NEED A SHARP MOPAR OR GENERAL MECHANIC IN SAN DIEGO

watchfatha

watchfatha

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Hello All. I have a 66 Imperial (1st year 440) that runs beautifully but has a little shake in the motor. I have checked all the things I know (compression, replaced harmonic balancer, replaced carburetor, ran it without any front belts attached, brake revved to check motor mounts, etc). Nothing changes. I am truly stumped. It runs exceptionally well and does not smoke or backfire or hesitate or spit up through the carb, but the motor is just a smidge rougher than I know it should be. (I've had 25 Imperials from 1959 to 1968 and none ever did this). Does anyone know of a really good (knowledgeable) mechanic in the greater San Diego area who could properly diagnose this-and fix it?
Thanks
Norm
 
watchfatha said:
Hello All. I have a 66 Imperial (1st year 440) that runs beautifully but has a little shake in the motor. I have checked all the things I know (compression, replaced harmonic balancer, replaced carburetor, ran it without any front belts attached, brake revved to check motor mounts, etc). Nothing changes. I am truly stumped. It runs exceptionally well and does not smoke or backfire or hesitate or spit up through the carb, but the motor is just a smidge rougher than I know it should be. (I've had 25 Imperials from 1959 to 1968 and none ever did this). Does anyone know of a really good (knowledgeable) mechanic in the greater San Diego area who could properly diagnose this-and fix it?
Thanks
Norm
Click to expand...

You may have an issue with a vacuum leak, lazy lifter, worn cam lobe, just about any thing possible with the ignition system, worn timing gears, bent push rod and the list goes on. Bottom line is that you'll be dismantling the engine a bit and if nothing obvious shows up you may be into a bit of cash layout for "substitution repair". By that I mean that lifter performance isn't something you can readily see and to measure a cam it would have to be removed. May as well change them if you're gonna pull them. Rods can be checked for straightness but heads have to be removed for valve leakage and repair. Rockers and rocker rods are a separate story all on their own. You may actually end up renewing a lot of items that really make little difference. If possible do as much of the work yourself. It seems to me that this slight roughness really irks you but if it runs fine how much are you willing to layout to rid the issue? Labor at anyone's shop is quite pricey and even more so if the problem is not obvious. By the way, have you ruled out a bad PCV valve? Most of the diagnostic equipment from that era is long gone with the advent of primitive and sofisticated ECM's. I wish you luck where ever you go and hope your engine doesn't become a "learning experience" for some modern day mechanic who tells you he knows what he's doing just to get business.
 
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Thanks for taking the time to offer really good advice. I blocked off the PCV valve and ran it-no change.I had the harmonic balancer replaced with a new one-no change. I have ruled out vacuum (first thing I did was to disconnect booster and rear of engine vacuum take-off from engine and plugged both-no difference). I replaced the distributor with a rebuilt one-no difference. I replaced the carburetor with a new Edelbrock-no difference. I disconnected all belts and ran it-no difference. I checked vacuum with a gauge and get a steady 20", so that's normal. I even drained the torque converter and ran it just to see if there was a problem with that-no difference. I changed plugs, points, wires, rotor, condenser, coil-no difference. I sprayed carb cleaner around the intake manifold, slight decline in rpm in one area. The car runs quietly (but does have a barely perceptible lifter noise at times) and will accommodate a fast WOT kick-down with NO ill effects-it just goes (as we used to say in Brooklyn) like a "Raped Ape". No black smoke/blue smoke/missing/hiccuping/backfiring/spitting up/overheating/NADA, just the mid-range roughness that I know (from having LOTS of these cars) is not normal. I also have a 66 convertible Imperial that has just emerged from a 30 year sleep and it runs so smoothly I may try to video myself balancing a nickel on the air cleaner. Of course, that one has a known 44k miles, so the engine is not worn. Anyway, I'm stumped. The LeBaron is otherwise spectacular looking (new professional paint in original color and new professional seats) and is such a rarity (Lilac Poly paint with gray broadcloth interior) that it just irks me that it does not run perfectly. Everything works on it (even the reverberator) and it is a California-always car so there is not one iota of rust. To be clear, most who would drive it would probably not notice what I am noticing because otherwise it runs so well. But it bothers me. I don't have the space or the soundness of back to do this myself, although I understand what to do. I need a reliable "old school" mechanic to do more in-depth diagnosis, and such a person is hard to locate.
 
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Hi, Not that this will fix the problem, but another test to provide information would be a compression check?
 
I'm sorry, I went back up and reread your original posting and see you listed compression check. I'm going to mention this name only because I've heard old Mopars and his name in the same sentence Chris Kane
 
Any indication of the mileage on this motor? Is the roughness present only under load?
 
This weekend is Spring Fling in Van Nuys. If you don't have any luck finding a mechanic before then, might be worth a trip to talk with some people there.

Chrysler Performance West - Mopar Spring Fling & Fall Fling

I do know of a great Mopar Mechanic, but he's in Bakersfield. If you have no luck I could give you his name and number for information purposes.
 
GJS said:
Any indication of the mileage on this motor? Is the roughness present only under load?
Click to expand...
Slight vibration is present immediately off idle. Load or no load, however it runs VERY strongly in every circumstance. Cold starts in a nano-second, hot starts take a couple of turns of the starter and are best accomplished with the throttle held wide open to clear boiled over gas in the carb (old Mopar hot start syndrome).Odometer says 66k and the California title was labeled "Actual Mileage" when I bought the car. Everything else about it seems to support that reading in terms of observed (minimal and original) wear-but who knows?
 
That model has 2 drive shafts and a center bearing between them I believe. If so, you might want to check the rear trans mount and the U joints (the latter should not be bad at your mileage though) to see if the vibration off-idle under load is from that system rather than the engine.
 
saforwardlook said:
That model has 2 drive shafts and a center bearing between them I believe. If so, you might want to check the rear trans mount and the U joints (the latter should not be bad at your mileage though) to see if the vibration off-idle under load is from that system rather than the engine.
Click to expand...
Thanks. This is not a driveline issue as it happens when the car is in neutral. I've had 25 Imperials (including about 5 66's) and never encountered this kind of thing before. Rear trans mount is a bit saggy, but not gone. Good point.
 
Hey, Norm! Sorry you're having problems with your Imperial.

You might check the mechanic at the gas station by the 5/805 split. Under the local bypass. I think it's a Shell station. I've never taken my Imperial there, but my father-in-law's ex wife (don't ask) had really good things to say about them. Never took classics there, but it's in your area. You might see if you get a good feeling about them going in.

-Jonathan
 
If you are still struggling, you might want to check with these guys. While I have not visited their shop, a friend of mine did and was impressed. They do complete restorations or other work as requested. It seems they do good work, based on what my friend was able to observe. You might want to check them out. They are in Murietta, so that might not be just around the block from you, but maybe close enough and well worth the drive to see if they can help since they are Mopar guys with a lot of knowledge it appears:

MOTECH Performance - Classic Car Restoration

mopars-1000x500_c.jpg
 
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