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318 Rebuild

3K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Moparite 
#1 ·
I have an 88 318 4barrel. oil pressure is at 8 psi on warm idle, 50 psi cold. I figure cam, rod and main bearings. So I have 2 questions..

1.) does anyone know anything about the cheap rebuild kits on ebay? theres a titan engines brand kit and forget the other, heres the links:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dodge-318-5-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c5bcb0b93&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DODGE-318-5-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item20cca9ed37&vxp=mtr

just wondering if anyone has ever tryed out these kits or know if there any good?

2.) I ordered a cam for it a few weeks ago but its the hydraulic flat tappet style and i have a hydraulic roller block so im wondering if i can just get push rods and rocker shafts off a flat tappet motor and bolt them to my #302 heads? would that work?
 
#2 ·
Before you go rebuilding the engine have you tired replacing the oil pressure sending unit? If it is the same as my 78 model the sender is only $12 at Advance Auto. May want to consider a manual pressure gauge to make for absolutely sure.

I am not a fan of buying "off brand" name engine kits from from Ebay, I would prefer to have a local brick and mortar business that I can return parts to. I can never seem to find any of those prefab kits that have everything I want/need.

I recently bought all the parts to rebuild a 2.0L Escort engine for $100+ less than Ebay prices from Advance Auto Parts, ordered the parts through their website and checked Retailmenot.com for coupons. Don't be afraid to place multiple orders and use multiple coupons, I placed a total of 5 orders and even picked three of them up from the same store.
 
#3 ·
well it all started with my oil pressure dummy light flashing on a warm idle so I bought a manual oil pressure gauge and that how I got my readings.

I am not a fan either of cheaping out on engine components, but this problem really did sneak up on me and the car is my daily driver. I don't have a whole lot of $$$ to burn at the moment but i also would like to do a complete rebuild as i plan on keeping the old girl for awhile
 
#4 ·
Hate to hear the ole 318 is giving out but 8psi is enough to ward off engine damage, surely it builds more pressure while driving. Might get lucky and a oil pump alone may do it though I would consider rolling new bearings in at the same time.
 
#6 ·
More info on the motor would be helpful. Do you have any valve tap? noise, rod knocks? etc... Did you drop the pan and look at the sump screen. It gets clogged up with sludge crap and the oil doesn't get to the pump. If you do rebuild it don't buy the cheapo crap on ebay. Get a complete kit from felpro.
 
#7 ·
no noises yet, motor does have a slight miss to it and water in the oil. i should do a compression check to be sure its a head gasket.

motors pushing 15 psi while at a cruise but as soon as i put load on the engine at the same rpm the oil pressure will actually drop down to 8 psi then if i drop it down a gear it will climb up to 40 at around 4500 rpm.

engine doesn't smoke but can smell burnt oil under hard acceleration.

i had a jeep once, had similar oil pressure, i pulled the pan and put a new pump on it and put 10w40 oil in it with only a 2 psi gain at warm idle.
 
#9 ·
I think 6-8 psi on warm idle is a little low... but you are right about the pcv valve, its plugged off.

I still gotta tear the engine down anyways (water in oil and running slightly rough) so I figure while im in there I might aswell put new bearings in it. im going to be putting a cam in and port the heads so I might aswell do everything one trip instead of tearing it down twice
 
#11 ·
i believe the rocker shafts/ rockers are the same for roller and tappet blocks. i have read about converting from hyd tappet lifters to roller lifters. i know comp cams makes a cam specifically for this. dont think i've ever heard of the opposite. since roller cams are more desirable

i'm thinking your best bet would be to return the tappet cam and buy the roller cam. wouldnt have to worry about the rest.
 
#12 ·
if you are going to have her opened up to do the heads and the cam then take the time to do as much as you can by way of in-frame engine work.

Before you open it up I would caution you to do a cylinder leak down test to see if you can sus out the source of the water in the oil. With luck it will be a leaky head gasket which will be collected when you put new head gaskets on after doing the heads

but do the leak down test and compression test before yo do anything to be sure that the engine is mechanically sound. Better to find that out before you start rather than part way through your project

If you do not have a leak down tester and/or a source of compressed air you might spend a few bucks and have the test done a a reputable garage
 
#13 ·
Anything above 5psi at hot idle should be just fine, in my opinion. I've seen quite a few older engines with lower oil pressure that run for many many many miles. A lot of them with the "low pressure" light either flickering or on. The important thing about oil pressure is that it RISES when the RPM's go up, which yours does.

Using heavier weight oil, while it doesn't permanently fix anything, will help on extremely hot days.

If you are going as far as replacing bearings, then by all means replace the oil pump for peace of mind. Just remember, it isn't completely necessary if the old one still builds pressure. ...and I am referring to a daily-driver, NOT a fancy-pants drag race engine... ;)
 
#14 ·
In addition to head gaskets I have also seen these engine leak coolant into the engine through the crossover in the intake. Either leak can start due to overheating but intake leaks can also start because the bolts become loosened, they only torqued at 30-35ft lbs and years of hot and cold cycles can cause them to back off just enough.
 
#15 ·
I got the flat tappet cam because it was $250-$300 cheaper... iv'e heard that the push rods are diffrent lenths and the ends of the pushrods are diffrent aswell?

and Lunchbox im going to rebuild the engine, no question about it. water in oil and low oil pressure = not cool. im really just looking for what people think of these cheap kits off ebay.

I was thinking today about buying just a full gasket kit off ebay and then buying name brand rod, main and cam bearings from my local preformance shop. and if i need new pistons then theres a set of TRW .30 over pistons on my local kijiji for a decent price. im not sure yet I gotta pull the engine here within a couple days.
 
#16 ·
I did a 2bbl to 4bbl swap a month/ 3000kms ago. has a cast iron 4bbl dome new steel gaskets that I tourqued in order to 30ft-lbs, I also retourqued them after a week of driving. never had water in oil till about 1000kms ago, around the same time i replaced the water pump. my guess is either timing cover gasket or headgasket. the engine always had a slight miss too it, vacuum gauge reads 19.5, I rebuilt the carb, new ignition.
 
#18 ·
m really just looking for what people think of these cheap kits off ebay.
Key word, CHEAP If you want to replace the head gaskets and who knows what else after you "rebuild" it then go ahead. You don't know what kind of no name made in china crap you are going to get. I have used Felpro for years and have never had an issue. And have noticed improvements they made over the stock gaskets.

if i need new pistons then theres a set of TRW .30 over pistons on my local kijiji for a decent price.
TRW is a good brand but you might want to look at sealed power. Might save a few $$$.
 
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