Re: [Chrysler300] things that go BOOM

["John L. Chesnutt" <chesnutt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here is our story with gasoline in the oil.

When my cousin purchased our 1970 300 Convertible from a neighbor in
Lafayette, CA., 18 years ago, neither the original owner or my cousin were
aware that it had a leaking fuel pump diaphragm and that the oil pan was
full of gasoline to the top of the dip stick. Fuel gauge did not work.

Six months before, the owner said the 300 would hardly run and finally would
not start. My cousin tried for three months to get the car running. Finally,
we went to California to see what the 300 be bought looked like and decided
it was time to find out what was wrong and fix it so we could drive it home
to Oregon with our son, a Stanford Engineering student,  since he was
starting summer vacation.

Upon looking over the 300 with our son,  we tried the starter and it turned
over, but.did not fire. Our son said do you mind if I check the oil, I said
ok. To our amazement, the pan was full of oil. This hole procedure took only
five minutes from the time we arrived to view the 300 and found the problem.
My cousin was not home during the two days we worked on the 300.

We were lucky that the 300 did not go BOOM. Since it was 5:00 PM, we decided
to come back the next day and replace the fuel pump. It took two changes of
oil and filter to get the oil light turned off at idle. Had to clean the
spark plugs twice as they fouled. After it was running, the carburetor
leaked fuel,  so we made another trip to the parts house for a repair kit,
but only needed to replace the float needles and seats.

The next day we took it for test drive on the freeway, the 300 bounced
around, so my cousin said just get the tires balanced on your way home.
Since it was now Sunday, we could not find a tire shop for about the first
hundred miles, what surprise to find we a broken belt in one of the belted
tires. Otherwise, the 300 ran fine for the 600 mile trip to Portland.

Had to replace the valve seals as it blew smoke after sitting several days.
Since it was a California car, the heat had cooked the rubber valve seals,
which were cracked and hard as a rock.

We are unaware of any other damage to the engine as a result of having
gasoline in the oil. The hydraulic lifters would not work with the amount of
gasoline in the pan. That may have saved us from having the car go BOOM.

Any way, that is our story. We purchased the car without seeing it or
pictures. It was a bargain, so we bought it.
Have enjoyed it ever since, been in three weddings and many car shows.
See you all in Belfast, Maine on Sept 21st

John & Arlys Chesnutt, Portland, OR --1957 300C (Took it on our honeymoon 45
years ago) and 1970 300 Convert.

.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Hertog" <crossram@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Chrysler 300 Club Listverver" <Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 3:02 PM
Subject: [Chrysler300] things that go BOOM


To all weekend diagnosticians:

so... Dave Clelland finally decides to drive his 300G rag somewhere...
(yes, Peter Fitch, he DID drive it ! ) ...  after a 45 minute ride, he
arrives at a car show.....  and BOOM. Big explosion under the hood.  Enough
of a BOOM to wake up the neighborhood; enough to blow the oil cap (breather)
right off the valve cover, and enough to blow the intake manifold pan ...
outwards, and cause it to bulge out so far that it actually interfered with
the throttle linkage under the rams.

Yes, the car restarted and still runs OK; and, yes, Dave does smell gas in
the oil.  Question is:  how did it get there ???  obviously, there was
enough of a buildup of gas fumes in the cranckase to cause this explosion.

anyone ever hear of something like this ?  Comments?  Please "reply to all"
so Dave can read the posts...

John







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