3.0L engine swap

[Farrar]

My "winter project" will be radiator, shroud, fans, duct, and ... a whole set of new plug wires. (Two boots have failed so the others can't be far behind. Might as well just replace them all.)

Note to anyone considering doing a similar 3.0L swap: to have the appropriate boots for one set of wires, you will need to buy two sets of wires --
(1) for the distributor end, a set from an appropriate-vintage 6-cylinder AMC/Jeep, and
(2) for the spark plug end, a set from a 3.0L Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco.
Once the boots are removed, you can make your new wires from whatever source you want - my preference for cable and terminals is MSD.

[dmruschell]

My "winter project" will be radiator, shroud, fans, duct, and ... a whole set of new plug wires. (Two boots have failed so the others can't be far behind. Might as well just replace them all.)

Note to anyone considering doing a similar 3.0L swap: to have the appropriate boots for one set of wires, you will need to buy two sets of wires --
(1) for the distributor end, a set from an appropriate-vintage 6-cylinder AMC/Jeep, and
(2) for the spark plug end, a set from a 3.0L Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco.
Once the boots are removed, you can make your new wires from whatever source you want - my preference for cable and terminals is MSD.

Let us know if you have any questions/trouble with the radiator/fan project. The Workshop Manual should cover everything, but sometimes things come up since 30+ years has passed since the car was built.

[opethmike]

Having done radiators twice on DMCs, my suggestions follow:

1. Have a helper for bringing the old radiator down and out, as well as the new one back up.
2. Expect, and prepare for, many of the little screws to be either just spin or be seized. Have a dremel handy.
3. If you take off the wheels and go from the side, the radiator support brackets are much easier to deal with.
4. Drop the way bar, and take off the fan assembly for more room
5. If you don't mind draining the A/C gas, removing the condenser and radiator together is easier than separate.

[Farrar]

Mike, those are all very good tips. Thanks. I was wondering if it might be easier to drop the condenser at the same time.

I haven't had much time for the car over the holidays, but I did manage to swap out that bad spark plug boot. Tomorrow, if I have time, I will get to see if that solved the misfire problem.

[opethmike]

Quite a bit easier if you drop the condenser at the same time, yes.

[Farrar]

If it's not one thing, it's another. With the spark plug boot replaced and the battery voltage at 12.7, I decided to fire up the engine and tune the idle mixture: I set the screws out 1.75 turns as a cursory "enough to get started" position, then cranked.

And cranked.

And cranked.

I know it takes a few seconds to fill the fuel bowl when it's dry, but this was an inordinate amount of cranking. After several attempts, the starter stopped turning and when I turned the key I heard a metal "clank." I figured the starter had overheated, so I waited a few minutes to try again.

By now I figured the engine was flooded, so I propped the choke plate open with a 3/8" drill bit and cranked again. Every time it sounded like it was about to catch, I heard a "pop" sound. I looked behind me and saw a tiny waft of what looked like smoke coming from the carburetor. If I keep cranking, the cycle simply repeats: it sounds like it's going to catch, the "pop" sound can be heard, and then I have to keep cranking before it sounds like it's about to catch again.

Happy new year...

[dn010]

You have it set too lean. Too much air, not enough fuel. Try turning the screws in a quarter or half turn.

[opethmike]

You have it set too lean. Too much air, not enough fuel. Try turning the screws in a quarter or half turn.

Turning the screws IN would lean it out further, no?

[dn010]

Turning the screws IN would lean it out further, no?

My apologies, yes, inwards would lean the idle mixture on that carburetor.

[Farrar]

You have it set too lean. Too much air, not enough fuel. Try turning the screws in a quarter or half turn.

Turning the screws IN would lean it out further, no?

My apologies, yes, inwards would lean the idle mixture on that carburetor.

It's OK. I knew what you meant.

Two turns out, no start. Two and a half turns out, no start. So much cranking today that I've probably depleted the battery (too lazy to actually put a meter on it, though), so I put the trickle charger on it and will wait until tomorrow to try again.

Good thing I haven't spent $600+ on a new radiator, fans, and fan shroud yet. I don't think I'd be very happy sinking that much money into the cooling system of an engine that won't start. LOL