The last bolts I removed to separate the engine from the transmission are these 4 bolts. I was astonished when I removed the first one and could see how small they are. These must be a very high strength but ductile alloy steel in order to transfer the entire power and torque from the engine to the transmission!!!!! Bolts that connect engine flex plate to transmission
Look at the attached pictures. There is an accumulation of red rust dust on the end of the crankshaft hub that mates to the torque converter. Is this a sign/symptom that there’s some relative movement between the flex plat and the torque converter???
The 4 connecting bolts were tight upon removal but I didn’t check the torque before removing to see if they were at spec.
you can see some scuffing on the 4 nut pads on the torque converter….is that normal??? Torque converter Crankshaft hub with red rust dust View of flex plate
Completely understand about the distributor alignment. My plan was to follow the shop manual procedure where the #1 cylinder is set at TDC on the compression stroke, then install the distributor and align the rotor with the #1 position on the distributor cap.
The question I have is: once I get the reinstall completed and hopefully running….is it worthwhile to find a shop with a DRB III scanner and have them tweak the timing? From what I have read, a traditional timing light is useless and the adjustment can only be performed while getting data from the DRB III scanner.
is it common for most shops to have a scanner capable of performing this operation?
used/functional DRB scanners start at $1500 and up. I assume common scanners you can buy for $200 are not capable of accessing the full dodge/chrysler menus
why are brass freeze plugs better??? Please explain
Im not gonna paint, Im all about function and reliability, not so much about cosmetics. There’s a lot of external dings, dents, and scrapes that my late father inflicted during his final years of driving ( like Mr Magoo) that would need attention before worrying about what’s under the hood.. I’m motivated to keep him in my memory by keeping his truck alive and running!!! It feels good to get in a drive
A Snap-On MT2500 scanner and the appropriate Chrysler cartridge with an OBD2 connector can set the fuel sync without an issue. You can find these scanners used on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and other outlets pretty reasonably. The factory DRB3 scanner is not needed for that function.
Brass freeze plugs don't rust over time like the steel freeze plugs. I use deep cup brass freeze plugs in my engine as they won't rust and due to the deep cup design, they are harder to accidentally blow out. Sizes used in the magnum engine are 1-5/8" for the block and 1-1/4" for the heads.
The engine swap with the ATK reman long block is complete. Thank you to all that offered valuable advice along the way. I tried to do everything by the book.
Installed the Hughes plenum mod kit.
New motor mounts
New harmonic balancer
New distributor cap, rotor, plugs, and wires
New A/C condenser, high pressure line, and dryer
New upstream O2 sensor
I cleaned up the throttle body.Cleaned the hell out of the intake manifold. Blew out the many connectors and applied dielectric grease before reconnecting. Didn’t start right away, but soon discovered the camshaft position sensor wire connector coming from the distributor wasn’t completely closed and locked- it then started right up. I did have a leak from the oil filter plate but got that fixed. Then went to work on finishing the A/C system commissioning and charging- that seems to be working OK. The 1st and 2nd fan speeds are inoperable, but I’ll have a new resistor block and fan/motor from Rock Auto tomorrow and will finish the A/C system commissioning.
After reading the “End All Plenum” thread I certainly took the threat seriously and indeed I think the prior plenum gasket was leaking, even though the internal surface of the plenum plate had some oil stains on it, wasn’t as bad as other pictures posted here. But I’m concerned about the condition of the catalytic converter. Tomorrow I will run a exhaust back pressure test with a test gauge set that just arrived- fingers crossed it’s OK - because I need to get an emissions test here in Colorado in order to renew my registration.
overall pleased with the results and what a DIY’er was able to get done.
I’ll post my all in costs later including all the tools and equipment I bought.
Ran that today- was very surprised to find very low back pressure. Near zero at idle and just under 1psi at 2500 rpm. So my concern that the plenum gasket failure had compromised my catalytic converter was unfounded.
