OIL and general condition of 318 engine

by **Wojpi** » 16 Jun 2005 8:34

I have just bought my CHALLENGER, she is from 74 with 318 engine. Car condition is very nice as it was lasting since 1977 in the heated garage covered. Everything is 100 % original even tha paint and othe rdetails. After all this time engine started without a problem, I want to change the oil and the filter and do not touch the engine at all (for now). What kind of oil I should use to flush the engine ( i think some cheap mineral is perfect for this) what kind of oil filter I could use, is it possible to find some replacment for the mopar filter here in Europe ? How do you think should i do anything else to the engine ? How about gearbox and diff ? The original milage is 32000 km, so the car is barely used. Gearbox works, I was afraid to drive it on some distance caus i afraid to break something. I just started the engine few times and drive into the garage in and out. I appreciate your advices.

by **dave-r** » 16 Jun 2005 10:46

You should really have drained the oil and changed it before starting the engine.

You can get an additive to add to the oil first to flush it out better.

For normal use I use Castrol Magnatec (the heavier of the two versions) which has great cold start properties.

Many older UK cars (old Mini's for example) had the same size oil filter fitting. You want the biggest/longest you can fit in the space you have. I use FRAM HP1 filters on my 440 which I add to my yearly Summit Racing order. I have no idea if they fit in the area allowed on a 318.

Maybe someone here can advise better on this?

by **Kowalski_72** » 16 Jun 2005 23:47

I used Range Rover V8 filters on my 318,they are the same physical size as the mopar filter,and incorporate an anti drain valve. I always asked for a 1990 RR 3.9 filter,but I'm sure the Rover V8 used the same filter for all the years.

by **Wojpi** » 08 Jul 2005 5:03

Yesterday my engine started to work not regularly like not all cylinders were working. I have checked the spark and it is an all of them. What is the easiest way to check if all of them work, i was disconectin the sparks one by one and I have some doubt about two of them working, but how to be sure, and what to check next to find the reason ?

by **dave-r** » 08 Jul 2005 8:15

It is not worth messing with. If the spark plug wires are old you need to change them anyway. Do that first (it will probably fix it) and if you still have problems worry about it then. You may as well fit new plugs too while you are on.

Two cylinders not working