It's broken again!!!

[Breech]

Well guys, this is it. I give. After thousands of dollars spent and numerous pints of blood spilled I have to concede. My duster sits in front of my house now as it did for so long. With a 904 that apparantly couldn't and water in her oil she now is a shrine for the the black widows to infest. I can't figure it out. The tranny I can understand, it was an original unit that I'm sure lasted long behind the stock 318 that was in her when I bought it. The water in the oil is beyond me, it seeps in slowly and shows no sign of head gasket failure. I resealed the intake and hoped for the best but no luck. I recently picked up a 96 camaro Z28 on the cheap that will now have to take her place although I know it won't. I wish Ma Mopar would have shown some mercy but she came down on me with all of her vengence. So off I go to join the chebbie creatons in their wicked hack it and let it ride world. Thanks to all who have helped over the last couple years. Sincerely...mopar at heart.

[rumblefish360]

Sorry to see ya go to the dark side. Awaiting your return.

[TK]

Well, like i always say, more dodges for us! can i have your duster? i got this 318 with all these neat part that would just.............................................. ...........

[zij576ca]

Originally Posted by Breech

Well guys, this is it. I give. After thousands of dollars spent and numerous pints of blood spilled I have to concede....water in her oil...I can't figure it out....The water in the oil is beyond me, it seeps in slowly and shows no sign of head gasket failure.

Gotta be either a cracked block or head or both....

[jimm II]

Just for the hell of it .....if the cooler in the rad leaks , its easy to waste a trans (auto) just a thought...and I know a lot of you guys thought it.... Jimm

[bigiron]

To bad that one bad engine and tranny chased you to the "enemy camp"

I am personnally building 2 Ferds.. but also am fixing on 4 other Mopars. I would think at worst case you could find another 318 and tranny real cheap and get going until you resolved the water issue... there are only so many things it could be.

I would take it as a challenge to whip it's butt. Welll,, that's just me...

I hope you have better luck with the Z-28. I'm not a one manufacturer kind of guy and think if it's a nice car .... it's a nice car.

[rumblefish360]

LOL, I'm with dodgetkboy78, can I have it. Actually wish I could get it. Would LOVE another Duster.

[bigiron]

Hey Jim II

I hear ya man... I had one of those conversion diesels GM brought out in the late 70's. It developed a pin hole leak in the oil cooler line inside the radiator... kept looseing oil and getting antifreeze in the oil....

Well, a check of the coolent level showed where most of the oil went and of course antifreeze and bearings don't go together so in goes a new engine and darn'ed near took that engine too.

Never thought to pressure check the oil cooler...

[TK]

are you talking bout a 5.7 lemon???? i thought people had forgot about those, my oldsmobile buddy has been driving those since they came out, he's just lucky. if you get custom pistons for them, theyre the best 350 blower motor they made though. he has one

[bigiron]

I never thought about blowing one... you must have to grind that injection pump crap off to get a manifold to fit???? Could you use the same crank and rods or did you have to have shorter ones???

I still have two of them sitting out at my buddys place... and I just happen to have a spare blower... And I only have 6 other projects started....

I sort of got to disagree about the best blower engine.... Personally I prefer my HEMI...

[TK]

i was talkin gm, i think he used everything, had it balanved, i also think he sawed the top of the pistons off no joke, ill ask

[DartGT66]

How much water is there? Do you really loose water, and if so, how much? Not really too many places where the water could come from; head gasket, intake manifold and amybe even the timing cover? I guess some of the lower bolts go in to water jackets, so there is a chance that the water comes that route. RTV on the threads should seal it up. Of course a crack somewhere is also a possibility.

[charger_dan]

i agree with dartgt, it could be the timing cover, especially
if you've had it apart lately. i saw this happen on a friend's
318 following a timing chain replacement.

my car has definitely taught me the meaning of patience,
and there's nothing more satisfying than when you stick with it
and get it running right.

either way you go, good luck with your rides.

[Breech]

Thanks guys for all of the support. The reason I have decided to give up now though is that this car has done nothing but cost. I mean every extra penny I had went into this thing and in the 3+ years that I"ve owned it, it's probably given me one good solid month of dependability. I would just drop another 318 into it if the one that sits in it now were just an old 318 with headers and a four barrel bolted on it but it's not. I had this motor rebuilt from the ground up by a serious engine builder (I had to wait for a year and a half before he could even get to it) and have way too much invested to just yank it and drop a stocker in there. So she's gonna sit for now while I decide if I want to sell it or save it for a later date after I recover some of my patience. If I do decide to sell it I will put it on here first, she's far from perfect but she's nice and straight and there isn't too much rust on her. The drag lite rims give her a nice look and the cam sounds way good too. I better stop here cause I'm gettin sick again just thinkin about it. Thanks again guys for the support, mopar people are certainly the classiest of all.

[6pakman]

all i can say, WIMP!!!!!

[Breech]

Anybody that can build a mopar while working at a freakin gas station and supporting a family of three (on my own) in california at that shouldn't be considered wimp thank you very much. I saved every extra penny I had to put into that thing. Perhaps you can't relate. Anyways here's a few pics I found of her when she first came home.

[71dart666]

Breech - I have been there before... many times. I can totally understand your frustration. I have no kids and a decent amount of disposable income and I still get frustrated as hell with the cost. Stuff adds up fast and the cars can easily nickel and dime you to death. Looking back now I see I was a fool for pouring so much money and time into my car which will only had a relatively mild 318.
Kind of a lousy bang for the buck deal, so now I am saying the hell with it too... after this engine I am going all out. Either a 500 inch big block with 600 + hp with a 727 with gearvendors overdrive or maybe a supercharged and intercooled 360 with a 5 speed Keisler behind it. If I am gonna pour my money into my car I want to have just about the fastest car on the road.

[swingin72]

71dart666 - Hey man, I've got both a small block and big block dart and I'm in San Jose like you. Before you go spending all your money, come take a ride and see how you like the big block. I wish I had ridden in one before I made the plunge... if I could do it over again, I think I'd go blown smallblock. Get in touch with me (sday@sjm.com) and see what you're getting into before you throw down lots of cash. I DO like the big block, but now I am glad that I still have my smallblock Dart

[TK]

well, if i cant have you duster, then heres some advice. dont get frustrated, water in the oil is a simple problem, could be a head gasket/timing cover/intake manifold, ect. DONT sell it, just take a break, enjoy yer, uh, ch, che, vvv, yy, and get back to the dodge when ta feel better bout it. oh, and as far as the big block goes, big block dusters are a pain in the ass to work on, but they are cool. my duster was a 894 headed 318, with a roller cam, the big block i found werent any faster. ps, i am a hipocrit, cause im tryin to talk my buddy out of his 400 stroker duster right now

[71dart666]

Yeah I can see how a really hot well built 318 would hang with some big blocks. Realistically though a mild 440 or 400 would be way easier to get power from, I mean intake and carb and exaust and some tuning and its surely 400 + hp. 318 would need a cam, well built heads, intake carb exaust.. maybe built up bottom end and a few other things to get that kinda power. I like the brute force idea of a big block, its primal and represents what muscle cars are all about, tons of torque ! Supercharged small block would have plenty of torque too, though probably not quite as much lowend but would have great hp, less weight in the front of the car and id probably get slightly better gas miliage.

[TK]

yup, it seems to be a traction barrier problem once you get up there. it is pretty hard to make a small block keep up with a BB, but it sure is satisfieing! and, 7000rpm sounds so cool!

[DartGT66]

How about a BB that is lighter than a stock small block and still winds 7000?

[pishta]

Lighter BB? Sure, Aluminum heads (-60#), aluminum intake (-30#), aluminum water pump and housing (-15#) thats 105 lbs right there, 10 lbs lighter than a 318! Headers, bunch of smog crap taken off. You are already there. As for BB A's being nose heavy pigs, all you have to do it hit the fun pedal and that nose wont seem so heavy...Dont let Michigan get you down. Your CA salary in Detroit would go ALOT farther. Family first.

[DartGT66]

....battery in the trunk, manual steering, aluminum block and a weight distribution of 50/50.

[Kevin Garceau]

Not sure why anyone would spend thousands on a 318 in a dart anyways.

Spend a few hundred on a 360 or BB and go faster... simple enough if you ask me.

318 never was or never will be a real performance engine.

I do commend you on knowing when enough is a enough and taking care of priorities.

BB darts are cheap and easy to do. I was in highschool working part time, at 4.25 an hour and ran 11.10s with my dart. No daddy/mommy's money easy. Low bucks, low frill approach, mechanical cam, alum intake, decent convertor, shift kit and 4.56 gears.

[BDS 871 Cuda]

Originally Posted by Breech

Thanks guys for all of the support. The reason I have decided to give up now though is that this car has done nothing but cost. I mean every extra penny I had went into this thing and in the 3+ years that I"ve owned it, it's probably given me one good solid month of dependability. I would just drop another 318 into it if the one that sits in it now were just an old 318 with headers and a four barrel bolted on it but it's not. I had this motor rebuilt from the ground up by a serious engine builder (I had to wait for a year and a half before he could even get to it) and have way too much invested to just yank it and drop a stocker in there. So she's gonna sit for now while I decide if I want to sell it or save it for a later date after I recover some of my patience. If I do decide to sell it I will put it on here first, she's far from perfect but she's nice and straight and there isn't too much rust on her. The drag lite rims give her a nice look and the cam sounds way good too. I better stop here cause I'm gettin sick again just thinkin about it. Thanks again guys for the support, mopar people are certainly the classiest of all.

The builder don't sound to serious if he built it with out checking for block cracks.
Was it test run at all? Have the builder do it over if he is that good. I hope he stands behind his work.
That shitvy, I ment chevy will cost you just as much or more.

[71dart666]

Kevin - thats pretty impressive speed for any car. Looking back of course I wish I would have started with something stronger under the hood. The costs for me kinda snowballed as far as "well i rebuild this so I might as well start out with a fresh that ect.." Anyways I definatly want to go all out next engine. My goal is mid 11s on pump gas and with streetable gearing.

[Kevin Garceau]

Thanks...but remember this was a very no frills car. Nothing fancy. Nothing pretty. Although it had good paint on it. I think I had about 5k invested in the car total. I didnt skimp on the good stuff and got by where I could when I could.

I have another motor sitting in the shop now which runs too well for it to be real. 1974 block with the stock cast pistons, I did switch to forged crank. MP 590 cam ( man I hate the MP cams...but dont ask ) single plane intake. In a 2850lb (scaled car, true weight with driver) it has gone a best of 10.59 with no power adders. Steel 452 heads with home port job, and bigger valves. Spend the money correctly once and you dont need to spend it again. I build this motor in 1992 when I was in high school. It was in my original dart for a year until I pulled it and went with a little more compression. Hurt that motor and this thing ahs been in everyones car since....lol... no Nitrous ever seen thsi motor either, I think the last we checked it was having about 7.8:1 compression. Combo works.

And lets be real..you will not spend more on a chevy. Get over it guys, parts are much less expensive and more readily available used.

[rumblefish360]

Originally Posted by Breech

Anybody that can build a mopar while working at a freakin gas station and supporting a family of three (on my own) in california at that shouldn't be considered wimp thank you very much. I saved every extra penny I had to put into that thing. Perhaps you can't relate. Anyways here's a few pics I found of her when she first came home.

Amen to that. But I think he must have been kidding. I wish I was there so I could scoop that baby up from you
I know what you mean on the $$$ side of it. Hang in there. Send the wife to medical school for RN. Then join her on it. Then you can pay some one to get gressy if ya didn't want to. (I know that wouldn't to much fun, just an option )

[dusterrcr]

I dont know if its cosmic alignment or what.But sometimes you just get a hold of something that simply wont cooperate.Be it a car,a boat,or a weed eater.Its happened to me.You cut your losses and dont look back.I would have a issue with that engine builder though. Kevin,We have a old moror like that.Flat tops, hyd cam, low compression,leaky valves.Last year we were forced to put it back in our Duster.It took us to the final at the Bracket finals.138 cars 1st rnd.And it only used a 1/2 qt of oil all day------Go figure!?