2000 Dakota head gasket help

Well, been working on this v6 2000 3.9 l Dakota that my brother said overheated and started blowing white smoke. I have the heads off and wanted to make some comments and get some advice:

1: This is the first time I have worked on a dodge. I thought the distributor would need to come out in order to take the intake off. I took off the mounting clamp for the distributor. I made a mark with a sharpie on the "plate" that is on top of the distributor base below the rotor. I made the mark in the direction the rotor was pointing. (The best I could, it was hard to see back there.) I actually never took the distributor out. When putting this back together, can I just aline the rotor with this mark. If it is off a 1/4 inch will it matter or do I need to do something different?

2: I took all head bolts out and pushrods and punched holes in two shoeboxes to store them to keep them in order. How do I tell if the head bolts need replaced? Also, the push rods had a clack coating on them. DO they need to be cleaned? Also, an old manual to another car said to put grease on the top of the pushrod the area the rocker arm contacts. Is this good advice or will it block oil flow?

  1. The back piston where I had high compression and was blowing coolant out the spark plug hole was about two inches from the top. I felt around and used a mirror and did not see anything wrong. Should I turn the engine over so I can inspect the rest of the bore? Will this disturb timing?

4: On this same piston there are two areas where a small "glob" of metal apparently attached to the piston. In this same cylinder during disassembly, the spark plug gap arm was missing. They are about the size of a baby asprin. I could not pry them loose with my finger. Should I try a razor blade? Is this really bad?

5: I am not sure if I am looking for is right but the head gasket looked alright to me. There were no "blown out" areas where gasket material was missing between cylinders or anything. Does this mean it might not be the head gasket?

6: Lastly, I am going to have a shop mill and crack check the heads. If they hot tank them, will this mess up the valve seals? Should I have them replaced? This engine has about 151,000 and ran ok when disassembled other than the overhweatign and smoke assumed from a leaking head gasket and anti freeze in the intake. I may drive this truck if it runs or sell it, not sure.

7: Oh, one last thing, some "leaf" material fell into the engine when I took the intake off. I vacuumed it as much as I could but did not get it perfect. Will this be a problem?

As always I appreciate your help!

Reply to
stryped
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The distributor contains the camshaft position sensor, it needs to be aligned correctly. Rotate the engine to #1 TDC compression stroke, align the ignition rotor with the alignment mark on the camshaft position sensor. (the mark should be obvious if you look at the camshaft position sensor) Ignition timing is fixed based upon the crankshaft position sensor.

They do not. If they go into the cooling jacket, the threads will need sealer (teflon pipe dope) and a little oil on the underside of the head bolts is advised. Chase all head bolt holes with a tap and blow them clean.

It would be a good idea. The rocker arms are lubed via oil being pumped up from the lifters thru the push rods. Make sure they are clear and free of debris.

Oil would be fine, if you want to go an extra step, Lubriplate #105 engine assembly lube would be the ticket. Do both ends of the rocker arms, push rod and valve.

If the distributor is still correctly installed, no. The distributor drive engages the oil pump drive gear with a slot, the distributor will only engage the oil pump drive two ways, correct or 180 degrees off. If you didn't totally mess this up, move the engine as you see fit, nothing bad will happen.

Would need to see it. Pry it loose and see if you can identify it.

Could be. carefully scrutinize the fire ring on the head gasket, that is usually where they let go.

Yes, the hot tank will eat anything that is not iron or steel. Heads off is also a good time to replace the freeze plugs.

Yes.

On the underside of the intake, there is a plate that seals the internal part of the manifold from the lifter valley, replace that gasket.

No compressed air available to blow the crap away before disassembly?

Being organic, it probably won't be catastrophic...

Reply to
aarcuda69062

stryped wrote in news:a71c29be-7932-4276-ab8b- snipped-for-privacy@e18g2000yqo.googlegroups.com:

It must be timed back after you reinstall everything. 1/4" will be way out of time.

Everything should be cleaned. The head bolts are most likely "torque to yield" and will have to be replaced. "Torque to yield" bolts are good for exactly 1 use.

Your timing is already disturbed from the distributor being moved. As long as you have not taken the timing chain off, turning the motor over at this point is not going to make any further difference at this point.

I would definitely get that off. This will be bad for a couple of reasons, first and formost is potential interference with the head or the new spark plug. Secondly, this will create a "hot spot" on top of the piston and lead to premature ignition, which could destroy the piston and engine. I would get that material off. Turn the motor over to where that piston is at the top of the bore. Melt a small amount of plain candle wax around the piston to cylinder gap, you just want to prevent any chips from getting down around the rings. Get the metal blob off the piston and make the area as smooth as you can. You don't want any sharp edges. After you are done, use a vacuume to clean up the area, then use an O- ring pick and carefully get all the wax out of the gap you can. The small amount left will melt off and be of no issue once the engine is fired back up.

Look for areas where the gasket laminate has separated. Many times there won't be a large gap, but the layers will have separated. But, it sounds more like a cracked head to me.

You have to have a "head set" of gaskets anyway. This set comes with new valve seals. With that many miles, provided they are not cracked, I would just have a full head job done. This normally costs about $75 per head. They will hot tank em, check for cracks, replace the valve guides, new seals, new freeze plugs (if applicable), regrind the seats and valves, check the valves for warpage, check the springs, etc, and re- assemble the springs, etc.

Cleanliness is your best friend when doing engine work. Did this material fall into a water jacket or into the oil galleys? How much did not not get?

Yw.

Reply to
Anthony

I am trying to keep costs down but want to do this right too. Should i replace the head bolts and have a valve job done?

Reply to
stryped

stryped fired this volley in news:0cfa8b33-8eba- snipped-for-privacy@r8g2000yql.googlegroups.com:

Taking bets on how long this takes...

Figuring from the one-lung-er experience, this should occupy most of the bandwidth here for at least six months.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

You will need to retime the distributor - not difficult.

Put grease on them - or engine assembly lube.

Yes and yes - but at least it's not overhead cam, so no cam timing issues

Your spark plug ground electrode came off - possibly due to detonation. That metal NEEDS to come out, and the damaged area NEEDS to be cleaned up and buffed smooth. Any sharp edges will become "hot spots" and will cause detonation.

It means you MAY well have a cracked head - not sure a bout Dodge V6, but could also possibly be a water leak into the intake?

DEFINITELY dissassemble the heads if you are hot-tanking - and seals GENERALLY come in a head gasket kit. REPLACE THEM!!!

Keep as clean as possible. Clean leaf material will likely not do any harm

Reply to
clare

Not TTY on Dodge

Reply to
clare

As to the head bolts...

If they are "stretch" bolts or "torque-to-yield" bolts then yes, absolutely. If you don't replace them, they will most likely break when you go to tighten them. And then you will be in a world of hurt.

If they are not and they are in good condition, reuse them.

Call the dealer and ask what kind you have.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

stryped wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@r8g2000yql.googlegroups.com:

Find out if the bolts are torque to yield. Clare says no, and I don't know. If they are not TTY bolts, then reuse is expected, unless they are cracked.

I would opt for the head job. Not a lot of money for making sure everything is ok and up to snuff.

Go buy yourself a Chilton's book at the parts store for your vehicle. This will be your best investment in this endeavor. You are going to need it anyway for torque values, timing diagrams, etc. It will cover everything you are going to be asking.

Reply to
Anthony

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Didn't know that, my Dodge Neons and Breeze, et'al use TTY bolts as does my Ford. Guess it depends on the engine family.

Reply to
Anthony

By the way, should I use rtv on the head gasket? I am guessing not. I will say i have used them on intake's before.

I have an online manual but it is not a Chiltons.

Reply to
stryped

I guess I should have said on "that dodge" or on old-tech pushrod mopars Mitsu-dodges may have TTY, as well as many of the new-generation high-tech engines

Reply to
clare

stryped fired this volley in news:fe893ca3-1f66- snipped-for-privacy@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com:

HEEEEERRREE WEEE GO AGAIN!

This'n oughta be quite a ride!

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

stryped wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com:

Use a quality head gasket set (Felpro). Do not use any additional sealant on the head gasket. I don't use sealant on anything except the waterpump, waterneck, and oil pan gasket (to hold it in place.)

Remember when using RTV, if you can actually see it on the gasket surface, you've used too much.

Reply to
Anthony

NO RTV!!!!!! high-tack or copperseal spray can be used sparingly to hold the gasket in place and help seal.

Reply to
clare

.com:

Is the copperseal a good idea? Also should I use RTV on intake gaskets? I know you should use it between the rear seal and side seals.

Should RTV be used as a sealer on head bolts?

Reply to
stryped

Why don't you get yourself a proper repair manual?

You can probably find one at your local library, if you're in or anywhere near a major city. And people sell factory service manuals on eBay all the time.

Reply to
Doug Miller

snipped-for-privacy@milmac.com (Doug Miller) fired this volley in news:6e0Fl.14750 $ snipped-for-privacy@flpi149.ffdc.sbc.com:

What? And not be able to annoy the shit out of us for six months?

Why should he be able to just turn to a section that discusses what he wants to do, when he can ask stupid, diagonal questions, then "sift" the answers he wants from the hundreds he'll get?

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

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