Just finished taking the cams off..hope to get the heads tomorrow...Thanks CT for your help and advice! I'll get some pics tomorrow of what I find..

 

CT, Heads are off like you said, can't tell much... however when I pull the back head off #1 had a little puddle of anitfreeze in it...no other cylinder had any traces of antifreeze..? anyway took a pic so you could check it out...taking the heads to the machine shop monday...I have everything labeled like the book says so it will go back in the same place. Stopped at the parts house to get a price on a new timing kit and gasket set...475 for a new timing kit and 180 for a gasket set 65 for new hea bolts....Ouch!!!! I saw kits on ebay for a fraction of that cost...heck a master rebuild kit was like 700 bucks...from California...what your take on that?? the stuff from the parts house was car quest...anyway I'd be curious what everyone thinks! these days every dime counts!

 

Are those coolant passages plugged up with rust? Might go a long way toward explaining the overheating problem.

 

DC, I'll take a closer look tomorrow..After I got the heads off I studies all my head bolts checking them to see if they were stretched, and I also bagged and labeled the lash adjuster too..and worked some on the exhaust manifolds getting them off the head. Standby

 

OK sorry for the delay..DC I looked over the block and heads, I know the pics show the rust but really it's not to bad...just looks bad in the pic..I took some more pics with and without the headgasket so you can get a better look. CT I made it to the machine shop this afternoon with the heads, told the guy what was going on and needed him to check the surfaces and pressure check both heads..he said they'd be ready tomorrow unless he found a problem...

 

I did have the very same problem.. heads were wrapped a bit that allowed pressure from combusion cylinder 1 & 5 to leak to coolant passages ..got false boiling antifreeze and overheat.

problem fixed by taking heads to machine shop, replaced water pump and thermostate ..

now like a new

 

OK...heard back from the machine shop! We were right! heads were warped! So they resurfaced them and pressure checked too..there ready for pick-up tonight! 120 bucks...heck that's a deal!

 

Hey everyone, just wanted to double check on the torque spec. haynes manual says
1-8 35
1-8 50
1-8 50
1-8 1/4 turn with a wrench
9-11 250 inch pounds..or 21 ft lbs

 

i would refer to chyrsler service manual for torque sepcs...

and better to replace coolant canister pressure cap, since you've had several overheats ..

 

Shop manual sez:
1-8 35
1-8 55
1-8 55
1-8 +90º Do not use a torque wrench for this step
9-11 250 in-lbs

Pretty close to what Haynes says.