1 ride, 2 failures!!! Fixed!

[timmycharger]

Hey guys, I am at a loss as to what happened here. I Escaped the lockdown and took the Charger for a spin around the block yesterday and unfortunately had to be towed back home with a rope by my wife in her minivan  

Brought the car up to temperature, cruised around the block and then went to an area where I can get on it a bit. I broke the tires loose in first and then while spinning the tires I ran over a rough part of the road that put me in a wheel hop situation and the back end sort of made a big bang like I hit a pothole.  

probably 20 seconds after that, I smelled coolant and could see a huge trail of something behind me. I tried to turn the car around and then managed to stall it in a terrible spot, like pretty much sideways in the road.  Turns out I had zero fuel pressure per the mounted gauge on the firewall but I could still hear my electric pump buzzing.   I called my wife who came with a gas can and I could get it to fire back up by dripping gas down the center carb but it would die immediately.  

Is it possible that I killed the pump with that massive wheelhop/bang? I have to investigate that more but in regards to the coolant part, I found the culprit.  

I have coolant all over my engine bay, underside of the hood and pretty much everywhere it shouldn't be.  Turns out, the thermostat housing gasket had a complete blowout/failure! See pic below.  I can squeeze the lower hose and it just blows out air where the gasket is blown.  I have probably 300 miles on the engine since putting that gasket in? I am running a late 1990s Mopar performance waterpump housing with a Mopar brand pump. I don't remember where I got the chrome housing from, but I am pretty sure it was Mopar brand.   Is this an installation error or do I have something else going on here that I should check? I don't want to put the same setup back in, there must be a better one out there? The temp never got past 200 so it wasn't overheating.   Thoughts?

[green69rt]

Can you check the motor mounts.? Broke?  If the engine torqued over enough, it may have used the coolant hose to stress the thermostat housing or anything else tied to the engine, fuel lines, electrical, etc.

[XH29N0G]

Sorry to hear about your failed but spirited get away.  Better success in future attempts.

I had typed the last bit, but think the engine mount(s) are a good start. 

Just wondering which is related to the engine not starting, hitting traction or the coolant?  Do you think one or the other?  I think you consider the bang as related to traction rather than the coolant blowing out.  Is that correct?  I am wondering if the coolant and engine not start might have been because of engine temperature rather than related to jolt.  Did you try again after it all cooled down?  

[timmycharger]

Can you check the motor mounts.? Broke?  If the engine torqued over enough, it may have used the coolant hose to stress the thermostat housing or anything else tied to the engine, fuel lines, electrical, etc.

Hmm, I will check but I would be surprised as I am using one of those Schumacher threaded heim joint torque straps but worth a look for sure.

Thanks!

[timmycharger]

Sorry to hear about your failed but spirited get away.  Better success in future attempts.

I had typed the last bit, but think the engine mount(s) are a good start. 

Just wondering which is related to the engine not starting, hitting traction or the coolant?  Do you think one or the other?  I think you consider the bang as related to traction rather than the coolant blowing out.  Is that correct?  I am wondering if the coolant and engine not start might have been because of engine temperature rather than related to jolt.  Did you try again after it all cooled down?  

Thank you, not really sure, It just felt like a normal tire spinning getaway lol until the wheel hop bang. I might have run over the coolant because I did a three point turnaround right before getting on it and spinning the wheels.

I went out last night hours later and still had zero fuel pressure but could hear the pump buzzing still. 

[Dano 1]

I'm not an electric fuel pump expert but is it possible the wheel hop knocked some trash loose inside the tank that the pump sucked up and got jammed? Maybe the pickup got damaged/knocked off somehow?

[timmycharger]

I'm not an electric fuel pump expert but is it possible the wheel hop knocked some trash loose inside the tank that the pump sucked up and got jammed? Maybe the pickup got damaged/knocked off somehow?

Thanks, I didn't even think of the pickup, I need to go in there to change the tank seal anyway so I will have a look.  It might be loose trash, but hopefully not already since the tank was installed about 4 years ago. 

Thanks again!

[charger Downunder]

Those chrome thermostat housings warp. Been rubbish for years,

[krops cars]

My thermostat housing from 440 source leaked. Found out it was not flush. Put it on a belt sander to true it up. Also any chrome mating surfaces need to be sanded before assemble. I had a chrome automatic transmission pan that would not seal. Had to sand. Also I now a guy who ran cheap electric a fuel pump. This is just asking for trouble. There is no such thing as a cheap good fuel pump.

[timmycharger]

Thanks guys, I am thinking the same about the chrome T stat housing, I am going to take it off and put it on a flat surface and see if I can see anything there.

Regarding the pump, it is a Holley HP series HP125, around $260 or so and its about 4 years old.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Get rid of that chrome water neck. I hear nothing but problems with them. I've been using a Mancini Racing billet neck for years and it has been perfect.

[timmycharger]

Get rid of that chrome water neck. I hear nothing but problems with them. I've been using a Mancini Racing billet neck for years and it has been perfect.

Yep! Just ordered one today!!

[green69rt]

I got my billet stainless steel one from summit.  No aluminum or pot metal for me.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/prs-1064

[timmycharger]

Finally had some time to dig into the car to see what happened. The Thermostat housing leak was simple to fix, got rid of the terrible Chrome Mopar one that as you can see in the pic, is badly warped.  Swapped it out for a Billet Specialties piece that works great so far.

The fuel issue is a different story. I ended up disconnecting the fuel filter on the front rail and found that the pump was pumping as it sprayed fuel all over my floor LOL..

I then followed the line up the firewall into the regulator where it splits off to the feed line for the carbs and disconnected it there.  I removed the regulator completely, then just connected the line going to frame rail using the Fuel Gauge fitting as a bridge between the two lines.

That fixed it but I am not comfortable as to why. I am able to blow through the regulator without any issue either way, but maybe under pressure it doesn't something different? I didn't need it anyway as my Holley Pump is good for 7lbs which is what the gauge shows constantly now.

Did a slow test drive but I am still worried there is another issue at hand, but for now she runs again..