What to do with a Dauntless 225...

[redbo]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the Jeep world and have been reading these forums for a few years (thanks for all the advice). Now I finally have the opportunity to post...

For a variety of reasons (that all seemed good at the time) I decided to replace the Dauntless Buick 225 V6 V6 in my '69 CJ5 after a cylinder went. Replacing it was originally supposed to be cheaper and easier than a rebuild of the Dauntless... but you know how that goes.

The Dauntless has one bad cylinder but aside from that it appears to be in good shape. As far as I know it has 44k miles on it.

I'm not sure what I should do with it now. In an ideal world I'd like to pick away at rebuilding it myself but my current life has me moving around a lot for the next few years and with no good garage, storage space, time or money. (Which is also while a modern reliable EFI motor seemed like a good idea.)

What do you all think? I could toss it in a friend's barn and come back to it in ~5 years when I'm done with school or I could try to sell it. I hate to get rid of it but I need to be realistic about what I will be able to do with it.

What are some of your thoughts? Does it have any value? I would love if it went to a good home.

 

[tarry99]

There is a market out there for the 225 odd-fired Buick..............but only ones in good condition.........what do you mean by saying it had one bad cylinder?

A Piston? , it was oiling? , No compression? a burnt valve?............

At best for now what you have is a core.........worth maybe a few $100 dollars and that would only be true if the block and crank is good and has not already been previously bored or had the crank ground undersized.

Parts are still available...........the only Item that is getting tough to find is Standard sized crankshafts.............You would have a much better time selling it if it could be seen running in a vehicle...............some of the external parts are also marketable.

 

[redbo]

Hi Tarry,

Thanks for the reply!

I'm not sure what is wrong... I know that it had good compression in all the cylinders and was running perfectly until it started knocking and one of the cylinders had lost compression

The shop I brought it to initially (they just do classics) said that the loss of compression was all that they could find. They said they could rebuild just the upper but it would be best to rebuild the upper and lower... and that started to get expensive.

Aside from that, nobody has opened up the motor so anything else regarding its condition would be speculation. A few hundred bucks certainly wouldn't be bad.

 

[CJim7]

It sounds to me like your shop is suspecting a burnt valve. And by the sudden loss of compression along with the knocking, that sounds about right.

Doing headwork on it is something you can mostly do yourself.

If it was running good compression and oil pressure, I wouldn't worry about the bottom end.

 

[tarry99]

Hi Tarry,

Thanks for the reply!

I'm not sure what is wrong... I know that it had good compression in all the cylinders and was running perfectly until it started knocking and one of the cylinders had lost compression
.

Loss of compression / burnt valve is one thing.............a knock is normally something totally different.

The Dauntless Buick 225 V6 's are known for spun bearings which could be your knock. A broken Piston skirt or one that has excessive clearance will do the same.

I would run a "Leak Down" test on each of the cylinders.........that will further define if the problem is valve leakage from the overhead or Piston to cylinder wall issues.........while you have the valve covers off check for a bent push-rod or broken rocker arm........If you drain the oil........take a close look at it for metal along with cutting open the filter.

Keep in mind the effectiveness of the testing now that the engine is non-operational and oil has drained back into the pan may be compromised which means ultimately it may just have to come apart to take a look.

 

[CJim7]

Loss of compression / burnt valve is one thing.............a knock is normally something totally different.

The Buick V6's are known for spun bearings which could be your knock. A broken Piston skirt or one that has excessive clearance will do the same.

This is true, but don't completely discount the knocking as not being a burnt valve. When I chunked a valve in my original 4 banger, it sounded just like a knock.

A broken piston skirt is a real possibility as it can score the cylinder wall and cause a loss in compression. Another thing could be a froze piston. My 401 suffered this on #8 and it knocked. It also grooved the cylinder wall enough that the rings wouldn't hold good compression.

Either way you turn it, you are looking at taking this thing apart unfortunately

 

[redbo]

Just a bit of follow-up for everyone:

I ultimately decided to put a new motor in. Still not sure it was the best choice and I am sad to see the ol' Dauntless Buick 225 V6 go, but I'm happy with how it all turned out. She is quite reliable now and starts most of the time (what a feature!) and I think she will be a better daily driver for it. I put in a 2007 4.3 L Vortec 4300 V6. Most of the bugs have been worked out and she is a pleasure to drive!

 

[redbo]

For anyone interested:

 

[Lumpy Grits]

:ty:
Must have been a challenge to undertake.

How about some engine bay pictures?

LG

 

[Peanut Butter]

Nice looking Jeep! For what it is worth, it's your Jeep. Don't second guess yourself. You did what you thought was the best answer to a big problem at the time, and now you're driving your Jeep and having fun. That's the important part. Pictures of the engine bay would be a nice touch. We're like kids with a comic book here!

 

[redbo]

Sorry this took so long!
Just got her out of the storage locker.
Radiator is running a little hot in the warmer weather. Its an old one and is quite crusty. Going to get a new one in this week.

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