Starting a 340 after a 25 year hibernation.

[heminut]

My auto teacher said pour about a half cup to 3/4 mix of Marvel mystery oil with A/T fluid in the crank case with fresh oil on an engine that sat a long time to get all the bad stuff out and in the filter. Then, drain everything and put new oil back in. Cleans everything inside real good and it won't hurt the parts inside. Just don't go driving around too long with it in there. 10-20 min.

That is a good idea, trans fluid is a VERY high detergent oil. Back when I worked at a dealership (many years ago) we used to dump a couple of quarts of kerosene in the crankcase and let the engine set and idle for about twenty minutes, NO DRIVING! I had a couple of different cars come in that when I pulled the drain plug to drain the oil it came out in glops! We did the kerosene thing, and it was pretty amazing how it cleaned the crud out of the engine!

[MEK-Dangerfield]

 


  I have heard of that kerosene trick too. I just hope my engine never gets dirty enough that I have to try it. 


  Mike

[moper]

The down side is it can loosen up the chunks of valve seals, and misc gunk in the bottom of the sump, and then that stuff either plugs the pickup screen, or some makes it thru and gets everywhere else. ATF and Kero are good for unsticking old ticking lifters too.

[heminut]

IMHO, if you have chunks of valve seals in the pan it's time for a rebuild!

[mmccarty]

I've used kersosene before.  It helps to break up sludge.  The motor flushes they
sell at the parts store work well to break up sludge.  I like to use Sea Foam Auto Marine,
its thin and uses some pretty strong solvents like carb cleaner and really cuts the crud
and varnish.  Its good for removing carbon in the combustion chamber too.  You can fog
the engine with it by slowing pouring it down the carb until the the engine stalls, let it set
for a while, and then restart the engine to burn the loosened carbon from the chambers.

[moper]

IMHO, if you have chunks of valve seals in the pan it's time for a rebuild!

Yup. But if they arent pulling itn to look, it's just a gamble anyway...

[74 340 4speed]

Some good info here guys.  Keep the suggestions coming.

[74 340 4speed]

Well, I would replace the starter with a mini from the boneyard first.

  What are these starters on?  This is my first mopar project so I'm not that knowledgable on parts interchanging.  How much would one cost?  I could pick one up in the parts store since I work at Advance Auto.  I just need to know what vehicles they came on to look it up in the system  I don't think that the starter thats on it now has enough guts to turn this motor.

[moper]

If you're at Advanced, look up one for anything Dodge truck, with a Magnum V8, from '93 to '04 or so. I dont know if the newer 4.7s use the same deal or not. But a JY one is usually under $40.

[tactransman]

Here is what they look like:

[74 340 4speed]

Okay, I worked on the car all afternoon.  I replaced all of the burnt wires from the carb fire, radiator hoses, ballast resistor, valve cover gaskets, coil, oiled up the top half of the motor, put the carb back on it, and a new battery.  The last time I worked on it I replaced the distributor, cap, rotor button, plugs and wires, and turned the motor with a pull handle to make sure that it was free.  After all of the work today......I got in it, and turned the key.........nothing.   I gave up then.  I had a new electronic ignition box that i was gonna put on it, but the one on the car was a 5 pin and the one from the parts store was a four pin so I didn't put it on.   Is there anything I could have over looked that would cause it not to start?  The next time I work on it, I'm going to put new battery cables on it, and have the starter tested.  The starter didn't even click today.  So something isn't making contact somewhere.

[mmccarty]

Was the start relay on the inner fender clicking?  Use a multimeter and go through the wiring.
First check to see if the battery is charged.  Then check continuity from the negative battery
post to the block and the chassis.  Should be less than 1 ohm, if not clean up the ground connections.
Check for 12 volts at the start relay.  Check for 12 volts on the big stud on the starter.  Pull
the yellow wire from the ignition switch to the start relay and with somebody turning the key make
sure you have 12 volts there.  If all that checks out you have a bad start relay.  If the start relay
is clicking and the starter isn't cranking, it's probably a bad starter.

[moper]

"Fixed wiring after the carb fire..."??!!!!   That was an old injury? Dependign on what happened, their could be more issues in the wiring. As was mentionned, the fender relay should be replaced..They are cheap, and can be gotten almost anywhere. You can also use a test light to see if the relay is gettting power from the ignition switch. If not, it could be the clutch(if a 4sp) or neutral(if auto) safety switch. It sounds like there may be more to this than a "clean and fire" this car. You may want to get some help before you go further.  A factory service manual and test light can be a great friend here.

[Bullitt-]

Check your fuseable link to the starter relay.

[74 340 4speed]

Carb fire happened about 25 years ago.   When I fixed the wiring, I removed all of the tape off of the harness, and traced the wires all the way back to the fire wall.  Wherever it was "unharmed" is where I spliced in with new wire.  I heard nothing at all from the fender relay.  The car didn't make a sound when I turned the key.  The battery is a brand new one from the parts store, its charged up.  I will check out all of my connections.  and replace the starter relay.