I am planning on doing an overhaul on a '94 3/4 ton Dodge. It has the 360 in it, and I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on the brand of manual to use. I feel apt enough to do the work, but I need something for the torques and tolerances. Is a dealer manual the best option?
Thanks ahead for suggestions and previous help.
ccooper
Wouldn’t swapping a used engine be faster, easier and cheaper? Engine rebuilding is an art and a science. It will take a few rebuilds before you are good at it. If this your daily driver go for the engine swap, if you don’t really need it to get to work give rebuilding a try. What’s your time worth to you?
Dealer manuals are almost always the best. Far more detailed then the aftermarket manuals like Chiltons.
I have the GM shop manual for my 1978 Oldsmobile and there is no way that I would attempt a real engine overhaul. A truly overhauled engine would involve reboring the cylinder walls, turning the crankshaft, etc. I had a friend who restores old Mustangs. He sends the engine to a machine shop to be overhauled.
In the old days, we would do what I call a sloppy patch–fit expansion rings on the pistons, break the glaze on the cylinder wall with some crocus paper, file off the ridge at the top of the cylinder wall, grind the valves and fit slightly undersize bearings to the crank if necessary and hope for 30,000 more miles. If we didn’t have to remove the engine from the vehicle, so much the better.
If you have the facilities to do the job, go with the shop manual from Dodge.
The truck has lasted 340,000 miles. I sort of fell like I owe it some kind of TLC.
I may have been misleading, all I want to do is “the sloppy patch”. I don’t have the tools to turn the crank and don’t want to bore the cylinders. Just looking to tear it down clean it up,new rings and pistons, valves and seat grindings and such.
Is it worth the work or should I look into a swap? I’ll be honest, I never really considered it until today.
What fun is that?
Give it a thought that maybe the pros can offer you something in engine rebuilding that you have not yet learned. I know that most think this is a field where 5 min. of glancing at a few instructions and you are Smokey Yunick, but take this engine to a real pro shop and pay them for what they know. If your window regulator breaks we are here for you.
Forget the “Sloppy Patch”, whatever that is…That’s just money down the drain…I would start looking for a good 318 cu.in. used engine, a MUCH better choice. The 360 is just a stroked 318 and it is not as good an engine. The 318 is much smoother running and gets considerably better fuel mileage. You will never notice the power reduction, which is minor…
One thing to watch out for. The 360 was externally balanced, the flywheel or torque converter have a big balance weight on them, the 318 engines DO NOT…So IF you do this, use a flywheel or converter made for the 318, not your old 360 parts…
I’ve rebuilt several engines…when I only used the machine shop to bore out the cylinders or redo the heads and milling of the block and head to make it smooth and turning the crank (if need be). But dis-assembly and re-assembly was done by me. New rings, bearings, gaskets to start…plus what ever else is needed…Many times new oil pump/ water pump, timing chains (or belt).
If you are in this for the fun of it, then pull the engine, put it on a stand. Tear it down, keeping track of where each part goes, they have to go back to the same place. take the block, the crank, the pistons and rods and all old bearings to a reputable machine shop. Have them mike everything out, ridge ream, hone or bore the cylinders, clean and or replace the pistons, new rings, new bearings, test the wrist pins, and turn and ballance the crank. You can then take everying home and torque it all back together, and re-install it. Have the heads done too. It may cost more than a rebuilt long block swap, but it will be more fun and you will learn a lot too.
There are so many “tips and tricks” about engine rebuilding that you do not want to learn the hard way.
I did just what I recomended to the OP myself once, and had no more trouble with it, drove it for 50,000 miles and sold it in good condition. It was a 1967 datsun with a 1300 engine, same as the MG.
I probably have a good 20 small blocks under my belt (complete overhauls). When I needed one for my 1965 GMC pickup and was out of the country I bought a blueprinted 330 HP steel crank,forged piston build from a man through Hot Rod magazine (Quincey Purcell out of Orange, Texas) This thing ran so much harder than any of the 20 I built. I mentioned this to him and he kind of laughed and told me he had rebuilt thousands of small blocks (mainly for the local dirt track circuit). There is no way I could beat this mans knowledge of small block rebuild tricks.3400.00 delivered from the carb to the oil pan, run in on a dyno. I bought this small block back in 1992-93 so it was darn expensive then.
OP…"The truck has lasted 340,000 miles. I sort of fell like I owe it some kind of TLC.
I may have been misleading, all I want to do is “the sloppy patch”. I don’t have the tools to turn the crank and don’t want to bore the cylinders. Just looking to tear it down clean it up,new rings and pistons, valves and seat grindings and such.
Is it worth the work or should I look into a swap? I’ll be honest, I never really considered it until today."
If you slop a 340k miles engine back together with new rings and bearings you can safely bet this “new engine” will come nowhere near making another 340k miles.
Stick a round piston ring in an oval and tapered cylinder and it won’t last long.
To properly rebuild an engine not only means machine work and cash it also requires a number of specialized and in many cases, expensive, tools.
You’re much better off buying a used engine and dropping that in. When the smoke clears (figuratively) you will find that the used engine will be cheaper than hacking something together.
There’s also a fair number of tips and procedures that you will not find in any manual, factory or otherwise.
Not to spoil your fun but I was told to never never never open up a high mileage engine. It’ll never be right again. If you must, just swap engines and save yourself a lot of grief. You will do no favors to the engine by opening it up.
If you are equipped and able to R&R and tear down the engine and wish to rebuild it then a machine shop will take care of all the cutting and pressing. A DIY rebuild is often better than a factory rebuild because there is no clock to beat and no need to cut corners for profits. I have helped several high school kids rebuild engines that were driveway blue prints. Rings were re-sized, rod and main caps dressed to the center of tolerance, etc. I would recommend finding an experienced old mechanic who would have the time to answer questions as they arise and dive in. A Mopar 360 is not too tough.But I would strongly discourage a “ring and insert” job.
I vote for a swap, the rebuilt is going to be time consuming. You won’t get your times worth back from this project. You can keep the old engine around and open it up and give it some TLC.