1969 Dodge Dart Engine Stutter

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TT5.9mag said:
Yea your voltages sound about perfect now. 13.xx at idle and 14.xx at Cruise is what you aim for.

I’m in the inland empire, Norco. But grew up in lake forest and spent lots of time at Newport and San Clemente surfing when I was a kid. Btw Ewa Seed Co. Has the best shaved ice I’ve ever had!! Love that place.
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Thanks for the tip. Ewa Seed Co. is down the street from my house. That will be my first stop after I start driving this dart again.
 
69Dart4DR said:
Thanks for the tip. Ewa Seed Co. is down the street from my house. That will be my first stop after I start driving this dart again.
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Whichever flavor you get make sure to ask for a snow topper. OMG so delicious
 
So far as the battery you need to get it "up and normal" and run it awhile. It may be old, or sulfated, or otherwise damage, or it just still might be low. "Back in the good old days" we would have used a hydrometer. People claim that voltage tells if a battery is charged, but it is way too easy to get fooled by "surface charge." Once it is "up" fully charged you might have it load tested. Most anyplace that sells batteries or Oh'Really's can do this. IF the thing can be accessed check the water in the cells
 
69Dart4DR said:
Thanks for the tip. Ewa Seed Co. is down the street from my house. That will be my first stop after I start driving this dart again.
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Nice. FYI I wasn’t joking. Best shave ice on the island.
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69Dart4DR said:
So I charged the battery for 12 hours on a battery tender.
Slapped it in this morning and fired the car up.
At idle the battery read 12.70
at cruise 12.76

The car started sputtering as soon as the headlight was turned on.
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Then it quit charging. It should charge 14 plus volts at a fast idle.....around 1500 RPM.
 
69Dart4DR said:
Drove around the block and now it idles at 15.36 and sounds great!
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Hmm. I turned the car off and came back 15 minutes later. Turned the car on and then turned on the head lights. Started making knocking noises. They went away after 4 minutes running. Those noises were what it was doing before, when it would start to sputter and die.
 
69Dart4DR said:
Hmm. I turned the car off and came back 15 minutes later. Turned the car on and then turned on the head lights. Started making knocking noises. They went away after 4 minutes running. Those noises were what it was doing before, when it would start to sputter and die.
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After it has some time to run, the voltage on the battery goes higher and the knocking goes away. Maybe my battery is bad and it isnt holding enough charge?
 
It’s terrible that these are even available, and it has to be said over and over because they cause so many problems,
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But get rid of that terrible bolt together battery cable!
 
So I need to put transmission fluid in. I found the dip stick. Where do I pour the transmission fluid in?
 
In the dipstick tube. That’s the only fill location.
 
So I clearly have an oil leak. I'd like to fix it but am unsure where to start. I guess a good place to start is to locate the exact spot it is leaking from.

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69Dart4DR said:
Thanks. Topped off and the car is running smooth. Oil leak is next problem on the list
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Sounds like your having fun.
How old is fuel in your car? Do you have non ethanol fuel available?
Post some close up pic's of the spark plugs so we can see what is going on inside this engine.
Good job keep going!
 
512Stroker said:
Sounds like your having fun.
How old is fuel in your car? Do you have non ethanol fuel available?
Post some close up pic's of the spark plugs so we can see what is going on inside this engine.
Good job keep going!
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Learning a monstrous amount. It has been fun.

So the leak is pretty fast. I took it out for a quick drive to check the transmission after I topped it off. I see droplets actively falling.

Gas is new, just filled it up with 87. I have no idea if it needs something higher than 87. Probably should have checked first. I might have non ethanol available, I'll check.

I am pretty sure spark plugs are new. I'll pull one out completely and take a photo.

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69Dart4DR said:
So I clearly have an oil leak. I'd like to fix it but am unsure where to start. I guess a good place to start is to locate the exact spot it is leaking from.

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The best place to start is your local car wash. Hopefully with a steam cleaner. Make sure it’s ok to do the engine. At mine I have to go to the truck side. But they’re ok with me doing the engine there. Get it clean then it’ll be easy to see where it’s coming from.
 
69Dart4DR said:
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The condition of of the plugs you pictured appear to be OK, but that is not the correct plug for a stock 273. I believe most of the forum members use Champion RN12YC
This will help
Spark plug reading can be complex and sometimes frustrating task this page will help make it easier and the results rewarding
Do you have electronic ignition?
Your second issue is the fuel old school engines like your do not like ethanol in their fuel it not only makes them run poorly it will destroy all the rubber parts in the fuel system and create serious problems. Premium non ethanol fuel with an octane rating of 91 or above would be preferred.
 
512Stroker said:
The condition of of the plugs you pictured appear to be OK, but that is not the correct plug for a stock 273. I believe most of the forum members use Champion RN12YC
This will help
Spark plug reading can be complex and sometimes frustrating task this page will help make it easier and the results rewarding
Do you have electronic ignition?
Your second issue is the fuel old school engines like your do not like ethanol in their fuel it not only makes them run poorly it will destroy all the rubber parts in the fuel system and create serious problems. Premium non ethanol fuel with an octane rating of 91 or above would be preferred.
Click to expand...
Going to replace the plugs and source some non-ethanol fuel.

Put the car on a lift today to start looking for the leak. I think the leak is coming from around here. The car is a real mess of oil underneath. I need to get it to a pressure washer and search again. Figured I'd take a look in the mean time. This is where I saw the cleanest looking droplets of oil. Everything else was very dirty.

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