Senior Chief
Active Member
[FONT="]Well there still seems to be an audience so I will conclude my story. [/FONT]
[FONT="]We, my wife and I were now in Long Beach, CA. I do not remember where we spent the night. Our first order of business was to find someplace to live. I of course had a rack shipboard but we need to find accommodations for my wife and household possessions. Our first stop was the Naval Base housing office, no joy, there were no units available. On the recommendation of the woman we spoke to at housing we ended up in a public housing unit in San Pedro. This was not an ideal solution rather one of expediency. Not a particularly nice neighborhood, there were lots of Army personnel and their families living there also. It was interesting that they were happier to rent to Navy personnel than to Army as in those days they were still being paid monthly rather than bi-monthly which caused more money management problems for them. As I remember I was making as a 3rd Class Petty Officer, E-4, with over two years of service, Base Pay of $290/month plus Basic Allowance for Quarters of $90/month. The San Pedro housing authority graciously accepted the $90 BAQ for a two bedroom unit.[/FONT]
[FONT="]San Pedro was just over the Vincent Thomas Bridge, (Toll, $0.50) from terminal Island where the Long Beach Naval Station, Naval Ship Yard and Federal Prison were located. We got settled in we had very little furniture basically just a five piece bedroom suite. An old B&W console TV a card table and some lawn chairs. I reported back to my ship and resumed my USN duties standing four section duty and weekend duty once a month while in port. My wife was not happy when I wasnt home at night, it was a noisy neighborhood and she did not feel secure. Luckily the woman from the Housing Office had our contact information. She called us when a two bedroom apartment became available at the apartment house where she lived with her husband. I dont believe we were lived there more than a month. As I remember the rent was $110/month. We were quite happy to rent another U-Haul and move. We were now just 11/2 blocks north of the Pacific Coast Highway, PCH, on Harbor Ave. [/FONT]
[FONT="]My wife was by now working on base in the Port Services Office, shed previously worked for the Navy while we were at Great Lakes, IL. Our joint commute was only about 4 miles. East on PCH to the Terminal Island Freeway then South about 2 ½ miles, the TIF ended right at he Main Gate of the Naval Station.[/FONT]
[FONT="]OK now the timeline gets a little fuzzy. I know that I had gone to a local Chrysler-Plymouth dealer shortly after getting to LB; I believe the dealer ship was R. O Gold or Gould. Im not sure exactly when. Anyway I went in on my initial visit and talked to the Service Mgr. and let him know that my month old Duster 340 with approximately 3300 mile on it was a confirmed oiliholic. He understood my circumstances, shipboard Navy service and not being able to call my time my own. I made arrangements, put in a special request chit for special liberty and made an appointment to bring it in for a complete tear down. In those days there was not as much concern about customers in the service area so I got to watch as they pulled the engine and tore it down completely. I had already been in contact with the Chrysler Corp. Zone Mgr. in LA, just keeping them apprised of my warranty problems. The engine did not look to bad, not a lot of carbon any where. The oil was clean not to surprising as it was being replaced every 750 to 1000 miles. They put it on an engine stand and pulled the pan, no foreign material in the pan and the crankshaft bearing surface looked good. All of the pistons looked good no scuffing and no broken rings. The cylinder bores were clean no ridge or visible scuffing. I dont remember them pulling the camshaft, but there was no appreciable wear on the lifters. At this point I drove off in my loaner car, yes a true loaner car not a rental, a 67 Valiant four door off their used car lot. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A few days they called and told me that the car was repaired and I could pick it up. They had of course gone through the engine completely though I do not believe that they actually replaced and components other than gaskets. We were able to pick it up late in the afternoon so I did not have to get time off. I really do not remember the date though it was probably mid or late May. The Blue had now been back in LB for approximately two months. It was time for our operations tempo to pick up. We were going out to sea for training operations lasting for two or three days at least once a week. We were also preparing to take a group of NROTC Midshipmen on a two week training cruise. It was a real thrill for the crew to have a bunch of junior zeros running around playing Navy. The highlight of those two weeks was watching the movie MASH, for the first time at a movie theater in Esquimalt, BC. I dont remember clearly it seems as if there was a small at the Canadian Navy Base there. Anyway there were eight of us upstanding USN personnel laughing uproariously at the movie while all around us the others in the audience were mute, quite a culture clash. [/FONT]
[FONT="]When we returned from the Midshipmens Cruise we had to start training in earnest as we were supposed to make another deployment to WESTPAC in October. We had many new hands on board as many of the old crew members were given early releases from service shortly after we got back from our WESTPAC deployment. I was gone on leave for 30 days, at least 25% of my divisions personnel were gone when I returned, probably 50 total personnel throughout the ship. This Refresher Training for all hands, took about six weeks, we were usually under way five days a week while training. During the final two weeks lots of graded exercises and drills we were underway continuously performing all of the routine and military evolutions that we needed to know. Fun! Fun! Fun! Gunnery exercises, Naval Gunfire Support, AA, Firefighting, Damage Control, Refueling, Re-Arming and Replenishment Details. A good time had by all. [/FONT]
[FONT="]By this time eight or ten weeks has gone by. My wife and I had only managed to put another 2000 miles on the car. Unfortunately the Duster still had an oil consumption problem. I was once again communicating with the Mopar Zone Mgr. on a regular basis; the dealership said it was out of their hands though they did seal the oil filler cap for two weeks to see how much oil was actually being consumed. As I remember it was down about 21/2 quarts when I put a stop to that test. Finally I met the Zone Mgr. at the dealership one Saturday morning this was after I had started writing letters to Chrysler Corporate headquarters. I cant remember his name, I had his business card for a long time but its long since gone. By now I was way past upset, I wanted this mystery problem fixed sooner rather than later. The problem was the dealer ship had not identified a real problem. Regardless the upshot of this meeting was that they would take another look at the 340. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Once again we had to set a date and I had to run another special request chit through the ship's chain of command. Its now late August, I got a Monday off after having the duty weekend, I had to catch a ride from the Destroyer Piers out on the mole in to the Naval Station so I could pick up the car where my wife had parked it. I got down to the dealership about 9:00, the Mopar Zone Mgr. arrived shortly there after and once again the 340 came out of the Duster. The senior mechanic in the shop a man in his late 50s had been assigned the task to tearing down the engine. We got along fine; he was a retired Navy Chief Engineman. Once again I was standing around in my Summer White Uniform watching as the teardown took place. They did have good coffee, I was very tired since Id had the Mid-Watch (0000 0400) on the Quarterdeck, PO of the Watch that morning. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Zone Mgr. kept coming and going until the final inspection started. They had torn down the engine completely cleaned everything and the spread it out like a skeleton on a large white canvas tarp in the back of the shop area. The Service Mgr. had negotiated extra time/money from the Zone Mgr. for all of the extra work. I was not privy to the details but the mechanic told me that he was to allowed three times the Flat Rate Manuals stated time to teardown and re-assemble the engine. They started mike all of surfaces and bores. At the end of the day all that they had found was one piston had a crack in the skirt. They were to compile a report and then decide what to do. Once again I drove off in a loaner, a neat little 1969 Valiant 2 dr. post, B5 Blue with a 273. [/FONT]
[FONT="]On Tuesday I had to return to the ship so I couldnt get back down to the dealership until just before 5PM. This is when the mechanic told me about the extra time he as being allowed for the job. The Service Mgr. showed me the report and stated that once again they had found nothing specific that they felt could contribute the excessive oil consumption. The decision had been made once again carefully re-assemble the engine. They were waiting for parts, a complete gasket set, valve guides and one piston. The ex-ENC had been busy prepping the block, he had honed the cylinders and they had a beautiful 45* crosshatch pattern. He told me that the mechanic who honed it during the first reassembly might have done so at to flat an angle, to slow on the vertical movement of the hone, which makes the angle flatter and can lead to excessive oil consumption. This is what they had chosen to hang their hat on. I went home that night with some hope that we might finally have a solution. On Friday evening we once again got the Duster back and had our fingers crossed. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I had orders for four weeks of training at San Diego so over the next month made three round trips to San Diego. Just before I left the ship for San Diego we were informed that the ship was to be de-commissioned rather than deployed. When I returned to the ship the crew had been moved to an APL which is basically barge with berthing, hotel services and a mess deck. The only personnel on board after working hours were Quarterdeck Watch standers and a roving Sound and Security watch. I of course was still cohabitating with my wife at our apartment. The Duster now had another 1500 miles on it and was still using oil though perhaps we were getting 1000 mpg oil rather than low of 600 mpg. A measurable improvement but Id had it. Another trip to the dealership to visit my buddy the Service Mgr, I told him that I wanted a new engine. Surprisingly I got no argument, he told me hed call the Zone Mgr. the next day. I got the call the next evening he told me to drop it off on Wednesday morning, they were to receive the Engine sometime during the day. I got back to the dealer just before five and sitting right outside the Parts Dept. was a crated, open slats like an orange crate though considerably heavier, 340 short block. Finally we come to the mysterious engine tag that 65dartcharger has pictures of in his Members Restoration Thread, posts # 46 & 48 I believe. http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=102646 This is where I first saw one of these tags affixed to the short block of my replacement engine. They R&Rd the engine on Thursday and we picked it up on Friday. Thus ends the saga of the Oiliholic 340. This is not however the end of the tale. Have patience, just a little addendum to this tale of woe. [/FONT]
[FONT="]About two months later late on a Sunday afternoon. The wife and I were bombing along at about 70 mph in the LH lane of the south bound Long Beach Freeway when the mighty 340 Duster ceased motivating and I mean right now, instantly with no warning at all.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I had no choice but coast to a stop right next to the center barrier. It is mid November, near dusk. I had to climb out of the driver side window to get out of the car it was far too dangerous to open that wide door on the passenger side. Vehicles were roaring past at 70 mph no more than 3 ft. from the side of the car. Whats wrong, only two possible choices spark or fuel, wed heard no ominous noises. I had just filled the tank about 15 minutes before. So I pulled a plug wire and had my wife crank the engine. We had fire so I surmised that it must be lack of fuel. I was kneeling on the core support with a flashlight, USN haze gray with 90* head, in one hand and the top of the 340 Four Barrel air cleaner in the other when the CHP showed up. We chatted, he decided that I had at least some clue so he let me check the carburetor for fuel it was dry, I had my wife crank it again and still no joy. I had tools, the cop was getting unhappy but he did let be break the fuel line between pump and the carb. I had my wife crank it again no fuel, an obvious a fuel delivery problem. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The cop calls a tow truck and we get towed off the LBF to the tune of an $80 bill. We also had to get a cab home and catch a ride with a neighbor to get to the base the next day. I called my BFF, the Service Manager at R.O. Gold Chrysler Plymouth and they had it towed in. This was the last warranty problem we had with the Duster. Check back a couple paragraphs youll note that the replacement engine was a short block, sans camshaft. So they had to pull the camshaft, valve train, heads, manifold and carb. from the original engine and install those on new short block. The retaining bolt for the fuel pump eccentric had been improperly tightened and had gone AWOL, it suddenly ceased to function, and luckily there was no other damage. [/FONT]
[FONT="]My wife got a ride home with a woman she worked with and I got a ride from one of my shipmates and picked up the car that evening. We had towing insurance so we got reimbursed for that so all that we were out of pocket for was for the cab fare. I never crossed the threshold of R.O. Gold Chrysler Plymouth again. [/FONT]
[FONT="]That is the end of this tale. I hope you enjoyed it; I certainly did, though it took me eight or nine hours. Eleven and one half page, 4,637 words, 32 paragraphs, 232 sentences. :yawinkle:[/FONT]
[FONT="]We, my wife and I were now in Long Beach, CA. I do not remember where we spent the night. Our first order of business was to find someplace to live. I of course had a rack shipboard but we need to find accommodations for my wife and household possessions. Our first stop was the Naval Base housing office, no joy, there were no units available. On the recommendation of the woman we spoke to at housing we ended up in a public housing unit in San Pedro. This was not an ideal solution rather one of expediency. Not a particularly nice neighborhood, there were lots of Army personnel and their families living there also. It was interesting that they were happier to rent to Navy personnel than to Army as in those days they were still being paid monthly rather than bi-monthly which caused more money management problems for them. As I remember I was making as a 3rd Class Petty Officer, E-4, with over two years of service, Base Pay of $290/month plus Basic Allowance for Quarters of $90/month. The San Pedro housing authority graciously accepted the $90 BAQ for a two bedroom unit.[/FONT]
[FONT="]San Pedro was just over the Vincent Thomas Bridge, (Toll, $0.50) from terminal Island where the Long Beach Naval Station, Naval Ship Yard and Federal Prison were located. We got settled in we had very little furniture basically just a five piece bedroom suite. An old B&W console TV a card table and some lawn chairs. I reported back to my ship and resumed my USN duties standing four section duty and weekend duty once a month while in port. My wife was not happy when I wasnt home at night, it was a noisy neighborhood and she did not feel secure. Luckily the woman from the Housing Office had our contact information. She called us when a two bedroom apartment became available at the apartment house where she lived with her husband. I dont believe we were lived there more than a month. As I remember the rent was $110/month. We were quite happy to rent another U-Haul and move. We were now just 11/2 blocks north of the Pacific Coast Highway, PCH, on Harbor Ave. [/FONT]
[FONT="]My wife was by now working on base in the Port Services Office, shed previously worked for the Navy while we were at Great Lakes, IL. Our joint commute was only about 4 miles. East on PCH to the Terminal Island Freeway then South about 2 ½ miles, the TIF ended right at he Main Gate of the Naval Station.[/FONT]
[FONT="]OK now the timeline gets a little fuzzy. I know that I had gone to a local Chrysler-Plymouth dealer shortly after getting to LB; I believe the dealer ship was R. O Gold or Gould. Im not sure exactly when. Anyway I went in on my initial visit and talked to the Service Mgr. and let him know that my month old Duster 340 with approximately 3300 mile on it was a confirmed oiliholic. He understood my circumstances, shipboard Navy service and not being able to call my time my own. I made arrangements, put in a special request chit for special liberty and made an appointment to bring it in for a complete tear down. In those days there was not as much concern about customers in the service area so I got to watch as they pulled the engine and tore it down completely. I had already been in contact with the Chrysler Corp. Zone Mgr. in LA, just keeping them apprised of my warranty problems. The engine did not look to bad, not a lot of carbon any where. The oil was clean not to surprising as it was being replaced every 750 to 1000 miles. They put it on an engine stand and pulled the pan, no foreign material in the pan and the crankshaft bearing surface looked good. All of the pistons looked good no scuffing and no broken rings. The cylinder bores were clean no ridge or visible scuffing. I dont remember them pulling the camshaft, but there was no appreciable wear on the lifters. At this point I drove off in my loaner car, yes a true loaner car not a rental, a 67 Valiant four door off their used car lot. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A few days they called and told me that the car was repaired and I could pick it up. They had of course gone through the engine completely though I do not believe that they actually replaced and components other than gaskets. We were able to pick it up late in the afternoon so I did not have to get time off. I really do not remember the date though it was probably mid or late May. The Blue had now been back in LB for approximately two months. It was time for our operations tempo to pick up. We were going out to sea for training operations lasting for two or three days at least once a week. We were also preparing to take a group of NROTC Midshipmen on a two week training cruise. It was a real thrill for the crew to have a bunch of junior zeros running around playing Navy. The highlight of those two weeks was watching the movie MASH, for the first time at a movie theater in Esquimalt, BC. I dont remember clearly it seems as if there was a small at the Canadian Navy Base there. Anyway there were eight of us upstanding USN personnel laughing uproariously at the movie while all around us the others in the audience were mute, quite a culture clash. [/FONT]
[FONT="]When we returned from the Midshipmens Cruise we had to start training in earnest as we were supposed to make another deployment to WESTPAC in October. We had many new hands on board as many of the old crew members were given early releases from service shortly after we got back from our WESTPAC deployment. I was gone on leave for 30 days, at least 25% of my divisions personnel were gone when I returned, probably 50 total personnel throughout the ship. This Refresher Training for all hands, took about six weeks, we were usually under way five days a week while training. During the final two weeks lots of graded exercises and drills we were underway continuously performing all of the routine and military evolutions that we needed to know. Fun! Fun! Fun! Gunnery exercises, Naval Gunfire Support, AA, Firefighting, Damage Control, Refueling, Re-Arming and Replenishment Details. A good time had by all. [/FONT]
[FONT="]By this time eight or ten weeks has gone by. My wife and I had only managed to put another 2000 miles on the car. Unfortunately the Duster still had an oil consumption problem. I was once again communicating with the Mopar Zone Mgr. on a regular basis; the dealership said it was out of their hands though they did seal the oil filler cap for two weeks to see how much oil was actually being consumed. As I remember it was down about 21/2 quarts when I put a stop to that test. Finally I met the Zone Mgr. at the dealership one Saturday morning this was after I had started writing letters to Chrysler Corporate headquarters. I cant remember his name, I had his business card for a long time but its long since gone. By now I was way past upset, I wanted this mystery problem fixed sooner rather than later. The problem was the dealer ship had not identified a real problem. Regardless the upshot of this meeting was that they would take another look at the 340. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Once again we had to set a date and I had to run another special request chit through the ship's chain of command. Its now late August, I got a Monday off after having the duty weekend, I had to catch a ride from the Destroyer Piers out on the mole in to the Naval Station so I could pick up the car where my wife had parked it. I got down to the dealership about 9:00, the Mopar Zone Mgr. arrived shortly there after and once again the 340 came out of the Duster. The senior mechanic in the shop a man in his late 50s had been assigned the task to tearing down the engine. We got along fine; he was a retired Navy Chief Engineman. Once again I was standing around in my Summer White Uniform watching as the teardown took place. They did have good coffee, I was very tired since Id had the Mid-Watch (0000 0400) on the Quarterdeck, PO of the Watch that morning. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Zone Mgr. kept coming and going until the final inspection started. They had torn down the engine completely cleaned everything and the spread it out like a skeleton on a large white canvas tarp in the back of the shop area. The Service Mgr. had negotiated extra time/money from the Zone Mgr. for all of the extra work. I was not privy to the details but the mechanic told me that he was to allowed three times the Flat Rate Manuals stated time to teardown and re-assemble the engine. They started mike all of surfaces and bores. At the end of the day all that they had found was one piston had a crack in the skirt. They were to compile a report and then decide what to do. Once again I drove off in a loaner, a neat little 1969 Valiant 2 dr. post, B5 Blue with a 273. [/FONT]
[FONT="]On Tuesday I had to return to the ship so I couldnt get back down to the dealership until just before 5PM. This is when the mechanic told me about the extra time he as being allowed for the job. The Service Mgr. showed me the report and stated that once again they had found nothing specific that they felt could contribute the excessive oil consumption. The decision had been made once again carefully re-assemble the engine. They were waiting for parts, a complete gasket set, valve guides and one piston. The ex-ENC had been busy prepping the block, he had honed the cylinders and they had a beautiful 45* crosshatch pattern. He told me that the mechanic who honed it during the first reassembly might have done so at to flat an angle, to slow on the vertical movement of the hone, which makes the angle flatter and can lead to excessive oil consumption. This is what they had chosen to hang their hat on. I went home that night with some hope that we might finally have a solution. On Friday evening we once again got the Duster back and had our fingers crossed. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I had orders for four weeks of training at San Diego so over the next month made three round trips to San Diego. Just before I left the ship for San Diego we were informed that the ship was to be de-commissioned rather than deployed. When I returned to the ship the crew had been moved to an APL which is basically barge with berthing, hotel services and a mess deck. The only personnel on board after working hours were Quarterdeck Watch standers and a roving Sound and Security watch. I of course was still cohabitating with my wife at our apartment. The Duster now had another 1500 miles on it and was still using oil though perhaps we were getting 1000 mpg oil rather than low of 600 mpg. A measurable improvement but Id had it. Another trip to the dealership to visit my buddy the Service Mgr, I told him that I wanted a new engine. Surprisingly I got no argument, he told me hed call the Zone Mgr. the next day. I got the call the next evening he told me to drop it off on Wednesday morning, they were to receive the Engine sometime during the day. I got back to the dealer just before five and sitting right outside the Parts Dept. was a crated, open slats like an orange crate though considerably heavier, 340 short block. Finally we come to the mysterious engine tag that 65dartcharger has pictures of in his Members Restoration Thread, posts # 46 & 48 I believe. http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=102646 This is where I first saw one of these tags affixed to the short block of my replacement engine. They R&Rd the engine on Thursday and we picked it up on Friday. Thus ends the saga of the Oiliholic 340. This is not however the end of the tale. Have patience, just a little addendum to this tale of woe. [/FONT]
[FONT="]About two months later late on a Sunday afternoon. The wife and I were bombing along at about 70 mph in the LH lane of the south bound Long Beach Freeway when the mighty 340 Duster ceased motivating and I mean right now, instantly with no warning at all.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I had no choice but coast to a stop right next to the center barrier. It is mid November, near dusk. I had to climb out of the driver side window to get out of the car it was far too dangerous to open that wide door on the passenger side. Vehicles were roaring past at 70 mph no more than 3 ft. from the side of the car. Whats wrong, only two possible choices spark or fuel, wed heard no ominous noises. I had just filled the tank about 15 minutes before. So I pulled a plug wire and had my wife crank the engine. We had fire so I surmised that it must be lack of fuel. I was kneeling on the core support with a flashlight, USN haze gray with 90* head, in one hand and the top of the 340 Four Barrel air cleaner in the other when the CHP showed up. We chatted, he decided that I had at least some clue so he let me check the carburetor for fuel it was dry, I had my wife crank it again and still no joy. I had tools, the cop was getting unhappy but he did let be break the fuel line between pump and the carb. I had my wife crank it again no fuel, an obvious a fuel delivery problem. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The cop calls a tow truck and we get towed off the LBF to the tune of an $80 bill. We also had to get a cab home and catch a ride with a neighbor to get to the base the next day. I called my BFF, the Service Manager at R.O. Gold Chrysler Plymouth and they had it towed in. This was the last warranty problem we had with the Duster. Check back a couple paragraphs youll note that the replacement engine was a short block, sans camshaft. So they had to pull the camshaft, valve train, heads, manifold and carb. from the original engine and install those on new short block. The retaining bolt for the fuel pump eccentric had been improperly tightened and had gone AWOL, it suddenly ceased to function, and luckily there was no other damage. [/FONT]
[FONT="]My wife got a ride home with a woman she worked with and I got a ride from one of my shipmates and picked up the car that evening. We had towing insurance so we got reimbursed for that so all that we were out of pocket for was for the cab fare. I never crossed the threshold of R.O. Gold Chrysler Plymouth again. [/FONT]
[FONT="]That is the end of this tale. I hope you enjoyed it; I certainly did, though it took me eight or nine hours. Eleven and one half page, 4,637 words, 32 paragraphs, 232 sentences. :yawinkle:[/FONT]
