Just bought my first Mopar yesterday! And this afternoon, it started puffing a bit of white smoke in sync with the #6 cylinder (confirmed by pulling the plugs one at a time while running while looking for the white smoke to stop)...naturally, as it goes with car purchases, this wasn't happening last night when I picked the car up or the week before when I first looked at it...

On the way home last night, it was a hot night and she got a little warm...not an overheat, but enough to pass a bit of fluid into the blow-by tank (it also seemed to have been overfull). Considering I put 90 miles on it and it didn't really overheat or lose much power, I'm assuming the problem isn't the block.

Is there a way to tell, before I tear my car apart and render it inoperable, whether my problem is most likely the head or the head gasket? The car is a 1967 Plymouth Satellite, rocking a 440 4bbl and a 727 originally out of an imperial. I look at a blown head gasket as a chance to learn a bit, and a cracked head as a chance to do an upgrade — so I'm happy as a pig in the mud with this bitchin' ride. ;-) Just want to make sure I keep as little downtime on this car as possible.

 

The only way to know for sure is to pull the head. More than likely it's just the gasket,bring the head to a machine shop and have it checked for cracks to be sure,and to see if the head is warped. When you tear it down mark everything so it goes back in the same way. Oh, by the way,welcome to the wonderful world of mopar!!

 

is there any oil in the coolant?
or vise-versa?

 

It's unlikely to be a problem with the head or block, so the most probably culprit is the head gasket. Luckily the 440 is a simple engine to disassemble, you can remove the head without tampering with the distributor. Just remove the intake and exhaust manifolds and unplug the spark plug wires to access the cylinder head.

I remember when I blew a head gasket in my '64 T-Bird, the engine was a Ford 427 that I had swapped in a year earlier, and getting the head off was a royal pain. There was less than an inch between the exhaust manifolds and the fenderwells, and of course I managed to break a couple of exhaust studs while trying the get the thing apart. I'll not repeat the words I said (shouted) at the time, but the experience made me miss the simplicity of the big block Chrysler cars I used to own.

 

There's no water in the oil (atleast, yet) but there is air coming up through the radiator when the thermostat opens. Also, it seems to be deteriorating with use. Unless I misunderstand something about those old-iron heads, that leads me to believe the gasket is probably just as old as the car and is failing.

I was going to look into replacing the head, but as it's gotten significantly worse in the last 24 hours (and basically 3 7 mile drives) I'm beginning to think I should just pick up all the gear I need and do the head gaskets this weekend. I figure if one is gone, the other can't be far behind. What do I need, other than a set of gaskets and the usual box of wrenches and sockets?

 

torque wrench, thread sealant, never sieze, six pack of barley pop

 

dont forget the valley pan,"intake gasket" you could probly get away with using the old one but might as well replace that wile you are in it that far.

 

And a weekend+a day...sounds like a party. Now the question is whether the 440 out of a '67 imperial has 915 or 516 heads? It was rated 350hp@4400rpm according to the brochures. I'm wondering if a quick valve job while I'm in there might give me some extra go. A quick search gave me lots of conflicting stories about the difference between 915 and 516 heads an which engines they came on.

Also, does this thing have hydraulic lifters? I do need to set the valves while I'm putting it back together? Anything else mild I can do while I'm at it would be good to know.

 

After reading about it more I realize the valve job is a big no-no unless I'm going to do the rings while I'm at it and...I'm not.

 

they have non adjustable hydraulic lifters

 

No doubt, it was the gasket. Pulled those 915 castings off and found the gasket had rusted through in some spots, jacket holes had clogged with rust in others. Some of the jackets were fully clogged with rust on the block as well.

The cylinder walls look good, superficial damage (tiny bits of rust in a small area in #3 but doesn't seem to have pitted in the wall) but that looks like it should work out. Cam wear is present, but very mild. No scars on the lobes.

I also had a fractured rocker shaft, so I wasn't able to finish it in the weekend since I couldn't find the part on a saturday or sunday. On account of that, I'm taking those 915s in to a machine shop in the morning to have the valves done (harder valves that can handle unleaded, and swap the 2.08/1.60s out for 2.08/1.74s) and a mild port if it's not cost-prohibitive.

Looking forward to the extra ponies I'll get just by having this all right. :-D

 

Some photos of the tear down.

 

Turns out it was the head. Took 'em into the machine shop for a valve job, hardened seats and a larger 3-angle. Few days later the machine shop discovered a freeze crack on the driver-side head between the freeze plug and the tap for the exhaust manifold stud. Sweet. Picked up another set of 915s from a wrecking yard in socal, expecting them tuesday next week and the whole set cleaned up like new with the valve job complete by end of next week.

Can't wait to get this bad machine running again. I inspected the block for freeze damage, and insofar nothing has come up.