* This post was last edited 08/17/08 05:08pm by Old & Slow *
Old & Slow wrote:
griff,
partly grew up on the kuskokwim and flew in and out of fairbanks with frank barr on the mail run, so you know, i'm a old head. forgive the lower case, at present i'm one handed. thanks for the heads up on the 440. the one thing that concerned me was the use of one quart of oil about every 800 miles. the old engine runs so smooth. i bought this old relique as it is in near mint condition and many things like the toilet, refer, a/c and various other items have been replaced. i have cancer and have outlived the doctors preduction and i'm trying to squeeze just a little more out of the ol' hide. a new rv would not have added one day to my life. we flew to anc 4 years ago, rented a mh in anchorage and drove through fairbanks. didn't know the city. thanks again.
floyd
griff,
partly grew up on the kuskokwim and flew in and out of fairbanks with frank barr on the mail run, so you know, i'm a old head. forgive the lower case, at present i'm one handed. thanks for the heads up on the 440. the one thing that concerned me was the use of one quart of oil about every 800 miles. the old engine runs so smooth. i bought this old relique as it is in near mint condition and many things like the toilet, refer, a/c and various other items have been replaced. i have cancer and have outlived the doctors preduction and i'm trying to squeeze just a little more out of the ol' hide. a new rv would not have added one day to my life. we flew to anc 4 years ago, rented a mh in anchorage and drove through fairbanks. didn't know the city. thanks again.
floyd
Normally, I would not worry about one quart every 800. Look carefully for leaks... it is not uncommon to leak slightly at the front and back of the intake.
Also, seeps around the valve cover are not unusual. Those alone would account for at least half to 3/4 of the oil consumption.
Also, if your carb runs rich, it'll increase oil consumption. Also, if your timing is off, same deal. I've owned several 440's and all of them would start to consume once the oil got around 2000 miles on it if it were low quality or broke down easy. I started using Castrol's best 20-50 and that extended it to around 4k before it stated sucking it down. Cheap oil would extend another 1500 or so by adding STP or Power Punch to it.
BTW, my wife worked a 6 month stint (a winter) at Bethel as a nurse a couple years ago. Did 3 at Barrow this winter... I went and "enjoyed" the "uncrowded" tourist season for 10 days....
Change fluid and filter in the tranny, use good oil, add at least 1 quart of 10-20 or 10-30 engine oil when you do that, and change ALL the tranny cooler hoses. The trans will run cooler and the converter will work better.
You should set the bands while this is being done, and there's a spring you can remove from an accumulator/actuator piston, for sharpened shifts.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mopars forever... Not German, Japanese, Chinese...American Mopars!
The price of freedom is higher than the price of slavery, but it's still a bargain!
I switched all my cars to Redline MTL manual transmission lube many years ago and it's great. I use another Redline lube in diffs and automatics. I've been using a synthetic engine oil for years (Mobil 1 as it happens, tho I think several work well, Mobil 1 is widely available).
Also, I went back to using manufacturer recommended oil weight after a long series of discussions with an API oil engineer. I stopped using increased weight oil on high-mileage engines. On a really worn engine I might use Lucas Oil Stabilizer.
I'm considering using 0w30 engine oil because there is a good case for reducing friction in cold engines at startup.
Old & Slow wrote:
the stories of the dodge 440 and tranny are all so interesting. my 440 dip stick shows nice clean oil even with near 3000 miles since the last oil change. i plan to change oil and filter soon. the tranny oil also looks and smells nice. i would like to start out on my way to alaska but dw says i'm crazy. griff, do these oldie's have any market in alaska? maybe we could make it to fairbanks and sell ol' betsy. fly home. here in texas, from what i see, folks don't know the value we have found in owning a classic. i recently camped in a private park at port aransas next to a 1/2 mill. rig and suffered no harm. nothing tossed our way. perhaps they could see how much fun we were having. they stayed in their big box i guess afraid of perhaps tracking in a little sand. some folks don't know TRUE value. for us in our dodgie, we're happy. still concerned about the oil usage.
the stories of the dodge 440 and tranny are all so interesting. my 440 dip stick shows nice clean oil even with near 3000 miles since the last oil change. i plan to change oil and filter soon. the tranny oil also looks and smells nice. i would like to start out on my way to alaska but dw says i'm crazy. griff, do these oldie's have any market in alaska? maybe we could make it to fairbanks and sell ol' betsy. fly home. here in texas, from what i see, folks don't know the value we have found in owning a classic. i recently camped in a private park at port aransas next to a 1/2 mill. rig and suffered no harm. nothing tossed our way. perhaps they could see how much fun we were having. they stayed in their big box i guess afraid of perhaps tracking in a little sand. some folks don't know TRUE value. for us in our dodgie, we're happy. still concerned about the oil usage.
Well the 1978 Dodge Sportsman/Tradesman owners manual that I have under "Required Maintenance (page 36) states: For Light Duty applications "Engine Oil - 6 months or 6,000 miles.".
Next line for the Oil Filter: "Replace at initial oil change and every 2nd oil change.".
States exactly the same thing for "Heavy Duty Cycle" on page 38
This is what Uncle Sam used on the same year vehicles. And what I use "except" that I change annually and always change the filter at the same time. I never did care what "Jiffy Lube", "Grease Monkey', ETC. said about it (they're in it for the money).
BTW - The 440 in ours uses about a quart every 800 miles or so.
Ken
1978 21ft Tioga Dodge 440 Motor,
4.5kw Generac and 80 watts Solar
1984 Goldwing Interstate (Daily driver)
Misc Things I've done to my RV pictures
USAF Retired
To Err is human... To Forgive is not SAC Policy.
Take care
I really don't have any useful pictures, as for the most part, it was little time consuming stuff.
We got all the siding trim, and insert back on.
Attached the grey tank.
While we were at it, we ran extra wires to eventually add a See-Level II system.
I completed all the interior water, and vent piping.
Completed the exterior sewage plumbing.
Added a little more interior panelling, and door trim.
got the tub put in.
Most of the water plumbing is done, except I broke the city water inlet trying to tighten the hose... darn plastic parts.
Installed the bypass for winterizing the water heater, and installed the water pump.
Oh yea... I also made a new bathroom counter. I just need to figure out a formica design to finish it with.
Fixed the "errant" headlamp. Replaced one that was out, and fixed a couple marker lights.
Once we got home, I spent a couple hours starting to clean it up and organize the mess (before pic below) because I figure...
I only have two water items to fix... and we're going to say in it next weekend!!!! Whooo HOOOO!
It's bee a long road. I'll share a few pics anyway even though you can't see most of this weekends work.
![[image]](http://images40.fotki.com/v1261/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0813-vi.jpg)
Need to add the plastic surround to the tub before we can use it...
![[image]](http://images39.fotki.com/v1282/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0814-vi.jpg)
![[image]](http://images40.fotki.com/v1263/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0815-vi.jpg)
The Rest of the camper...
![[image]](http://images39.fotki.com/v1292/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0816-vi.jpg)
![[image]](http://images38.fotki.com/v1270/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0818-vi.jpg)
Just for reference, here is why we replaced the Black tank. The grey tank had aged the same. Every mounting point was cracked and or split.
![[image]](http://images108.fotki.com/v623/photos/4/43266/6106742/IMG_0812-vi.jpg)
(except for the mess, of course
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/tongue.gif "tongue")
)
'73 Concord 20' Class A w/Dodge 440 - see profile for photo
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/eek.gif "eek")
i now own a dodge with the mb400 frame. sayes f40 on the door plate. anyway, it's ironic my 78/79 tioga 24' also required a front brake job which required new rotors. $500 complete. so a big yes, the dodge based frames seem to be less cost to keep on the road to happy camping. why didn't i know this long ago. should have found this thread sooner rather than later. am i correct about the cost of front rotors for the p30 frames?
I was just hinking about how everyone here (whether they like it or not) has been privy to all the trials and tribulations of purchasing, taking delivery, and now the slow transformation. A couple years from now for giggles, I'll have to go back through the posts.
It's going to be a completely different unit. Eventually I hope to fix the panelling in the front of the unit with the same design as what's now in the back. Recover the sofa and barrel chairs, and put wood laminate down for flooring. And ya'll will have been there for the whole thing. lol.