Couple slant questions (oil leak hunting)

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justthatguy

justthatguy

Josh(69 Valiant)
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Danville, VA
Some of you may know that my Valiant died during the summer on a trip. It's now time to try and get the thing roadworthy again, so I have an oil pump and a felpro gasket set to replace the valve cover seal. I just have a couple of questions. 1) Are there any special procedures to getting the oil pump on, and how would I go about doing this? I have a couple repair manuals, and they specify removing the engine from the mounts and elevating it to access the pump. Is there any way to make this easier? 2) And, does the valve cover really need to be torqued? The manuals say so, but I wanted someone's opinion that knows what they're doing.

As a sidenote, I went to crank it after it had sat for 4 months, and, with a couple primes, it started right up (while billowing smoke in the process. It was like a damn cloud generator). I think some of the brakes are stuck, the transmission is probably slipping, the radiator is clogged, the water pump is probably useless, and the parking brake is definitely useless. I'll tend to that stuff later. I really want to take the oil pan off and find out what the overheating did to the bottom end (I'm a little scared I'll find bits of things in there, so I'm apprehensive). I want to try and get it running again so I can have a neat summer ride. This car seems really labor intensive and my grandpa's 69 2 owner Road Runner runs better.

Thanks for the help.
 
I'm probably dating myself here, but your avatar looks as if the Valiant might be older than you are. Nothing wrong with that, but I would guess your grandpa would be pretty impressed if you fixed up the Valiant. Show some initiative and workmanship and lots of us old farts would look mighty kindly on that effort. (Preach mode OFF)

Knowing just what happened when it "died" would lead knowledgeable folks to make comments based on their (our) experience. Clouds of smoke = not good! If it turns over with the starter, you can check compression on all cylinders for a starting place. Clouds of smoke and loss of almost all power was the death rattle of my '55 Plymouth, and it was just 14 years old. Yes, I abused it! I'm thinking that the oil pump might not be your #1 priority. Let us know some more details and help will be forthcoming.

ATB

BC
 
What color was the smoke? White that disappears is water. Could be condensation, worst-case could be a head gasket leak (needs more tests). Blue is burning oil, which could be valve stem seals, bad rings, or a simple problem with the PCV. Black smoke is too much fuel, maybe a mis-adjusted choke or more likely an over-flowing carburetor.

I haven't replaced a slant oil pump yet, but it looks easy since it bolts to the side of the block. On most other engines, you must remove the oil pan to get to it. I recall some posts in FABO or slantsix.org about later oil pumps with 1 less bolt hole. Read up on that, since you might have the extra hole in your block and need to seal it.

I wouldn't remove the oil pan unless that is a last resort. Most problems in the bottom end, like worn bearings, cause low thudding sounds. A broken rod would make a lot of noise, and often pokes a hole in the side of the block. If no noise down there, leave it alone. To be totally sure, remove the oil pressure sender and temporarily install a pressure gage (~$5 at Harbor Freight) and see what you read when warm idling and at higher rpm. If good pressure (~30 psi, check manual), the oil pump and your bottom end is good.

If you still want to work underneath, I would unbolt just the passenger side mount (1 big nut below) so the engine doesn't shift side-side. I lifted mine by putting a 1/2"D steel rod against some part like the head (forgot) and lifting with a floor jack, but many ways to do that.

If the water pump isn't leaking and turns easily (un-tension fan belt) with no wobble, it is probably fine.
 
To answer the death question, it overheated due to a defective thermostat. I think it made lots of nasty damage because it shakes badly when it runs, and I would like to move to a V8 or another slant because I think that the engine is a lot worse off then he says. Yes, the Valiant predates me by about 30 years. The smoke was greyish, I couldn't see it too well because it was getting dark. I'll start working this weekend, and I'll report my findings here after.
 
So, we've decided to just let a mechanic do it. I don't have the time I need to fix it, and my grandpa can't. We're going to take it up there this week end.
 
Good luck. Get a mechanic you trust. There seems to be little quality control out there. A co-worker had his Chevy dealer mechanic tell him he needed a new LS engine because he was losing 1 gal of coolant per week. No compression test or any other simple diagnostic. I asked him if he smelt any coolant last winter and he said "yes, every time I turned on the heater". Guess what that was? For some reason, he didn't believe me or others who told him the obvious non-engine problem. Moral of the story is that even if you use a mechanic, you might easily save $4000 by understanding a little bit about cars.
 
I am taking it to a trusted mechanic. It takes him a couple of months to do something but he does it.
 
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