02 Dakota Quadcab SAS - 4x360x40s...

two steps forward, one step back. Fired it back up yesterday - it fired right up no problem, and after 20 minutes or so it seems that 'lifters' were indeed the 'noise' issue; it does not seem anywhere near as noisy as before, but it wasn't until the second and for sure third warm-up the last go-round that the noise materialized. We also noticed that the Sniper itself is 'clicky' - makes some distinct light clicky noises, which we attribute to the injectors. I e-mailed Ethan at Holley Tech and yes he confirmed the Snipers make a smooth clicking sound, much like a find running sewing machine, so okay there.

But this second break-in session wasn't without issues, one really - both valve covers were literally dripping oil past the gaskets, and both sides of the block had oil slowly dripping down onto the components below and floor, which was awesome. I didn't want to stop the break-in process so I had to just try to sop it up and continue. It made a nice oily smoky mess...but we got the 20 minutes in.
And for what it's worth, I used Permatex High-Tack Spray-a-Gasket #80064 on the valve cover gaskets this time thinking it'd be just right, but it utterly failed to seal anything. Maybe I just happened to get an old can or a bad batch but all it did was help oil seem past the gasket(s). The first drips I noticed were 'red'...and I'm thinking 'how the hell is trans fluid leaking out of the engine', but then realized it was just the sealant doing everything except 'seal'. Last time I used aviation #3, which worked great but since it's utter failure to seal my NPT fuel fittings I've all but sworn off, so this time I'll use form-a-gasket #2 (80011), which the techs at Permatex say should be perfect, and better than their Super-300.

Cooling. We think it's 'okay'. First off the new fan clutch had the new 6-blade Derale fan sounding like a Freightliner - I had paper towels laying at the ready on a tray a foot in front of the radiator and it immediately sucked them clean up flat against the front of the rad - so that was good 👍 . The fan was kickin' and was apparently clutched in on start-up because about 5 minutes in it maybe got all broke in and 'released' and there was an obvious difference (decrease) in sound, and suction. It only came on once during the rest of the break-in, and when it did kick in there was no denying the sound that comes with it. But by the end of the 20 minutes the temperature only got to about 210-215 on the gauge - still hotter than I was hoping...but we had an IR gun this time, and the thermostat housing was at 220* or so...but the inlet to the radiator...was only at 147*. Pretty big difference, and the radiator outlet was at 91* - lots of cold coolant just waiting to get sucked in. So it was either 1) full of steam or 2) the thermostat is faulty or 3) I left a towel in the system or something...and hot coolant can't get 'out' of the block. And the upper hose was fully pressurized. Also the overflow did not have any 'new' hot coolant in it - just what was in it from before. But I had to know...so I gathered a bunch of towels and put on leather gloves and made sure my protective eyewear was securely in place and just 'cracked' the cap; if it released a bunch of steam/pressure then the system is likely still trying to burp and likely why it isn't staying cool, but if it's full of coolant then something is likely wrong with the thermostat. Cracked the seal and PPPSSHHH!!!!! with a bit of splatter - but not gushing coolant.
Checked it last night after it cooled off and found what I was hoping to find - the upper hose was empty. So this morning I topped it off with more G05 and I'll continue to burp it like I do my 3 month old daughter . Still tho, I was pretty happy to see that the engine only got to 215* or so despite the steam pocket - that could have been worse, and I'm hoping I don't have to r-n-r the thermostat.

Pull the valve covers this morning (...again) and should have it all back together today, and tomorrow I'll fire it back up and keep on it. It's getting closer, and...hopefully the engine is indeed not hurt. I'll know more after I get it running again and back into testing...but after all the time blood sweat money and tears and ridiculous wrench time this whole freaking year I don't know if it's going to make Moab next week...and that really f-ing sucks...

Using plenty of Ultra Copper and following the instructions to the letter, the valve covers back on. Also, to help mitigate any potential 'heat' issues I had my local steel shop blast out a set of 3/8" steel manifold spacers on their waterjet to move the hot manifolds 'away' from things. Also, taking a tip I read from the Mopar RV forums I employed the use of Fel-Pro's 'heat-shield' gaskets on the outside - I used my metal break and folded them just a bit so they wouldn't 'rub' on the v-cover, and using 1/2-inch-longer studs the manifolds are back on too. Have to modify the exhaust a bit to match the new manifold placement, and when that's done everything will have had plenty of time to cure, and I can fire it back up...and see if it all worked...



...I did center the end inner gaskets once I got them snugged up so they weren't 'sagging'...

ok - just about everything is back together, and in the process I discovered a couple things.

First off, more 440 "RV" tech info. My particular 440 is date coded 1978 and was originally in a 79 Winnebago Motorcoach, and because it was intended for an RV is actually has a few minor but important differences between it and a standard car or truck 440. First, the RV 440s were designated at a 440-3, whereas the car/truck 440s were 440-1. The major differences were mostly related to cooling, meaning two additional cooling ports at the outer edges of the cylinder walls, with (or in my case without) respective matching heads with the additional cooling ports, and, the big distinctive difference, the RV heads had 5/8 spark plugs with a non-crush-washer seal (my heads didn't have those plugs so either my 440 just didn't get 'em...or more likely the owner of the RV had the heads swapped out for non-RV heads - my engine did have Fel-Pro head gaskets on it, which was not original, so a head swap was very likely. My heads are a set of non-RV 452s). Also, the RV 440s also received a specific water pump housing, pn# 3751216, easily distinguished by either the CB on the front inlet or the additional bypass port under the thermostat, which I discovered is kinda important.

RV water pump housing (note the two cast recesses for the thermostat and bypass port) -



Also, I discovered that a "skirted" thermostat must be used in conjunction with the RV water pump housing - at least it does if you want it to be cooled properly. The 440-3 thermostat has a lower 'skirt' which when opened blocks off the bypass port in the water pump housing, but without which (with a typical thermostat from the parts stores) will not block the bypass port, which will not send the majority of the coolant to the radiator - it will just continually 'bypass' both within the block/heads (the intent being to warm up the engine rapidly) and some will go through the radiator, but not all, which I believe is why my 440 wasn't cooling well (it was cooling so-so, but not great) - and yep I had a standard 440-1 thermostat in there. Pics of the skirted thermostat are below -

To recap, here is my RV water pump housing -



But wait - there's more. All of the upper thermostat housings I've found have a recess in them too, which according to the books is to center the thermostat in the 440-1 non-RV applications. The strange part is my 440-3 water pump housing also has a recess for...I think...the thermostat. Now, because the thermostat lower skirt is supposed to extend down into the lower recess and block the bypass coolant flow I chose to presume the thermostat is supposed to be placed in the pump housing itself, and not in the upper thermostat housing. Should the thermostat go in the upper housing? - don't know, but if it did then there would be the chance of it not aligning with the lower recess, so I went with the lower/below-the-gasket placement. Then, UltraGrey RTV, gasket, more RTV, and upper "thermostat" housing went on, bolted to 18 lb/ft. I'm pretty sure my thermostat housing is not for an RV application and is simply for all the 440-1 applications. I have not yet found a genuine 440-3 thermostat housing, but if I did I'd wager there is no recess in it for the thermostat.

But still, my thermostat housing had that recess in it...or at least it used to . To try to get maximum clamping and sealing potential from it I went ahead and had a local welding shop fill in the recess, and I machined it flat - actually I machined it to perfectly match the pump housing with just the slightest detectable amount of center 'rise' to get that much more clamping on the gasket. So, just posting my process and pics for it all...

Upper thermostat housing 'filled in' -



...machined flat -



I took Joel's advice and got a Milodon thermostat, skirted/RV design (silver), compared to the less reputable Mr. Gasket version -







and Permatex 27036 ultragrey to seal it all up -



Now I only recently became aware of all this 440-3 "RV" info and I'm really glad I did. But while I was getting smart on the RV info I was in the meantime trying to find a better way to seal a big block thermostat housing. I was trying to find a way to use a more modern thermostat with the rubber seal around the outer edge, one which would not require using a gasket at all - just bolt the top housing down and 'done'. I did find a thermostat which I think would have worked great...at least for those with a non-RV water pump housing, NAPA pn# 375-180, which I think is from a 2nd Gen Cummins -





If I'm not mistaken, that thermostat (180* in this case) would simply sit on top of the standard water pump housing, and it would be capped off with the thermostat housing of your choice with the recess in it, and...I think...you'd never need a gasket. Anyone want to test my theory?

But, I have a RV pump housing, so, naturally, I can't use it - noooo I have to use the RV stuff....unless I swap in a non-RV housing...which I wasn't ready to do. Nope I'm gonna do the RV thermostat thing first and see how awesome my cooling system now will be. It's all back together and I'll be pouring in coolant tomorrow morning.

Interesting stuff I continue to learn in this Hot Rod life of mine. And, with all of this extra work done, I'm now inclined to think that...if I had originally assembled the system with the correct skirted thermostat the stock radiator may just have cooled my 440 just fine. If that were the case, then I am now inclined to think that with the correct 'stat in there now plus the Wizard radiator and max-duty fan and clutch...well I may just have inadvertently achieved a max-overkill cooling system for the truck which...I'm hoping...may just keep my 440 at 180* all day long...which is what I was hoping for to begin with . Time will soon tell...

Meanwhile, when I went to swap the alternator out I discovered a bit of a design 'flaw' in the CVF serpentine setup - turns out the alternator cannot be removed without pulling the power steering pump - the ps pump pulley slightly 'covers' the lower bolt for the alternator. Now in the big scheme of things that isn't a show-stopper, but for this truck...well it needed to be a bit more 'field serviceable'. Since it was apart I went ahead and pulled the main bracket off and relocated the mount for the power steering pump 3/8 inch down and inside, at a 45* angle. I cut/cleaned it and glued it back together. Not only do I now have unrestricted access to the lower alternator bolt, but I also retained use the original belt - it's just the tiniest bit tighter to get the belt on but not so much that it can't be used. Worked awesome 👍

Also, I trimmed the fan blade again to provide more clearance to the idler arm, and now it doesn't hit.

thanks dude. I have this lone pic of it with weight on wheels, and a couple videos. Still trying to sort out some EFI issues but it's getting closer...

well...it's been 3 years since I blew the truck apart to begin the 'big' part of the build - time sure flies!

Okay - all the info indicates I've been fighting both EMI-RFI and 'power' issues ⚡ , and over the last month I've been re-wiring and 'shielding' my Sniper and Hyperspark wiring harnesses - just about everything is wrapped in faraday tape and recovered with protective loom, coiled up nicely and away from the plug wires, etc. Also got the battery mounted in the bed and all cables routed to it, and I'm pretty close to re-firing it all back up to see if the wonky issues stop. The smart people on the Holley Sniper forums pretty much agree the IAC issue I'm having is EMI/RFI-related, and I'm hoping that's solved. If it continues I'll build a EMI shield to go in front of the Sniper unit itself, between it and the big dizzy 9 inches away from it. I gotta believe the system 'will' run perfectly - just have to get the hardware squared away. At this point there's not much in the way of 'alternatives', so I'll just keep plugging away at it.

In case anyone is interested here's a link to the faraday tap I used - https://www.amazon.com/ANGKEEL-Cond...6cfd4a&pd_rd_wg=LSOzf&pd_rd_i=B097HC9HR7&th=1

Some pics of my shielding efforts -

Sniper wiring layered in faraday tape -





...tucked away from the spark plug wires - nice n neat -



...'shielded'/layered all the way to the very ends -



So what's the results? - I fired it up yesterday, and I'm happy to report that the EFI system did indeed seem to function "nominally" . Still have lots to do, but it appears my EMI/RFI shielding and wiring upgrades helped...if not cured...my Sniper issues. Will be running it every day just to put some hours on it and confirm the status...and I can finally - FINALLY - press on with other things the truck needs before heading out to its first trial run. So "yayee" 😊

- Sam

thanks - me too! 😄

...meanwhile, I've been taking care of the many gremlins that have surfaced since firing the engine, such as:

1) Bad lifter - required pulling the throttle body, intake, valve covers, rockers and pushrods to replace all 16 lifters with new, then had to re-accomplish another stressful break-in
2) Exhaust too hot - required massive amounts of re-design and time to fabricate more heat shields/apply liberal amounts of heat reflective panels...and sending nearly the whole exhaust to Jet Hot to try to mitigate the radiant heat to begin with...
3) 3x valve cover leaks - finally resolved with lots of Copper RTV
4) Transmission leaking in 3 places - re-sealed when removed the Atlas t-case, because...
5) Atlas t-case leaking. Main case and inspection cover both leaking. Re-sealed on bench with care package from Atlas
6) Wrong sealant. Improper use of aviation sealant #3 to the fuel line NPT fittings resulting in fuel leaking from every single threaded joint - required complete disassembly and re-assembly with Teflon tape
7) Bad alternator. Wasn't charging - re-wired and replaced with another reman'd unit
8 ) Incompatible fittings. Use of brass fittings in an aluminum housing causing a potential for long-term corrosion and failed joints - required a complete tear-down and reassembly with steel fittings and Teflon tape
9) RFI/EMI. Ignition system allegedly creating Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)/Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) which severely jacket with the EFI systems - apparently resolved with liberal application of faraday tape, lots more grounds between the throttle body/intake/head/block, and connecting the EFI and ignition main power/ground wires directly to the battery with no 'alternate' connections - he results of which have been a perfectly running system...so far.
10) Brake system leaks. Despite two professional rebuilds the hydrobooster leaks a tiny amount of fluid even sitting still. Just purchased another fresh unit - awaiting results.
11) Malfunctioning master cylinder. Removed to RnR hydrobooster; re-bled it on the bench and found it to be potentially defective - returned for new...
12) Rear brakes. Not getting much power to the rear brakes/possible bad proportioning valve or master cylinder. Replaced 'OE-style' proportioning valve with a stand-alone Wilwood proportioning valve on rear brake line.

...so yeah - been lots of fun re-doing all of that; some was my fault, some not - all had to be done and so far so good...and that's 'the joy of owning a race car'...

...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 -

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

...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 -114ºLSA NEW CORE

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

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

HUG SER1822ALN-14
SB HYD RLR CAM 218/222 -114ºLSA 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

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 -

...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 👍 -

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 👍











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 👍 -

Before -



After -

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!! . 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 ...

But...in the process of sourcing another head gasket ( ) 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 .

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

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 👍. 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 -

outSTANding! - 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 👍 . 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.

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' 👍 . 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 -