Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

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Topic: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 10/08/09 08:52pm

The Boodles wrote:

Well its definitely the #3 cylinder. I just pulled the wire and it runs smooth again ( i'm a dumb a$$, I should have done that on the drive home, it would of went WAY smoother/quicker lol.)

The Boodles

Sounds like crossfire. Try replacing the distributor cap (and rotor) first. (There may be carbon tracks inside the cap that's causing #3 to fire on the intake stroke when a nearby cylinder fires.)

Second possibility is bad plug wires. Try watching the engine when it's dark ... you may see blue spark between plug wires. (If so, I'd recommend a complete new set of plug wires.)

1970 Explorer Class A on a 1969 Dodge M300 chassis with 318 cu. in. (split year)
1972 Executive Class A on a Dodge M375 chassis with 413 cu. in.
1973 Explorer Class A on a Dodge RM350 (R4) chassis with 318 engine & tranny from 1970 Explorer Class A

Posted By: Jer&Ger on 10/09/09 08:30am

Ok, the coatings are all white or close, some layers really hard, some softer, but very gummy. Maybe some are Dicor, and I put some Eterbond (sp?) on some seams. Anyway, I'll try some acetone today and see if that helps. Thanks for the advise....Jerry

Jerry & Gerry, our pets (dogs), Byron, Coco
1976 Monaco, 440 ci. Dodge Sportsman chassis

Posted By: lauchlin on 10/09/09 10:05am

The Boodles wrote:

Ok please help. Got the cooling system working fine now, only runs at about 175-180.
Drove it home fine, and around town a bit. On a cty road at 60 suddenly I began getting continuous backfires up through the carb. It struggles to turn over to start now, but will. I drove it at about 20 home (wasn't too far away) .At idle, slow speeds, anything it is one continuous backfire up the carb. I am about to at least try to figure out which cylinder it is... Since I just had the cam, timing, and lifters replaced, could it be a valve spring? I assume its not the plug wires since it is firing up through the carb. Also, would this be something that I should have the guy who fixed look at? Should it be on the house since it's only been less than 24 hours? Please help, my wife and I just finished cleaning and fixing some of the interior.We just wanna go 5 minutes to a local campground. [emoticon]

The Boodles

Try retarding the timing a little sound like its to far advanced it will all so make it hard to start .........

Posted By: The Boodles on 10/09/09 10:26am

Thanks everyone. I just checked the compression on that cylinder and it's only 80 psi. I'm going to talk to the guy who fixed it (dropped my cell out at his shop and need to get it anyway..) It must be a valve spring i think. [emoticon]

Do you think the new cam may be too much for the old springs? (by the way, if you read this Eric, is that an OE replacement or a HP cam?) I sure don't want to change them all this fall. Or could it be install error? One guy said if the cam wasn't broken in properly I could also have a flat lobe... Oh and the new spark plug was pretty black, wasn't singed, but a decent amount of carbon, I assume from the backfiring?
Well here's to just a valve spring I guess lol, I can at least do that in a day.
Hey quick question again... Do I need to change the gasket if it is brand new when I pop the valve cover? I know to always do it when you take them off, but with it being 4 days old? Never had to do that before lol.
Well thanks again for the advice, and I'll keep you posted.

The Boodles
Red Wheel Dude and Lady Red Wheel [emoticon]

Posted By: lauchlin on 10/09/09 11:12am

The Boodles wrote:

Put some oil in the low Cylinder will tell you if its ring or valves .If compression goes up it's ring if it stays the same it's valves .......Did you look at the valve spring did it look ok also try turning the motor over with the valve cover off check the action of all the lifters and pull the coil wire off the distributor and ground it first .......

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 10/09/09 11:27am

Just a little bit of oil -- maybe a teaspoon. I have a oil squirt can filled with tranny fluid I use for my sharpening stones, that I use when I want to check whether low compression is due to rings or valves.

I saw a case years ago where a chunk of combustion ash got jammed in the valve seat and prevented the valve from closing completely.

Havig said that, I still think you have a crossfire problem. The fact that it's just one cylinder and the problem disappears when you remove the spak plug wire indicates that the problem. The low compression is probably a secondary problem.

Posted By: Jer&Ger on 10/09/09 07:38pm

Well, the acetone seemed to help OK and I have all the screws out now except for one vent that I will get tomorrow. Thanks for the help....Jerry

Posted By: 79powerwagon on 10/10/09 07:26pm

RWD (I kinda like that! LOL) The cam is not too much. I've used that same cam in many Mopar engines and never had any issues. Got about 100,000 miles out of the 360 in my old Power Wagon running that cam, and running that truck HARD!

You probably still have fine tuning for both the ignition and the carb (which should be done simultaneously anyway), and you should do this before you spend money on anything else mechanical.

These old-tech engines are easy to work on, but now you know why "they" have gone to computer controls and EFI! [emoticon]

P.S. still want to see new pictures!

She ain't purdy, but at least she's slow!

Posted By: IDidWhat on 10/11/09 06:32am

Hello to all, and what a terrific wealth of knowledge. I bought a 1977 Dodge Brougham 10 days ago that the sellers said would be ok to take on a 1000 mile trip. It,s still sitting in their driveway although its already registered in my name. I was hoping someone would know if F1 is the Rotor or Stator on the alternator? Troubleshooting a short and the red wire on the alternator has burned thru insulation.

Is Red or Yellowish wire hooked up closest to Battery terminal stud on alternator?

Side note, the PO told me the gas tank worked but since I didn't see any indication, dropped the tank and found the float didn't float because it was full of fuel. Emptied it and soldered over the crack hopefully will know how well it holds after finding this wiring short.

Thanks for all the insight

* This post was edited 10/11/09 01:26pm by IDidWhat *

Posted By: Jer&Ger on 10/11/09 11:52am

Well, according to my Chilton's book, Dk. Green or Lt. Green goes to the voltage reg., Dk. Blu. or Red goes toDual Ballast resistor, Blk. goes to Ammeter then other side turns red thru Fusible link then to +bat. Hope this helps....Jerry

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