Junk in my new motor...

[Bakarooda]

Hey guys. I recently bought a 400 to put in my '69 Barracuda. It turns over by hand, and everything looks good inside. I've disassembled all but the heads and bottom end.

Inside the motor, I found a TON of little broken pieces of this brittle plastic-like stuff. Some is amber in color, some is black. It was scattered through the heads (pocketed up on the outside edges and stuck inside valve springs), clogged up in the pickup screen, laying in the bottom of the pan, stuck in the lifter valley - EVERYWHERE!

The amber colored pieces appear to be notched like a sprocket, and the curvature matches that of the timing gear. The black pieces, I have no idea. The pictures aren't very clear, but it gives you an idea.

Any help and advice is appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

[ValiantMike]

I think you're right. Probably timing gear. Did you check it out yet?

 

[Bakarooda]

Yeah, I checked it out. The gear itself didn't appear to be in that bad of shape, but the chain had enough slack to justify replacing it. I already ordered a new one from Summit, as I was going to put a new one in anyways. But there was no extreme wear that I could see.

My main concern is the other stuff. The black pieces just don't seem to look like they've come from the timing gear. They're more rounded, almost cylindrically shaped. Very hard, brittle material.

Also, does anyone know the safest/easiest way to remove the pickup tube and screen so I can get this crap out of there? I can't seem to be able to just twist it out. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks again!
-Josh

 

[AdamR]

Timing gear and the valve stem seals.

 

[Bakarooda]

Thanks for your input Adam. That's kinda what I was thinking, considering a lot of that garbage was stuck inside the springs.

Would it hurt to fire the motor with bad seals, or should I just take the heads off and have new seals installed?

 

[340mopar]

I agree with Adam, amber pieces = timing gear, dark pieces = valve seals.


Chuck

 

[AdamR]

Pull the valve springs and put new seals on. They arent that hard to do. If you fire it with missing seals you'll be oiling you piston tops.

 

[340mopar]

You could put new seals in while the heads are on the motor. A little compressed air and a valve spring remover no sweat, done it plenty of times. Just did it two months ago on a '92 Acclaim with a 2.5 and after I get done with the cam change in my Jeep I am changing the seals in a 400 in a '77 Cordoba.


Chuck

 

[340 Dart]

You could put new seals in while the heads are on the motor. A little compressed air and a valve spring remover no sweat, done it plenty of times.

Yup. I have done this a couple of times myself. Definately better than pulling the heads.

I actually threw one of those down once out of a 318 and it shattered like glass.

 

[Bakarooda]

Thanks guys. As for the last comment, that's almost what it looks like - glass.

I guess I'm renting a spring removal tool.

Thanks again!

 

[dusterdon]

you can buy a cheap valve spring compressor (manual) cheaply. makes more sense that renting one.

 

[dazedduster]

i'v seen pressed in pick-up tubes but dont know hw to tell the difference

 

[Bakarooda]

you can buy a cheap valve spring compressor (manual) cheaply. makes more sense that renting one.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

i'v seen pressed in pick-up tubes but dont know hw to tell the difference

Hmm, if I remember correctly, I could see threads on the tube itself, but I'm not sure. I just assumed they're all screw-in I guess.

Thanks again. :toothy7:

 

[moper]

No mopar pressed in tubes. That's a Chevy deal...

 

[66dartgt]

be sure to replace the screen pickup if its that badly clogged. They thread in btw.

 

[AdamR]

No mopar pressed in tubes. That's a Chevy deal...

what a dumb idea. I had a 91 Z28 that the tube fell out of the pump. Everytime I would hit the breaks the oil pressure would drop to 0. Needless to say I got to replace that motor. ain10:

 

[gremlin]

No mopar pressed in tubes. That's a Chevy deal...

Just ask them chevy dirt track boys about how smart that pressed in deal is. :-({|=

 

[Bakarooda]

Thanks again guys. Is there any special procedure to removing the tube and screen? It doesn't seem to want to come out of there, and I don't want to break/bend the tube.

 

[66dartgt]

Grab the pickup close to the area where it enters the block with a smallish pipe wrench or sharp toothed vice grips, turn it counter clockwise to remove it.

If its really stubborn - Try tapping the wrench with a hammer to set up some vibrations, pipe thread responds pretty well to that kind of thing.

If its really stuck - heat up the pipe going into the block with a propane torch and spray it with penetrating oil after it gets hot. Smoke and fire are assured. But what you are doing is causing the oil to penetrate into the thread by capillary action accentuated by heating and cooling. It should loosen up after a couple of these type treatments. Allow it to cool down before trying to remove it.

By grabbing it close to cast iron you wont be putting your effort into twisting the pickup itself and will be putting the energy into the threaded portion.

I strongly recommend getting a replacement pickup. Its near impossible to get all the crap cleaned out of one of those things. A new pickup costs about 20$.

Let us know how things go.