1939 D11 Luxury Liner DeLuxe (long with MANY questions)

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

Well guys, it rolled out of storage for yet another summer yesterday. A few things i have noticed....this car somehow has started to eat brake fluid out of nowhere, it seems to always have a low reservoir and i fill it at least 1 or 2 times per season. Where would one start with that....would bleeding the brakes be a good start if somehow air got into the lines?

Also, this year when i started the car initially, and again this morning it got a really high pitched rattling sound from the engine, like possibly something in the valve train?

Ive already went to the parts store and ordered 2 new Anco 20-10 model wiper blades for the car. My next question is what kind of mounting these wipers have. It took me FOREVER to figure out how they came off, and i fairly well set mechanically.

Also, as far as changing oil, i know to use a non detergent oil for it (thats what ive been told anyway) but my other part to this question...would be where/how the oil filters itself before entering the engine.

Another thing is the car seems to like to stall after going and putting fresh fuel in it. Where would be a good place to start with something like that. When it stalls (shortly after putting fuel in it) it will NOT restart for a short while, no matter what. Would that be the cause of crap in the tank that gets disturbed when fuel is shot in there and then blocks possibly like a line or something and cuts fuel flow then settles and restarts 5 min later or something?

Lastly, it seems like this car takes a LOT of fuel to start it, i had it running yesterday for probably an hour, shut it off for the night then went to start it this morning, i was pumping the holy heck out of the throttle with no results, pour fuel down the throat of the carburetor and it stared then stalled again when it burn that, poured more fuel down and it restarted then finally continued to run. Where can i go for easier starting....it should NOT need fuel like that to start...should it? It never used to anyway. Maybe a new fuel filter??

Thanks a LOT for reading this and taking time to answer!!

[nearchoclatetown]

MY opinion! Non detergent oil. Does it have a filter? Oil pressure OK? Drain ALL gas and put in some acetone, let soak a few days/week, then flush with clean gas and refill.Blow out all gas lines and clean pump. Sounds like your accelerator pump doesn't work.

[Guest Dodge Deluxe]

Zach,

I too have a '39 D11 that I have spent the past two years restoring and bringing back to life after she sat dormant for 20 years in a garage. Where are you at with your restoration? In regard to the brake issue, have you rebuilt the wheel cylinders and the master? Have you replaced the brake hoses and lines?

Not sure what the rattling might be?

I have not changed my wiper blades yet, so I haven't really gotten a good look at them.

As far as oil, I use non-detergent straight SAE30 weight.

The oil filter is a by-pass filter, which means only a portion of the oil actually passes through the filter canister as the engine is running.

Regarding your stalling and hard starting, have you cleaned out the gas tank as Doug mentioned already? I ended up having to drop the tank and clean it out thoroughly with muriatic acid. Have you rebuilt your carb? Does your automatic choke work properly? Have you rebuilt or replaced the fuel pump? Have you emptied and cleaned out the sediment bowl? How about the fuel lines and fuel filter? I also agree with Doug's comment on the accelerator pump.

Good luck, I'll be breaking mine out of winter storage in a few weeks myself.

Regards;

Dan

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

wowie....ummm, as far as the oil and all that, ive only used non detergent SAE30, i just wanted to make sure that was correct, with the by pass oiling system, is there an actual filter somewhere on the vehicle that can be changed? Ive looked high and low and have YET to see a visible filter.

Whats the best way to go about draining the gas and cleaning all lines/hoses etc. As far as i know...its a manual choke on the left side of the ignition key. Fuel pump was replaced by my dad maybe....10-12 years ago? Also, know NOTHING about a sediment bowl. Carburetor to me knowledge has not been replaced or touched since we took ownership of the car around 18 years ago.

I have not pulled any of the brakes apart, as im afraid of what i will find/see when i do so. If brakes need replacing, where would i even go to find any at? Have not replaced any brake lines or hoses, however, there are also no VISIBLE leaks.

Not sure if i have missed anything or not...if theres anything i missed you guys asked, please reiterate it. I think i have a LOT to do!!

[Guest elmo39]

Zach if your brakes are loosing fluid it is a sign of fluid loss not air in the system, for a start check the inside of you wheels , if the brake cylinders are leaking you should see a sign of it , if not i would check the master cylinder and brake lines while some one push's on the brake pedal that usualy shows up the leaks, your rattling sound from the engine could be a lack of oil getting to the bearings , does your oil pressure come up as soon as you start up, try turning the engine over for a while with the key off untill the oil pressure comes up then start up and see if the rattling is still there , as for the oil filter they are a bypass system and the original filter was a throw away cannister , i think they could still be available at a price , but for my car which is a 39 DeSoto , i have used an after market full flow replaceable filter , which as long as your car is only going to be a driver and not judged is alright . with you fuel problem check the carburator needle valve , which is behind where the fuel line connects to the carb , if it is worn it could give you the problems you describe. for parts try www.oldmoparts.com (Andy Bernbaum), www.then-now .com (antique auto parts) or www.robertsmotorparts.com

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

ok thanks!

if i remember oil pressure does come up as i crank the car...and as soon as the car starts its around 50 PSI then drops to about 40 when warm. Do you know where the by pass filter would be located on the 218 I-6 motor?

[Guest Dodge Deluxe]

Zach,

If your car is running the original oil filter set up, it will appear on the drivers side of the engine block, it is a round metal cannister with a steel line running into the top, and a steel line running our of the bottom. The cannister has a large hex head bolt on top, I forget if it's a 5/8 or 3/4? But if you loosen this bolt, the cover of the cannister can be removed and once removed you will find a replaceable filter that you pull out and dispose of and replace with a new one. There is also a rubber gasket that seals the cover that should be included with the new filter, make sure you replace that too. I was able to buy mine right at the local auto parts store for about $10.00.

Elmo already gave you some great sources for brake parts, I opted to have my shoes relined here locally rather than buying new, hoses and lines are not too expensive. Wheel cylinder and master cylinder rebuild kits are pretty inexpensive. I have a phone number on my website for a man named John Plaskan, on my links page. He has been a great parts source for me, I bought my rebuild kits through him. If you rebuild them make sure you get yourself a brake hone and hone them out. Carb kits are not too expensive, I have a one barrel Stromberg and it was very easy to rebuild.

The sediment bowl that I mentioned is at the base of your fuel pump. It is a glass bowl that fills with fuel and collects water and debris and it settles in the bottom of the glass bowl. There is a simple hold down that you loosen and it comes off so that you can empty it and clean it out. Make sure the rubber gasket between the bowl and the bottom of the fuel pump is still good and not rotted away.

Regarding the best way to drain the gas and clean the tank out, I've been through it, I tried to find an easy way, but the only real way is to drop the tank and do it right, I learned the hard way. Drop the tank, it's only two straps, make sure you remove the float and sending unit first, change the filler neck hose while you have it off, again pretty inexpensive. Muriatic acid worked well for me. Got it at the local Walmart in the hardware dept.

Hope this helps, let us know how you are making out.

Dan

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

will go out now and check some of the easy stuff, such as sediment bowl and by pass filter. Its a little to chilly out to want to pull wheels, drums and brake components to check all that.

May also get a few pictures of the car for all you as well as possibly a video of it running?

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

i have PICTURES...plus a VIDEO

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

Any clue what this number is on the firewall?

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

And the Video

[Guest Ed_Joyce]

I owned a 1949 Dodge Wayfarer low mileage car that I bought from the original owner. It had no oil filter on it. I added an oil filter unit similiar to what Dodge Deluxe described. Maybe more knowledgable Dodge experts would know when they started adding filters to motors. Could it be that yours just didn''t have one?

[nearchoclatetown]

The firewall number is probably just a body number, doesn't mean much. The reason you can't find the by pass oil filter is you don't have one. With a good cleaning looks to me like you've got a decent car to work with. Have fun!! Check the AACA online library list up in the "Resources" section for a repair manual. Chris can copy it and send it to you cheap. You'll be surprised what you learn.

[Guest 39DodgeD11]

yeah, ill have to check that out...right now im getting great info for what im doing here, but will def. look into the repair manual!