Disaster...360 Engine blew a connecting rod

[1 Wild R/T]

The less hair you've got the more head you get...   Only wish it were true..

[gzig5]

The less hair you've got the more head you get...   Only wish it were true..

Yeah, don't work that way.  At least in my experience.   

[chargerdon]

Well...just spent the time to pull off the valve cover on passenger side, clean everything, put on "the right stuff" onto the valve cover (mopar performance), then the gasket and held in place with some clamps...till it set up well enough to hold the gasket in place on the cover.   Then put a bead of the right stuff right on the head mating area, and around each bolt hole, put it on and guestimated torqued it down.   Will leave it set overnight before starting so it all sets up.   Hope it seals it...no problem on drivers side.

On the plus note, i guess that carb cleaning really made a difference, and love the extra cubes from the scat 408 stroker kit.   Now, in drive, if i nail it around 45 mph (but not hard enough to cause kick down to second), you will feel the power and then in a moment the 4 barrel open up...holy smokes when it does it almost feels like a down shift.   look down and darn doing over 80 in just a few seconds..  if doing 15-20 mph in high, and floor it allowing it to downshift into first, it will break the tires loose (3.23 suregrip with 236x60x14 tires).   I am going to get these damn leaks resolved and try a 1/4 mile on this flat back road using track addict on my cell phone.   Before the strocker kit, i got 14.5 in qtr...  bet its into the mid 13's now.   

i know to many of you that still is not that great...but to me...its wonderful..   Quickest car i ever owned before this was an 84 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z 5sp...  this is a big move up for me..   

[gzig5]

If those are the aluminum covers, make sure they are not contacting the intake runners when cinched down.  If they touch, you won't get enough gasket compression.  I had to file off the lip  in the runner area on mine to clear the Air Gap intake I recently installed.

[chargerdon]

Updates:

1) 1 Wild R/t  thanks for the tip on the transmission dipstick...   Yep, that was the leak..bought the new dipstick (tried a new o-ring first, but it kept on leaking) and that did the trick.   Thanks !

2) Engine oil leak...  after a lot of searching and feeling, finally figured out that the oil leak was not from the oil pan, or rear main seal, or valve covers, but was coming from the back end of the intake manifold right near the oil pressure fitting.   SO, not wanting to take the intake back off...  i cleaned the area good, then applied a thick bead of "the right stuff" at the base of the block and the intake manifold hoping it would adhere to the previous RTV.   (Edlebrock rpm air gap, and they recommend to use RTV not those short cross gaskets).   Let the car sit for 24 hours before starting to let it fully harden, and It worked...damn that's good stuff...note to self..next time put down a thicker bead of RTV when installing intake manifold.   AND..let it sit for at least 24 hours before starting the engine.

3) had a nasty sound almost like a rattle coming from the engine at about 1200-2000 rpm.   GOD...paranoid after previous block blew a connecting rod..   But using stethoscope on engine all sounded great just good old whirring noises everywhere i checked.   Then with car jacked up and engine running at the rpm that sound was the worse, and going underneath...   found it...stupid tranny lines were rattling..so put a metal clamp around them to hold them together and noise gone...   LOL...WHEW

4) Still have two disturbing issues:
a) When car sits for a few hours and then i start it, i am getting a valve tap for first 1-2 seconds.   HMMM   brand new Lunati hydraulic lifters..  i guess new or not at least one or two of them is draining down when the car sits...  Pisses me off !!   But question i have, is this an issue that i have to address...or just ignore??????? 

b) regarding oil pressure, after changing oil (Driven 10W-40 with zddp) oil pressure is still lower than i like.   Std Melling oil pump and new screen and pick up tube.   Pressure when cold is 65 psi on mechanical gauge at fast idle, then as it warms up to fully "hot" engine pressure drops to as low as 10 psi, at 700 rpm idle..on the road at 1500 rpm its around 300, at 2000 its 40-45, and at 3000 rpm (65-70mph) its up to around 50.   When i had one of the valve covers off...(thinking it was leaking), plenty of oil sitting on the top of each rocker.   So, maybe i should just ignore??...or thinking of adding about a pint of Lucas Oil Stabilizer??

5) Right now i have an A904 torqueflite in it that was fine before ( i rebuilt the clutches myself about 2,000 miles ago), but, with this engine and sure grip diff, if i floor it in first gear it will slip plenty, so the 904 cant hold it, guess that's why they put 727's in all of the larger than 318 engined mopars.   I have an A518 from a 92 van in my garage...bought years ago, that i think ill put in a fresh clutch pack kit and install this winter.   

Thats about it guys...thanks again 1 wild and Physco Cryco.. 

[Chryco Psycho]

the lifter tick seems to be normal , you are not the only one experiencing this right now
10 psi at idle is low but will not hurt anything , you have plenty of pressure above idle
The 518 will be an awesome addition
You are welcome for the help 

[RUNCHARGER]

That gauge may not be reading accurate at idle. The running #'s seem fine.

[1 Wild R/T]

the lifter tick seems to be normal , you are not the only one experiencing this right now
10 psi at idle is low but will not hurt anything , you have plenty of pressure above idle
The 518 will be an awesome addition
You are welcome for the help 

Yup! Glad we could help & the 518 will be a huge upgrade.... I'm actually looking at putting a 500 in my R/T.... Cause I like the 2.74 first gear....  A little lower first gear & a much higher top gear... 

[chargerdon]

I'm getting about ready to order my rebuild kit for the A518 that i have in my garage.   When i bought it i was told it came out of a 92 van.  Before ordering a rebuild kit i want to make sure i get the right one.

The numbers on the case read PK53008148 1017 5763   If i understand right then it is an A518 46rh model (3 pin connector for the overdrive and a lockup torque converter),  and 1017 is the 10000 day code, but putting that into calculator at https://maxwedge.com/articles/10k.php gives me 1964 which is clearly wrong.  If i put it in as 11017 then i get sept 26, 1991 which could be accurate.   

Anyone know for sure, or where i could look?? 

[dodj]

4) Still have two disturbing issues:
a) When car sits for a few hours and then i start it, i am getting a valve tap for first 1-2 seconds.   HMMM   brand new Lunati hydraulic lifters..  i guess new or not at least one or two of them is draining down when the car sits...  Pisses me off !!   But question i have, is this an issue that i have to address...or just ignore??????? 

My new lunati lifters were noisy at start-up for a while. It slowly went away over the period of a month. Not sure if that's normal, but, quiet lifters now.

[chargerdon]

More problems...when it rains it pours.

Had engine running great...  noises all gone (one was clanking transmission lines.., another was a vibrating radiator shroud lol). 

So was driving it yesterday when when all of a sudden a clanking rattling noise from the engine and it started to run really rough...as i got it off of the road coasting engine still running i could hear compression gasses type of noise along with the clanking...  So of course shut it off and had it towed home.   

Not really knowing where to start i began by pulling the valve cover off of the drivers side...remember, i was getting a valve tap when you first start the engine up.   All looked good on that side.

Pulled off the drivers side valve cover and there is the problem.  The pushrod ball joint for the pushrod had "broken off) and the pushrod was up thru the hole on rocker for Exhaust valve on cylinder #6.   Those rockers and rocker shaft had been replaced when on the old engine because i thought they were worn and part of my valve noises.   The replacement rockers i bought where Sealed power inexpensive rockers that look just like the factory originals.   see pics..  There was plenty of oil on top so it was getting lubricated.  Anybody ever see anything like this before on relatively brand new rockers?   

Now the delemma ... 

1) Do i simply replace that rocker, and fire her up?  If one broke, then, should i trust the others?  Is a factory style replacement even considered strong enough to handle dual performance springs (lunati springs)?
Yeah simple fix?   Or, with that broken and engine ran for maybe 20-30 seconds before i got off the road and shut her down, did it cause any other damage?   Can i trust the other 15 rockers?  on passenger side they all look fine. 

2) Here is my thoughts...   

Drain the oil and cut open the looking for any metal in there...sure hope it didn't blow out any piston rings...or cause damage to the hydraulic lifter...  the pushrod looks fine...and not bent.

If oil and filter look good then put in a replacement rocker, new oil and filter, take out the plugs and do a cold compression test on all of the cylinders...hopefully i get the same reading on all of them and don't hear any weird noise as the engine spins on the starter.   If this is good then all is well!! 

Thoughts ?????     

[1 Wild R/T]

You've run that cam in the old motor & it never poked a pushrod before... Nothing has really changed, I'd roll the dice & throw a rocker arm on there....   I've seen enough of them fail through the years, sometimes it happens... Your previous tick might have been because the pushrod seat in the rocker was already distorted...

If it fails again then you need to take a hard look at things..

[chargerdon]

Thanks 1 Wild R/T.

Found the broken cup...in one piece still on top of cylinder head.   All the oil up there looks clean.  Took off the oil filter and cut it open...  looks clean no metal.   I think im going to put a replacement in, and do the compression test to be safer before firing her up..  Scary !! 

[YellowThumper]

I also agree with Wild...
I have seen numerous failures such as that. Fixes have all revolved around just replacing pieces.
I would consider solid pushrod as you are not oiling thru them anyway. More meat as they say will also be stronger. Weight savings for your application is not necessary.

[Chryco Psycho]

I know $$ are tight but I would consider Stainless or Iron rockers with dual valve springs
Smith Bros in Bend Or for new pushrods