MWFan
Well-Known Member
Have asked everywhere and never got a definite answer as to why my 440 would smoke, only at idle when hot. It ran great, had 165+ lbs. compression. Had a few folks say they thought it was valve seals, others a leaky valley pan. I put a new pan in it and resealed the intake a year ago.
End of October I got disgusted with it and finally pulled the heads and took them to a shop. They found nothing wrong with them so I yanked the short block and took it to a Mopar specialist machine shop. Finally know the issue.
The oil ring rails were gapped way too wide, .050+. (?)
Also the compression rings had lost tension. This motor was built back in 1997 and had gone through a previous owner who only drove it a few times a year. Apparently this contrubuted to the issue.
It turned out to be a blessing because it also had a major issue with the crankshaft. Apparently the thrust surfaces had a defect that had worn the thrust bearing to where there was .045 end play.
SO, new rings, bearings and a replacement steel crank later....
I put it back together over the last couple of weeks and test drove it today. Feels much more crisp than it did, running great, no smoke.
What threw me off was the compression test results. Still don't understand why the rings issue didn't show up.
Thanks to Tyrods Custom cars in Bluff City Tn. for referral, Center Street Machine in Kingsport Tn. for heads evaluation and especially DJ's Performance Racing Engines in Mooresburg Tn. for finding and fixing the problem. If you are in the North East Tennessee area, I highly recommend all these guys.
End of October I got disgusted with it and finally pulled the heads and took them to a shop. They found nothing wrong with them so I yanked the short block and took it to a Mopar specialist machine shop. Finally know the issue.
The oil ring rails were gapped way too wide, .050+. (?)
Also the compression rings had lost tension. This motor was built back in 1997 and had gone through a previous owner who only drove it a few times a year. Apparently this contrubuted to the issue.
It turned out to be a blessing because it also had a major issue with the crankshaft. Apparently the thrust surfaces had a defect that had worn the thrust bearing to where there was .045 end play.
SO, new rings, bearings and a replacement steel crank later....
I put it back together over the last couple of weeks and test drove it today. Feels much more crisp than it did, running great, no smoke.
What threw me off was the compression test results. Still don't understand why the rings issue didn't show up.
Thanks to Tyrods Custom cars in Bluff City Tn. for referral, Center Street Machine in Kingsport Tn. for heads evaluation and especially DJ's Performance Racing Engines in Mooresburg Tn. for finding and fixing the problem. If you are in the North East Tennessee area, I highly recommend all these guys.
