Spark Plug Gap on 73 440? Getting at them!

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: SmallDiscoveries1  (Original Message)
Sent: 4/4/2005 10:17 AM

Can someone fill me in? Bought new ones last night and I want to get it right. I think I will start on the Driver's side so I can get the one or two that people complain about out of the way first. The passenger side plugs should then be a cakewalk.

Thanks,

Steve



From: SmallDiscoveries1
Sent: 4/4/2005 10:30 AM

It looks like .035 is the answer. I



From: Sea Hag
Sent: 4/4/2005 11:44 AM

I found that the most of the plugs are much eaiser to remove from under the vehicle or from the wheel well . Just a tip - Sea Hag



From: denison
Sent: 4/4/2005 1:25 PM

Smalldiscoveries1: I would like to know if your engine still has the heat shield on the drivers side, to keep the radiant heat from the exh. manifold from baking the wiring harness, brake lines, speedo cable, and handbrake cable? That heat shield was missing when I got mine, but I made one up to replace it.
I always work on the drivers-side spark plugs from inside the wheel well, with the wheel removed.
Since I bleed the brakes annually, I remove the wheel to make it easier to siphon the old fluid from the master cylinder, then to keep it refilled as I bleed the rest of the system. About every other year I will also have a look at those spark plugs, maybe replace them, check the compression, snug down the rocker cover bolts, and retorque the exhaust manifold bolts. (I changed from studs to stainless steel bolts year ago.). I always clean the plug threads before I put in new spark plugs. I also put oil or grease on all of the connections in the brake system, so they wont rust into place, and inspect the brake lines again for surface rust, and coat them thinly with grease too. I grease the zerke fittings in that area; 2 on the kingpins, 2 on the drag link, 1 on the spring shackle, 1 on the tie rod, one on the brake pedal pivot.



From: SmallDiscoveries1
Sent: 4/4/2005 3:05 PM

Yes the heatshield is still there. The brake lines are quite rusty though. I plan on taking it in this week or next to have a few things done to it that I do not want to do. Replacing the brake hoses and checking the brakes, along with flushing and bleeding the master cylinder and brakes among other things. I will probably have the coolant flushed and refilled. I may get a whole new exhaust system put on.

I figure I will tackle the basic tune up myself, along with the oil change. I bought some new Valvoline Max life oil. It had a rebate and sounded pretty good, so why not? I run Mobil 1 synthetic in all of my other motors, from garden tractors and mowers to my truck and cars.

Lets see what else am I going to have done. Oh yea, the transmission is going to be flushed and serviced. I will probably have all the wheel bearings repacked and a lube job performed. I will probably have a shop replace the belts, cause I dislike messing with belts.

I bought plugs, oil filter, air filter, gas filters and oil last night. I will probably replace the coolant hoses myself, along with the 180 degree thermostat.. It had a new distributor cap in the rear storage area, I just need to get a rotor and a set of plug wires. The PCV valve was OK, I did clean it with carb and choke cleaner. I also cleaned the exterior of the carb along with the linkage while I was at it. I need to lubricate though.

What have I missed?



From: denison
Sent: 4/4/2005 6:51 PM

Ensure the wiring harness on the drivers side of the engine cant droop onto the exhaust manifold? Check differential fluid level. Check how vague the steering is, should steer like a big sedan. Check free operation/release of the handbrake.
After you get it back, check that all 19 or 20 zerke fittings were greased, i.e. arent still covered with dust. ??



From: SmallDiscoveries1
Sent: 4/4/2005 10:44 PM

Well, I have to say, that number 2 spark plug, or number 1 spark plug, whatever they may consider it on the big Dodge was a real pain. Not that I couldn't get to it, I could, but I could not get leverage to break the darn thing loose. Granted, getting to it was not nearly as easy as the passenger side.  I did not cross-thread any plugs or break any. I put Champion RV12YC's in. I hope they work out ok. They are the same as what I found in it.

I need to get a set of wires, the number 4 end came out. Any recommendations? I will also pick up a rotor, since I have a distributor cap. I replaced an inline fuel filter that I found at the fuel pump. That went really well. Since it is above the top of the tanks, there was very little fuel to catch, just a little in the pump inlet and in the old filter.
I also changed the air filter.

I made the change to the new Valvoline. I will have to send off for the hat. A new fram ph43 went on pretty easily. No leaks when everything was said and done. I warmed up the engine just a little, but obviously not enough, before changing the oil. It took a long time for the oil to all drain out. Note to self: let run for more than 2 or 3 minutes before changing oil.

After it all was done, I fired it up and it sounded sweet. An easy start and no apparent valve noise. A new exhaust would be really nice. I did notice at least one hole in the muffler on the driver's side. I can hear a second one on the passenger side. The tailpipe is about rotted off.

Found the cruise control wires cut off today. I wonder how hard it would be to rewire that? I ended up spending about 2 hours on it, though I could have easily cut that down to 1.5 if I would not have waited for all the oil to pretty much drain out.



From: OldEdBrady
Sent: 4/4/2005 10:52 PM

1.5 HOURS to drain the oil?  HOLY HANNAH!  Someone must have used something like those leak sealers that take about half an hour to drain out of the bottle!  And many more than one, too!



From: SmallDiscoveries1
Sent: 4/4/2005 11:10 PM

No, that was to do everything. Change the oil, fuel and air filters, change the oil and change the spark plugs. Most of it was spent on the driver's side plugs. I also spent the last 20 minutes to half hour cleaning up and buttoning the winnie back down.

As far as the oil draining slow, it wasn't really thick, but pretty dirty. By running the engine only for a couple of minutes before I drained the oil, I really made it a counter-productive measure because there was then cold oil stuck up on top of the heads that needed time to drain down to the drain plug. If I would have ran it for, say 10 minutes, the oil would have been warm, thus thinner and would have quickly drained down to the drain plug.



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 4/5/2005 3:09 PM

Steve,one thing you might want to get are spark plug boot protectors.I got mine at napa.They are heat sleeves,little 5 inch long tubes that slip over the boots.Heat can really tear up the plug boots.These engines have lots of heat,and our setups trap that heat too.They cost 15 dollars for 2.Pretty pricey.Well worth the cost.I think I heard SummitRacing also offers it in rolls that you cut to fit.Add it to a premium set of wires.
Thats what I did.Works very well.

Make sure your radiator overflow is in good shape,and let the engine run a couple minutes before shutdown,these engines can really heatsink when shut off hot.You wont regret that,its a good tip worth keeping out in the info for new owners.

BooBoo



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 4/5/2005 3:14 PM

"(I changed from studs to stainless steel bolts year ago.)."Denison...

Another real good tip there.I put stainless steel bolts on my battery connections on my home power backup system.Acid doesnt even faze em.Anywhere under very hostile conditions,that stainless steel is NICE!

BooBoo



From: SmallDiscoveries1
Sent: 4/5/2005 3:16 PM

BooBoo,

There are heatshields attached to the manifolds protecting the sparkplug wires/boots. There did not appear to be scorch marks anywhere.



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 4/5/2005 6:24 PM

You should be OK then.I still did mine,and the shields were there.They still cracked the boots with the shields on mine.Overkill perhaps,but I still am impressed,no burning now.

BooBoo