will 318 oil pan fit on 360 long block, i have 1983 W150

[tiffy's W150]

Hello guys and gals.........
I am new here and i have 1983 W150 short box with 318 which i purchased last friday, its GREAT truck and my first 4 by 4. the question is will a 318 oil pan work on 360 long block and is there a way to put 360 in the 318 truck with the smog system in it for cailfornia ? i notice that the 360 was not a optional for the short box W150 is there a reason for that ?
thanks guys, Tiffany

[Don Williams]

318 and 360 oil pans do not interchange. The 360 pan has a larger radius at the rear to fit the larger rear main bearing of the 360. Most of the other external items will interchange. 318 and 360 intake manifolds will interchange but the carburetors do not. 360 uses a larger 2-bbl than the 318. Don't know about 4-bbl versions. 318 and 360 engines are balanced differently. Always use a 318 harmonic balancer, flywheel, or flex plate on 318 and 360 stuff on the 360. The 360 will fit fine where the 318 is now. Getting the smog stuff right will probably be the biggest challenge. As far as the 360 not being an option in your particular truck -- Dodge has done a lot of things like that over the years that didn't make a lot of sense but they had some kind of reason.

I wanted to order a 95 Ram 3500, Cummins, 5-speed, 3.54 axles but they would not build it with the 3.54 gears, only 4.10. They would only put the 3.54 axles in automatic trucks. They would build a 2500 the way I wanted it so that is what I bought. 2 years later they started building the 3500 trucks with the axles I wanted. Go figure.

[tiffy's W150]

Hello Don Williams.....
wow it seems a lot of trouble to do a 360 swap and smog crap require to make it legal, it may be best to just put in a rebuild 318 2bbl and live with it because my skills and funds are limited (i am on fixed income). Sooner or later the price of gas will go pass 5 dollars a gallon due to MONSTER GREED of oil companies ,it just a matter of time. The 318 in my truck only makes 230 foot pounds of torque @ 1600 rpm's as i think that kind of LOW for today's standards and seems to do OK for a everyday driving i guess. Does anyone know who sells a GOOD rebuild 318 long block for reasonable price as my goal is to drive for next 30 years or 500,000 miles in my W150 with the new rebuild long block. I will do everything i can to help make it go that far like regular oil changes and air filter changes so on as i can do that. I am 3rd owner of the W150 and I just bought it last Friday and already love the truck a lot. I feel that if given reasonable care, the 318 can go that far just my opinion. The 318 that's in my truck now does NOT smoke blue or white at all. maybe you have some ideas or tips ?

thanks guys,tiffany

[KRB64]

... my goal is to drive for next 30 years or 500,000 miles in my W150 with the new rebuild long block...

Thats asking a lot of a 318. A Cummins might do that but probably not the V-8. A 318 is a good little motor that will take a lot and keep on going and will amaze you but I think I'd cut those expectations to about half or so? The more you mod & up the torque & HP the less you'll probably get in terms of longevity.

Just my $0.02.

[KRB64]

Having said the above let me clarify that I meant without any refurbishing.

If you do a good job of filtering/changing fluids and air, you might reach your goal but you'll probably have to redo the heads and maybe some bearings somewhere along the way.

[712edf]

318's are long living motors. But in time, in addition to what has already been mentioned, leaks will become more & more common.

My grandpa had an old Farmall tractor that had a jillion hours on it. Still ran ok, but you couldn't afford to keep the crankcase with oil.

Bucky

[MrMarty51]

Engine does`nt smoke at all,if the engine has oil pressure then just take good care of it,change the oil,check the air filter,might even want to install a new timing chain while You are at it,change the gear box lubes,differentils lubes,if it has an automaatic transmission then go ahead and change that out too,while You are in there,if it does have an automatic in it,get a book and read up about the band adjustments and do`nt be intimidated with the procedures,You will need a 5/16ths{if My memory serves Me correctly}"square" socket and an inch pound torque wrench,I believe You can too get the oval socket that fits them band adjusters real nice.Install a new filter in the transmission,the pan,refill it and just drive and enjoy the ride.
I`d about bet You will be surprised how many miles You can drive an old tired 318 before it needs any work.
Another suggestion would be to convert the engine to a fuel injection setup,You will get a lot less fuel in the crankcase and that will save a lot of wear on the internals of the engine,the carb. when the engine is cold slobbers a lot of extra fuel into the engine,thus,creating more wash and wear on the cylinders and bearings.The fuel inject will give You more power too.
Oh YEAH,I have seen quite a few engines of all makes get scrapped because the timing chain had jumped and the engine would refuse to start,I`ve also seen a lot of bent pushrods because of timing chain issues.
I drive a 93 GMC 1500 series,350 engine,4 weeeel drive,I have just under 250,000 miles on that pickup,but,I did install a new timing chain and oil pump at almost 200,000 miles.regular oil changes and well maintained,the engine uses a quart of oil in about 1200 miles,it does`nt have quite the power it used to but the cylinders all fire evenly and it idles real smooth.

[tiffy's W150]

hello Mr.Marty51,and guys.......
well guys, i was wrong as my 318 does smoke blue on start up but driving it it is okay (i am 3rd owner) and the second owner did not take care of it as it is leaking i think from the rear main seals. I think it will be best for me to buy the rebuild long block 318 and the only thing i would do to it is to put on the best timing chain money can buy for it . the engine builder is call "californiaengines" they have 318 long block for 1,295 and its warranted for 5 years. Is that a good company as i don't know anyone else that offers a higher warranty than 5 years. I am on fixed income so 1300 is a LOT of cash to me and it will be while before i have that kind of money to buy one. Is there a way i can tell if the engine is rebuild correctly by looking at it before paying the money for it as i cannot afford to get burned. If i do buy an rebuild 318, what else can i do to increase reliability from it as i am leaving it stone stock except adding the best timing chain. who makes the best timing chain. my goal is make it last least 350,000 miles on it as i know it can do it and i am a easy driver,not hard on the truck as i wanted it to last. the last car i had was a 1996 ford thunderbird and the alunimum head 3.8 V-6 went bad and dumped anti-freeze from the block ( i took good care of the car) but i will never ever buy used car from dealer ever again my MISTAKE) i think ford makes JUNK as this car had 148,000 on it. I was GLAD to get rid of it and lost money on it too few months later i saw the 1983 W150 in Dec. i fell love with it and bought home so far it the BEST truck or car i ever had as i feel i can trust it to not break down on me everytime i get in the truck to go to store.
I am GLAD i got this W150.
thanks guys, tiffany

[Hobcobble]

hello Mr.Marty51,and guys.......
well guys, i was wrong as my 318 does smoke blue on start up but driving it it is okay (i am 3rd owner) and the second owner did not take care of it as it is leaking i think from the rear main seals. I think it will be best for me to buy the rebuild long block 318 and the only thing i would do to it is to put on the best timing chain money can buy for it . the engine builder is call "californiaengines" they have 318 long block for 1,295 and its warranted for 5 years. Is that a good company as i don't know anyone else that offers a higher warranty than 5 years. I am on fixed income so 1300 is a LOT of cash to me and it will be while before i have that kind of money to buy one. Is there a way i can tell if the engine is rebuild correctly by looking at it before paying the money for it as i cannot afford to get burned. If i do buy an rebuild 318, what else can i do to increase reliability from it as i am leaving it stone stock except adding the best timing chain. who makes the best timing chain. my goal is make it last least 350,000 miles on it as i know it can do it and i am a easy driver,not hard on the truck as i wanted it to last. the last car i had was a 1996 ford thunderbird and the alunimum head 3.8 V-6 went bad and dumped anti-freeze from the block ( i took good care of the car) but i will never ever buy used car from dealer ever again my MISTAKE) i think ford makes JUNK as this car had 148,000 on it. I was GLAD to get rid of it and lost money on it too few months later i saw the 1983 W150 in Dec. i fell love with it and bought home so far it the BEST truck or car i ever had as i feel i can trust it to not break down on me everytime i get in the truck to go to store.
I am GLAD i got this W150.
thanks guys, tiffany

Have you talked with any local machine shops to see what they might
be able to do for you? Perhaps they could refresh your current engine
for less?
John

[MrMarty51]

1 : To begin with,inspect You rocker covers and intake manifold gaskets at the rear of the engine.I have seen combinations of leaks from the rear of the engine components that I thought was the rear main seal leaking,after I did a "REAL CLOSE" inspection with some good light sources,I discovered that it was`nt the rear main at all but rather a gasket on the upper side of the engine had developed a leak.
If the engine is grimey with oil and dirt,give it a real good bath,then if there was/is leaking gaskets there wont be so much dirt to fall into the engine when replacing those gaskets.

2 : Sometimes,valve seals can become bad and lose their sealing capabilities,this will cause an engine to smoke some when they are first started but the smokeing should clear up after a minute or two,if it keeps on smoking read to 3.

3 : Chose one of Your friends that has a real good attention span,then,have that friend or friends follow You bringing the engine up to normal operating temps,traveling along at about 55 to 60 MPH on a nice flat stretch of road or down hill is even better and a nice calm day helps too,then,back out of the throttle{This part is where Your friend/friends that is following needs to be paying attention}If the engine puffs out cloud of smoke during and while You step back into the throttle,it is then probably time for a ring job.

4 : another test is with a fully charged battery,run a dry and also a wet compression test,if the compression is down in any/all of the cylinders then add some oil through the sparking plug holes,if the compression comes up quite noticeably,it is then the rings that have gone bad.
If You are not comfortable with performing the compression test,then,a good shop will be able to perform that operation.

[tiffy's W150]

Hello MrMarty51 and guys........

I just put in new spark plugs on my 1983 W150 with 318 and the old ones taken out and NONE of them have oily deposit on the tips of the plugs does that mean the engine is healthy ? The old spark plugs tips were tan and like black but the white part of the tips are clean and still white. What does that mean of the engine condtion ? I hope that's good news. I found out where the leak is coming from as you were right, i found it was leaking from the corner of the back of of the valve covers as i think its the valve cover gaskets as it is wet from oil.
thanks guys..
Tiffany

[tiffy's W150]

hello MrMarty51 and guys......
I forgot to add this..... the old spark plugs tips were tan and some black "soot" and the white tips were clean and still white on all 8 of them. does this mean my 318 is healthy or ? I was wrong about the blue smoke it was more like black.
thanks guys.........
Tiffany

[MrMarty51]

Sounds to Me like Your engine just may be healthy.
If it were burning oil there would be ,usully,a heavy carbon buildup on the plugs.
A carbed engine will run rich on fuel until it warms enough to pull the choke open.
Some carbs have a dashpot to pull the choke open when the engine is cold,if the engine seems to "Lope" for an extended period of time and blow black out the exhaust then some choke/dashpot adjustments may be necessary.Possibly a carbkit may be in order too.some carbs had a styrophoam float and it is almost always necessary to replace the float too,they almost always saturate fuel and get heavy,the floats do`nt cost too much.
Another trick is to remove the distributorcap and using a smallish pick or some type of a sharp instrument and scrape the "soot" off of the terminals on the inside of the cap,also clean the contact surfaces of the rotor,if You pull the plug wires out of the cap and there is corrosion built up in the holes then clean that real good too.
The plug wires can also be tested with an ohmeter,if You do`nt have a book on that pickup then I would suggest getting one,the book will tell You how many ohms resistance per inch is allowable.
I know distributor caps and rotors arent that much money,but,if Your budget is as slim as Mine then I do everything possible to make the old as close to new as possible.

[712edf]

I use non-resistor plugs & plug wires. But I done have a radio either. They may cause interference/static if your truck does.

Multimeters are a great diagnostic tool to have. Also get a hand held vacuum gauge, for tuning the carb.

Bucky

[MrMarty51]

Oh Yes,the vacuum guage is an excellent diagnostic tool.Why do I always forget the usefulness of that device and I have two of them in the tool box too.