Trojan Boat Forum

What should the correct idle speed be for a 318?

Pretty sure its 650 RPM, in gear

Per the Chrysler manual "approximately 600-650 in gear ". with that said every engine is different so it maybe a little more or less . nothing wrong with a little by ear adjustment .Note that you would want it that high but Maximum engagement speed for the gear box is 1000 rpm .

Thanks for the info. Just wondering what it might be in idle out of gear? The PO sure steered me in the wrong direction regarding this for sure. Ugh..............no telling what type of tran damage may have ocurred by the PO. He always upped the idle to 1100 before engaging the trans and when operating in/out of his slip. I'd imagine all the fwd/rev engagement at that RPM wasn't good, especially the way he slammed the transmissions in and out of gear. No wonder docking was a white knuckle ride. And the port trans shutters when in reverse.....................$$$$$$$ ?

should be about 750 at idle in neutral and around 650 in gear. Should never exceed 1000 rpms when switching gear directions unless you are going to hit something hard and fast.

i have twin 318s port in nut 750 and sside 800-850 in gear p650-675 s 700 725 3 mph in the marina

BMILLER wrote:... He always upped the idle to 1100 before engaging the trans and when operating in/out of his slip.....

That's always a red flag to me and it indicates that the owner simply doesn't know any better, and one must wonder what else he's been doing with other systems, or he is hiding poor engine conditions by upping the RPM so it doesn't stall. Most deffinately not good for the tranny. I'd be looking at the condition of the tranny fluid, better yet, drain and look for metal particles.