Fel-pro 340 Gasket Set

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trigger_andy

trigger_andy

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Hey all,

I have a mechanic installing a new Weiand Intake on my 340 and the Mechanic is using the Metal Gaskets as seen on the right hand side of the image in the link and not the blue ones at the bottom right. he now has a bad water leak and he's blaming the heads. :/

Are these the correct ones? I was told the metal gaskets are for Magnum Heads?

Any assistance would be greatly appreicated.

Andy

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/fel-ks2114/overview/make/dodge
 
Did "the heads" leak before the new intake?

That water leak can be filling the crank case so ya better watch it. Hats to see that clown wipe out the bottom end of your motor.
 
abodyjoe said:
Did "the heads" leak before the new intake?

That water leak can be filling the crank case so ya better watch it. Hats to see that clown wipe out the bottom end of your motor.
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No, the heads where supposedly fine before the swap. Weirdly the 340 had a 2bbl intake and carb on. But neither the Mechanic or I seen the engine running. Ive taken the word of the Mechanic I bought it off of it was running ok. There is no oil in the 340 yet, hopefully we'll be ok.

The Mechanic is supposedly very good but very stuck in his ways and always knows best. Wants to work on 100% machined and new components.
 
I should have sent the Charger to a known Mopar Shop and not the one close to me. He has a great reputation over Scotland though. Never again.
 
Kick him in the kilt and ask if he knows about disimilar metals??
Iron to iron the metal gaskets "might" be ok, but dissimilar metals require composite gaskets
 
4spdragtop said:
Kick him in the kilt and ask if he knows about disimilar metals??
Iron to iron the metal gaskets "might" be ok, but dissimilar metals require composite gaskets
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I never thought of the galvanic corrosion aspect, thanks. :)
 
The standard kit for the 340's shows only the blue ones. So that is obviously the right ones.

The KS2114 looks to be a more universal kit for 340's and 'middle year' 318's (looks like 76 to 89).
 
trigger_andy said:
I never thought of the galvanic corrosion aspect, thanks. :)
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While true, it actually has more to do with the different heat expansion rates of iron vs. aluminum. Also helps to put a thin layer of RTV silicone around the water ports on the gaskets (NOT the intake ports!).
 
I don't like steel shim gaskets on anything. Original 340's and 360's intake gaskets were composite. That's with cast iron heads and intake. I use Fel-Pro print-o-seal intake gaskets on the 273's and 318's.
 
nm9stheham said:
Who knows whether this mechanic has a 'thing' against RTV?
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He does. :( Ive shown hiom threads from here expalining that long time engine builders, building this very engine use it. Edelbrock advise it as does Felpro. If he's bult it without it and it leaks water and/or oil do I have a reason to expect him to rebuilt it with RTV at his cost?
 
barracudadave67 said:
Why don't you do it yourself,??. Then you know it's correct. Don't pay money out, for inferior work.
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I work away from home and I really wanted the work done by the time get back. The Charger was getting converted from Auto to Manual and the 318 replaced with the 340. In the end I really wish I just waited till I got the car home and did the work myself. :(

Ive never tackled timing and carb tubing though. One of the reasons I left it with him.
 
trigger_andy said:
He does. :( Ive shown hiom threads from here expalining that long time engine builders, building this very engine use it. Edelbrock advise it as does Felpro. If he's bult it without it and it leaks water and/or oil do I have a reason to expect him to rebuilt it with RTV at his cost?
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If you can show that the gasket surfaces were in good condition, then yes; he is being paid to do reasonable quality work. If it leaks in a minor fashion after he is done with it, then I would just pull it and do it right myself. Now if it leaks water into the valley and down into the oil and damages things, then I would try to get some $$ (or Pounds or Aus$) out of him.

If he says that the gasket surface or head surface are not right, try to make him tell you exactly how they are not right, to include measurements of how far what surface is out and what angle is wrong. It is actually not so easy to figure out the intake to head sealing issues, so that may make him stop whining and just get on with sealing it up. And if it is a real problem, then you know.

Sounds like a difficult relationship to manage. Is he just trying to milk you for more Pounds or Aus$?
 
He knows I'm not completely uneducated and won't take his word at face value. He knows I have a better (at least basic) technical knowledge of my car and engine than he does and reluctantly bows to my (fabo and Aussie forums) know-how.

But I feel he's still trying to pull the wool over my eyes when he screws up. For instance he said the composite gaskets did not fit so he installed the metal ones. So obviously he tried to install the correct ones first. When the metal ones leaked he's claiming the heads have been killed or are not true etc. When I showed him what the stand alone Felpro Intake Gaskets look like he pulled the intake and installed them but said he had to modify the intake threads to seal properly.

Quite worrying really.

nm9stheham said:
If you can show that the gasket surfaces were in good condition, then yes; he is being paid to do reasonable quality work. If it leaks in a minor fashion after he is done with it, then I would just pull it and do it right myself. Now if it leaks water into the valley and down into the oil and damages things, then I would try to get some $$ (or Pounds or Aus$) out of him.

If he says that the gasket surface or head surface are not right, try to make him tell you exactly how they are not right, to include measurements of how far what surface is out and what angle is wrong. It is actually not so easy to figure out the intake to head sealing issues, so that may make him stop whining and just get on with sealing it up. And if it is a real problem, then you know.

Sounds like a difficult relationship to manage. Is he just trying to milk you for more Pounds or Aus$?
Click to expand...
 
"modify the intake threads to seal properly. " Boy that is worrying..... ooops, I guess you knew that already! Sounds like he filed the holes in the intake? Perhaps he found that the end cork gaskets tend to make the intake set up too high and he filed the intake holes so that he could start the threads in, and then pull down the intake with the bolts.

Which makes me wonder if he pulled the roll pins inserted into the end sealing surfaces of the block (the tops of the end walls of the valley), if they are still installed. If they are there, and he did not pull them, the intake may be damaged/warped at the ends now. The roll pins stick up vertically out of those end sealing surfaces about 3/16" or 1/4", and are used for alignment of the stock intakes on many (all?) of these blocks; but the aftermarket intakes don't have the matching holes. And that would cause sealing problems too.
 
nm9stheham said:
"modify the intake threads to seal properly. " Boy that is worrying..... ooops, I guess you knew that already! Sounds like he filed the holes in the intake? Perhaps he found that the end cork gaskets tend to make the intake set up too high and he filed the intake holes so that he could start the threads in, and then pull down the intake with the bolts.

Which makes me wonder if he pulled the roll pins inserted into the end sealing surfaces of the block (the tops of the end walls of the valley), if they are still installed. If they are there, and he did not pull them, the intake may be damaged/warped at the ends now. The roll pins stick up vertically out of those end sealing surfaces about 3/16" or 1/4", and are used for alignment of the stock intakes on many (all?) of these blocks; but the aftermarket intakes don't have the matching holes. And that would cause sealing problems too.
Click to expand...

Sheesh, he sounds like a Chevy guy to me... just jump right in and start slapping things together without understanding how they work, or consider the possibility the parts may be a bit DIFFERENT than what he's used to lol.

I worked at a race engine shop near me for a little while, fwiw they use plenty of silicone in their engines and they have quite a large customer base with a solid reputation (Atlas Performance Machine in Loveland, Colorado). In fact I plan to have the machining for my Duster's 318 done by them and I'm shooting for the 400 HP area with that one.
 
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