Death came knocking and took my Coronet

[Ron H]

sitting for years and the bearings were still oily

I’ve had the habit of cranking for a few seconds before plunging the pedal setting the choke to fire it up, when it has sat for a few weeks or longer. Can’t remember how I got in this habit; probably from my dad eons ago.

My nephew would borrow my pricy zero turn mower and off the start he’d open it up full and I'd cringe. I said give it half a min to run before doing this. Maybe old school stuff. I know a well-reputed motor builder who says ‘break-in’ is unnecessary. Lol, drive it out of the shop like ya stole it. Mechanics I knew back in the day (my brother was one then) seemed picky about a 500 mile break in and I’ve stuck with it.

Reminds me of a three run drag race one night a bud had against a brand new gorgeous gray ’71 Challenger driven by a kid who looked 16 with his girlfriend along. Window sticker on and dealer plate. We were sitting in a parking lot shooting da chit and he came up saying “Anybody wanna race?”

One buddy with his ’68 GTO answered 1st so I rode shotgun. On the 3rd run, the kid pulled off to the side halfway in the run. We pulled off and got out walking back to see what his problem was. It was smoking and knocking seeing thick blue haze in his headlights. Come to find the Dodge had less than a 100 miles on it. He looked quite worried. Never got da story; but wondered if the kid’s dad was a sales guy at a nearby Dodge dealership having taken the car home for the night and he snuck it out for a ride. It was around 10:30 when this went on.

 

[themechanic]

May 2, 2023 Update:

I went to my daughter's house where the Coronet is parked in their garage yesterday to troubleshoot the no crank/no start situation.

The good news is the car actually turns over with the starter; It clicked a few tries then started cranking. The bad news is there's a very noticeable metal on metal sound with every rotation. It also sounds a little bit like when you pull one spark plug and crank the engine.

I still need to get the car home to my garage where I can get it up on jack stands before further inspection.

 

[Don Frelier]

You've got to find the problem.
Don't crank it anymore or you're going to break teeth off the flywheel next.
Then the transmision needs to come off and you'll be buying a new torque converter.

 

[themechanic]

You've got to find the problem.
Don't crank it anymore or you're going to break teeth off the flywheel next.
Then the transmision needs to come off and you'll be buying a new torque converter.

I plan on removing the inspection cover and turning the engine by hand to check the flywheel bolts. I also plan to drain the oil and inspect it for metal.

 

[themechanic]

November 8, 2023 Update:

I finally got the garage organized and cleaned up this week. I used my Hagerty roadside assistance plan and got the Coronet home this morning.

They used a flatbed and unloaded it right in front of the garage door. A few neighbors helped me get it in the garage.

Now I can start investigating whatever is making the noise. I'll start with the torque converter bolts.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[cosgig]

So..that's it? You're assuming the engine is toast? No guarantees of course, but it's possible it could be something less catastrophic.. a loose bolt up front, seized starter or accessory....or maybe the noise and stall condition are unrelated. I've had alternators seize and prevent the engine from cranking. All I'm saying is, consider doing some forensic investigating first.
On the other hand, if you've been waiting for the slightest excuse to pull the engine for a rebuild, I understand that too! Good luck either way.

I agree. I heard no talk of trying to turn it over by hand, no compression check if it turns over, nothing but speculation. Most of the time, you can get these old Mopars to fire back up and run even if it’s been seriously treated bad. I also agree, don’t give up, and don’t start spending money on guesses.

 

[MIKESPOLARA]

My 69 Coronet R/T has been at my daughter and son-in-law's (Jeff) since Rusty, Uncle Bill's 70 Cuda, came home to me for a thorough going through about a year and a half ago. Jeff seldom drives the Coronet. When he does, he just goes for gas and back.

Friday, Jeff calls telling me he drove to the gas station about 1/4 mile away, filled up and on the way home heard a noise under the hood. I went up there yesterday and started the car. No noise. We drove around a few blocks then I heard a knock that increased with rpm. I popped the hood and listened and think I heard a slight knock on the driver's side. I started back to Jeff's house and the engine stalled then wouldn't crank. We managed to tow it back and parked it in their garage.

Before starting I pulled the dipstick and saw dark oil but could still see through it to the dipstick. I wiped it off and checked again. It didn't feel dirty but was slick and no smell of gas in the oil. This time the oil looked almost new; Brad Penn oil is kinda greenish.

I don't know the history of the rebuilt 440. I was told it was a rebuilt RV 440. I did see cross hatching in the cylinder bores when I pulled the oil pan to fix a leak a while ago. The tops of the heads looked clean when I replaced the valve cover gaskets. I use Brad Penn 10W-40 oil and change the oil and filter yearly. I don't drive the car much, probably less than 300 miles since I bought it in 2012. So, I always crank the engine until I see at least 20 psi oil pressure before pumping the gas and starting. I explained that procedure to Jeff but I don't know whether he followed it. The temperature never gets over 200 on 100 degree days.

I plan on swapping cars again when Rusty is back on the road so I can pull the engine at my house. I'll either buy a crate engine or take mine to a machine shop in town for a teardown and rebuild.

My guess is the rebuild to stock would be the least expensive route. I don't want or need 500 horsepower. I just want a good, reliable driver.

I just thought I'd let you know about my misfortune. At least I was the one driving and we were only a few blocks from home.

If he "just goes for gas" how can it need gas so often?

 

[themechanic]

No torque converter to flex plate bolts were loose. They're all torqued to 22.5 ft/lbs.

The starter is so loud it's hard to pinpoint the sound but I think it's coming from inside the oil pan. I can feel the tapping with my hand on the oil pan when I hear the noise as I crank the engine over. It sounds like it's from one cylinder.

 

[Demonic]

Time to drop the pan. The front bolts can be hard to get to, but a 1/4" ratchet is usually small enough.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I had a Hemi that was rapping after a rebuild & it turned out that the rod nuts were hitting the windage tray when it was warmed up.

 

[themechanic]

I'm going to pull off the oil pan and have a look. The engine was in the car when I bought it. All I know about it is it has nice cross hatching in the cylinders which I noticed when I changed the oil pan a couple of years ago.

 

[themechanic]

I pulled the oil pan today. Looks like the oil pickup tube unscrewed just enough to create cavitation, thus, the low oil pressure and starved the bearings of oil. I found lots of coarse and fine metal particles in the bottom of the pan.

The car will sit in the garage until I can save up for the rebuild.

At least it's not my daily driver.

 

[GetX'd]

My 69 Coronet R/T has been at my daughter and son-in-law's (Jeff) since Rusty, Uncle Bill's 70 Cuda, came home to me for a thorough going through about a year and a half ago. Jeff seldom drives the Coronet. When he does, he just goes for gas and back.

Friday, Jeff calls telling me he drove to the gas station about 1/4 mile away, filled up and on the way home heard a noise under the hood. I went up there yesterday and started the car. No noise. We drove around a few blocks then I heard a knock that increased with rpm. I popped the hood and listened and think I heard a slight knock on the driver's side. I started back to Jeff's house and the engine stalled then wouldn't crank. We managed to tow it back and parked it in their garage.

Before starting I pulled the dipstick and saw dark oil but could still see through it to the dipstick. I wiped it off and checked again. It didn't feel dirty but was slick and no smell of gas in the oil. This time the oil looked almost new; Brad Penn oil is kinda greenish.

I don't know the history of the rebuilt 440. I was told it was a rebuilt RV 440. I did see cross hatching in the cylinder bores when I pulled the oil pan to fix a leak a while ago. The tops of the heads looked clean when I replaced the valve cover gaskets. I use Brad Penn 10W-40 oil and change the oil and filter yearly. I don't drive the car much, probably less than 300 miles since I bought it in 2012. So, I always crank the engine until I see at least 20 psi oil pressure before pumping the gas and starting. I explained that procedure to Jeff but I don't know whether he followed it. The temperature never gets over 200 on 100 degree days.

I plan on swapping cars again when Rusty is back on the road so I can pull the engine at my house. I'll either buy a crate engine or take mine to a machine shop in town for a teardown and rebuild.

My guess is the rebuild to stock would be the least expensive route. I don't want or need 500 horsepower. I just want a good, reliable driver.

I just thought I'd let you know about my misfortune. At least I was the one driving and we were only a few blocks from home.

I think Im missing something. Did the engine blow? Or what is the Diagnosis?

So it additional posts I‘ve now seen it sounds like spun rod bearings … Yes?

 

[themechanic]

No, it didn't blow. The engine just started knocking and died.

So, there's definitely some bearing material in the oil pan and probably throughout the oil passages. I won't know which ones or how many until the tear down. But that's going to have to wait until I have the funds to rebuild the engine.