 and poured in 10w30, regular off-the-shelf Orielly house blend (no high-zinc requirement now šŸ‘ ), and a new filter.

I didn't really expect much of a difference, but I think I can honestly say it is running quieter šŸ‘ . If the lifters indeed require the slightly thinner oil flowing in/around/through them...well this may just be the ideal case study. Now...I think I might have some leak(s) coming from the p-side exhaust manifold - not sure yet...but I didn't do anything to the manifold and that side is now quieter, and as such I think now I do detect some exhaust manifold leak(s), but bottom line is changing to 10w30 might just have been (and resolved) the issue. Lesson learned.
 
#275 Ā· (Edited)
ok - found another drivers-side pre-smog 318-360 truck manifold on ebay, hand-planed the port faces flat, ground out the same ribs as before, had it blasted and Cerakoted, and bolted it on. Had the y-pipe blasted and Cerakoted too and have the exhaust just about reinstalled - now with the exception of the tailpipe/muffler the whole exhaust is coated in either Cerakote or Jet-Hot -











...and I'm fabbin' up a bunch of armor and who doesn't love having a fresh supply of death wheels, flapper discs and sawzall blades for 'doom and destruction' bwwaahaahAHAHAHHAHAHhhhahahahhaaaaaa.... šŸ˜

 
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