Problem with 225 in my New Truck

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BrianT

BrianT

Here we go again...
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Hey everybody. I know this isn't an A body and that there's tons of good info over at slantsix.com but I know everyone here is very helpful and I usually get a pretty quick response. I recently bought this 84 D150 for $2500 and am very happy with the purchase.

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The reason the owner was selling it so cheap was that after driving for a while, the dip stick will pop up about two inches out of the tube? He felt that the engine has a stuck ring or two and was probably going to need engine work and he was done working on the project.

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Before buying the truck, we went for an extended test drive out on the highway and the engine seems pretty solid. There is a pretty good exhaust leak at the head (looks to be a nut missing off the last stud, and the PO included a new intake/exhaust gasket), but the engine doesn't get hot and there is no audible knocking or squeeling. There is a puff of smoke out the exhaust on initial start up, but other than that, no indication that there's anything seriously wrong with it.

I've checked the PCV and the breather, and both seem to be clean and functioning properly. I'm not a big slanty guy so I was hoping that the experts would chime in and help me sort this problem out. I'm not looking for a long term fix because I've already secured a 360 to put into it, but that might a year or two down the road and I'd like to drive the truck as is and work on other little projects first. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!
 
Excessive blow by I had to redo the engine in my valiant years ago because it would push the oil fill cap off.

Brian
 
That's kinda what I thought, but there's no smoke coming out the exhaust once the engine is warm? I've had engines with bad rings before and when you mash down on the loud peddle you usually get a cloud of blue smoke out the exhuast.

BTW the first thing I did was add a half can of Seafoam to the crankcase and half to the gas tank.
 
I just did a little more digging and I'm afraid I have a problem. With the hose pulled off of the breather, I could see a pretty good flow of smoke out of it. Also when I pulled the PCV valve there was very little vacuum being pulled through the hose at idle. So I guess I'm just gonna have to keep an eye on my oil level and limp this engine along until I can get a 360 built for it.
 
WELL WAIT!!!!! Try replacing the PCV valve and maybe even the hose. Also "you can cheat" if you don't care too much about emissions regulations...to get you by, anyway for awhile........

Disconnect the valve cover breather hose going to the air cleaner bonnet, and connect a long, 3' or so piece of heater hose, run that down and tie wrap "safe" to a point near the bottom of the engine. It will vent out there and help relieve pressure. Google "road draft tube" used up through 63 or so "before" PCV
 
The hose and PCV look pretty new, like maybe the previous owner already tried that. I remember the old road draft tubes from back in the day. I'm not too afraid of a worn out engine. As long as the rods aren't coming through the block, I'll keep driving it. I drove my Dart with a worn out 340 in it for seven years. Just have to take it easy and don't expect too much from it.
 
A straight six is a tough old motor.
I had a 258 in my first jeep, the blow by got so bad I ran a hose from the breather to a an oil can, to collect it.
When finally rebuilt the motor it needed bored .040" to clean it.
 
BrianT said:
I just did a little more digging and I'm afraid I have a problem. With the hose pulled off of the breather, I could see a pretty good flow of smoke out of it. Also when I pulled the PCV valve there was very little vacuum being pulled through the hose at idle.
Click to expand...

Check for a clogged PCV port at the base of the carburetor and on the intake manifold's carburetor mounting pad. And make sure the PCV hose isn't holed or cracked. Also make sure the PCV valve is the correct one; see here for a story about that.
 
slantsixdan said:
Check for a clogged PCV port at the base of the carburetor and on the intake manifold's carburetor mounting pad. And make sure the PCV hose isn't holed or cracked. Also make sure the PCV valve is the correct one; see here for a story about that.
Click to expand...
The first item SSD lists above is very probable and is very common: a clogged PCV port at the base of the carb. If you are not getting much suction on the PCV, there is something plugging the PCV circuit; it ought to suck your finger tip hard onto the base of the PCV valve when idling. Dig into the carb PCV port and I bet this will be an easy fix. Nice looking truck!
 
got a 80 d150 with a /6 and love it! you get use to that good fuel millage youll be looking for a A body for that 360!!! if rings were gone it be oil smoking... im with slantsixdan,..and get that exhaust/intake leak fixed could be adding to it...
 
Alright guys, I thought I was done with the truck for the day but since you all took the time to chime in I felt compelled to go back out and check on the items you mentioned and also give you a little more insight.

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The previous owner had converted the engine over to a Super Six intake and two barrel carb, it appears to be a reman and has an aftermarket manual choke. When he sold the truck to me, he was under the impression that the engine has a stuck ring or two and it was reflected in the price of the vehicle. When I first started the engine, I noticed that it had a pretty bad exhaust leak at the back of the cylinder head. He said that he hadn't noticed and that the truck had a good exhaust on it?!?! Then when I came to pick the truck up two days later, one of the things that the PO gave me was this gasket set.

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Fast forward to today. I checked the PCV port on the carb as suggested and there is no blockage. It will pull a vacuum on your finger but it is weak and the engine will sit and idle with no hose on there. My buddy suggested it may be a vacuum leak near the exhaust port that we already know is leaking, so I sprayed some carb cleaner back there and it made no change. But, if I spray the carb cleaner up near the number one intake port, it almost kills the engine.

So I guess this opens up another can of worms. It sounds like I'm going to spend a few hours next weekend replacing the intake and exhaust gaskets. Is there anything special that I need to know about converting an 84 225 to run a Super Six intake and carb that the previous owner might have missed? I noticed that the nut and special washer are completely missing on the back stud. Where can I find a couple of those. I'd like to have all the parts necessary so that my truck isn't torn apart in the driveway for a week or two while I'm waiting on parts.

Thanks in advance for all of your help. Like I said before, I'm not a slant six guy and I appreciate any light that you guys can shine on this situation.
 
Once you said not blockage and weak vacuum, that pointed to a manifold leak and you found it.

Putting the manifolds back on and getting them to seal can be some work. The exhaust tend to warp along their length. So lay a straight edge across the exhaust flange; if it is not straight, a blanchard grinder or a long belt sander can be used to grind it flat.

Be aware that some of the later intakes were two halves, upper and lower, welded or somehow joined together, and there were some failures along that joint. So look at your intake and see if it has a horizontal seam running throughout about mid-height.

And, be aware that the intake and exhaust are bolted together under the carb area, and the inner bolt has a habit of corroding and breaking when you try to remove it. Just be prepared to drill the remains of that bolt out of the exhaust manifold and re-tap or install a threaded insert there.

So you ought to pull things apart now and inspect and correct any of the above issues found.

And look at slansix.org and find SSD's good article on the manifold and bolts.
 
Forget the Fel-Pro junk; if you want to do the manifold R&R once and be done, it is very much worth your while to get the good gaskets for the manifolds-to-head, intake-to-exhaust, and exhaust-to-headpipe junctions. This (plus whatever replacement studs, nuts, and washers are necessary) will fix the exhaust leak unless your exhaust manifold is warped or cracked, too. See this article and read up on manifold hardware here.

Replacing the manifold gaskets will not address your weak PCV vacuum, which is not being caused by the intake leak you found with your spray test—if you had a big enough intake (vacuum) leak to make your PCV vacuum weak, the engine would run very poorly (if at all) and it certainly wouldn't sit there and idle as you say it does. The fact that it'll idle with the PCV hose removed from the carb means you do have a blockage. Either a buildup of crud in the PCV tube/passage in the carb, or a wrong carb-to-intake gasket partially blocking off that port. Find/fix.

Also it's clear from your pic that you don't have one of the 2-piece welded intakes, which have the weld seam at the upper perimeter of the manifold as shown here and here and here, not halfway down (the iron and aluminum 1-piece intakes have the mould parting line visible about halfway down the runners).
 
2500? Thats a score ! take them off as a unit, just unbolt the intake/exhaust manifold and all 13 (?) of the intake nuts and itll come off. The conical washers may be available from members here., I got a envelope full of triangles if you need some. Pay attention to the torque spec of the intake manifold bolts. The exhaust expands and slides on the gasket when it gets hot so dont overtorque them or miss the special washers. do you have a vacuum gauge? the super six on a Manual trans wont have the linkage an A/T car needs. spray carb cleaner into the PCV port with the straw on the non running carb and see if it 'takes' it (no blockage) or spits it out (blockage).
 
Thanks guys. Dan that's a lot of info to digest this early, I'll check it out tonight or over the holiday. I think what I'll do first is to pull the carb and try to figure out why the decrease in vacuum at the PCV port. Hopefully, it will be a quick and easy fix that get the PCV system operating properly and maybe stop pushing the dip stick up.

@slantsixdan do you know approximately what years that intake was used so that I can start looking for a proper base gasket? Is there any place that sells a complete set of manifold nuts and washers for this engine? Do I have to pull the exhaust pipe loose before ordering the gasket you recommended above or is there some way to tell between the 2" and 2 1/4" gaskets? Thank you.
 
How about you put a vacuum gauge on it first?
Check the idle-vacuum in the manifold, and compare it to the vacuum at the PCV port on the carb.
Then rev it up to 1500ish ,using the fast idle cam, and repeat.The second reading should be much higher, but the comparison should still be the same.
If each comparison is the same, then the port may be clear. Now you need to make a judgement call as to the flow. That PCV does not normally flow a lot of air, as the area of the orifice is quite small. The size of the hose and port is somewhat deceiving, being many many times larger than it actually needs to be.The idling engine should stall if you pull the hose off the port at the carb.
And finally is to prove the hose is clear.'course you could probably do that first,lol.
 
I think I have a vacuum gauge in an old tool box downstairs. Maybe tomorrow morning I can dig it out and run those tests.

Like I said earlier the hose and PCV valve are newer. No holes or blockage.
 
BrianT said:
@slantsixdan do you know approximately what years that intake was used so that I can start looking for a proper base gasket?
Click to expand...

About '78-'82 for the E-beam welded intake you don't have, but that doesn't affect base gaskets, which are the same for all the 2bbl Slant-6 intake manifolds (and the other manifold gaskets are the same for all manifolds, period). Your air cleaner is a '70-'73 318 item and who knows what the carb was originally meant for, but unless the carb has been hacked or goobered up bigtime, the right base gasket is this one.

Is there any place that sells a complete set of manifold nuts and washers for this engine?
Click to expand...

No, you have to collect what you need on your own.

Do I have to pull the exhaust pipe loose before ordering the gasket you recommended above or is there some way to tell between the 2" and 2 1/4" gaskets?
Click to expand...

Get the 2-1/4" variety.
 
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Thanks everyone for your help. @slantsixdan I tried to send you a PM or start a conversation but your inbox is full. Busy guy eh?
 
Fyi.

As lasting fix if you dont buy a remflex two felpros together work great. My manifolds are bit out of line against the plane of the head. Two felpros are still sealing great two summers later.

I really need a new exhaust manifold....previous owners lack of drilling out broken bolts etc etc.

I do reccomened a remflex for where the intake and exhaust join together though.
 
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