Hello,

I belong to Ruffrodders webforum and they advised me to come over here and get some more experience from you all. I have been lurking around here for a few months and have been reading all the questions yet i havent found out the answer i need to my question.

I have a 50' Dodge Meadowbrooke with a 230. The 230 is old (looks and sounds as if it was never touched). Been to a few machine shops and they looked and heard the engine and stated i need a full rebuild. Well with the money involved with a full rebuild, i decided to look for an already rebuilt 230. I finally found a fully rebuilt one for a bit cheaper price than getting mine rebuilt and now have some questions as to the swap. Once i swap over all the externals such as the generator, manifolds and such...What else do i need to be aware of? Such as proper oiling of the new rebuilt engine. Also the proper way of swapping over the oil pump and any other things that you all may think i need to know.

As for the old tired 230. Without rebuilding it...would it be possible to sell this engine as is and if so...is there a generic price i could ask for?

Thank you all for your time
Gary

Gary, one thing to consider is that while the motor you've found is a "BIT" cheaper, you probably really don't know anything about it. If you have yours rebuilt for a "BIT" more, you will know exactly what was done.

DON'T EVEN THINK OF NOT REPLACING THE OIL PUMP WITH A NEW ONE.

I guess what I'm saying is that I would rather have the work done than take someone else's word that the work was done....

Doubt your old engine is worth much but might be worth a few bucks to another Dodge owner looking for spares.

Kerry's got it right, if you haven't heard it run, done a compression check, checked the oil pressure, leak down test, pass.

Very recently someone on another board bought a rebuilt 235 that supposedly had been run and broken, and left to sit for 7 years. It was sold for almost the price of a rebuilt. When the head was pulled off there was a score down one cylinder and no honing or cross hatching to be seen. When the crank was pulled the bearings looked to be run with out oil.

I bought a truck for the 292, supposedly only had about 10k on a rebuild. I did a compression check and when cylinder was out of spec with others. I pulled the head and there was a score down cylinder an inch wide. The piston looked great, no problems with rings, nothing wrong. Best guess they didn't bother to bore the cylinder to remove the score when they rebuilt it.

Again if you can't verify the condition of the motor, it's only worth core value.

btw you should be able drop any 230 into your truck. When I first started working a gas station too many years ago, I put a 59 in a 38 truck. There were no major problems.

Larry

i appreciate your advice. However the engine is already bought and i would like to know the proper procedures in Pre-oiling this engine (if thats even the term used) and any other things i may need to be on the look out for as i am swapping these two engines.

Thanks in advance

After you've installed your new oil pump and before you install the distributor, use an old distributor shaft or screw driver shaft(no handle) attached to a drill and spin the pump to see if oil is properly reaching the valve train.After engine installation ,remove the plugs and prime the engine again without firing and check your oil pressure with the dash gauge or instrument gauge if you have one.Replace the plugs and start the engine and let it come to temp and check the pressure and for leaks. If that is ok check for compression,timing,carb adjustment and anything else you that you notice.Also,maybe you can get more info in the MOPAR forum on this site.

thank you drew....thats exactly the info i was looking for.

I'm slightly confused here. Is the 230 that's in your Dodge a Chevy 230 OHV engine or a Dodge 230 flathead engine?

Zeke,It's a MOPAR, so some of the info I posted for his motor is incorrect.He received the correct info from Blueskies in the MOPAR forum.

You should also pull the oil pump and prime it according to the manual, which requires you to submerge the pump in oil to fill it before installing on the block. You will have to pull one of the plugs in the oil galley and force oil under pressure through out the engine. You can probably use a new garden sprayer with the hose connected to a hose fitting in the block to do this. You should look for a service manual before you get to far into this project.

FWIW, I have no experience with that engine, but I have had experience with trying to get an air locked oil pump to prime, I cheated and used an oil pump can to put new clean oil (after cleaning everything involved) down the passage coming up from the oil pump till it was full. I turned the pump backwards a few revolutions (with a speed handle) and then when I turned it forwards, it had prime and I continued to turn it forward till I knew the whole engine had oil (OHV engine, I kept turning till all the rockers were spitting oil). But I had seen the engine with the pan off and already knew the pump was new.

This might not help, as if it were mine and I had a condition unknown 'overhaul' I would pull the pan for a look anyway, regardless of brand.