Hey - I'm new to the forum and new to slant sixes and pretty much cars in general.

I recently bought a '73 dodge dart swinger and the oil smells of gasoline. I changed the oil & filter and checked the dipstick later and it still has the smell.

I'm currently enrolled in a basic auto repair course at my local community college. I asked my teacher about the smell and he lit a flame to the oil and it didn't combust. So he just said to continue to monitor it, because it was most likely blowby and to fix that I'd have to pay to take the engine apart.

So - my question is - should I just continue to monitor the problem? Or should I pay for the repairs? Looking at other threads in this forum indicated that I could be causing serious damage to the engine by running the car like this. Are there other issues that could be causing this or is it definitely blowby?

I'm thinking it's safe to drive(please, let me know if I'm wrong), but I'm concerned about causing damage to the engine.

Thanks a lot - any solid advice would be much appreciated!

Sounds like you have a ruptured diaphragm in your fuel pump. This is a common problem when fuel pumps fail. On the slant six, if the pump diaphragm fails internally, the gas can run straight down into the crankcase, making the oil smell like gas and thinning the oil. Cheap and easy fix, especially if you are taking a auto repair course. You should change the oil and filter (again) and replace the fuel pump.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Another reason for gas smell in the crankcase is a carburetor that is dumping raw gas down the intake manifold for whatever reason; choke not working properly, or poorly adjusted floats. The fuel runs past the rings and ends up in the crank case. This will not dump as much fuel as an internally leaking pump will.

Dose car get driven for half an hour or more at a time, or is it a short hop ride? Short hops allow fuel & moisture to build up in the crank case.

If by any chance if you don’t get around to changing the fuel pump & oil, closely monitor engine oil level. If the fuel pump is leaking, it will progressively get worse, and cause the oil level to rise. This condition will thin out the oil, and cause baring damage.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

change fuel pump oil and filter ....NOW.....


keep on roddin'

Had this problem as well at one point after running a slant to boiling point after the whole car had a catastrophic break down...ended up having holes in 4 of the 6 pistons....

the break down consisted of..(77 volare SW...)
1. driveshaft out of balance caused carb to shake off its own base..
2. fixed it and fine for 30 miles.
3. muffler and exhaust bracket breaks and rubbing on road.
4. cooling fan blade broke off and spliced a hole in the battery....thought it was just a rock or something that caused it and kept driving...
5. wp bearing goes out
6. alt and ps belts come off from wobbly wp.
7. car comes to a stop due to elect ignition not getting enough juice...still kicks over.
8. put on all different broken parts and when i started it the dipstick blew completely out...tried a couple of times and same affect...thought i broke a head gasket....



i know yours isn't going this way but i like to share the story....GL

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Daily 1980 Dodge Aspen 2dr leaned power, 904, 600 holley 4V w/offy intake, dual headered

Since you don't know how long the car has had this problem, park it until you correct the source (probably the fuel pump), then change the oil and filter. Until then, do not drive it. Do not start the engine.

I agree that it would be relatively cheap and simple to replace the fuel pump. Pay attention to how the old one comes off, and the new one goes back the same way.

Hey! Thanks for all the advice.

Unfortunately, I think I'll have to drive it a little more before I get a chance to fix it.

But the new fuel pump should arrive at the auto shop tomorrow.

Now - I've never replaced a fuel pump. This might sound stupid... but just so I don't do anything stupid - that's the fuel pump on the passenger side, next to the distributor, right? It's completely caked in grime.

This might not be the right forum for specific questions, but I'm only working with the Haynes manual at this point until I can get the factory so I'm a little in the dark...

The Haynes just says to unplug the fuel pipes and plug up the inlet pipe.
What should I plug the inlet pipe with?

I watched a video online of someone installing a new fuel pump and they used rectorseal #5 thread sealant to seal up the hoses. Of course, the haynes doesn't mention anything about using sealant when installing the new fuel pump. Do I use sealant or is it not needed? And is #5 appropriate or should I use something else?

I'm guessing the new fuel pump should come with gaskets?

Also do I change oil & filter after installing the new fuel pump or after?

I know I got a million questions. And again, thanks for all the previous replies!

There will be one threaded fitting and one hose clamp fitting. Remove them both. Undo the two bolts that holt the fuel pump on. Remove fuel pump and old pump gasket. Clean area around pump hole. Install new pump with new pump gasket. Reattach fuel lines. Done. Don't worry about plugging the fuel hoses.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Welcome to the forum. swinger73!

I just posted this advice in another thread: Olaf.

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Aspenized

Good advice there from Olaf.
It IS possible to instal the actuating arm of the pump UNDER the cam lobe by mistake if you are not careful. If the pump is bolted on in this position it will not work,and may damage the arm.
The arm MUST be on top of the cam lobe.

regards,Rod

Follow Olsfla's advice of rolling the cam shaft over until the pump lever is not riding on the high side of the cam shaft, and pressure compressing its spring is relaxed. If you do this you won't have any problem.

Also change oil & filter after pump change. One shouldn’t need any sealant on fuel lines.

I would also clean around the old pump befor removing it to prevent any of that gritty muck entering the engine.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Thanks for all the help!

I got the fuel pump and it came with one paper gasket. Do I need to put gasket sealant on the gasket before I bolt it in?

I'm going to try to look the problem in class and hopefully install the new pump this weekend.

thanks again

Just for the sake of asking, where are you located?

No sealant required on the gasket.

~RDE~

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

thanks.

i'm in MD, by the way.