Drove my 79 for the first time today!

[243]

I finally buttoned up the 401 in the 79 and took a few trips around the neighborhood today.

There is a fairly loud rattle when I first start the motor that lasts for 10-30 seconds and then it goes completely away. Things that come to mind: torque convertor or trans but I can't pinpoint the noise, maybe a bolt or nut in the exhaust pipe just below the manifold, or possibly the teeth that were sheared off the old distributor drive gear are bouncing around. It's odd that I only hear it when I first start the motor.

Tomorrow I plan to unbolt the torque convertor and slide it back before I start the motor, maybe this will isolate the problem.

I have a lot of work ahead of me; for starters, I need to rebuild the carb and brakes before I can try for the inspection.

243

[Narnian]

You sure that rattle isn't the neighbors kitty?

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360 w/Holley Fuel Injection, Edelbrock manifold, NP219, 3.31, 33's, no fuzzy dice (yet)
AND an 86 Corvette

[Matt W]

oh boy. could be lifters. could be the bolts from the flexplate to torque converter are hitting the cover plate. the proper ones are Very low head profile and have 3 cuts going all the way across them making six little pie wedges on the head. maybe a broken motor mount is allowing exhaust pipes to rattle against a frame rail? check the pipes for closeness to other components. Whats your oil pressure at startup? If its around 13 at idle you're good. it'll take a few seconds to come up from the left side of the gauge. it should never drop below the right side of the red line while running. hiway running it should be about 35 to 50 psi for 50 to 75 mph. I've fought phantom rattles in my truck since i bought it from my dad in 96. I had a minor accident about then and broke a motor mount(unknowingly) and this gave rise to the engine shaking around violently when idling and popping out of drive into neutral when it shifted from 1 to 2 under hard acceleration and even just going over speed bumps. my dual 2.5 inch exhaust rattled against the tranny mount crossmember mounting bolts on the pass side where it went between the qtrac and frame rail. just look at every thing or have a buddy start it and you listen for the sound and try to locate or duplicate it. its a pain. sometimes youll be surprised to find out what makes what kind of noise on these things! happy hunting!

[BobBarry]

That could be lifter-clatter, if they are taking a long time to pump up.

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Bob Barry<UL TYPE=SQUARE>* '78 Cherokee 4-door
* '88 Grand Wagoneer[/list]http://studentweb.providence.edu/~rbarry/wheels/

[243]

The noise is much louder than a lifter and it is much lower in the motor.

I do have the low profile t.c. bolts with the slots in them.

The motor mounts looked good and the engine does not shake much at all when it fires up.

I have to check the fuel pressure and rebuild the carb because it is hard (almost impossible now) to start. Then I'll have the wife start it while I'm listening for the rattle.

243

[jeepbob]

Did you check the rod and main bearings before putting the motor in? Sounds like a pre-death knell of loose bearings until the oil gets there to cushion the blows. Really hope I'm wrong.

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65 wag. 360/edelbrock rb4/t400/20 t-case/4:10 d27/d44 broken power lok/onboard air/onboard 110v power(no inverter)/1999 Lincoln t.c.leather buckets/Lincoln ctr console/winch/33x12.50/tunes/water proof door pads
soon to have new motor/d44frt/d60r(4:10)welded diff/custom bumpers
see ya in da mud

[243]

I did not check the bearings at all and I hope this is not the case. I primed the motor several times before starting it in the 76, replaced the oil pan gasket and stabbed the motor. Primed it again before starting it the second time in the 79.

I've never had to pull a motor from one vehicle and install it in another without a complete rebuild: bearings, rings, gaskets and valve job. This is a true bottom of the budget project...until I sell my Dodge I have no additional funds for a complete rebuild. If it's possible to replace rod or main bearings without pulling the motor, I may have to if a bearing has failed.

I'll know more tonight...I need peace of mind so I'm going to disconnect the tc and try to start the motor before I rebuild the carb.

243

[Matt W]

I'm not sure if you can get the con rods off the crank, ( or the oil pan off the block for that matter!) w/ out pulling the motor. All the engines i've worked on, 401 and several 360s were out of the vehicle ...except in my j20, i did get the pan off and looked around in there while under the truck...i guess youll have to jack up the frame instead of the axles to get the clearance between the engine and front axle on a wag(unless its lifted) to remove the pan. the main caps can be taken off one at a time, but the crank can't be removed w/ out pulling all that $h1X off the front of the engine to free the crank snout! I hope its not this either! What a headache!!! http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/frown.gif I would pull the pan though and see if there's any metal in it, also look at your oil too. if it has shiny bits in it, like metalic paint, its probably bad. On the good side, this will give you a chance to really build that 401 up later when you can afford it! as long as the rods and crank arn't too bad, you can rebuild a 401 pretty easy into a performance engine. Hey, they Raced AMC motored javelins in the 70 Trans-Am season and finished second behind fords venerable boss 302 mustangs, beating the camaros, challengers, firebirds and barracudas that year!!!! Ford drew out of racing the next year and by 71, all factory teams had pulled out but the javelins. Thes had , i believe 304s in em! imagine almost a hundred more cubes! 500 hp on pump gas is possible too with a 401...Got the "Carcraft" magazine to prove it! My 401 prolly only has 350 or so bhp, but its still fun in a 5100 lb truck! Are you excited yet?! Can't wait to build a 401 screamer?! well that hopefully will take your mind off your current possible problems. http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/wink.gif

[88gwag]

sounds like a main bearing. several jeeps of mine used ta do the same 'til the oil pressure got to the bearing. the good news is that my 84 went 40k more miles sounding like that at startup. course i drive like a lil ol lady http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

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andyd

[243]

Update guy's:

I fixed the inline electric pump and disconnected the torque converter, then tried to get it to start...no spark. I traced the problem to the pick up coil and then noticed that I burned through the wires going to the distributor on Sunday because they were laying against the exhaust manifold.

Fixed that and the motor fired right up...

no rattle, no knock, nothing but a smooth sounding engine. I stopped and started it at least ten times and could not duplicate the sound...hooked the t/c back up and the motor sounds the same meaning normal.

I drove it around the neighborhood for about 20min and it sounds fine but the tranny is slow to shift. I also put it in lowrange and that works too.

I'm not going to worry about noise until I hear it again.

Thanks for all the guidance,

243

[Matt W]

WOO HOO!!! http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/wink.gif