Some of yall have followed along my trials and tribulations with my love/hate relationship with the /6 in my van. It needs rebuilt. Heres whats been done and whats wrong with it so far.

New carb-working great.
New head off a 69 170ci motor
reinstalled all hydraulic components onto 69 head
replaced intake/exhaust manifolds with ones off the 69 motor due to cracking issues with original parts

Problems

Rod knocking at higher rpms. gets louder during low load cruising or downhill high rpm coasting

Water in the oil- like alot. dipstick is really milky when i pull it

Massive oil leak- Rear seal as well as i believe somewhere around the alt bracket? Ive been told there is a bolt for the alt bracket that goes into an oil galley?

Using water- Think this may be the rad, but ive noticed that there is a 1/4 to 3/8" lip at the edge of the block where the new head is a bit shorter than the original head along the distributor side.

Front seal in the trans and the pan gasket are SHOT! Leaks a quart over night. I think the 1100 mile move from FL to IL pulling a 2k lb trailer plus the van being loaded to the gills finally did in this drive train. I want to rebuild this setup to be a competent highway runner, no huge loads, focusing on driveability, low maintenance, and low-mid range power. Im up for cams, mild machine work etc. I plan to do the hei swap and thats about the extent of the custom work i know of. Any help, suggestions, etc. Just b switching the carbs i picked up 4-5 mpg so im happy with the gas mileage. Sorry for the long post and thanks for the suggestions in advance!

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

Check your torque converter bolts. Milky oil is bad, it will kill bearings fast. 1100 miles is not much, how often where you checking oil and when did it get milky?

TF
Edit: My bad thought the eleven hundred was on a new build. Long pulls can make the weak link come out. Could just be head gasket which is simple.

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Even in moderation i am excessive!

The milky oil could be a big problem, or maybe not. cold damp weather can cause moisture in the oil. Most large auto parts stores have an oil testing service that you should try before coming to conclusions. If they prove there is antifreeze in the oil,then you need to consider repair options. My dailey driver driver S/6 would get all kinds of milky yellow/white looking goop in the valve cover during cold weather,that cleared up during the summer.It never lost a drop of coolant.

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

There is no alternator bolt that goes into an oil gallery. The two bolts that attach the alternator bracket pass through the block and into the pushrod gallery that runs on the passenger side of the motor. However, it would be very unusual for there to be a leak from either of those bolts.

If I was in your position, I would pull then engine and transmission and freshen them both up. Change the trans filter and adjust the bands. When you refill the transmission, be sure to use ATF+4.

On the motor, I would leave the head alone, except maybe to get hardened seats pressed in. I would also use the carb you have on it now. Thearea where I would focus my attention would be compression, ignition, and exhaust.

On compression, I would take the time and do the measuring and machining necessary to achieve a DYNAMIC compression ratio of around 8:1.

On the ignition, I would switch to HEI ignition and spend the time to dial in the mechanical and vacuum advance curves.

Finally, on the exhaust I recommend 2 1/2 inch pipe to the muffler and 2 1/4 the rest of the way back.

The most important thing to remember is the real-world operating RPM the motor will see. In a van, you want to build for low rpm torque, not high rpm horsepower.

A shift kit would make a significant improvement in your transmission.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

What is the difference between static and dynamic compression first of all?

I do plan to pull both the motor and trans to fix them up.

only way to get to everything i need to do.

I plan to reuse the carb i have since the van has never ran so good until i got this carb put on it. Yeah, the 1100 miles was a straight 3 day drive from Florida to Illinois. I've never had a problem with milky oil in any weather until we got about halfway through TN. Im thinking it is something leaking antifreeze in because im losing coolant going down the road.

Reed, how do you adjust the bands in the trans?

Isnt there some math involved dealing with the pushrods etc when milling the head? Thanks for the help guys

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

Wicked, to answer your question i was checking the oil/water/trans fluid every 100 miles. I used 18 quarts of oil in 1100 miles, and the ENTIRE underside of the van was coated. Mind you it isnt burning any, just leaking. The rear seal isnt even there any more i dont think. It leaked so bad oil was dripping off the gas tank when i stopped.

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

First things first. If it's leaking like that, stop driving it. I'm thinking your on the ball enough that you've done that already.

The front alternator bracket bolt goes into the lifter galley. It's not under pressure, but can leak. Sounds like you have a waterfall going, so it's unlikely to be your main problem.

Static compression is figured based on computed displacement, and the combustion chamber volume at TDC. Dynamic compression is computed based on Volumetric efficiency. Cam numbers and so forth.

If your building a tug boat, don't worry too much about Dynamic. Your going to want a short duration cam, so keeping it in check shouldn't be too much trouble. Your going to want to keep static compression under 10:1 for a torque monster, and run a cam that breaths best in the 3000 to 3500 range.

Get that engine out and find out what you've got. Until you determine where your starting, it will be difficult to guess on how much deck or head volume to shoot for. Get the head worked & CC'd, determine what overbore, and get your deck numbers. You will likely use a composite gasket, so rough in with .038" Just throw 3.50" in for the fire ring. Close enough.

Until you cut 0.100 off the head, the stock pushrods will pretty much work. Once you get into the 0.090" or more cut, then you need to start looking into this. Custom pushrods are needed when the adjusters can't cover the lash adjustment. Once you hit that level of cut, the geometry of the valve train may need to be corrected to maintain ratios and allow for adjustment of the valves.

There are a few engines in the world that need special attention to seal up properly. The slant is one of them. Done right, they don't leak. Done wrong, they make a mess.

For a great RV cam, look into Doc's RDP RV grinds. He has worked with Erson on these. I still have an Erson RV15M with Doc's RDP grind. It's an awesome cam. It's going back into the Hooptie engine when I find the right pickup for the long rod stroker.

Search on the Erson cams to find more info.

The amount of oil your going through reminds me of a trip I took back in the early 80's flat towing. Tore the mains out of a small block.
36 quarts from Chicago to Portland. Not an environmentally friendly trip. If I'd had the resources I have today, it would never have happened. I regret having done that kind of hurt.
your rear main is likely gone. Park it.

2¢
CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

CeeJ is partially right about the cams. I think he overlooked the fact that you are using a hydraulic cam. If I remember correctly, the Erson RV10 and RV 15 cam grinds are for mechanical lifters. If you are wanting to swap to a custom hydraulic cam, read through THIS thread.

With a hydraulic cam, you have to pay attention to how much you mill the head since you don't want to use up all the "free travel" in the hydraulic lifter. If you mill the head too much, you can "pre-load" the lifters beyond their travel and wind up bending pushrods and/or damaging other parts of the valvetrain. If you are going to mill the head or get a different cam, get a new lifter and measure the actual travel the piston in the lifter has. You want to do the math and make sure that adding lift to the cam and/or taking material off the head will not require the lifter to travel farther than the amount of play the piston has in the lifter.

Dynamic compression is the compression the motor actually sees with the cam installed and degreed. Static compression is a volume ratio representation of the maximum cylinder volume compared to the size of the combustion chamber. For example, assume you had a motor that had a 10 cc cylinder but a 1 cc combustion chamber. That motor would have a 10:1 static compression ratio because, theoretically, the entire volume of the cylinder is compressed into the combustion chamber. However, the reality is that the motor very likely does not "see" 10:1 compression when running. This is because the valves do not open and close instantaneously at TDC and BDC. Intake valves stay open slightly after BDC. This leads to some compression bleed-off and decreases the true compression ratio the motor experiences when running.

Calculating dynamic compression is a bit of a pain, but well worth doing. It was covered in depth on this board a few years back. Do some searches to find some of the threads where it was discussed.

Adjusting the bands is actually very easy. Here are the directions from my 1984 Dodge van factory service manual:




Don't have a torque wrench that tells you 72 inch pounds or 5 foot pounds? Try making the bolts finger tight and backing off from there.

I also agree with CeeJ- if your motor is leaking that much oil you should park it. Who knows what road grime is getting splashed up into the oil pan from the back, and who knows how many little fishies will croak from the oil runoff. On the upside, I guess the underbody of your van now has a coating to protect it from the salt they use on the roads in Illinois.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Oops! Thanks Reed! I don't think slushy very well!

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

What, you think I expect you to remember everything?

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Yes, i have parked it. The rear main is definitely toast, parked on concrete it leave 2 puddles 2 inches from each other one black, one red. Front seal in the trans is gone too. I will be honest with yall and myself and say that i am proficient enough to do a stock rebuild on most motors without too much problem, but getting into more complicated stuff like telling my machinist how much he can safely shave off the head/block and not break stuff and different cam choices/custom grinds is a bit past my skill level. I take it there is not a readily available aftermarket cam for the /6? Im going to research the best of my ability and take it from there. Tomorrow the van is getting parked on its new home for the next few months, a concrete pad in my back yard. So, hopefully the disassembly can begin within the next few days weather depending. Im leaning toward a stock rebuild with the hei conversion and a few of the other pointers on here. My exhaust is already 2.5 to the muffler and 2.25 to the tail, but that will all be getting re-done with a flowmaster single coming out in front of the rear tire. I'll read up Reed on some of the other things you have mentioned and see what im comfortable tackling myself.

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

oh yeah, and salt isnt going to be a factor, this baby aint gettin driven in the snow!

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

There are actually many aftermarket cams available for the slant six. Oregon Cams is a shop many board members have had good luck with. Oregon Cams can custom grind just about any cam profile you want as long as yoy send them a core cam. I belueve it only costs around $100 plus shipping.

Read the thread I provided a link to for a good discusdion about hydraulic cam profile choices for a slant powered truck or van. Red text is a clickable link on this website.

The only special things you have to do to calculate dynamic compression ratio and thereby determine the amount to shave the head or the block is a lot of measureing and math. You will need a degree wheel, a way to measure the volume of the chambers in the cylinder head, and a way to measure camshaft lobe lift.

Calculating dynamic compression and recurving your distributor are somewhat complex, but if you go slow you can do it.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Cool Reed, time to do some learnin'!

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto

Well, got started on her finally. TIme to make a build thread i suppose!

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87 Dodge B150 Slant 6 Auto