OK so we bought our first 74 Dart that has an 82 Slant with hydro lifters. The bad man that sold it to us was apparently hiding a headgasket leak with stops leak whilst I was kicking the tires. GRRR What do you expect for $800, honesty? Well anyway I love the car and any Dart is worth the trouble for endangered species.

So I'm a newbie who's only rebuilt VW engines. How difficult is it to do a head gasket replacement? Is there anything else we should do while we have the top end of the engine in pieces? I've thought about an Offenhauser intake, but I think the Hydro lifters kills that idea. However it would be nice to have a split the exhaust manifold and upsize the pipes to get better MPG???

I checked with my mechanic and it would be $700 for the gasket replacement and shaving the head to true it up. More than I can afford, and 700 bucks could be spent elsewhere on the engine. Is the machining absolutely necessary? Wouldn't that cause some shim work etc with the lifters or pushrods?

Sorry for all the ? and the ignorance of proper terminology. If someone could guide me to a proper instruction manual that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for this great forum!
Mike

Welcome aboard Mike Some of the Guru's will chime in here shortly I'm sure.I'd just have the head checked for warpage and if ok just slap it back on with out shaving. Of course that's also dependent on how many miles,condition of valves,wether it could use a valve job etc. You're lucky as there are some real diehard slanters right in your area and I'm sure they'll be glad to advise/help when needed.Glad you found us,enjoy

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Thanks Shotgunner. Here's a pic of the leak. It's under the back side of the rear intake/exhaust manifolds. I've heard this is the not so good side to have a leak as the possibility of oil and antifreez mixing is much higher.
So you suppose a head gasket replacement could be just a "weekend" job for a beginner? I'm great with taking apart and putting back together. Its my timing and tuning skills afterwards that are not soo good.

Can't seem to figure out the Img links.

Here's a photobucket pic

http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... etLeak.jpg

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination,looks like most of the guru's are out of town Have you noticed any fluids swapping places? Like oil in water or such? Are you sure it's a bum head gasket and not a weepin softplug/crack in head or block? I believe the rear most intake exhaust stud goes into a water passage and some folks here have experianced leaking from that area. As far as doing an R&R on the head should be a piece of cake for a weekend job. Hardest part is the head is HEAVY and a tad bit AWKWARD unless you have a cherrypicker,if not a helper is best used first time around. Also getting at the int/exh nuts and triangle washers can be frustrating till you figure out some tricks.You should get the factory repair manual as the clymer/haynes are garbage,and order up the good gaskets before you tackle the job.Use the search function for the links to manual an gaskets plus tips and tricks.I'm sure others will be giving better insight and info here shortly.Probably should do a cooling system pressure test and a compression test wouldn't hurt either.

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Mike, I believe I am the one that sold you the car. I am sorry that you are having issues with it, it's always ran fine for me. That leak you see is more likely a core plug leak.

Do you remember me mentioning to you that I had replaced one plug with a rubber one? If not, thats fine, but I would pull the stack and look at that core plug before suspecting an issue with the headgasket. That leak in the picture is exactly what it did to me on my way to Redding California last year.

Simple steps:

1: Drain coolant
2: Whilst draining the coolant, remove the intake/exhaust manifold with carb still attached.
3: Remove core plug, you will notice that it has a hex headed bolt on top for use with a 1/2" wrench or ratchet. Loosen the bolt, remove the plug and install a new core plug. You can purchase them from Autozone for less than 2.00 apiece.

If you would like help with it, feel free to let me know.



~THOR~

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1984 D100 Shorty Custom
Certified Auto Appraiser - RevItUp Classic Appraisals
President - Cherry City Bombers CC
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Thor?a BAD man.
now that there is funny.!!!
us board members know more about him than his Doctor.




regards,Rod

Hey Mike,

Once the issue at hand is taken care of I would suggest keeping your existing intake manifold etc and doing the regular tune up items as well as the HEI mod. That would be a good place to start IMHO.

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74 Dodge Charger 225 factory A/C auto 1920 carb stock exhaust.

Mods;
HEI, MSD B3, Magnecor 8 mm, ZFR5N, .060 rotor, CH410X cap, new 3874814 dist, fuel mod, valves hot .010 & .020, all new hoses, JP chain, brake hoses and fluid.

Mike,

You are, in my opinion, lucky to live near Thor. I'm sure that these car troubles will get worked out soon enough and you will still have great members close to you. That neck of the woods has several great board members come to think of it!

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74 Dodge Charger 225 factory A/C auto 1920 carb stock exhaust.

Mods;
HEI, MSD B3, Magnecor 8 mm, ZFR5N, .060 rotor, CH410X cap, new 3874814 dist, fuel mod, valves hot .010 & .020, all new hoses, JP chain, brake hoses and fluid.

6isBliss,

That is an inexpensive fix, or even if one of the studs was leaking coolant. I have had a stud leak even on a new rebuild. Fixing it will help you to understand your car better. It is about a 4 hour job.

Some new manifold gaskets and the water jacket plug or a new stud. While your at it pull the drain plug on the right rear side behind the oil filter and flush out the block real good. Check the other side plugs too while your at it. Run antifreeze and it will help keep the corrosion down. That is what eats up the block plugs.

Use a good gasket like the www.remflex.com PN RF6008 or the Aussie gaskets.

Does the engine sound pretty smooth other than the leak? If so, you are off to a good start and a great find!

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Whew! Thanks for the input guys! And my apologies to you Thor. You're not a bad man anymore. I just suspected when I saw silvery fragments floating in the coolant which is usually Stops Leaks, and well you know... expect the worst, hope for the best...

Yeah it's kinda strange. I noticed the water leak is right at the crank case mold fin. And there are watermarks at the next fin forward. Is there more than one core plug?? The front leak seems to be inactive now.

We had the same thing happen going to Silverton. Car overheated cause it basically ran out of coolant. So I just had to refill with H2O (all we could get at camp) and wait awhile.

We love driving this car BTW Thor. I had the front end suspension worked on at Salem Brake & Wheel and it handles like a dream. They replaced the Idler arm, bearings, etc. Those old guys there love to work on the car too, heard more stories about their old Slants than I could shake a stick at. Mostly about how the suckers won't die and run forever.

We'll check the core plug thing out and report back probably next week.

Thanks again for your help.
--M

Whew for me too! I am really glad that you are having a good time with the car. On that engine there are 5 core plugs, all on the driver side. It is possible that more than one is leaking now, replacing all of them would be aa good idea, and it is a cake walk after you get the manifold stack off.

The front leak may be from the manifold stud as mentioned earlier, or the thermostat housing. The major leak you have though, is that core plug in the picture.

Keep us updated on the progress, I am really glad that you've got it on the road.



~THOR~

_________________
1984 D100 Shorty Custom
Certified Auto Appraiser - RevItUp Classic Appraisals
President - Cherry City Bombers CC
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Yippee! It's the core plug. I would've found out anyway even if I did prepare to do a head gasket replacement. Cause soon as I pulled off the intak/exhaust vwalla there the leaky sucker was!

So 2 dollar plug and a new exhaust gasket and replacing rusty 7/16" screws and it is a 7 dollar fix. We should have the manifold back on in time for the boy to drive tonight.

One strange thing on the manifold. Are the top side front and rear end studs supposed to screw out of the head? I can get them back in but are they supposed to be posted into the head like the others?

Thanks a bunch you guys. Your help has been greatly appreciated.

Now onto replacing the cherry bomb muffler... I'd like to replace with a 1 1/2 to 2" pipe from the manifold??? Suppose that will get any better gas mileage?

You guys are the bestest!! On the road again......

Thanks,
--Mike

Yes, the studs will come out like all the others. Since they go into the water jacket, be sure to use some sealant on them when you put them back in or they will leak. I use the red lock-tite.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Be Careful on the front and rear studs. They like to rust weld in place and then break off. Also Remflex and Aussie speed both have Really good manifold gaskets that are Much thicker and easier to seal.
As for your exhaust 2 1/4 is the best size for your slant.
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered