Rough running 413 in Bill's 59

["Dave & Tracy" <dave-tracy.sherratt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Have you had a compression test done ? It is possible that the Headgasket has blown between 2 of the Cylinders causing the rough running. Hence it runs rough under load.

Regards

Dave.

----- Original Message -----

From: Hugh & Therese

To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 2:13 PM

Subject: IML: Rough running 413 in Bill's 59

My heart goes out to you, Bill.  I suspected all along the broken brake booster was a red herring. And I'm afraid that I agree that you need to get the whole engine done, if necessary, and not just the top end.  I did the top end of engine and, sure enough, the bottom end went out pretty quickly afterwards.  There are some elements of your circumstance that I do not fully grasp which would probably make me want to get at least a second opinion, if only to satisfy nagging doubts that the job is really what is called for.

 

My total rebuild  was not temperature or bad running related.  I lost the rings on several cylinders.  This led to a lot of smoky blow by, but other than that, there were no symptoms.  I was also losing oil from the worn out oil filter canister and the rear main seal.  Surprisingly, performance was not unduly affected, though I think gas mileage was worse than before.

 

I can see how poor valves might affect performance but I'd like to know how it is causing the overheating.  Maybe you already have the information, but I would want to know more, if only to help me get over having to bite the bullet yet again.

 

I, too, have invested more money than is in any way related to the value of the car.  I suspect that this is the case for many people on this list.  I hope the mechanic you trust is very familiar with things Mopar.  I say this because I truly felt the substitution of a GM alternator was a very bad idea.  There were better, less intrusive, alternatives and I think you really need to take this car to someone who really understands and appreciates how Mopars work.  I take different makes of cars to different shops.  Our 63 Lincoln, a real money pit, goes to one place, our GM products to another.  I would not take the Imperial to either.

 

Your statement, 'He could give the car a valve job, but that wasn't going to cure bad rings, and would only make the bottom of the engine blow out that much faster,'  is the main cause for my concern.  It seems like muddy thinking that is not consistent with your situation.  This may be due to a lack of understanding on my part, or perhaps you reduced a long conversation to a snippet, and, as a result, may not be perfectly conveying what was said.

 

In my limited experience, high operating temperatures have been caused by a poor radiator or running the engine way too lean a fuel mixture.  Several people, in response to your first post pointed towards the carburetor and I tended to agree.  I would be sorely tempted to get the car properly tuned and see what if that makes a difference.  What other problems are you experiencing that leads to the conclusion you have poor valves and rings?  I'm the kind of person who really needs to just about have a gun put to my head before I'd totally tear down an engine completely just because it was running a little rough, and I'd sure  want to get every question settled in my mind before I did something so drastic.

 

I had to re tune my engine once I had a brake booster that would hold vacuum.  This was years before the other problems that did lead to needing to get the engine rebuilt and, in my case, there was no connection between the two events.

 

I wish you all the luck in the world.  A rebuilt engine is a good thing to have.  You will probably want to repaint the interior of your engine compartment once it is out and you know what will happen then, don't you?  Watch out for those "Might as well" projects!

 

Hugh