Rsrfoto

So after finally running the car for a little while, ive noticed that it seems like most of my gauges dont work. The battery gauge works, fuel gauge works but the coolant temp gauge didnt move, no lights for the other gauges unless i pull the headlight plunger.. any ideas? Or did i just not let it run long enough?

Iowan

If you ran the motor long enough for the upper rad hose to get warm the temp gauge should have gone up. If not the temp sender on the motor may need to be replaced.
As far as the fast lights should only come on when the lights are on.

Rsrfoto

hmmm. I wonder if it didnt run long enough. Problem is, i heard ticking in the area of cyl 2 ( unless mechanical fuel pumps make a ticking noise) it kind of scared me. Plus the smells and other noises, i ended up shutting it off after about 5 minutes or so. This is my first ohv Carbureted V8 so im very unfamiliar with what it should sound like, smell like and run like. With it being my only car at the moment i dont want to blow it up. No matter how bulletproof the 318 is, im still cautious. Hell toss me a honda/toyota f.i. engine and ill laugh at valve lash and rocker noise 'cus they all do it. I simply can not afford to be rebuilding this engine right now.

George Az

Do you have an oil pressure gauge? and if you do is it working? Oil pressure is more important to your motor than coolant upon start up. I would worry about this first. With your water temp gauge 5 minutes isn't enough to heat it up. From what I saw in other pictures, it looks like your thermostat housing is leaking and a thermostat usually comes with a gasket - I use some sealer too for insurance. Clean it up well. If your radiator cap is off after the thermostat opens you should be able to visually see the water moving in the radiator. Do NOT take the cap off when warm, you will get burned.

You don't need to worry about the valve train for adjustment, you need to know if you have oil pressure because that is what lubricated and fills the lifters. The 318 uses hydrolic lifters. The car hasn't been run or warmed up, the lifters might tick a little bit. And, if you do change the oil add a bottle of ZDDP or a zinc additive to protect the cam. It should be fine.

And of course it is going to smell. Try a little engine cleaner to get rid of excess gunk on the motor. Your motor is filthy from sitting and dirt accumulation. As it is, it starts and runs and you have another post about "lean burn". Just make it run as best as you can for right now. How are the plus, wires and rotor/cap? Yet another easy and cheap to do fix to help it all run smooth.

See if you can find a used Chilton Manual for the car. It will help.

Rsrfoto

Well, i managed to fix the previous owners errors the tenp gauge barely moved even after driving for 45 minutes. My mopar guy had mentioned that even his diplomat had this problem. I loked past it. Once i got it on a lift to check things over, the only this worth keeping in this car is the block and the body. Now please dont assume im a fool, ive been working on cars for 18 years. They have just all been fuel injected and half of them turbocharged. When purchasing something of this age i had to be overly cautious and ask questions about everything. As i said though, after getting it in the air, ive determined that it is not worth my time. At least, not right now. I may keep the car and do pittle things here and there in hopes i can restore it over time. For now however, ill be looking into finding something a little newer that can be driven safely. Thank you though for telling me about the oil pressure. I will certainly add that to my list of things to pick up. Very much appreciated