The 340 is out....again.....

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340_dart_power

340_dart_power

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Well, after hearing a brand new (and alarming) knock coming from the 340, it was pulled Monday and discovered to have the camshaft bearings coming apart. Without going into the whole story, I had a garage rebuild it for me several years ago and it appears that their skills were lacking.
We're going with a new stroker kit to really strengthen it and get more ponies out of it.
I'll keep you posted as it progresses. Wish me luck.
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Best of luck going through some engine damage of my own right now..definitely stroke it:D:D
 
340_dart_power:

Great shot with baby. I miss those days with my boys. now they are 6ft plus and just want to drive everything but not fix anything.
What is the Orange tractor in the back ground of the 2nd shot- Oliver?
Good luck with the engine repair. The rebuild could be the best in the world but if the car sits- stuff happens. Sorry for the troubles you are going thru.
Joe
 
Thanks, guys, I appreciate it.
BTW, the first shot is of me and my grandson Henry who is about to turn one (1) year of age later this month.
I intend to make him a Mopar Guy.
 
Lol I wasnt sure whether Henry was son or grandson. Here's one of our 3 grandbabies, Knox driving 67 S
Turned 1 in July

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Took these photos yesterday of the newly rebuilt 340.
Hopefully it will go back in early next week. Right now the Dodge is a 3,000 pound paperweight in my garage.

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you could have MUCH uglier paper weights!!! it's probably a good thing that you don't have any $$ or spare time... :lol:
 
Great looking engine, hope all goes well this time! Once again having to rely on others often sucks, but none of us can do everything in reality right? Great grandchildren pics!!
 
Here's a shot of the inside of the oil pan where the oil pickup was gouging the surface instead of being 3/8 of an inch above it to draw oil into the system.

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If that were the problem...you didn't notice the oil gauge showing dismal psi.
Not sold.
Best of luck with the new motor, enjoy tire burnin with grandkids!
 
seen that issue before , just had to fit a hole rubbed in the side of the pan on a 340 with a high volume pump in it , the wiggle room was not enough , so it wore a small hole that would leak only after the oil had warmed up , about an inch or so up from the bottom of the pan . check all the clearances with some clay .
 
on some pans the HV pump will rub on the bottom and eventually crack the pan...been there..done that...JB weld fixed it.........
 
Oil pressure was always consistently good, so its' possible the two conditions can coexist; having the pickup rub/scrape and still have normal pressure within the oiling system.
It was drawing oil, just not the amount it should have. I'm wide open to suggestions as to what other condition would have caused the camshaft to destroy the bearings upon which it was supposed to rotate on a lubricated surface. Of course, at this point it's moot because I don't have any "proof" the previous shop screwed the pooch on their rebuild which I could use to go after them for any kind of compensation. Just one of those Ownership of an Old Car Things, I suppose.
On a different note, I had a new XV Motorsports lower radiator brace installed by the shop yesterday (Saturday Oct. 29th) while the engine was still out, so I'll probably stop by tomorrow to see how that looks. Sounded like a good idea, as it replaced the sheet metal original and should stiffen up the front end a bit. I'll post some photos when I get them.
Always good to swap ideas and learn from you all, Gentlemen.
 
Well it could be they never changed the cam bearings, old bearings that sit and go through hot, cold, moisture condensation etc...those literally fall apart and especially so when the driving style or load increases.
Corrosion. Could also be they had the cam in and it was WAY tight , needed bearings cut or polished and they said ehh instead and just threw a chain on it...or even better, they clocked the bearings wrong and they just burnt up and hurt the rockers in the process. Like you said, doesn't matter now, I'm just curious and it Kay save others from spending money at that particular business.
What did the bearings look like?
 
340_dart_power said:
Oil pressure was always consistently good, so its' possible the two conditions can coexist; having the pickup rub/scrape and still have normal pressure within the oiling system.
It was drawing oil, just not the amount it should have. I'm wide open to suggestions as to what other condition would have caused the camshaft to destroy the bearings upon which it was supposed to rotate on a lubricated surface.
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If the close oil pickup was restricting inflow, then cavitation could have occurred in the oil supply flow to the pump, and put bubbles into the oil supply. You would likely never see this on the pressure gauge. But I would expect the rod bearings to be as effected or moreso than the cam bearings if this was the case. If the other bearings looked good, then I'd blame the cam bearings themselves, or their original installation. As MO notes, old bearing materials will deteriorate.
 
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