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Driving 71 roadrunner clone 400 miles

C

cubanmoparnut54

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Apr 26, 2024
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Los angeles (soon to be arizona)
Hi guys, I will be moving soon from the 3rd world dump known as Los Angeles to the beautiful Arizona countryside god willing. I am planning to drive my RR clone about 450 miles instead of shipping it. Has a well-built 340 with a 904 which are in good shape but the 8 3/4 still howls loud even after changing the rear end fluid (Im thinking of adding some posi additive to see if it will help). My question is what do I need to make sure this should be a solid trip?
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To be honest I would not take off on a aprox 500 mile trip with a known problem.
Unless your leaving this week I would fix it 1st.
At least grab a open 741 used but with a good wear pattern. 2.94 or 3.23 ect.

We had a jeep come through our shop once that someone had pumped the rear full of gun grease trying to quiet it.
 
If you end up gambling, I get 100 mile towing, flat repair, etc, added to my car insurance for $10 per year. That would be 1/2 of your trip.
 
Posi lube won't make it quiet, save your money.

Is this car maintained well, or just an old car?

Aside from you failing rear end, pack all 4 wheel bearings, remove drive shaft and make sure ujoints are free and not tight or bound up.
Now put on new coolant hoses if they are not new. New thermostat if unknown. Tires need to be good, not old and no checkng or cracks.

Think of a road trip, it builds up heat, something local trips don't do. This heat will play havoc on items listed above.
 
Depends on WHY its making noise

If its bearings , Hell no.

if its just a gear whine, drive it like you stole it
 
R413 said:
Posi lube won't make it quiet, save your money.

Is this car maintained well, or just an old car?

Aside from you failing rear end, pack all 4 wheel bearings, remove drive shaft and make sure ujoints are free and not tight or bound up.
Now put on new coolant hoses if they are not new. New thermostat if unknown. Tires need to be good, not old and no checkng or cracks.

Think of a road trip, it builds up heat, something local trips don't do. This heat will play havoc on items listed above.
Click to expand...
The rear gears are in really nice shape the teeth look good. Ill pack the wheel bearings and replace the u joints. It has a new 340 and a rebuilt 904. The rear end was also rebuilt around 5-10 years ago. Tires are brand new so is the manual steering box I will be replacing this summer.
 
R413 said:
Posi lube won't make it quiet, save your money.

Is this car maintained well, or just an old car?

Aside from you failing rear end, pack all 4 wheel bearings, remove drive shaft and make sure ujoints are free and not tight or bound up.
Now put on new coolant hoses if they are not new. New thermostat if unknown. Tires need to be good, not old and no checkng or cracks.

Think of a road trip, it builds up heat, something local trips don't do. This heat will play havoc on items listed above.
Click to expand...
Now that I think about it those wheel bearings could be the source of the noise. I replaced the rear end fluid and checked the gears which looked really solid. I check under the car and the u joint looks good.
 
1967coronet said:
To be honest I would not take off on a aprox 500 mile trip with a known problem.
Unless your leaving this week I would fix it 1st.
At least grab a open 741 used but with a good wear pattern. 2.94 or 3.23 ect.

We had a jeep come through our shop once that someone had pumped the rear full of gun grease trying to quiet it.
Click to expand...
I'm leaving in a couple of months I have plenty of time to go through it.
 
Other than tracking down known leaks and noises and a check over of things already mentioned, If I have a planned long trip I like to drive the car on some short hops to build confidence and sort things out. Take a few 50 mile trips down the highway until you are comfortable that everything is as sorted.
 
driving down the road 20 or 30 mph, turn your wheel back and forth, like race cars warming their tires. A bearing that is going bad will often cause a detectable noise. Also, the seals will start to leak as the axle moves around because the bearing is loose. Might as well change the bearings, it's a part of restoration and not the worst job on a Mopar.
 
sam dupont said:
driving down the road 20 or 30 mph, turn your wheel back and forth, like race cars warming their tires. A bearing that is going bad will often cause a detectable noise. Also, the seals will start to leak as the axle moves around because the bearing is loose. Might as well change the bearings, it's a part of restoration and not the worst job on a Mopar.
Click to expand...
Not a fun one if you don't have a press.
 
Three different bearings have been mentioned:
Axle bearings
Wheel bearings
Gear bearings

I would attend to the wheel bearings first and see if the noise goes away.
 
DeltaV said:
Three different bearings have been mentioned:
Axle bearings
Wheel bearings
Gear bearings

I would attend to the wheel bearings first and see if the noise goes away.
Click to expand...
Im going to take it to my mechanic and have the wheel and axle bearings replaced. Doing as many things on the car as I can. So far I have got new tires, an alignment and adjusted the steering box, added a front sway bar, installed the dash and carpet, and added an exhaust.
 
#41 said:
Other than tracking down known leaks and noises and a check over of things already mentioned, If I have a planned long trip I like to drive the car on some short hops to build confidence and sort things out. Take a few 50 mile trips down the highway until you are comfortable that everything is as sorted.
Click to expand...
Yes I'm going to do that soon. I am going to be removing that fuel cell and reinstalling the factory tank today. I can't find the ground wire to the gas gauge so I need to find a new one as I don't feel comfortable driving 500 miles without a working gas gauge.
 
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