440 in an A Body?

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mopar nut

mopar nut

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I have a 71 Demon with a 69 440 & TTI headers with the Shumaker mounts on a 340 K-frame. I knew it was going to be tight but everything seemed to be ok until recently. I drove it twice locally last season and after driving it a couple months this season I have noticed some problems.
1. the Black Aluminum Mopar valve covers leaked a little (I found out they were cracked ) so I replaced them with a chrome set (given to me) and they were worse they gushed all over everything.
2. I also noticed (while cleaning the oil) that my steering center link is hitting the oil pan and denting it & might wear through soon and the nut from the pitman arm is wearing a groove into one of the header pipes.
Question: What is a good way to seal valve covers to keep from making a mess?
Is there a certain Center Link/Pitman Arm/Idler Arm I need to use or do I need to raise the motor?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Angel Cancel I can be reached at de440mon@comcast.net
 
If you torque down the cast Mopar valve covers too much they will crack.Most of the chrome ones are china junk and they leak.I would use stock valve covers or Mopar cast and don't over torque them.
What oil pan do you have?And what center link do you have?
 
On some of the oil pans #187 and #699 you still have to make a small modification to the pan were the centerlink is hitting the pan. I had to do this to 2 different pans. As for the header pipe you will have dent that pipe a little or shave the nut some.
 
A little Ultra Blue RTV on both sides of the valve cover gaskets will seal them up with no leaks. (ultra blue is formulated to expand when it comes into contact with oil. I've never had a leak with it)
Maybe you'll have to shim the engine up a bit for better clearance? I have a 440 about ready to get dropped in at the end of the month so i'm about to start having these same issues too. You'd think that by now someone would have made a pan to easily allow us to drop in BB.....
 
I wasn't sure so I checked it is a #187 pan.
 

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68383GTS said:
If you torque down the cast Mopar valve covers too much they will crack.Most of the chrome ones are china junk and they leak.I would use stock valve covers or Mopar cast and don't over torque them.
What oil pan do you have?And what center link do you have?
Click to expand...


#187 oil pan and what ever center is called for in a 71 340 Demon
 
here are some pics
 

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I want to Thank everyone for their replies. The mufflers are bolted to the collectors while waiting for the exhaust shop to get me so while I was under the car looking around while my brother turned the wheels I noticed that the muffler hanger had broken and the weight was causing the header to droop and rub on suspension more work but at least it's not a mystery.
 
mopar nut said:
I want to Thank everyone for their replies. The mufflers are bolted to the collectors while waiting for the exhaust shop to get me so while I was under the car looking around while my brother turned the wheels I noticed that the muffler hanger had broken and the weight was causing the header to droop and rub on suspension more work but at least it's not a mystery.
Click to expand...

To BMSJAX what kind of gaskets are you using?
 
This is a mod I did on my race car but it will work on yours as well.
IMGP1132.jpg
 
mopar nut said:
To BMSJAX what kind of gaskets are you using?
Click to expand...

I have the black composite gaskets at the moment. But I use a little Ultra blue on all types of gaskets that I've used except for the steel core rubber type, never had a problem with those leaking.
 
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