TBucket Engine Project (Dart SHP)

Loves302Chevy said:
Rick, I thought of 1 thing you are doing that nobody else is.
Brian mentioned the valve seals. You have that aluminum plate deflector
mounted just above the rocker arms.
Click to expand...
That deflector is only for adjusting the valve lash, it's not a permanent piece.
 
Thinking about spark plugs again this morning.
The factory Pontiac super cold racing AC Delco spark plugs have become hard to find for RA2 & RAIV.
I remember Royal Bocat of Woodward Racing Avenue Street Racing Fame from 1960's used Champion Spark Plugs in every magazine test.
They cheated but had Pontiacs flying high 11's brand new.
Champions still makes what I need for my T/A.
 
Forgot to tell you, the NGK FR serie use a 5/8 wrench diameter.
the champion use a 13/16 wrench diameter. (honestly i like 5/8 plugs, alot easier to take them out for my application, with 13/16" id have to remove my header/manifold). I hope this is non-issue for you.
But there is the NGK GR serie wich is the same as the FR serie but it use 13/16 socket diameter.
GR5, GR4
same as FR5, FR4..
with NGK the higher the heat number the colder they are. 4 is stock heat range.
So ngk 5 is 1 step colder then stock
 
Yes I ordered my new axles from Moser Engineering in Indiana. I talked to the major three
companies, Strange Engineering, Mark Williams and Moser Engineering. Don't remember
the exact cost but in was approximately $550 for axles, retainer plate, retainer plate studs,
wheel studs, bearings and bearing retainers. The retainer plates are a horse shoe shape, so
they can be removed at anytime and are not on the shaft when the bearing is pressed on.....
see pic below.

AxleRetainerPlate.jpg

My bolt circle is 5 inch, but I'm also having the flanges drilled for 4-1/2 inch so I will have
some options down the road if I want to change wheels. I think the 4-1/2 is one of the more
popular BCs.

Bolt Circle -If you do not know the bolt circle (P value) of a 5-bolt application, measure the
center-to-center distance (Q) between two adjacent wheel studs and reference the table below.
axorder1.gif

4-1/2” B.C. = 2.645” normal later Ford pattern
4-3/4” B.C. = 2.792” normal Chevrolet pattern
5” B.C. = 2.939” normal older Olds-Pontiac
5-1/2” B.C. = 3.233” normal early Ford and T/F wheel pattern

To get my measurements from my axles I used a magnetic level and used it as one reference
by sticking it to the end of the axle, spline end. Below you can see all the tools that I needed
to make my measurements. My Moser order form is shown below.

FP01_AxleFullView_6312.jpg
FP01_AxleCloseup_6313.jpg

MoserAxleOrder_RMiller.jpg
AxlePic.jpg
 
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I've never ordered axles before and measuring was abit of trial and error for the
retainer plates that hold the axle in the housing. You have to measure the best you
can "Center to Center" and then compare with the chart on the form for the housing
ends. I was an 1/8 inch off on the ends( See RED arrow on form above) before
comparing to the chart.

I'll try to show more on the actual pulling the axles from the housing when I get the
new one in and start replacing them.
 
How much Shrink Fit Press Fit are the Wedding Band Locks Rick ?
Did they say at Moser ?
We had the Wedding band locks come free dirt track Racing with a Ford 9 & Moser Race Axles.
Axle shaft came out clean & Rolled 600 feet away with the tire into pits.
About 70 mph when it let go.
Didn't kill anyone in the race pits.
After I MIG Welded lock rings to Moser Axlw shafts it never came loose again that wedding band lock rings.

Strange Engineering Pro Race my favorite axles.
Can use on street despite what they say.
Every 8.0 second 5.0 car had them I built 8.8 diffs for.
.005-.008" intefference press fit the retainer lock rings to axle shafts.
Took a 100 ton Shop press to assemble them.
 
I don't know if its an option for you Rick but installing 2 wedding band rings on each axle shaft in theory would give double insurance.
As long as they don't interfere with the inner axle shaft seal in the 9" inch housing ends.

You & Me both had axle shafts come out this year within just a few weeks time.
Yourself on the T.
Myself on the 1963 Grand Prix, Drivers side Ball bearing failed blew up on me.

Might be worthwhile you researching wedding band lock rings.

The best I found are made by Mark Williams for my Grand Prix 9.3" rear diff.
I bought them.

I think its the ultra wide rubber on the T.
Hard on lockrings.

When the axle shaft came out of the old dirt track race car,
the car was getting airborn 1-2 feet at speed from the race track getting torn up lap after lap.
Finally let go and shot passenger axle shaft out & Tire & Rim.
 
Received my new Moser Engineering axles yesterday and got started with the
installation. First I had to pull the old axles out, so off come the wheels and
brake drums. To remove the brake drums I had to back off the adjuster about
10 clicks.

Before I could remove the axles the axle retainer had to be unbolted by removing
the 4 nuts from the T-Bolts.

FP02_RetainerPlateRemoval_6321.jpg

Next I installed the adapter for the axle puller.

FP02_AxlePullerAdapter_6322.jpg

Install the puller (slide hammer) and knock the axles out. It's easy now that they
have been out several times in the last month.

FP02_AxlePuller_6323.jpg

The axle bearing this time has an o-ring in the outer race to help seal the rear end
fluid from leaking out. I left the seals in the axle housing as this will provide a
second sealing surface to stop any fluid from escaping.

The axle retainer is slightly wider, that works for me, I don't want the axle coming
out ever again. It's holding force is determined by the amount of interference fit or
how much force is required to press the retainer on.

FP02_AxleBearingAndRetainer_6327.jpg

It's not possible to just push the axles in by hand, I had to tap them in using a
piece of wood and 2 lb hammer.

The splines on the new axles are much longer, as long as they fit the length is
not terribly important.

FP02_AxleSplineCompare_6329.jpg

Never had this happen before. When tightening the nuts for the axle retainer it
spit the lock washer out. When the nut started to free up, I thought the stud was
stripping until the washer fell out on the floor. I had another one in inventory, so
I just replaced it with another washer. Problem solved !

FP02_LockWasherBad_6332.jpg

The axle retainers are horse shoe shaped now, makes it easier to remove and
install them.

FP02_AxleRetainerPlates-New_6331.jpg
 
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thats a FANTASTIC post with picture quality that makes it obvious you have the skills of a professional camera man!
frankly I'm both amazed, by, and a bit jealous, of that photographic skill.
 
Lock washer just wore out Rick.
Same has happened to me prior.
Twist and unwinds out.
I see how they got you fixed up at the garage away from home.
Mig welded away on the Lockring.
 
I forgot to post this last pic. It show how the brake drum is slightly out from the
backing plate. This is due to my measurements from the step in the axle where
the bearing stops against and the axle flange. My track width just grew about
1/4 inch or 1/8 inch per side.

FP02_BrakeDrumDistance_6335.jpg

Thanks Grumpy for the great comments above!!!

.
 
Go here to see the spark plugs. They were changed for some lightly used plugs of
the same type and heat range before the test.
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ine-project-dart-shp.3814/page-100#post-62509

I’ve been hearing what sounds like detonation when I get just the right load and RPM
on the engine. This didn’t happen in the beginning, but the engine is using about a
quart of oil for every 750 miles, so there must be a build up of carbon in the combustion
chamber. Usually it happens at about 65 to 80, not sure beyond that. I’m turning 1800
RPM at 70 mph.

To make sure that what I’m hearing is really detonation I wanted to run a much higher
octane and test at the same highways speeds. I bought two gallons of Sunoco 110 octane
fuel from Simons, just about 3 miles from my house. The cost was $7.80/gal.

To determine the overall octane of my fuel when mixing the 110 octane with 91 octane,
I build an Excel spreadsheet to do what’s called a weighted average. I was trying for an
overall rating of 95 octane. To get 95 I mixed 7 gals of 91 with 2 gals of 110, which figures
out to be 95.2 octane.

To start the test I confirmed by running just 91 to make sure of the problem and then
come back within a few hours and do it again with my 95.2 octane mix. Ambient temps
were in the 98°F – 102°F range during the both tests. If anything the temp was higher
during the 2nd test with the higher octane.

The 2nd test confirmed that I have a detonation problem. The pinging noise was completely
gone when using the higher octane 95.2 fuel.

MixingTable.jpg

I really need to figure out where the oil is going, it's not leaking that much oil.
 
Brian wanted me to tell you that when an engine detonates for any given reason the result is excess oil consumption. Losing piston ring seal.
 
Drawmain said:
Brian wanted me to tell you that when an engine detonates for any given reason the result is excess oil consumption. Losing piston ring seal.
Click to expand...
Yep detonation can and in most case it will increase oil consumption a little bit.
 
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