Dear forum,
I have an '85 B150 w/ slant six and an a833. My knowledge of engines is somewhat limited at the moment. I am a fairly new auto tech student, so my understanding has been consistantly growing as of late. My van has 142xx on the odometer which was broken when I bought it. I don't think it broke that long before I bought it, as a recent tire rotation sticker on the windshield indicates a somewhat lower odometer reading not that long before I bought it.

The van was kind of a dog when i bought it, it would usually run alright, but sometimes it would seem to be underpowered as if it were not getting enough gas. I had trouble starting it when it first got cold,(i am 22 and had never dealt with a carb'd car before) but I started it with some starter spray which seemed to wake the engine up quite a bit. I now know how to start it in the cold and don't need starter spray, it also lives in a garage now and starts great in some seriously frigid temps.


Anyway i eventually brought it over to the shop at school and treated her to some new spark plugs, a good carb clean, air filter, and an oil change. She is a whole different animal now. The old slant has perfect compression despite my teacher's skepticism. He actually took a liking to it when he saw the 4 on the floor. He says it will need new piston rings and some valve gasket i think. It does spew a good bit of blueish smoke when I first start it. It goes away once it warms up a bit though.

So I am trying to get it in good running shape for the summer. Since I believe I am the 5th owner and I am not 100% sure on the actual mileage, i am thinking of doing a complete engine rebuild. I am starting an engine concepts class in a few weeks and am thinking of trying to get my teacher to help/oversee a rebuild. Now i need help assembling a good rebuild kit. So goals for my van:

I am a slow and fuel conscious driver so improved gas mileage is a plus. I am not sure if i have leanburn or not. There is a pulley at the top of the engine that is no longer connected to anything, my teacher told me that it is an air compressor for emissions or something like that.

My van has a 3.90 axle ratio, i very seldom drive in the left lane, and with overdrive I think that puts me around 2300rpm at 65mph(no tach and busted speedo). I want to keep and potentially improve my low end torque. My girlfriend and I are going to drive it out south to New Orleans and then to the west coast this summer. I bought the van with the intention of using it to tow project/parts cars and my dad's boat; both of those loads would likely be in the 4-5k range.

Can you guys reccomend a cam that might help me in this regard? A good rebuild kit or specific parts to look out for? Replacing the leanburn with hei? Now that she has been tuned up a bit I am fairly content power. Its actually kinda peppy, although I haven't gotten a chance to load her down since. I don't think it has ever been used to tow before, but I had her loaded up to the gills with heavy boxes once and it was terribly slow.(it did hold od fine on hills though) I guess I may as well freshen up the clutch while the engine is out too.

Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum and the slant six world. The bluish smoke at start up is bad valve seals at the top. If you have good compression, then the rings and valves are in decent shape. You can change the seals without taking the engine down. I would not discourage you from doing a rebuild, but suspect it is not a priority right now. Does the engine sound smooth and quiet? Can you hear things knocking in the lower end? If the rings and valves or OK, then the only other thing to really worry about would be bearings, and maybe a timing chain at its age. I would put an oil gauge on it and see wht kind of pressure it holds at idle. That can also tell you some important things about the condition of the bearings and the pump. Good luck, and have fun on your trip.
Sam

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As above, your teacher probably said 'valve seals' or 'valve stems seals', not valve gaskets. That would be my 1st throught with the blue oil smoke at startup; replacing valve stem seals in the car is easy, replacing rings is not, so try the seals first.

If you like fuel economy, contact Doug Dutra (Doctor Dodge) about his torque cam profiles; those will give you a modest improvement without killing mileage and making it have a rough idle or become difficult to drive in town. And yes, do put in a new timing chain; being streteched (which it almsot certainly will be at this mileage) will retard cam timing and make the engine doggy. And with your year engine, the cam sprocket teeth may be plastic, and at this age will be subject to suddenly stripping off and leaving you stranded. I would not go to CA without doing that even if you do nothing else.

If you are pulling the engine to do a ring job, then shave the head a bit for better compression to help the low end torque and mid range HP. Others should chime in but .030" to .050" is a modest compression increase that will help and not cause issues, from all that I have read.

Good luck with it!

Yeah that was it, valve seals. He pointed out a good bit of oil on the block in that area. It does run smooth and has alot more power than it did when i first got it. It does seem to tick at idle sometimes. A timing chain change is definitely on my agenda. You said the sprocket/pulley would be plastic?! It should be changed as well?

Only the teeth are plastic on a pot metal cam gear if it was OEM, you would have to find a grandpa garaged never driven vehicle or a farm implement that never had the timing set changed in the last 30-40 years... (I have two in my collection- one from a 1972 John Deere Hay Thresher, and one from a barn find 1974 Duster with 96K on the clock...)

It's just good insurance to buy a complete timing set (chain, cam gear, and crank gear) and swap it all out, then you are good for another 100K miles...

I dig that. My van is in good shape, but she was definitely a working girl in her later years.

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'85 Ram Royal 150 Wagon 4 Speed
'04 Civic Hybrid 5 Speed IMAC&C

The new timing sets from Cloyes have an metal sprocket, so replacing the plastic is a breeze.

The only thing I have found to be worried about is making sure that the Cam/Crank relationship is spot-on when it goes back together. The alignment dots on the new set aren't always "in the right spot".

Not saying they will be wrong, just be aware.

~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

Cloyes stopped making the Slant 6 timing sets about 2 years ago when we did our last group buy to deplete their existing inventory. They said once they sold out they would not make anymore. Charrlie_S headed up that last round of purchasing for us. I think the only premium gear set available is the Rollmaster if i'm not mistaken.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

I think it is still possible to buy the Cloyes timing components, but they have to be purchased as seperate items, not as a matched set. The pricing I saw for the individual parts winds up about the same or more then the Rollmaster.

Just checked pricing:
Rockauto: S338, $52.79; S339, $26.89; C168, $16.03 = $95.71 plus shipping

ORielly; S338, $62.99; S339, $26.99; C168, $17.99 = $107.97 store pickup

PS: My contact at Cloyes, no longer is with them, and the new person was not interested in doing another group buy of matched sets, the last time I checked

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225