how is the dodge 440cu engine?
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Elder User
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: El Dorado Co., CA.
how is the dodge 440cu engine?
i'm going to check out an RV that has a dodge 440. i don't know the year, it wasn't in the paper. anyone have opinions or comments about the 440? of course, i would prefer a ford motor, but i'll take what i can get if the price is right. Thanks.
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Joined: May 2003
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From: Bryan Texas
a buddy of mine had a 440 magnum from an rv in a 73 charger thae car would haul it . But the motor always had random elect problems from creamac resistors to weird starte probs and got the worst gas milage of a any big block i have seen
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Elder User
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From: El Dorado Co., CA.
well, the guy had dead batteries so i couldn't hear it run. other than that, the RV was pretty old and worn. asking 6k, i could talk him down to 4; but i don't wanna.
thanks.
thanks.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: eastern Ma
440
I was a tech for Chrysler way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I don't remember any problems with the motor. I still wonder why they dropped the original Hemi. I had a 59 Galaxie at the time 212 c.i. One night it was sick, so the sales manager let me borrow a desoto, If anyone remembers that nameplate. Anyway, it had the Hemi in it. I must have burned the tread off both rear tires by the time I got back to work next morning. What an animal!
The car looked like a sleepy family sedan. That Hemi was fun. I don't think the new one is as good. I hear it's not even the original design. The one I took home was the 428. 42 something don't remember.
With old age, the memory is the second thing to go.
The car looked like a sleepy family sedan. That Hemi was fun. I don't think the new one is as good. I hear it's not even the original design. The one I took home was the 428. 42 something don't remember.
With old age, the memory is the second thing to go.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Wichita, KS
Known several folks that had 383s, 400s, and 440s in cars and trucks. Tough motors, generally held up pretty good, and the 727 Torqueflites behind them took everything I've ever seen done to them. Dodge electrical systems weren't the best, but in general the ones I've been around didn't give too much trouble.
Posting Guru
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I had one in a 1967 Belvedere GTX. Was a good motor but as I had been warned and eventually found out on my own, they don't like it when the oil is even 1/2 qt low.
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Posting Guru
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From: Prince George, B.C.
The 440 was a good engine, the Ceramic resistor was a prob sometimes but I haven't seen that for awhile in older vehicles, The 440 Magnum was the only exception, I have heard from people that it was somewhat weak especially when people used them for towing, it was a muscle car engine. I grew up around Dodges and they are still my first choice but with 4 Ford pickups and a bunch of buddies that have them, I have been noticing that I actually know more about fords than the dodges. Any body need a pickup assembled from the frame up in a weekend? 
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Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Tampa Bay, FL USA
The ceramic resistor was just a weird problem with ALL Mopars; you learned real quick to keep a spare in the glove box, as it only took a couple minutes to replace it. I had a couple of 440s, both with 100,000 miles on 'em, and never a problem. As the old saying goes, could pass anything but a gas station.
LeoT, the hemi in that DeSoto was a 392, and those motors were absolutely bullet-proof. The original Mopar hemi became legendary because of its power and its durability.
LeoT, the hemi in that DeSoto was a 392, and those motors were absolutely bullet-proof. The original Mopar hemi became legendary because of its power and its durability.
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Elder User
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From: El Dorado Co., CA.
thanks for all the input. i've put that RV on the bottom of my list. the guy had a dead battery so i didn't get to hear it. that was the least of it; when walking to the rear of the RV, my foot almost went through the floor. seems there was a water leak.
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Topsfield, MA
I have a 72 winnebago which has a 318. I have a spare 440-3 that I'm going to put in it that came out of a 73. They're not a normal 440, they've got heavy duty bearings, usually a bigger oil pan, lower compression heads, and some other things. They'll last forever, mine has 42k mi on the 440 and 92k on the 318. The 318 still sounds tight and runs like a top.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Chino, California
The 440 was an excellent engine. The problems of that motorhome won't be from the engine or tranny, it will be from the motorhome itself. IE cooling system, brakes, everything else. It's a high maintenance vehicle......
FYI..the 440 Magnum was never offered as a hemi-head. It was the 426
FYI..the 440 Magnum was never offered as a hemi-head. It was the 426
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
6k is high for a motorhome the floor is rotting out of, even in California. The biggest problem I had with a 440 in a motorhome was the plastic Thermoquad carb. They tend to warp, and then never quite work right. Shut off the engine and they'll drip gas into the manifold and flood the engine, then you have to crank and crank to clear it before it will start. -TD
Elder User
Joined: May 2004
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From: Shreveport, LA
The 440 engine is a great machine.
There are no real problems with the engine itself, except for the fact that it makes more power than a stock machine should deal out.
Esp with cell phones and Starbucks being all the rage to employ whilst driving.
Anyhow, the Thermoquad was a downfall, but I dont believe that all of them had the plastic sections. You can always swap it out. There are some pretty decent performance parts out there, all the way up to some huge blowers.
There are no real problems with the engine itself, except for the fact that it makes more power than a stock machine should deal out.
Esp with cell phones and Starbucks being all the rage to employ whilst driving.
Anyhow, the Thermoquad was a downfall, but I dont believe that all of them had the plastic sections. You can always swap it out. There are some pretty decent performance parts out there, all the way up to some huge blowers.
