New weird issue

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jhdeval

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Ok I don't know where to begin but here goes. I replaced the Fuel tank earlier this week. I tore the filler neck gasket and it has not been replaced yet. Last week I flushed the radiator and replaced the heater core. The temp is reading good. Today I replaced the driver and passenger motor mounts.

Today I took the barracuda for a drive about 40 minutes. Car ran great then suddenly it started skipping bad and there was an odd grinding noise. I check the transmission fluid it looks good. The oil was down about a quart. The grinding noise sounded a bit like the driveshaft. I am not sure if the emergency brake cable is scrubbing but I don't think thats it the engine looses power when it grinds.

Is it possible I broke a bolt somewhere when jacking the engine up? Any other possible ideas? I am trying to take the car to Rod Run in Pigeon Forge, TN.
 
Do you think the engine is actually losing power or maybe there might be something binding and lugging it down. The things you did don't really sound like your problem, unless you did something really strange like left a wrench on the u-joint while working on the tank, etc...
 
It could be binding the grinding could be related to a binding but I am not sure. I didn't think anything I did would definitely say that was the issue but I wanted to make sure I gave background in case there something I missed.

The only thing I can think may be related is the motor mounts. Since I had to lift the engine off the mounts maybe something happened with that but I am at a loss as to what that could have been.
 
I placed a board on a hydraulic jack and positioned the board towards the front edge of the oil pan. I did not see a dent or hear the oil pan ping from metal bending.
 
where is the grinding coming from. what if you put it in neutral when its grinding to see if something else is grinding and slowing you down. sounds like its time to climb under the car and look around. does it only grind while you are moving? or does it do it with the engine running and parked? just gotta eliminate possiblities and narrow it down.
 
Distributer hit the fireall when you raised the engine ? If so you may have chips flying under the cap. If the housing cracked your oil leak may also be there.
 
If I had to make a wild guess, I would say something happened to the differential. When I think of grinding I think of some sort of major metal to metal interference. Jack the back up and turn by hand and see if you can hear anything.
 
slantscamp said:
where is the grinding coming from. what if you put it in neutral when its grinding to see if something else is grinding and slowing you down. sounds like its time to climb under the car and look around. does it only grind while you are moving? or does it do it with the engine running and parked? just gotta eliminate possiblities and narrow it down.
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The grinding seems to be inconsistent. It only happens from a dead stop and after the car has warmed up a bit. It didn't happen until almost the end of my journey home.
 
RedFish said:
Distributer hit the fireall when you raised the engine ? If so you may have chips flying under the cap. If the housing cracked your oil leak may also be there.
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RedFish normally I would agree with you but in this case I can't. The distributor is mid engine with the oil filter behind it. I thought about the possibility of it hitting the wheel well but I don't see any scratches and thinking about it when I jacked it up the engine went up and the tilted towards the drivers side.
 
Ok now the engine won't start at all. It has sat for about 2 hours or so. It is not a fuel delivery issue I can see gas getting into the carb. It could be a spark issue but I can't think turning the engine off would create a no spark situation.
 
you may want to pull the distributor and check the drive gear. they are plastic and start to come apart when they get old. maybe a few teeth broke off?
 
slantscamp said:
you may want to pull the distributor and check the drive gear. they are plastic and start to come apart when they get old. maybe a few teeth broke off?
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i think your close... just the wrong gear...

what kind of oil pressure were you having? did you change the oil pump out? sounds like a new oil pump gear failure... all the new gears are junk...

like above pull the dizzy, shine a flashlight in there and see what you see!
 
Turning the engine off can cause a no start condition if the timing chain jumps. That is when they jump.
 
805MoparKid I did not change the oil pump. I did notice though that the oil pressure light, no gauge, took slightly longer to turn off.

RedFish if the timing chain jumped there should be some play in it correct? What can I do to test that without taking the cover off.
 
I don't think it is the distributor gear because it ran fairly well before I turned the engine off. If it was the distributor gear the car shouldn't have run.
 
This is frustrating. I think last night I may have flooded the engine. This morning I got it started after some coaxing and it ran but I then turned it off and tried to start it again and it gave me no joy. I am thinking maybe possibly the plugs are wet. I pulled the third plug from the front. It didn't look wet and other then a minor amount of oil on the threads it looked dry. There was no fouling that I could see.
 
I think 805moparkid hit the nail on the head. I got it started again and let it idle for about 15 minutes I went to the garage to check it and I made it just in time to hear it die. The temp was moderate so it didnt overheat. It was struggling and then died and did not come back. Anyone think the oil pump maybe died and the grinding was the oil pump?
 
jhdeval said:
I think 805moparkid hit the nail on the head. I got it started again and let it idle for about 15 minutes I went to the garage to check it and I made it just in time to hear it die. The temp was moderate so it didnt overheat. It was struggling and then died and did not come back. Anyone think the oil pump maybe died and the grinding was the oil pump?
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was it clacking and making noise?
 
No there wasn't any clacking but when I took off from a dead start yesterday I heard a grinding and there was little to no take off power. When I got it started today it sounded fine and idled fine but when i came back out I heard it sputtering and then it died and would not start back.
 
Let me double check myself. Are you referring to the choke piece that has a linkage between the carb and the intake? If so no it moves freely.
 
jhdeval said:
No there wasn't any clacking but when I took off from a dead start yesterday I heard a grinding and there was little to no take off power. When I got it started today it sounded fine and idled fine but when i came back out I heard it sputtering and then it died and would not start back.
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i dont think its the oil pump gear then cuz if it was it wouldn't run at all cuz the dizzy gear runs off of it.

so i would check all your wires, get a spray bottle with some water in it, start it and let it run (at night so you can see) and spray them... if they have a crack in them you'll see sparks flying around...

also what ign are you running? by chance a petronixs with the ballast hooked up?
 
No I am running a Chrysler Blue Box or economy electronic ignition. Would that dieing explain the intermitent running?
 
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