Questions about a few leaks

[1970 RT Challenger 1970]

Tommy,
  If you leave the motor tie down chain where it is it most likely won't work.  It is good at the frame.  The hole you have it mounted in on the block won't handle the impact if your mount breaks.  The boss in the block will break.  I would suggest moving the chain to the block motor mount boss.  Bolt it on with a motor mount bolt.  You will need to get a longer grade 8 bolt to do this.

The chain hold down, is that aftermarket/shade tree mechanic/drag racer or factory?

[tommyg29]

chain is shade tree mechanic, but effective if installed properly with the right amount of slack.
Thanks for all the input here. Lots more to think about

[Challenger6pak]

I have pulled some 440's out of police cars and found factory tie downs.  Chrysler used cables with eyelets on each end. On one end they were attached to the motor mount bosses.  On the other end they were attached to the motor mount bolt where it goes through the frame.  It is the same concept that Chryco uses.

[tommyg29]

a cable with about 1/2" of slack sounds like a good solution, as well as some of the others Ive seen, but in my case, I drive it like a grandma, so I dont think I'll ever break it.

[mopar12372]

i found factory cables like described above on a newyorker i removed a 440 from.

[tommyg29]

seems to me that just tying a strap or cable or rod with some mechanism that "gives" a little, just from one side of the mount to the other is kind of redundant. All it does is help support the motor mount. Why didnt they just use a stronger mount, that maybe has more than enough bend but dont break built into it?
Or is this a topic thats been beaten to death elsewhere already?

[beekppr]

Police cars are subjected to fantastic abuse. Far more than any normal consumer would put it through. So much so, the factory advised service being done more often than other cars. I guess the rubber motor mount materials weren't up to snuff back then or the factory didn't want to spend money designing new components for a very limited amount of cars.

If you want something nicer looking, Schmacher makes a set of motor mounts with internal locking plates surrounded by rubber. You get the insolating properties and flexible movement plus the plates supposedly won't allow the mount to break. They have a cut away in their ad and I was convinced. It has to be better than original since the two halves were joined only by rubber. I think they are around 100 bucks or so.

Chains, cables, and rods look kinda ghetto for an awesome looking car like yours but that's just my opinion.

[Challenger6pak]

Police cars are subjected to fantastic abuse. Far more than any normal consumer would put it through.

These cars aren't fun unless you run them.  The normal consumer didn't buy a 440 motored Ebody, just like the SRT's of today. I broke a motor mount one time and dented the inner fender with the valve cover.  It also broke the slap stick shifter.  I do like the Schmacher design also.

[tommyg29]

after using the right stuff, valve covers are bone dry!
Now the only leak I have is the bottom seal in my new power steering box.
Another weekend, another project.

[beekppr]

Outstanding Tommy. It's satisfying doing it yourself if you have the time. You'll probably drive the car even more now.

Is it your steering box or the pump? If it is the box, you can use a pitman arm puller to get to the seal. Haven't done the job on a Mopar but I did it on an older Buick and it was a pretty easy job. The seal pries out and you tap in the new one. Trick I learned to set it in squarely is to use a socket of the appropriate size and tap on the socket with a hammer rather than hammer the seal itself and ruin it. Obviously the socket needs to be slightly smaller that the OD of the seal.