383 tear down something doesn’t look right.

1245heathen · Nov 24, 2019

Bought this 383 hp awhile ago. Ran when pulled(sure sure) but he had a video of it running in his truck. Anyways life finally let me get around to swapping the oil pan and getting ready to drop it in my Belvedere. Pulled the oil pan and windage tray and this is what I see on cylinders 7+8 at the bottom of each cylinder wall. No Metal anywhere else in the pan. Cylinder walls look fine, I wasn’t planning on pulling the heads as everything leading up to this seemed legit. Am I screwed or was it rebuilt once before and will run fine like this, it spins freely? Any help would be appreciated as I haven’t seen anything like this before.
Thanks.

steve340 · Nov 25, 2019

Where does that hole go?

Big Bad Dad · Nov 25, 2019

Pull the caps and check the rod bearings. Something looks like it hit the bottom of the bores. If those bearings are ok, it could have thrown a rod in the past, maybe?

MoparMitch · Nov 25, 2019

Could be damage from a previous damage. If you don't see any metal anywhere else. It is probably ok. Maybe get a scope , and check those cyl walls.

68Moparmaniac · Nov 25, 2019

It appears that engine at one time kicked the rods out. The shop that did the re-work didn't take the time to smooth out the crash site. That one side of the block with the mysterious looking divot on the side of the block. Is that some kind of JB weld or something else? IF that's an actual hole in the side of the block that would be a cause for concern.

miller · Nov 25, 2019

Agree, probably from previous damage.
But, even if it does turn good, turn it to watch the piston skirts, how far down they come. At the very least, I'd suggest 'dressing' those breaks, so they don't scrape the pistons.

1245heathen · Nov 25, 2019

Thanks a million guys, I did order a scope last night after I found that. I did check to see how far the piston came down and it doesn’t go very Far past the break but once I get the scope I will be able to see more.

I had the same guess since there was Metal anywhere else in the block that it was previous but also wondered why they didn’t clean up the breaks.

1245heathen · Nov 25, 2019

68Moparmaniac said:
It appears that engine at one time kicked the rods out. The shop that did the re-work didn't take the time to smooth out the crash site. That one side of the block with the mysterious looking divot on the side of the block. Is that some kind of JB weld or something else? IF that's an actual hole in the side of the block that would be a cause for concern.

I will double check the divot to make sure I didn’t miss anything since I was so concerned with the obvious damage in front of my face!

R413 · Nov 25, 2019

The pistons will absolutely come out of the bottom of the bores, here is my 383 photo. You can see the piston skirt so look at yours to see if it’s scuffed. If you hand is small enough run the piston up and feel the edge of the cylinder.

If that was not smoothed out the engine wouldn’t turn very good at all. I think it’s going to be fine.

View attachment 871903

threewood · Nov 25, 2019

Looks like previous damage. You can see a ding in the oil pan rail on your second pic.

69a100 · Nov 25, 2019

Do you know the history of the motor?
Do you know who rebuilt it?
Was the shop in the local area or elsewhere?
Out the rebuilder if known to prevent others from getting burned. Good Luck

451Mopar · Nov 25, 2019

as mentioned, looks like previous damage, just think of it as pre-clearance for a stroker

SublimeSixpack · Nov 25, 2019

Besides what has already been mentioned, in the second image to the left it appears that the block is cracked. That would concern me.

R413 · Nov 25, 2019

SublimeSixpack said:
Besides what has already been mentioned, in the second image to the left it appears that the block is cracked. That would concern me.

Do you mean the casting flash and it’s on all blocks there? It’s in his first photo also.

Here is a photo in my block. Top of photo on both cylinders

66Satellite47 · Nov 25, 2019

I agree with others, previous damage from tossed rod. Rotate the motor & check how that piston skirt looks. If OK, not a big concern for a driver motor. Look real close for an signs of oil leakage around that hole in the block skirt. A good epoxy job can work just fine.

SublimeSixpack · Nov 25, 2019

R413 said:
Do you mean the casting flash and it’s on all blocks there? It’s in his first photo also.

Here is a photo in my block. Top of photo on both cylinders

View attachment 872208

I'm familiar with casting flash. If my eyes aren't deceiving me there is a crack just to the left of the damaged piston in his second image. To me it looks like a crack right where the casting flash is. Look very carefully and tell me what you think.

moparsaver · Nov 25, 2019

I don’t think my conscious would be ok with it...

1245heathen · Nov 25, 2019

Thanks for all the input, my scope will be here tomorrow so I will see what kind of pics it takes. One cylinder wall and one skirt are hard to see due to the angle, I will search the house for a small mirror to see what I can. All the lines on Inside of the block seem to be casting marks since they are the same location below the cylinders. I think I’m in agreement with most and just going to run it. Other than the initial purchase I’m not into it much, and have a 440 at my parents house that I guess I will be building sooner rather than later.

1245heathen · Nov 25, 2019

69a100 said:
Do you know the history of the motor?
Do you know who rebuilt it?
Was the shop in the local area or elsewhere?
Out the rebuilder if known to prevent others from getting burned. Good Luck

I wish I had more info but found it through a acquaintance and the old guy I bought it from was having heart and money problems so I probably paid a little too much for it just kind of a charity deal and I was looking for a big block but hadn’t really had much luck near me. If it runs for awhile good, if It blows so be it lesson learned time to move on. I will post more here in the next couple days when I can do some investigating.

1 Wild R/T · Nov 25, 2019

If it's standard bore I'd strongly suspect it kicked a rod under warranty & the dealership just patched it & sent it down the road... Mopars had a 5/50 powertrain warranty & the dealers did what they needed to do to make a profit.... BTDT.... Not how I would want to fix things but when the warranty auditor is calling the shots you fix it how they say or find another place of employment....

383 tear down something doesn’t look right.

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