87 Ram 50 4x4 "junkyard" rescue,

[WarStryker13]

I found this little fighter on FB marketplace, just over 200k on the odometer and a few small problems.

It was parked in the back of a small private junkyard, where it had sat for a couple years. It's got a small rust hole in the frame, and the previous owner had pulled the fuel tank and unbolted the bed to have it plated to pass Virginia inspection. He gave up on it at that point, but since I'm registering it in my home state the only inspection I need is a VIN verification.

After hooking up a jerry can and running a fuel line into the cab, it drove out of that yard and made it almost a full 10 miles down the road before saying no more... Searching this forum is pointing me to either a bad coil, clogged fuel pump, or the accelerator pump/secondary jet/choke adjustment etc...

I'm going to be ordering a carb rebuild kit and a set of rockers, probably a few other things while I'm at it. I've got a couple weeks that I can spend the time to make it good, fix all the little stuff and clean it up proper. It's never going to look like a show truck, but I'm determined to make this truck run like the Energizer Bunny.

My end goal for this truck is a solid daily driver that is capable on the trail and still gets decent gas mileage, and to just have fun with it. I'll post pictures once I have daylight, but fair warning: it's not pretty right now.

[WarStryker13]

I got one picture for y'all tonight.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4867/46835012581_9ee5459b13_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2emDFwV)New truck. (https://flic.kr/p/2emDFwV) by Ben Stryker (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152123343@N05/), on Flickr

[geezer101]

Nice work on resuscitating this truck. If you don't need emissions testing/inspecting you will be better off installing a genuine Weber carb on it. Cheaper and easier to work on and opens up the performance of these engines (the G64B you have on your tag is off, should be either a G62B, 4G54/G54B or a 4G64 which is FI) As for pretty - they're all pretty, except when they get pummeled by some idiot who isn't watching where they're going. A big clean and a buff up can do wonders. If the engine bay is nasty, I recommend non caustic oven cleaner. Leaves the majority of spray on degreasers for dead and one can goes a long way, is a lot cleaner to work with as well and you can spray it on your hands without smelling like kerosene or stripping flesh off you (you'll notice all the small cuts and grazes though)

[WarStryker13]

I did find one thing that mildly concerned me... There is a small rust hole in the frame above the driver's side front leaf perch, it looks like someone took a hammer to the rusty section and knocked it in slightly.

I'm prepared to eventually plate that section, but if I can get away with not plating it for a few weeks that'll make it much easier to deal with.

Other than that the only real rot I found were the rocker panels, and I already ordered new ones from RockAuto. Lol

About the Weber carb upgrade... Would it make sense to go ahead and swap to an electric fuel pump while I'm at it? I'm trying to avoid just shotgunning parts and ending up with a problem that's difficult to trace.

[geezer101]

Electric fuel pump is absolutely necessary for the Weber. I would use a Carbole 42S fuel pump off ebay (this is a high volume/low pressure pump - Weber's require flow not pressure to function properly) Same as the Mr Gasket 42S (identical down to the part number) but about 1/3 the price. Easy to set up and if you're not electrically savvy you can buy an inline relay accessory kit to run it to save you the headache of building a relay harness with a fuse.

[WarStryker13]

Alright, thanks. I'm usually pretty good at dealing with electronics, since that's 98% of my job... lol

I might hold off on swapping over for a little bit, just get the truck running and drive it for a bit. I plan on doing a deep clean of the entire truck, replace the few small things that are missing (like the rearview mirror, cargo light housing, stereo, miscellaneous bulbs...), change all the fluids and flush whatever may need flushing... Basically just fix whatever isn't working right due to time and neglect and make it reliable.

Once I've been driving it for a few weeks, then I'll start doing some "mild" mods/upgrades...

[WarStryker13]

I'm used to using a 3rd party picture sharing site on forums (Flickr) but uploading them directly is fine with me. Lol

This is how it looked when I (finally) got it home.

21619

And of course I have no idea what half of these codes mean, hopefully someone has some insight and might be able to tell me if there's anything special about this particular truck.

21620

I know that the paint code means "California Red", and that the gear ratio is the normal 3.909... but everything else I still haven't figured out.

21621

[geezer101]

Yup, this poor thing hasn't seen a pressure cleaner or a tub of wax for a while. My oven cleaner trick does a half decent job of breaking up brake pad dust too on chrome wheels. It'll look loved with a couple of hours work and some elbow grease.

[royster]

Nothing a little love won't cure :)

[WarStryker13]

The inside's even more nasty... It's gonna be at least a full day worth of cleaning. I'm planning on pulling the bench out and vacuum/shampoo the carpet... At least the seat cover is almost brand new. lol

21630

21631

211k on the very dusty odometer.

21632

The engine bay isn't as nasty as I expected it to be, but it's still coated in gunk.

21633

It's definitely going to be some work, but I'm perfectly content to spend my time working on an old truck.

[WarStryker13]

I did find a used header for $60 that was never installed, but it's meant for a 1st gen... Was there any change in the engine compartment dimensions between first gen and second gen? If I can get it to fit with a few dents I might just get it now so I'll have a starting point to build off of when I replace the rust that used to be an exhaust pipe. lol

Would pulling the stock carb apart and cleaning it potentially tear gaskets or diaphragms? I didn't order a rebuild kit yet because I'd rather just switch to the Weber, but what I'm thinking is the carb hadn't seen fresh gas for a few years before I drove it and there's a bunch of crap built up inside it. If it's just a matter of being a little careful while pulling it apart, then I can go ahead and pull the carb off once I get the truck into the garage. If not and the stock gaskets are made of wet toilet paper, the truck will most likely not be moving until after Feb. 1st so I'll have plenty of time to get a rebuild kit from RockAuto or order a new Weber...

How bad are the stock brakes? I definitely had the brake pedal all the way to the floor a few times, and I haven't had a chance to look yet but I'm guessing all of the brake hoses are dry rotted and leaking all over the place. Any brand/manufacturer suggestions for hoses, lines, pads, rotors, shoes, drums, etc?

[FMS88]

Would pulling the stock carb apart and cleaning it potentially tear gaskets or diaphragms? I didn't order a rebuild kit yet because I'd rather just switch to the Weber, but what I'm thinking is the carb hadn't seen fresh gas for a few years before I drove it and there's a bunch of crap built up inside it. If it's just a matter of being a little careful while pulling it apart, then I can go ahead and pull the carb off once I get the truck into the garage. If not and the stock gaskets are made of wet toilet paper, the truck will most likely not be moving until after Feb. 1st so I'll have plenty of time to get a rebuild kit from RockAuto or order a new Weber...

Many on this site will recommend that you go to the Weber without trying to rebuild the stock Mikuni. Rebuild kits don't have all the diaphragms and parts you may need, and the instructions are nothing more than an exploded diagram. Plus getting the Mikuni apart, cleaned and reassembled correctly without loosing something can be challenge. I've rebuilt 4 or 5 but only two had successful outcomes. If you're really curious and have the time, go ahead and try, but if this is your first Mikuni rebuild, save yourself a headache and get the Weber.

[geezer101]

+1 on that. The Mikuni is not a carb mere mortals should be messing with for a first introduction. Expensive for rebuild kits and as pointed out, they aren't complete as there are some parts that fail that aren't in an overhaul kit like the secondary vac actuator, auto choke release assist, the auto choke wax pellet (good luck with not only finding one, but getting the old one out and installing the new one...) Setting the adjusting screws aren't beyond the noob, but there's a sequence to doing them and most really need to be tackled before installation of the carb and tweaking the auto choke can take off a finger (no, really - the main spring takes superhuman strength to load up so the small nylon gear can be reset. You get a finger trapped in there and it'll end in blood and tears)

[WarStryker13]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm not going to mess with it too much... Does the old trick of holding a real over the inlet while at RPM to pull whatever crap all the way through the carb work with these? Just in case it takes me a little while to find a Weber?

[geezer101]

Yes it does help a bit. It'll purge most debris from the main jets but won't fix a blocked accelerator enrichment pump jet. A blast with carb cleaner won't clear them normally but it'll dissolve carbon and junk in the venturis and on the throttle butterflies.

[WarStryker13]

Yeah I've tried that trick, a blast of carb cleaner, running an electric fuel pump from the can up to the mech fuel pump, all of it helped a little but truck still dies after a minute of idling.

I think I'll just start talking stuff off that's kinda less than useful, like the emissions junk and the dry rotted rubber... Figure out what I have to work with and go from there.

[WarStryker13]

Forgot to mention that I remembered to check the ballast resistor after getting the truck into the garage, I burned myself.

I ordered a cheap Pacesetter knock-off header, some new cheapo shocks, a number of new gaskets that I might need because they were pretty cheap, and I bought an MSD Blaster 2 coil with a discount code from Advance Auto Parts.

I'm waiting on an email back from Redline so they can point me in the right direction to get the Weber carb kit, hopefully by next weekend I'll have everything to get the truck running and driving.

I'm not going to run a cat because the last one it had was cut off at some point and I don't need to pass emissions. I'll just get a flex joint and straight pipe it back to the muffler.

Anyone had luck with clocking the torsion bars to lift the front end? The ones on it look brand new, and I'd rather keep them instead of spending extra just to level the front end.

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to install a cheap aftermarket tach, just because I want to get this truck driving as quickly as possible... I'll find an instument cluster with a tach later. I'm still trying to figure out the ignition, I'd like to keep the system simple and cheap. I'll ask questions in the appropriate sections, but I'm hoping I don't need to buy an MSD 6AL box right away.

[WarStryker13]

Ok, so Old Man Emu makes heavier torsion bars for the Montero, so eventually I will try and pick up a set of those, along with the Montero control arms and CV half shafts

Is there a good place to get all of the suspension bushings in polyurethane? I don't plan on rebuilding the entire truck at once, just 98% of it, but getting an idea of where to purchase and how much it'll cost helps in deciding when I'll be able to do it.

I'm not going to be able to fix all of the rusty holes in the truck, but I do plan on cleaning off all of the scale and getting at least primer down. The truck will eventually get something resembling a paint job, but that might be distant future.

[WarStryker13]

I went ahead and ordered a 38 DGES kit off Amazon, I wanted to wait until Redline got back with me but they take days to reply and I found a kit for (what I consider to be) a very reasonable price...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SXL35JQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A32E3I43PZ3K3S&psc=1

I believe I bought the last one, but it was listed for $283. Every other 38 kit I found was right around $350, and I can see the "Weber" cast into the side of this carb. If it shows up and it's not a genuine Weber, I can still use Amazon's return policy. :thumbup:

[geezer101]

It's from Pierce Manifolds who AFAIK are a legit vendor. If it's all in the Weber packaging you are safe. Some idiot didn't know how to use the rating system and bagged the dude lol - "almost needed no tuning" (one star). You'll need to trial and error the ignition tune as I've mentioned. This carb is a trade off. Might be lagging a little in low down throttle response but is gonna pull hard and strong through the rev range :grin:

[WarStryker13]

I'm hoping the header and 2.5" exhaust will help with the low end a little... But I'm just plain excited to start driving it.

[WarStryker13]

I picked up even more stuff... Oil, filter, NGK spark plugs, and an adapter to go between the 2.5" OD header collector and the 2.25" OD section of exhaust pipe welded to the old exhaust pipe.

I'm considering either moving the muffler directly behind the header and dumping out the side, or getting a 48" to 60" section of 2.5" OD exhaust pipe and keep the muffler behind the cab. Any suggestions? I don't know how bad the exhaust drones in these trucks, the only experience I have is what an open header sounds like and it's not THAT loud...

Shocks and a few gaskets should be showing up today, along with the Haynes 30045 manual. I probably wont get to do anything with the truck until Saturday, but having piles of parts does make me feel a little better.

[geezer101]

A longer exhaust builds torque and the last thing you want is your exhaust barking from under the cab. It will become fatiguing in no time. And it'll piss off the cops if you ever get pulled over for a 'routine traffic stop'. If you know your stuff you can actually length tune the system but it's really a specialised technique as part of a full engine tune set up. We have laws here in Oz that the exit from an exhaust must be from behind the rear axle and must not be closer than 1 metre from the nearest opening window for passenger vehicles.

[WarStryker13]

In the state where this truck will be registered, there is very basic standards that vehicles have to adhere to.

I drove the truck without a muffler and the exhaust ending directly under the cab, but I was too excited about it running to really care. Lol

It would have gotten really annoying after a while, I'm sure.

[pennyman1]

the old man emu torsions will fit from a 1st gen Montero with the 4 cylinder engine - the v6 bars are too long. Go here for all the bushings for a 4x4 truck and bars: http://adventuredrivendesign.com/ocart/index.php?route=product%2Fsearch&tag=Siberian+Bushing

[WarStryker13]

Thanks for the info and link. :thumbup:

I just checked the tracking, most of the parts I need to get the truck started should be here by the end of the day today. I'll record the first fire, but I've got quite a bit more work to do before the truck is ready.

I did crawl under the truck and do some measuring, the torsion bars are newer and installed incorrectly. The driver's side is cranked all the way up and it's still sitting lower than the passenger side, and the entire front end is sitting lower than it should. But hopefully the marks are still on the bars, and I'll be able to index them properly. By properly, I mean indexed to raise the front end an inch or two and keep the cam bar adjustment bolt within specs. ;) It's something like 3" above the crossmember, according to the Haynes manual.

[WarStryker13]

21728

Here's a pic of a pile of parts on a table. That is not all of the parts that I have ordered or will be buying/ordering, and I didn't add fluids to the pic.

[geezer101]

Soooo SHINY :grin:

[WarStryker13]

Plenty more shiny to come... lol

I pulled off the valve cover and intake manifold, cleaned both, re-installed with new gaskets and blocked off the EGR port. I installed the Weber, got the throttle linkage and vacuum advance connected but I'm waiting to connect the fuel line because I'm planning on running new fuel line from the tank all the way up. I also pulled all the cables off the ground point directly under the battery, cleaned and re-installed, and found almost all of the hardware for the original battery hold down. Tomorrow I'll be picking up the heater hoses, and hopefully I can get the truck started tomorrow.

21741

Still have a lot more to do, but damn does that look good.

[geezer101]

Excellent. Good luck with the first start up :thumbup:

[Giovanni89]

Longer exhaust always sounds better in my opinion, and try to get at least 3 feet of exhaust after the muffler. I run the stock manifold, I split the downpipe so that it remains 2 pipes, one is cylinders 2,3 and the other 1,4. 1-3/4 pipe back to two thrush welded mufflers, and back down to 1-3/4 pipe over the axle and out the back. It actually sounds pretty good, and doesn't drone

[MrPaco]

Plenty more shiny to come... lol

I pulled off the valve cover and intake manifold, cleaned both, re-installed with new gaskets and blocked off the EGR port. I installed the Weber, got the throttle linkage and vacuum advance connected but I'm waiting to connect the fuel line because I'm planning on running new fuel line from the tank all the way up. I also pulled all the cables off the ground point directly under the battery, cleaned and re-installed, and found almost all of the hardware for the original battery hold down. Tomorrow I'll be picking up the heater hoses, and hopefully I can get the truck started tomorrow.

21741

Still have a lot more to do, but damn does that look good.

Sweet! Love the look of the Weber air cleaner, much better than the frying pan that I have on mine...

I'm curious about what you did with the EGR, what's involved in deleting or bypassing this function, etc. Did you have to use a kit?

[geezer101]

It's just a block off plate. They are available off the shelf and it's a straight forward way to delete the gas recirculation. I did something a little more radical to my G63B manifold and actually cut the the whole gas gallery from the manifold and had a threaded bung tapped into the gas gallery in the head to seal it. I need to make a small cover plate to complete the process or plug it with JB weld as this is part of my quirky Lancia carb swap I've got in the pipe line (you can't completely cut the EGR mount off as part of it breaches the plenum chamber which would leave a big hole in the manifold).

[WarStryker13]

I had extra parts left over from my previous car, and the PCV valve cover plate from it fit where the EGR solenoid used to be... It's not exactly perfect, but it fits well enough that I just put a thin layer of RTV on it and called it good.

Speaking of blocking off stuff... I want to block off the fuel pump hole in the side of the head, but the plastic spacer was already broken and adding to the oil leaks all over the engine. Do most people just make their own block off plate?

[Giovanni89]

That's what I did. Little work with a drill a saw and some files. If the metal you use is very smooth, rough it up on the mating side so that the RTV or gasket has something to bite into.

[geezer101]

Make a paper gasket and seal it. More reliable than slapping some RTV on it...

[WarStryker13]

I'll seal it properly before I actually start driving it, I've got more work to do before I can try starting it.

The battery terminals were replaced with cheap ones that just clamp onto the exposed copper cable end, and the copper has turned green already. I'm going to get either the solder-on type or these: https://www.autozone.com/batteries-starting-and-charging/battery-terminal-end-and-adapter/duralast-battery-terminal-end-and-adapter/374187_0_0 I figure those brass ones will work great for the four positive battery cables, and I can get a single brass terminal for the negative post.

But the rest of the engine bay is back together. I got the header on, the ignition sorted out and wired up, the electric choke is connected, the heater hoses are installed, and the only thing left is to connect power and fuel and it'll be ready to start.

[pennyman1]

a pump block off plate for a small block chevy v8 is the same as the g54b fuel pump mount.

[WarStryker13]

Yeah, I'm still staring down a lot of stuff left to do... I should probably get to it.

[WarStryker13]

I took a break from working on the truck for the past couple of days, got to sit and think about how to go about repairing and replacing just about everything on this truck. I've started putting together a list of things that need attention, and I'm still trying to prioritize everything, but I think I've got a decent idea of what order to go in.

I want to post it on here because I know y'all have advice for just about everything, but I kinda need to put it all down somewhere to help me organize it. And so I can double check if I'm missing anything. Apologies beforehand if this post gets really long.

I've got to make a decision on whether I keep this specific truck and fix everything, or drive it until I find a better starting point and then turn it into a parts truck.

Starting from the most critical issues:

1. Frame Rust
I've had a good look at the back half of the frame, and it's not pretty. There's some spots that are really thin, and others that are practically gone. The rear spring perches are thin and have some holes, the bump stops are completely gone, the rear fuel tank mount is completely gone, the spare tire carrier literally fell off, and there's not much left of the section that the rear bumper mounts to. It's still solid enough that I would fell comfortable driving it on the road, but it wouldn't survive any real stress like hauling a heavy load, or taking an off road trail. The front half is perfectly fine though, there is at least 20 years worth of oil leaks built up on the entire underside and the inch thick layer of oily dirt has been working beautifully as a rust inhibitor.
I have thought about the frame rust issue for a while, and I've got three options:
1. Find a donor frame. I would need to find a 2nd Gen, single cab, short bed, 4x4 for cheap enough that I could justify buying it only for parts. I'd love a parts truck, but I need to keep it as cheap as possible and I can't hold on to it for long. If I could find a completely stripped bare frame, that would be the easiest/cheapest option. The problem is that I don't have anywhere to store either a donor truck or an entire frame until I could swap everything over, or enough space anywhere to easily do the swap. I do have access to a shop with a lift, but I can only use one repair bay at a time.
2. Fix my current frame. I would have to buy a welder, all of the accessories, and a lot of plate steel. Then spend a few weeks going at it with the welder, an angle grinder, and a few prayers. I would need more time and money than I really have to put towards this, but I do have a garage that I could do this in.
3. Replace just the bad section of my current frame. I could find a junk donor truck, in a salvage yard or someone's backyard, that has a decently solid rear frame section and cut off what I need. I'd be able to toss the section in the back of this truck, drive it over to a shop that I can use the lift, then cut off the rotted section on my current frame and graft the new one on. I'd use a rectangular tube, sleeve it on the inside, drill some holes and do plug welds, weld all the way around the seam, then plate the outside with a diamond shape and paint it all black. It would be faster than doing either of the previous two options, I don't need to find somewhere to store another entire truck, and I can probably get the section of frame for pretty cheap comparatively. I also wouldn't need to buy a welder, but I would need to take a lot of measurements and cut carefully.
I'm leaning towards the third option, but I'd have to wait for a few months until it's warm enough to actually tackle it. The truck will survive long enough to get everything ready, but I don't want to let it go too long.

2. Body rust
The cab has some rust in the driver's side floor, the rockers are almost completely gone, and the body plugs need to be replaced. The pinch weld is still pretty solid somehow, and I have the (incorrect) rocker panels that I can use(modify) to fix the rockers. If I want to keep this cab floor, I'm going to fix it the best I can. If I decide to hold out for a donor truck with a rust free body, or find a better truck, I'll just patch the holes and drive it.
I can either fix the hole in the floor properly, cut out all the rot and weld in new sheet metal, or just remove the rust, paint it black and screw in a panel to cover the hole and use seam sealer to keep the water out. Same with the rockers, I can cut out the rotted section, modify the rocker panels I have and weld it all in, or just clean off all the rust, spray some black paint in there and screw the new rocker panels on. I might be able to bend the door sills on the new rocker panels and make them fit, instead of cutting them up and welding them back together.
The fenders have a little bit of bubbling under the paint, but no holes. The bed seam is the same, little bit of bubbling but no holes.

3. Brakes
There's a busted hard line right next to the fuel tank, and my immediate plan is to replace just the rusted out section, about 6 inches, using flare fittings and some nicopp line. Eventually I will replace all of the rusted hard lines and all of the rubber hoses, but right now I just need to get the brakes functional.

4. Fuel System
I need to order a fuel filler neck and gas cap, and finish replacing the rest of the rubber lines. I will be flushing the hard line before connecting it to the carb, and putting new fuel filters before the pump, after the pump. and before the carb. I also need to properly mount the fuel pump and wire it. I haven't decided if I'm doing an oil pressure safety switch, but I will definitely be doing a relay.

5. Engine/Trans
I need to get a fuel pump block off plate, degrease the entire engine compartment and underside of the truck, and then start looking for any leaks. After I get the truck running and driving for a few weeks, I will be draining the transmission, transfer case, and front & rear axles and refilling with new gear oil. I will need to find the shift boots directly on top of the trans and T/C, both are cracked and have been leaking for a long time. I've got a new oil pan gasket that I'm going to wait to replace until after the truck has been washed, because I really don't like working on a dirty truck.

6. Exhaust
I will probably just clamp the exhaust I have onto the end of the header and take the truck over to an exhaust shop. I will be calling them before going over, ask them if they have an actual 2 1/2" header collector instead of the 1 1/2" reducer that came with this header and asking if they will insist on a catalytic converter... If they won't do it without a cat, I know where to find a 2 1/2" 200 cell race cat for $80. If they don't care I'll just have them do 2 1/2" straight pipe back to the muffler and have it dump right behind the rear axle. I would do all of it myself, but I can't seem to find enough 2 1/2" pipe for cheap.

7. Suspension
I will be pulling the torsion bars out and clocking them so that the front is close to level with the rear and replacing the front shocks. I have already replaced the rear shocks. I will eventually be getting polyurethane bushings for the front upper and lower control arms, poly bushings for the leaf springs, and doing all new steering components before taking the truck to an alignment shop.

8. Interior
I need to pull the dash out, pull apart the HVAC assembly and clean it, replace (or rebuild if I can) the heater valve, clean all the ducts, pull out everything that I don't want getting wet and pressure wash the inside of the cab, pressure wash the carpet and try to make it grey instead of black, vacuum the bench seat, and start putting everything back together. I will have to try and find a new instrument cluster hood and center dash panel, new door cards, both the upper and lower shift boots on the floor of the cab, and figure out some kind of cupholder. Then I need find or make brackets to install the stereo, mount the tachometer, and replace every bulb I can with LEDs.

9. Exterior
I can't decide if I want to pressure wash and cut/polish/wax, make the truck shine... Or leave the moss growing on it and drive it "junkyard fresh". It will depend on how much effort I will have already put into the truck by the time it's running and driving, and if I want to put more effort into it.

Sorry about the length, but I needed to get my thoughts put down somewhere. If I get advice on any or all of it, then I'll be able to get this truck back on the road even easier.

Thanks for reading.

[Giovanni89]

The big question you need to ask yourself is, what kind of truck do you want when you're done? A frame swap almost inevitably turns into a frame off restoration.
Patching the whole truck up "good enough" to where you can drive around in it, or doing a complete tear down and rebuild are both viable options. The time, money, and resource inputs are far different, as are the final outcome.
No shop competent enough to repair/rebuild sections of frame will be cheap. The amount of money invested in the project can become a bone of contention with loved ones.
Personally, I would make it run and drive. If the drivetrain felt good, I would just build a new section of back frame from rectangular tubing, close to original dimensions, but not an exact copy, and put a flatbed on it. Then patch the body good enough to pass inspection. But I'm a little cooky. The big question is, what do you want?

[tortron]

Hate to say it. But buying a good one and shipping it in may be the cheaper faster option

[geezer101]

If you have access to resources and skills, got time on your hands and aren't in a rush you can pull anything off. The good thing about these trucks is the simplicity of the frame. Replicating most of it in steel box channel would be a piece of cake and gives you the opportunity to rethink the rear end and fuel tank etc (Monty disc rear end and double fuel tanks anyone?) But you need space, and an extra pair of hands would be a big help (you have a garage but you need to be able to crawl around everything while it's getting chopped up). The body rust is something most Gen 1 and 2 owners have to face and is pretty typical (obviously some worse than others).

As for exhaust - I did some dumpster diving at the side of an exhaust shop and built an entire system from the front flange back for ZILCH (a cousin of mine had a Datsun 200B that was in sorry shape lol) It was cobbled together from various elbows and straight pipe in 2.25" steel with a half decent muffler and resonator. Taking the HVAC apart is not hard to do and is really worth your time. You can MacGuyver seals from a hardware depot, bath the heater core to give it the clean out of a lifetime and scrub the casing and fan up to rid it of decades of crap. Did the same to my Gen 1 and it is like new, even found heater hoses that were very close to factory at a local auto accessory shop without having the grief of chasing obsolete part numbers and outrageous quotes on replacements.

The interior can be a good little project. If you can't find matching interior pieces - vinyl colour spray is freaking awesome. My poo brown Gen 1 cab is now sporting tactical black with hand made door cards wrapped in carbon fibre film and CF accents in the dash bezel. Done cheap and looks fresh (I added some fully adjustable seats from a Peugeot 306xsi and grabbed the seat belts with them so I didn't have to mess around with making the floor anchored buckles work) LED instrument lighting? - a few bucks from ebay. I spent a bit of money on adding extra gauges but I could've raided ebay again and saved $30 or $40.

The engine bay - non caustic oven cleaner. Nothing like it. Destroys all filth in it's path, way less messy to work with, safe enough to spray on your hands and requires less of it to get a better result than you'd get with spray cans of degreaser. No fumes either. Once you have tried it, you will only go back to regular degreaser out of necessity or desperation. It's good for cleaning wheels too but you need to work fast and only do one wheel at a time if they have a clear coating on them (it may dull the finish - a wax will normally bring it back). It will break up road grime and brake pad dust except in the worst cases (like when the wheels have never been taken off in the life of the vehicle and cleaned - ever).

[WarStryker13]

I think I'm leaning towards just fixing the parts that could potentially leave me stranded somewhere. I'm thinking I can just add some 3/16" plate to the sides of the spring perches and plate over the holes in the frame.

I can keep an eye out for a clean shell with a solid frame, no engine or transmission and just transplant my current drivetrain into it after doing the work I had thought about doing to this truck. I'd be starting with less rust, and I can put more time/money/effort towards upgrades.

Don't get me wrong, I've already fallen in love with this truck, but I'm fighting a losing battle with the rust. I guess if the drivetrain lasts until after my wife's car is paid off, I can always use that as leverage to find a rust free frame, or spend the time and resources to fully reinforce the frame and make it indestructible. By that point I can say that the truck has proven itself worthy of a restoration.

[steve1814]

If you want to come up and look at my Macrocab 4X4 Parts truck you can have it after I am finished pulling the parks I want from it. The frame is pretty good and the body is pretty good too. It does have some minor rust on it, but all is very repairable.

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to keep the body I currently have right now, just because I've already gotten this truck titled and registered and I will not swap VIN plates. I'll see about coming up to look at it in the next couple of weeks, I have to get this truck running first.

I don't have anywhere I could store a parts/donor truck, and I'm pretty confident that I can plate the weak parts of my current frame and get it to last for a few years. I won't really be ready to get a donor truck until after my wife's car is paid off, but I'm willing to look at anything.

In other news, I just ordered the fuel pump block off plate, fuel filler neck, fuel tank cap, and a new parking brake cable.

[WarStryker13]

I took yet another good look at the underside of the truck, with a decent light.

21833

21834

The rust in front of the mud flaps is only really surface rust, but from there back is full on Titanic.

It looks like that entire section is mostly straight though, and the rust isn't as widespread as I originally thought. I can just replace those sections with rectangular tube on both sides and build new spring perches.

I'm feeling better about the rust situation, which is funny considering those two pictures... Lol

[tortron]

Looks pretty nasty
You could get a bit of extra lift when you remake those shackle mounts

[geezer101]

Oh crap that looks fierce lol. Box and C channel will do for the most part and some plate for gussets, reinforcing and mounts. The good thing is there is actually some metal left to use as a reference for fabricating replacement sections...

[tortron]

You could bobtail it while you are there. Add a huge crossmember for a towhitch

Over here this would be a paperwork nightmare to fix

[WarStryker13]

I don't think I'll bob the bed, but I will definitely be adding in a tow hitch. Part of me wants to build a new spare tire carrier, but I know I'm just gonna toss the spare tire in the bed anyways.

I'm thankful that Kansas is extremely boring and flat and practically 100% farmland and prarie, because the laws on vehicle quality are much less strict than the laws concerning the methane output of livestock.

Regulating cow farts is more important than the structural integrity or carbon footprint of vehicles on public roads... But the roads themselves serve as a "survival of the fittest" inspection anyways. Lol

[WarStryker13]

Just as an FYI: Mr. Gasket p/n 1516 fuel pump block off plate does NOT bolt directly to the G54B. It hits both the valve cover and the intake manifold, but the bolt holes line up. It will fit after cutting off the excess on the bottom, but the gasket that comes with it will no longer work. A new stock fuel pump gasket will be needed.

[WarStryker13]

After all of the disappointments, accidents and mistakes, I should give this little truck some credit. The engine seems to be either extremely well taken care of, or much newer than the rest of the truck. The coolant was bright green, no rust in the radiator. The exhaust manifold studs weren't even that rusty... I don't know if there is some way of figuring out the age or mileage of this engine, but I would love to know if this one is original to this truck or has been replaced. Is there any markings that would tell the story?

I got the tach mounted, I hate drilling holes in the dash but oh well. :shrug: I still have to finish wiring it up, just have to decide where to tap into for illumination and switched +12v. The stereo should be relatively easy to wire in, since the previous owner had an aftermarket one installed.

Two of the three green 168 gauge cluster bulbs are burnt out, and I'm unsure if those green covers are removable. I'm seriously considering swapping to LEDs, but that will have to wait. The turn signal flasher doesn't work, but the hazards do. Every other bulb in the truck works though.

I'm still working through all the little things, hopefully I can make progress this weekend.

[BradMph]

These motors last if oil changed regularly. I got 275,000 and it was a something mechanical that made me rebuild it. It could of went many more miles with good compression and not a drop of oil burned.

[WarStryker13]

Considering what the oil looked like when I drained it, it hadn't been changed for at least 10k miles.

I guess the only way to really know is to pull the head.

[geezer101]

After the catastrophic melt down of my now notorious hung dog wagon, a few things about servicing were brought up by the shop I paid to chemically clean my pistons and rods* (turned out to be a massive waste of time and blew $44 unnecessarily but I learned sumpin'...)

#1 - Oil flushes are a good idea (there are places in hydraulics that won't purge clean from a regular oil change and it helps to break up sediment in the engine sump which prolongs the life and quality of fresh oil, bearing surfaces also varnish up from old oil and some of it gums up piston rings and grooves)

#2 - Service it at regular intervals (I had no way of knowing what the PO had put the engine through but I have a theory the head had been off and piston 3 had been replaced - leans towards a blown timing belt and piston/valvetrain damage. The first oil change I did looked nasty...)

#3 - If you are using a particular grade/type of oil, stick to it (mineral based oils and synthetics are not compatible with each other and bad stuff can happen)

*The oil scraper rings on all pistons were fused into their grooves and were completely non functioning. The piston bores were like chrome BUT had not taken any signs of mechanical damage that warranted a bore and new pistons. I did a shonky repair by deglazing the bores and installing new standard rings - so far it's running like a charm (oil ports on the pistons were still blocked after the shop clean and I spent 5 hours preparing and polishing the pistons by hand before I was happy with them - the chemical cleaning discoloured the alloy and left some kind of weird residue on them...)

[WarStryker13]

I pulled the dash finally...

21868

And cleaned everything. Wired up the stereo, made a half-assed cover template for the lower half, and started cleaning the inside of the cab.

21869

Eventually I'll make an actual plate thick enough to mount switches or gauges, but this will be fine. I also picked up a set of 5x7s and a 10" sub... This truck might not be waterproof but it'll sound good. Lol

[geezer101]

Dude that looks super fresh. A lotta work but worth it :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

There's still a LOT more to do...

But eventually this truck will be "done" and I'll be able to drive it. lol

[geezer101]

There's still a LOT more to do...

But eventually this truck will be "done" and I'll be able to drive it. lol

"Done" :lmao: I'm not trolling you but when does a resto ever get finished? The good thing about a dash pull out and heater box rebuild is you only need to do it once and ne'er touch it again for another 10 or 15 years (except if a core leaks or a heater valve decides to take a dump) Nice to get the country feel out of the air vents. A suggestion for your gauge cluster to fill your block off panel under your new stereo (I used something like this for my triple 2" gauge panel) -

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2inch-TRIPLE-SINGLE-DIN-RADIO-GAUGE-IN-DASH-PANEL-POD/352470803912?epid=603110048&hash=item5210e5a5c8:g:iPUAAOSwW4dbrArj:rk:12:

How I set mine up in my Gen 1 -


21872

[WarStryker13]

That's why I classified this as a resurrection instead of a restoration. I'll save the restoration for another truck with much less rust.

Speaking of heater box rebuild, what's the best starting point for disassembly? I'm trying to keep from disconnecting the A/C lines or pinching/bending anything that might be important...

I'm debating on either doing gauges in that spot, or doing some form of pocket to hold random things. I'll concentrate on that after I get the rest of the interior situated. Like figuring out how I'm going to mount these two 5x7s...

[geezer101]

The A/C core in the Gen 2's appear to be in a separate housing to the heater box and blower fan so it should only be a case of undoing the clamps either side and leaving the A/C core untouched. The Gen 1's sort of had A/C as an afterthought and weren't as integrated as the HVAC on Gen 2's. I haven't messed with Gen 2's so someone here will have insight on how to disassemble it without removing any gas lines.

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to at least try and clean the evaporator coil and housing, considering the rest of the truck it should be packed full of dirt. lol

I have ordered 5 quarts of Redline MT-90, ANOTHER fuel filler neck, turn signal flasher, transmission gasket set, shifter bushing and boot for the transmission, boot for the transfer case, new PCV valve, and a big 4x4 decal...

No idea where I'm going to put the decal yet, but I found a few other decals that I'm definitely going to need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015RZ11AA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1PRQL31XWK68R&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ATV3OAC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1Z0JT9F5MFYAX&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EG84RFQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A000725628G8A19HNKABP&psc=1

Those should put enough fear into anyone that asks for a ride. lol

[geezer101]

:lmao:They should make a decal with "The ultimate anti theft deterrent" in text with a silhouette of a manual shift lever next to it or "It's a Mitsubishi 4x4 - I don't need a winch..." Just keep poking that hornets' nest.

[WarStryker13]

https://www.amazon.com/American-Vinyl-Equipped-Millennial-Sticker/dp/B07JQ6P57L/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=manual+anti+theft+device+decal&qid=1551266045&s=automotive&sr=1-1

Found your decal. lol

I'm not going to go crazy with the decals, only one or two that are actually worthwhile. Who knows, maybe some speed part stickers might find their way into a neat line on the front fenders...

[geezer101]

I like vintage repro stickers like Mr. Horsepower/Clay Cams stuff. I bought a RAAF flying kangaroo insignia for my truck but I haven't figured out where it'll go yet (the small rear window is getting crowded with the MR50 banner and a few other stickers back there)

[WarStryker13]

Couple of questions real quick...

Brake cleaner and the KM145: Bad idea, or harmless? I don't know if the fluid has been changed in the lifetime of the truck, and if there's a bunch of nasty crap in there I'd like to clear it all out before putting fresh oil in it.

Auto locking hubs: Is there an easy way to fully disassemble them? I want to check for excessive wear, while cleaning them out and repacking with grease. I want to get manual hubs, but if the auto hubs are fine I can wait a little longer.

Parking brake: I know some people have had issues with adjusting the parking brake, is there any specific way or process to doing it? I'm going to have to pull the entire lever assembly apart regardless, it's pretty rusty and doesn't want to disengage. And the cable is the wrong length, it's gonna bug me until I get the correct one on the truck.

Rear speakers: I've got some 5x7s that I'm planning on mounting behind the bench seat in the truck. Was there a factory option for rear speakers in any standard cab trucks? I'm only willing to cut holes in sheetmetal if I can find a stock or stock-looking speaker cover.

[MrPaco]

Rear speakers: I've got some 5x7s that I'm planning on mounting behind the bench seat in the truck. Was there a factory option for rear speakers in any standard cab trucks? I'm only willing to cut holes in sheetmetal if I can find a stock or stock-looking speaker cover.

I have an '87 standard cab with 4 speakers, 2 of them behind the bench seat. They are mounted on the sides, right next to the doors.

EDIT- Here are some pictures The speakers are round, ~6" in diameter.



2188021881218822188321884

[geezer101]

It won't make any difference on what type of solvent you use to flush the trans out as long as it's not destructive/corrosive. I used diesel fuel on my Hyundai and it seemed to work ok (drain some oil out and top it up with diesel and roll it through the gears while everything is off the ground - don't do it long, just enough to make it circulate around the inside of the trans casing) If you can access the sump it's just as easy to dump everything out of the gearbox and blast it with degreaser/brake cleaner etc and reinstall the sump. Probably a safer way to do it.

[WarStryker13]

MrPaco- Thank you. I didn't realize how much extra interior paneling there was in order to make the truck look "stock"

It's starting to make me wonder who ordered this damn truck from the dealership... Base model, with sport wheels and air conditioning? Lol

geezer- My plan was to just drain the trans, drop the pan, pull the shifter out and start spraying from the top down.

I know this truck isn't particularly nice, or fancy, or even generally well taken care of, but I'm hoping I can get it back to roadworthy condition soon and start enjoying it for what it is: A simple, old little truck that refuses to die.

[MrPaco]

MrPaco- Thank you. I didn't realize how much extra interior paneling there was in order to make the truck look "stock"

It's starting to make me wonder who ordered this damn truck from the dealership... Base model, with sport wheels and air conditioning? Lol

geezer- My plan was to just drain the trans, drop the pan, pull the shifter out and start spraying from the top down.

I know this truck isn't particularly nice, or fancy, or even generally well taken care of, but I'm hoping I can get it back to roadworthy condition soon and start enjoying it for what it is: A simple, old little truck that refuses to die.

Well, at least you got AC! I don't, and I'm wondering how much of an issue that will be come summer (I've only had the truck since this winter), I don't have a sliding back window to help with air flow either...

[FMS88]

The shift controls are above the transfer case so spraying into the controls' opening will only flow into the transfer case. The trans and t-case fluids don't mix and are changed and filled separately. Geezer101's flush recommendation would be more effective and thorough.

[geezer101]

Filling/flushing it through the extension housing will only push the sediment laying in the bottom of the casings out onto the sump. Not a lot happens from the shifter mount. I would have a go at spraying whatever cleaner solution up into the trans case with the sump out of the way. Really hit the gear clusters and synchros etc and then use a blow gun off an air compressor to clear it out (unfortunately a nasty job that needs to be done in a dirt free environment so you don't inadvertently blast debris off the floor into the trans).

You should count yourself lucky. There is literally no trim in the poverty spec Gen 1, the Sport gets a nicer instrument cluster and seats with body decals and wheels, while the Royal had full plastic cab trim and carpet + fabric door panels (and the all illusive digital clock). A/C? Pfft, only a dealership fitted option and uncommon at that. Fitting it as an afterthought is tricky as there's all these special ducts and joiners needed to integrate it into the heater/blower unit. A Gen 2 should be a piece of cake to adapt to A/C as it's a single module between the blower unit and the heater box.

[WarStryker13]

Ah. I didn't realize that the shifter mount was nearly useless for anything but shifting the trans. Lol

I am planning on draining and refilling the transfer case as well, but I have a feeling it's going to have a lot less gunk in it.

The only inside plastic trim in this truck is the A pillar covers, kick panels and a driver's side door sill seam cover. No passenger side. Lol

I'm happy with it the way it is, because the entire purpose of this truck is to get beat to hell against trees, rocks, and whatever else I might find off road. The body is in bad enough shape that I won't feel bad about any of the sheet metal getting crunched, and my wife's car has all of the fancy interior that anyone could ever need...

[WarStryker13]

Finally got a little bit of work done on the truck, slowly but surely chipping away at it.

Replaced the PCV valve, put a filter on the breather nipple, put the fuel filler neck on, did a little bit more wiring, and replaced the shifter bushing and both shift boots. I drained the trans and pulled the pan off, little bit of material on the magnetic plug and plenty of sparkles on the inside of the pan.

21937

I'm not super concerned about the amount of sparkles, because it really isn't that much and there are no big chunks. The fluid looked relatively clean, so I have a feeling that it's been changed in the past 10k miles... But I'm changing it myself anyways, because I never trust old fluids.

I'm going to have to drop the fuel tank to get to the busted brake line, unfortunately. It's literally just that one small section that rusted through, the rest of the brake lines throughout the truck are fine.

And I pressure washed the carpet finally, got a lot of crap out of it but there's still plenty of stains... The carpet is almost bare over the trans tunnel, I might look into figuring out a way to cover that area later.. It's gonna sit out on the balcony for a few days, try and dry it out as much as possible. I might go back over it with a carpet shampooer later, see if I can get the stains out.

Oh, and I "patched" the floor...

21938

My only regret is that I didn't have a street sign to use as a patch.

[geezer101]

...plenty of street signs to choose from lol.

[WarStryker13]

But none that were readily available... Oh well.

[WarStryker13]

Got the carpet as clean as it's ever going to be.

21993

That's after pressure washing, vacuuming, spraying down with upholstery cleaner, scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush, and finally using a carpet shampooer...

I'm calling it good enough. I'm tired. Lol

[geezer101]

Buy a couple of cans of vinyl colour spray and go over it a few times. Works pretty good and you've done all the prep anyway lol

[WarStryker13]

The problem is that the carpet over the trans tunnel is worn really thin, so eventually I would want to replace the carpet...

But that can wait until I have a rust free cab, so it'll be fine. Lol

[WarStryker13]

Carpet is in the cab, the HVAC housings have been cleaned, the only thing left is to replace the rubber hose on the heater valve and I can put the dash back in.

[WarStryker13]

Got stuff done today.

22020

New tires showed up. Nexxen Roadian Mud Terrain, 235/75R15. They have really good reviews and were the cheapest mud terrain tires I could find. lol

22021

I fixed the leak at the heater valve, it was just corrosion built up between the rubber hose and the brass tubes... Probably because the heater core had been bypassed and the exposure to air caused it to start corroding. I pulled the little rubber hose off, cleaned the metal and put a new chunk of rubber hose on. It looks squeezed because the new hose was much softer than the old hose, and I loosened it a little after this picture. but it doesn't leak and I'm calling it good.

22022

Got the dash back in, got everything plugged back in and re-attached, but I think I blew a fuse somewhere because the stereo didn't power on. Everything else seems to work, including the turn signals. Turns out the hazard switch had dirt and dust built up inside of it and wasn't passing voltage to the turn signals. Now I don't need the flasher, but it works with LED bulbs and I'm planning on switching over to LEDs eventually.

22023

Another shot of the cab, I still need to actually bolt it in and there's still a bit more to be done with the interior. But it's clean and it's functional.

Tomorrow I will try to get the stereo working, get the bench seat clean, get it and the rest of the trim put back in, and start working on the last few problems. The last few things to fix are the blown brake line, the broken bolts, and block off the fuel pump hole.

Then all that's left is to make noise and go.

[MrPaco]

What are those 3 knob-looking things under the ashtray?

[WarStryker13]

That's an old 3 port 12v outlet thingy that I've had for a while. I have no idea where I got it, but it's old enough to be "period correct" lol

[geezer101]

Mmmm, inside of your cab is looking sharp. Amazing what a big clean can do :)

[WarStryker13]

I'm hoping there's a few people on here that have gone through the manual trans, might be able to tell me if there's any obvious wear that could result in issues down the road.

22045

22046

Finally got all of the RTV off the bottom of the transmission, got the pan back on and filled it back up. No leaks, cork gasket FTW!

[geezer101]

Synchros appear to have relatively good sharp edges on them, no signs of unusual wear on the gear clusters in the pics. There looks like a few metal frags around the place though (guaranteed there will be a chipped gear tooth or 2 but that isn't abnormal...) Won't ever tell what the bearings are like from a pic but everything seems better than average :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

There really wasn't much on the drain plug, but it did catch a few tiny flakes of steel.

I figured the synchros would have more wear on them considering the amount of brass in the pan, but they've still got sharp edges. Lol

[claych]

The amount of brass in the pan is probably from
the cone grooves, worn from an 30 year old? trans (lol).

Can't see the 1'st gear ring, Can't see the 4'th gear ring
(as the pics are taken with the trans in 4'th)
Can't see the 5'th gear anything (duh) .
However, a couple of things do stand out...
1) Wear patterns on the main case gears (read counter and mainshaft)
2) lubricant oxidation deposits = lack of service+ brief high load .
Semi Helical gears develop VERY specific wear patterns .

I just roll with geezer, Bonne Chance:thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

I'm fixing the lack of service part, at least. Lol

I got quite a bit done today.

Dropped the fuel tank to fix the blown out brake line, might have to bleed the master cylinder but at least the brake fluid isn't spraying onto the ground. While the fuel tank was down I got the fuel pump mounted to the underside of the bed, grounded it to the frame and ran the positive lead up to the engine compartment. I got the tailgate back on the bed, I'm gonna have to do some massaging to get it lined up properly, it's a little bent...

Got the bench seat vacuumed and back in the truck, it's gonna need a deep cleaning but eventually I want to get it professionally reupholstered, it's one of the most comfortable bench seats I have ever sat on.

22058

22059

It feels good to finally be able to sit in the cab without wanting to take a shower in bleach afterwards.

[Giovanni89]

With all that dirt gone, your wife might actually want to go for a ride in it now :grin:. Looking great! My brake line blew out in the same spot during a panic stop where someone pulled out across my lane and then stopped. I used CuNiFe line and replaced them all

[WarStryker13]

It's gonna take more than a cleaning to get her in the truck... :shrug: She's uncomfortable with the lack of safety features. I got her to agree to ride in the truck, but I have to put a roll cage and four point harnesses in it first. lol

I plan on replacing the brake lines, but later. Driving it is more important.

[geezer101]

Ask her if she's ok with you using some Takana air bags - there's plenty of them around cheap:lmao:Most new cars will splatter against a Gen 1 or 2 in a collision. You are unlikely to get your legs pinned in a crash and these are made out of real steel panels. Biggest risk is in a roll over so a bar on the rear bed is a good idea (a roll cage is a better insurance policy but there isn't a huge amount of room to work with in the cab) They could do with seats with improved bolstering + headrests and have the belt buckle harnesses integrated to the seat (I pilfered the seats out of a Peugeot 306xsi and took the matching belt retractors with them - a lot nicer than the old ones anchored to the trans tunnel in the Gen 1's)

[WarStryker13]

She did say today that she's feeling better about me driving the truck after all of the work I've done to it so far... It'll take a little while once I'm driving it regularly, but I did get her to admit that a full roll cage and harnesses are in fact safer than crumple zones and airbags.

I'm totally fine with giving up a little bit of interior elbow room for a full roll cage, and it'll give me some extra mounting points for cupholders. No race truck should be without extra cupholders.

I would go for an exo-cage, but I figure it'd look better once this truck is much higher and on much bigger tires and axles.

[WarStryker13]

I checked all the fuses, none of them look blown but I'm not getting switched +12v to the radio harness or the cigarette lighter, and the ashtray bulb went out. :shakehead:

22076

I tapped into the constant +12v for testing purposes, and I was mildly surprised that even with just the dash speakers it sounds decent.

22078

And I did commit a sin and put the cheapest, lowest quality sub behind the bench... Because I had to have a bigger sub than my wife's car. I'm going to run it until it dies, and just use the box for a decent sub later. I did turn it down to where it's just noticeable, I have no desire for any more bass than that.

22077


What are those 3 knob-looking things under the ashtray?

Here's a better picture of the 3 port 12v outlet block in it's rightful place, looking very 80's truck. And that cupholder is there temporarily, because it doesn't really fit as well as I hoped it would.

Little bit closer every day.

[geezer101]

The fuses can be misleading. You really need to go over the fuse block with a multimeter to check for power going in and out. Even removing them and reinstalling might be enough to clean contact surfaces.

[WarStryker13]

Yeah... Turns out I misplaced my multimeter during the last move. I'm claiming it as a total loss, because I've unpacked three times. Lol

I finally gave up today and bought a new one, so I'll be checking things later.

[WarStryker13]

Junkyard run! Finally. Lol

[WarStryker13]

Junkyard diving was successful. I got the gauge cluster hood, center dash panel, cargo light, passenger side door sill trim, rear view mirror, and the clips for the sun visors. I did find a few other things there that I will be going back for, like a full drop-in bedliner and a set of diamond plate running boards. Might look for a grill guard too, if I can find one.

I got everything installed, replaced the blown radio fuse again (I have a feeling the second fuse was blown before I installed it), installed the block off plate for the fuel pump, got the electric fuel pump relay mostly wired up, and fixed two coolant leaks. One was the lower heater hose in the engine bay, the second was the hose on top of the heater valve.

Only two things left to do: figure out which wire to tap into for the fuel pump relay and where to tap into it, and finally tackle the passenger side front shock. Tomorrow I will be starting the truck, and posting a video of the first start.

It's getting really close, and I'm excited.

[geezer101]

Good luck, we're cheering for you! :clap:

[steve1814]

What yard did you visit?

[WarStryker13]

The one you suggested in a different thread... I call dibs on the bedliner and running boards. Lol

Thanks for pointing me to them, the back edges of that yard has some really cool old steel being reclaimed by nature. I did see some cars that were decently clean and complete, but I have no room or money. :P

[steve1814]

Dang, I missed the running boards....;) I'm still trying to find an OEM Mighty Max sport rear bumper so if you happen to see one around in another yard let me know. None of the Car-part.com vendors will ship me one.

[WarStryker13]

The junker lives!

https://youtu.be/5M8hILgXXFM

Open header is no bueno when it backfires.

[WarStryker13]

I buttoned up the last of the little stuff, the only things left is to put some form of exhaust on it, and deal with the broken bolts...

I'm not gonna lie, I'm procrastinating on dealing with those bolts.

[WarStryker13]

Just kidding! I pulled the wiper arms off, pulled the cowl covers off and cleaned them.

There was quite a bit of dead leaves and other junk underneath there, and I vacuumed all of that out from underneath because I'm pretty sure that's where the blower pulls air from.

I cleaned all of the windows again, fixed the driver's side door dome light switch, and I cleaned up the wiper arms to get them ready for paint. I'm just going to fog them black.

I've decided that I'm just going to paint the A pillar covers, they're a little too powdery for my tastes and I just want them sealed more than anything. Most likely going to just do primer, one coat of plain grey, and then a couple coats of matte clear. And I like the idea of painting the skid plate red.

Sunday it's supposed to be nice outside, I'm going to try and get all of the painting done then.

[WarStryker13]

Working on getting the truck running right, it's not firing on cylinders 1 and 2. Decide to pull the distributor out and clean it, find all sorts of crap inside it. Get it back together, go to put the new cap on and the black plastic spacer/ring/gasket falls apart.

Turns out half of it was missing, causing the cap to tilt slightly and keeping the rotor from contacting number 1 and 2.

Tried spinning the distributor without any spacer, the rotor hits the posts inside. Now I need to figure out where the hell to find that spacer.


EDIT: figured I'd post a picture of the problem.

22172

[steve1814]

https://www.liftpartswarehouse.com/product-p/mbmd607653.htm?1=1&CartID=0

[WarStryker13]

I already found a new one on FB, but thank you for that link.

[WarStryker13]

I got a ratchet on the end of the crank, rotated it until the timing marks lined up with the groove on the pulley, and put the distributor back in pointed at number 1. I took the pieces of that spacer and spaced them out around the distributor, as a temporary fix. I just wanted to make sure that was the actual problem, but when I tried starting the truck it just kept cranking without sounding like it was trying to light off...

After I started panicking a little I realized that I just need to rotate the crank 360 degrees for it to be TDC on the compression stroke for number 1 cylinder. I did a dumb.

By that point I had to get ready for work, so I'll fix that tomorrow morning and hopefully, :pray: it'll fire right up and actually run on all four cylinders. I'll get the timing adjusted close(ish) and get it out of the garage and over to the coin-op car wash. I'm going to spray it down and try to get as much of the grease and grime off the underside and engine as I can, because I'm really tired of working on a dirty truck.

Once I get the truck over to the on-post self-service shop, I will get a timing light on it to see how close I got and if it needs any more adjustment. While I'm there I'll take an oxy-acetylene torch to those bolts in the control arm and either get them out or knock the threaded inserts off the control arm and tack weld some nuts in their place. Then I'll see about pulling the torsion bars out, getting them clocked properly and maybe crank them up a bit. Then it'll just be getting the new tires on and driving it around until I'm confident that it's running fine.

[WarStryker13]

So the guy I ordered from sent me his last one, and it's lost in the mail. :thumbdown:

I would just order it myself online, but I've had a small issue with the bank account and all of my extra money that I can spend is cash. So I haven't touched the truck in a couple of weeks, and dealt with a load of other stuff.

The reason I'm on here, however... Is because somewhere on the truck was a spider nest. It hatched last night and there were hundreds of tiny little spiders all over the damn thing. I got most of the ones on the outside of it with a can of starting fluid and a propane torch (exactly how it sounds, but without actually setting the truck on fire), but I don't know if any moved into the truck.

Outside of using a flamethrower, what's your best trick for genocide, I mean massacre, I mean getting rid of a metric shit ton of tiny little baby spiders?

[geezer101]

Well, that is just BS dude. How much bad luck can someone deal with before going ballistic. I think you need one of those pretend professional pest control packs (the plastic bottle with the sprayer wand) and just go nuts with it. I have the joy of eradicating redback spiders from under my truck (think black widow but about 15 times worse). I break out a can of HD insect killer and gas them with extreme prejudice.
22296

[WarStryker13]

I think I got most of them with fire...

I was going to deal with the few spiders I saw while underneath the truck before something like this happened, but without the truck running it's difficult to get anything done to it.

But yes, an excessive amount of chemical warfare will be used with extreme prejudice and potentially extreme violence. And fire, definitely more fire. The truck might not survive, or the garage, but at least the spiders will be gone.

[tortron]

You could easily get a spacer 3d printed if you ask around

[WarStryker13]

I actually hadn't thought of that... I've already emailed every Mitsu and CAT dealership in this state looking for this part so I might end up with a stack of them. lol

I'm choosing to take everything in stride, I've had a lot of practice dealing with bad luck and BS and this is nothing compared to some of the shit I've dealt with. I've already put enough time and effort into this truck, all I have left to do is wait.

Plus I've got to let the baby spider carcasses all over the truck sit there for a few days as a warning to the rest of them. lol

[WarStryker13]

I forgot to mention that the brake booster is no longer functioning. It worked (ish) when I got the truck, but as I bled the brakes it just kept getting worse and now whenever I step on the brake pedal, I can hear it hissing. :bang:

Looks like I'm going to be making another trip to the salvage yard, or trying to find a decent used one...

I'm going to claim Murphy's Law, and all of these little problems and setbacks will satisfy Murphy's Law for a nice long while. http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/bow/yellow.gif

[steve1814]

You can have the booster from my parts truck if you want to come up and pull it off.

[WarStryker13]

Big thanks to steve1814 for the brake booster, it works much better than my old one.

And in other big news, the spacer/gasket showed up today. I honestly did not know that it's actually made of rubber. Lol

https://youtu.be/EoJrkIjaeHA

IT'S ALIVE!!!! And firing on all four cylinders! Still need to get the timing adjusted, but I'm happy with the progress.

Oh, and I ripped the door cards off, because spiders decided to move into the doors. I'm gonna have to figure out something to cover the inside of the doors, at least until I can get new door cards. I'm seriously considering making new ones.

[steve1814]

Glad it worked for you!

[geezer101]

Door cards are easy enough to replicate. Mine had been slaughtered by the PO who thought putting the worst quality 6x9's in pristine door cards was a good idea. I made them pretty basic - thin MDF sheet pinned to the door skin with plastic scrivets wrapped in carbon fibre film.

- fixed running issue = awesome
- having working brakes = more awesomer

You got an exhaust issue somewhere by the sounds of it from your video?

[WarStryker13]

Well the exhaust did kinda fall off... I haven't put any clamps on it yet because I still have to cut 3" out of it. It exits directly into the inside of the rear tire right now.

I did find a set of door cards in that junkyard that are in decent enough shape, so I'm thinking something slightly more temporary just to cover the inside of the doors.

[WarStryker13]

Got a lot done last night. I took a chisel to the broken bolts in the lower control arm, knocked one of the nuts completely off. The other one was a little more time consuming, but I finally got a drill bit through it and got it out. Below are pictures of my sucess. lol

22349

Once the new front shock was in, everything else kinda just fell into place. I got (almost) everything buttoned up, got the truck back down on all four wheels, and decided to make holes in the hood.

22348

There's still a lot of cleaning left to do, and today I'll be taking the truck for it's maiden voyage around post. I've fixed the exhaust problem I had before, and aligned both torsion bars so the truck now sits level side to side in the front, and managed to raise the truck a couple inches in the front while I was at it.

I'm relatively sure that the spiders are all dead now, or at least mostly dead. I haven't seen any new webs or activity in a few days, but I'm still going to grab another can of spider killer and spray the underside again.

As for the door cards, I couldn't find any decent vinyl fabric or suitable card stock that didn't cost more than what I had available to spend at that time, so I'm just going to temporarily re-use the old door cards. I'm going to fold the vinyl back and leave the top of the door as painted metal, because the vinyl on the driver's side is too cracked to try and save, and all of the foam has turned to powder.

I think I'll just get an unmolested set of door cards from the junkyard later, I might try to grab them when I got to pick up that bedliner.

Right now I'm heading out to try and set the timing, deal with the last little details and take a video of it driving for the first time with Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" (2001: A Space Odyssey theme song) playing, just for giggles.

[WarStryker13]

Did the last few things I could do, been a busy week.

Horn button was full of corrosion and the foam isolator pad thing was gone, so I made a new one. lol

22414

After fixing the button and cleaning off the contact points for it, I sounded the horn and was very disappointed. So I gave the truck some more bark to match it's bite.

22415

Then for shits and giggles I mounted the cheapo off-road lights that came with the truck. One's already burnt out, but the bulbs are H3 and pretty cheap to replace. I think they look alright, maybe a little crooked in this pic but I've since tightened them down and fixed that. I still need to wire up a switch and relay for them, but that can wait for a little bit.

22416

I still haven't moved the truck out of my garage, it's been a long week and I won't have time to touch it until Monday. There's only 2 things to do before I drive it, which is bleed the brakes (again) and set the timing.

It's supposed to be 8-10 degrees advanced when stock, with the Weber 38 and a header I'm thinking maybe another 2 degrees?

Ish?

I'm just going to do it by ear and if I notice anything weird while driving it I'll put a timing light on it.

[geezer101]

Have a shot at doing the timing with the throttle open (once you have the engine turning over first try). The weber is going to try and over advance the timing - see if you can dial it in at about 2000 rpm. Idle rpm is going to be wobbly... So close to D day now. The work is finally paying off :grin:

[WarStryker13]

Speaking of work, put in some more today...

Rolled the truck out into the driveway, hooked up the little electric pressure washer and went at it. As expected, it was woefully underpowered, but it did remove the dirt from the wheel wells and started peeling up some of the paint from the last paint job...

I ended up scrubbing the hood and roof to get them clean, and I had to use some very fine steel wool to get the chrome wheels cleaned up... I'll have to take them off and legitimately polish them at some point, but right now they're the nicest thing on the truck.

22424

22425

22426

22427

And I did paint the front skid plate... It doesn't match at all, but it's that extra little touch. lol

22428

I still have to bleed the brakes and set the timing, but my second pair of hands had to deal with some other stuff today.

Looks like tomorrow is D-Day. lol

[Giovanni89]

Looking good. This thing has come a long way in a short time! Nice work.

[Chargerx3]

Keep it up. Like those wheels. Now you need to get the chrome marker lights front and back to match.

[WarStryker13]

I do like the chrome marker lights, but I would want to get the chrome grille to match as well. That would make me want to make the rest of the truck look good to match, and there's too much rust and body filler in the body of this truck for it to be worth the work.

I would collect all of the chrome trim for a rust free truck that I plan on finding later, but not for this one... and I'll most likely put these wheels on that truck if it doesn't already have them.

[MrPaco]

Other than the wheels (optional), and the bumper on the Custom trim, there was no chrome on the '87 Ram 50.
I say keep the black trim :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

Actually, the Custom did have chrome marker lights and grille in '87...

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/7549-1987-Ram-50-Brochure

[Chargerx3]

Do whatever makes you happy. Mine was all blue including markers and grill. Bought it with a busted grill, so I decided to start going chrome. Havent decided what to do with the bumper yet. Anyways you can pick up chrome markers on ebay for cheap and I think i paid $40 shipped for that grill new.

https://i.imgur.com/bcQtdZS.jpg

[MrPaco]

Actually, the Custom did have chrome marker lights and grille in '87...

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/7549-1987-Ram-50-Brochure

I stand corrected!
I have an extra chrome right side front side marker, but just the one. You can have it if you want.

[WarStryker13]

I'm gonna keep it the way it is now, and worry about dressing up the next truck.

In the meantime though, I've gotten the bulbs for the off road lights swapped out for 100w bulbs, wired them up to a relay with a switch... They're so much brighter than the stock headlight bulbs it's comical, but they're aimed at the same height as the high beams so they should do pretty well with lighting up what the headlights can't.

[Giovanni89]

I have 2 100 watt kc spot lots on the front of my crown victoria. Amazing how many eyes you see looking at you driving down the back roads at night with them on!

[WarStryker13]

So I decided to take it for a really short test drive, even though the timing is still off and the cab needs adjusted for idle...

The test drive did not last long, since I had almost zero brakes and the parking/emergency brake did absolutely nothing.

So after about 20ft the truck was parked back in the garage. When I bought this truck I decided that until I opened them up, the rear brakes would be both functional and neglected at the same time.

They were not functional, so I decided to open up Schrodinger's drum brakes...

After a liberal spray-down of brake clean, the story told is sickening.

Driver's side

22536

Driver's side front shoe

22537

Driver's side wheel cylinder

22538

Passenger side

22539

Passenger side front shoe

22540

Passenger side wheel cylinder

22541

Note the adjuster lever, and it's position...

I'm reasonably convinced that these are the original factory brakes, simply due to the amount of rust and apparent age of everything. I had to use the threaded holes in the drums to get them off the axles, but from the look of everything It doesn't appear to have bad axle seals, and the wheel cylinders only leak when you pull back the rubber. I would love to find some intact backing plates for cheap, but I might have to go pull them myself from a junkyard/parts truck.

After this weekend (I work the next two days) I'm considering pulling the front calipers off and seeing if there are any major problems up front... I know the front brake hoses will need to be replaced, but they don't leak right now and I'd like to keep it that way. The rust on the rotors did start to wear off, so the pads are making contact with some measure of force.

The front brakes will (eventually) stop the truck, but it's a 3-4 pumper and laying into the pedal to do so. That might be because all of the pressure is going to the drums since they are practically non-existent.

Anyways, I got a free can of SeaFoam from AutoZone because I got a buddy that works there and always hooks me up with damn good discounts... I bought the biggest oil filter I could find on the shelf that would still seal onto the side of the block and a jug of 10w30 for after I do the SeaFoam treatment.

My plan is to use half the can of SeaFoam to decarbonize the engine, just by squirting it straight into the throat of the carb with the engine running. After that, I'll add a little bit of brake fluid (should make the rubber seals swell up just a little) and the other half of the can to the oil and let it run for an undetermined amount of time. Then drain, refill and new oil filter. I'm adding the brake fluid just in case there's some sludge/varnish that's keeping the rubber seals from leaking by taking up the little bit of clearance, and if the SeaFoam cleans all of it out I'll have oil leaking like crazy from everywhere. I do plan on doing all of the gaskets, but not all at once.

If you're still reading, thanks for sticking it out. I know I tend to ramble, but at least here I can get some advice or input from someone much wiser than myself.

[geezer101]

Suggestions - engine oil flush (http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/5658-Screwed-up-timing-I-Think?p=49592&viewfull=1#post49592). Some people say if it's never been done, it's already too late but I beg to differ. It'll bust up the sludge in the head and galleries, delaminate roasted oil on bearing surfaces and prolong your oil life by getting rid of some of the crap sitting in the sump. Seafoam? Don't know about it - some say it's Mother Theresa in a bottle while others say snake oil. I'd get a spray bottle with clean filtered water and a dash of methlyated spirits and pump it down the throat of the carb with the throttle open. Do it with the engine at operating temperature. The atomised water mix should end up being forced into whatever carbon is in there, turn to steam and make it swell. Once that happens the combustion cycle should do the rest and burn it off (possibly use a fuel system cleaner/additive as well). The 2 processes combined should restore some compression and free up the hydraulic lash adjusters/lifters in the rockers. If you have bad valve stem seals there is nothing you can do to remedy the build up of coke on the backs of the valves - it's off with it's head and into a machine shop for some reco work. The vast majority of oil consumption issues in Mitsubishi engines are bad valve stem seals.

If you have parts that need rust eaten off them but want the least destructive method, get a bucket of hot water and add citric acid powder to it then submerge the crusty relics. Leave them for a day or so covered, then scrub and rinse them with water. It will dissolve all but the worst cases of rust. *this is for ferrous metals ONLY - don't try it with alloys or plated metals ever (alloys will vanish before your eyes and something that was once chromed will give you a nice dose of chromium poisoning - yay)

[WarStryker13]

The engine oil flush is kinda what I'll be doing, in a roundabout way... I haven't opened it up and smelled it yet, but I have a feeling Seafoam has diesel in it.

I was planning on using some diluted windshield washer fluid, since it's basically methyl alcohol and water, but since I got the Seafoam for free I figured I might as well try it... If it doesn't do anything worthwhile I didn't water any money on it. Lol

My rockers have the threaded inserts to manually set the valve lash, so I don't think it has the hydraulic lifters. And I haven't driven it enough to know whether it burns oil, but if I have to pull the head off I'm pulling the engine out and replacing every gasket and seal.

As for the rust removal, I think I'm just going to try and find better backing plates, mine are really crusty and bent in a few places.

[Giovanni89]

I bet if you bottled your diesel/oil mix and sold it for 50 bucks, people would gladly buy it up geezer :grin:

[WarStryker13]

Oh! I totally forgot.

22542

Taylor Thundervolt 8.2mm plug wires, with "custom" zip-tie wire separators...

They were the cheapest low resistance plug wires I could find, at 40 ohms per foot (Summit Racing, $37).

Now I can confidently say that this is a "racetruk", because red plug wires. lol

[geezer101]

I bet if you bottled your diesel/oil mix and sold it for 50 bucks, people would gladly buy it up geezer :grin:

...they already do - it's those little bottles of engine oil flush you get off the shelves. Figure out how much is in the bottle, look at the price and then work out how much diesel fuel you could buy for the equivalent amount. And the bottle isn't sufficient to do a decent flush. As a side note I ran into a young guy at the local fuel express who'd been doing the diesel flush as well, but hadn't gone as far as driving it for a day to get it circulating hot through the engine. He appreciated the tip :)

[geezer101]

Warstryker - now you can say 'zombie racetruk' coz back from the dead :P

[WarStryker13]

I'm stealing that. Lol

[Chargerx3]

Been doing the motor flush trick for years now. It works.

[WarStryker13]

After looking and pricing stuff out, I'm just gonna replace the shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware. There's no need to go all out when I'm planning on swapping out axles eventually anyways...

The drums are just barely oversized, and the adjuster didn't break when I bent it back into shape, so I'm just gonna slap it back together and call it good. I'll buy new ones after they break.

[Giovanni89]

chances are whatever axle you get is going to have crusty adjusters. Unless they are expensive or hard to get, I'd just swap them out while you have it apart. You can always put them on the new axle. If you mean the piece of sheet metal that pushes on the adjuster screw, that will probably bend back ok. But if you mean the adjustment screw itself, it doesn't take a whole lot of binding force to have the sheet metal pawl jump over the tooth and render it useless

[WarStryker13]

It was the pawl that ratchets against the adjuster screw, it had somehow bent back past the teeth in the adjuster screw. I bent it back, cleaned everything and shoved it all back in there.

22562

22563

I took a wire brush to the backing plate, it's still solid enough in the places that matter. The drums are close enough that the adjusters will take up that little bit of slack.

I don't really want to go back in there. There's not much room to work, and some of those corners are sharp.

[WarStryker13]

I rolled the truck back out of the garage on Monday, tried to get it started again and it ran really rough for a few seconds the first couple times. I pulled the coil wire off the cap and cranked it over, spark was kinda thin and yellow. I took each spark plug out, held each one against the block and each cylinder had spark. I tried swinging the distributor between fully advanced and fully retarded, I pulled it out and moved it a tooth at a time both ways, I even moved the firing order again. That's when it started spitting, sputtering, and backfiring without actually running. It progressively got worse until it wouldn't even kick, just crank. That's when I decided to give up for the night and pushed it back into the garage.

That's when I decided to test all of the components with a multi-meter and rule out all the possibilities... The electronic pickup inside the distributor had zero continuity. It's dead.

So now I have to decide whether to mod the distributor or not. I can buy the MSD magnetic pickup and grind/file it to fit, for the possibly distant future when I can get an MSD 6A box and all I would have to do is drop it in and go.

If I don't want to mod this distributor, I'm really tempted to get the cheapest pickup I can find that'll fit this distributor and try it. If it doesn't work I'm only out $15, but I don't expect it to last long if it does actually work.

On another note, I pulled the wiper motor apart to see why it only had one speed, EXTRA slow. When I pulled it apart I didn't expect to find it packed completely full of grease... When I pulled the armature out of the housing, one of the magnets was stuck to the armature itself, and the brush contacts looked a little burnt. I took some 600 grit to the contacts, but there are still some deep grooves in it. I also might have kinda accidentally dropped the little plastic cover that goes over the terminals and broke it...

I'm going to epoxy the magnet back into the motor housing, glue the plastic cover back together because that's where the plug clips into, and put the entire motor assembly back together. I'll test it before bolting it back in, but I'm not sure exactly what type of grease it will need or how much it will need. But I'm pretty sure it doesn't need half a pound packed into it...

Oh, and the parking brake lever sticks a bit now that I got the right length cable, but I haven't taken it apart and cleaned all the rust out. Hoping that frees it up.

Thanks again for reading.

[geezer101]

The saga continues. To be honest I don't think the MSD ignition is worth it. The stock solid state coils have some serious bite when they're healthy and the ICM's are nearly infallible. It's stuff like worn distributor shafts and gears that can make them run erratically. As for the wiper motor you might be better off scrounging one from a yard - it sounds like the original is a paperweight now. I am not a fan of the hand brake set up in the Gen 1 so I can't imagine the Gen 2's to be that much of an improvement. I would like to ditch the whole thing and install a floor mounted lever but I haven't figured out how I'd pull that one off yet...

[WarStryker13]

The distributor shaft has very little play, if any... And I'm kinda wanting to make this Blaster 2 coil work. I could check the resistances again, but I'm pretty sure it's still good. The big problem I'm having is trying to get the distributor back in the right position.

I kinda wish someone had a pic of the 2.6 at TDC for #1 with the cap off so I would at least know which post is supposed to be #1...

I'm also going to go through the wiring again, double and triple check that I don't have something connected to the wrong place. I tossed the old stock coil because it was cracked in multiple places and rusted, and the old ballast resistor burnt the crap out of me after trying to start the truck when I first brought it home.

I'll put the old ICM back in the distributor, put 12v to it and see if it sends a spark spinning the distributor by hand, but I'm not terribly confident that it will do much.


I don't think the original wiper motor is a paperweight just yet, but all I'm really hoping for is to have it work again and last long enough for me to get a good one.

I don't really mind the pull stick design, it's almost like pulling the chute... But a floor mounted lever could be made really simple with a bit of fab work.

The Gen 2's have a pulley right at the base of the mount bracket, which is also the throttle pedal bracket. If you had an extra bracket to cut up, you might be able to use the base to put a pulley on the floor next to the trans tunnel. From there it's just a matter of figuring out which hand brake lever will pull a cable in the direction you need to pull. It would need a floating pulley or two to get enough throw out of the floor mounted lever, but it's possible.

[MrPaco]

I kinda wish someone had a pic of the 2.6 at TDC for #1 with the cap off so I would at least know which post is supposed to be #1...



I don't know what this means, but here's a picture of my 2.6 with the cap off (if I'm guessing correctly which cap you're referring to), in case it helps...

22643

[geezer101]

^Warstryker meant #1 in the distributor cap.

[MrPaco]

^Warstryker meant #1 in the distributor cap.

Haha, ok. Wasn't sure what he was talking about. But hey, I learned something else today.

[WarStryker13]

That's a clean engine though, looks much better than the sludgebox I've got. lol

[WarStryker13]

So this happened...

22714

Third time pulling the parking brake lever, I heard two pops and parts fell out. Both rear parking brake cables snapped at the lever, I tried pulling them out when I first got the truck but I couldn't get the nuts to budge and left it until I had new cables... guess I'm getting new cables sooner than I expected. I will be using a chock block until I fix it, I know what happens if you don't have a parking brake. lol

I also realized how dumb I am, I thought the firing order was 1,2,3,4 because of the Haynes manual, but I apparently can't read. Or look it up on here, or anywhere else on the internet...

I feel really effin stupid.

I'm going to (hopefully) pull the truck out tomorrow and try getting it started with the correct firing order. I'm going to try the original ICM first, then I'm going to try the new $15 ICM. If both work I've got a spare, if either is bad I'll be ordering another new ICM, and if both are bad I'm going to order a new OEM one.

On another note, I got the wiper motor back together. It's still only one speed, but it's much stronger in low than it was before. I'm gonna be making another junkyard run here in the next few weeks, try and find everything I'm needing...

I moved the off road lights to the "stock" position, they kept getting in my way while I was trying to work on the damn truck... I also cleaned up the wiring a little, I want to mount a distribution block for all of the relays but right now I have it pretty close to organized. Ish.

I also found one of the wires for the A/C was pinched under the ground bolt on the bottom of the battery tray, and I'm kinda tempted to just eliminate the coolant temp switch for the A/C. I fixed it for now, but I might change it later.

Does anyone have pics of their ignition coil wiring? I'm just wanting to make sure I know which wires are supposed to be connected to where, and if I've got extras I want to know where they "should" be connected.

Pictures are easy to understand. lol

[geezer101]

Well you have been on a journey of self enlightenment! Before you go hating on yourself you haven't had to sacrifice your dignity and pay someone to fix your order of phuc' dup bad-lee. You'll get it sorted (nothing pays like perseverance). Hell, I didn't even know there was a sender switch to shut off the A/C condenser fan if the engine temp dropped below operating temps :rolleyes:

[WarStryker13]

I've found a few pics that help, and I might have accidentally lost (thrown away) some pieces that I probably should have kept... :shrug:

I'm going to see if I can figure out a way to isolate the ignition circuit without completely rewiring the entire front half of the truck. I don't know what problems it might already have, but if I can start off with a known good setup, I might not have to chase down as many gremlins.

I'm realizing now that I am the cause of the majority of the headache I am experiencing, especially since I decided to modify almost everything before even getting the truck running. lol

[WarStryker13]

I've been playing around with modifying the stock air cleaner for the Weber carb, and right now my progress is ugly and kinda hacked together... Lol

22791

22792

I figured it would be easier to use the existing Weber bottom plate as a template, and it's spaced away from the carb like that because I'm using the mounting points on the valve cover, the four studs on the Weber itself, and I'm thinking of making a bracket to hold a center stud for the lid.

Yes, that filter is extremely dirty and well worn, but it works as a placeholder.

And yes, I know that it's not the most efficient airflow design, but it'll work for getting somewhat cooler air to the carb. Maybe. If I actually follow through with it.

[geezer101]

If you plug the mounting hole in the top of the air cleaner box you might not even need the centre bolt. It's primary purpose is to clamp the whole air cleaner assembly down to the carb but if the base of it is secured rock solid, you won't need to factor it in. Hmm, the Weber sits higher than the stock carb with the adapter under it - I didn't know that...

This will work better than the open element filter and maybe with some heat shielding in it (or even around the main intake duct as it's hanging over the exhaust manifold), it might aid intake temperatures further :think:

[WarStryker13]

IT LIVES!!!!!!!!

I took it on its first true maiden voyage, and it did much better than expected. The brakes are terrible, the throttle is extremely sensitive, and it's loud as hell...

But it runs like hell and even chirped the tires in second gear. I'm happy with it.

[geezer101]

Most excellent :beavisbutthead:...you really need to get the brakes thing sorted out before you end up beer canning all of your hard work.

[WarStryker13]

Well, they do work, and the truck does stop... But I have to lay into the pedal to get it to stop quickly, and the pedal is almost to the floor by that point, but the brakes will still stop the truck.

Eventually I'll get the entire brake system replaced and it'll work great, but honestly just getting it back on the road and driving is huge for me.

It has been almost 10 years since this truck drove on public roads, and it's now back to being (mostly) roadworthy.

[WarStryker13]

Update:

The front calipers are semi-functional, but the driver's side works much better than the passenger side. I haven't touched the front brakes yet, and I'm hoping they just need a decent cleaning and lubricated... The rotors aren't very pretty but there's still plenty of thickness in both sides.

That, and adjusting the throttle linkage so that it's less hair-trigger would be nice.

I can't tell yet if the timing is a little off, because it does diesel after shutting it off, but I haven't de-carbonized yet and it sounds like it's only one cylinder that's still firing after shutting it off. But considering I set the timing by guess-timation it is most likely off by a few degrees.

Outside of that, everything else on the truck works great. The trans literally just slides into each gear like butter, and I haven't had any issues with it making any kind of bad noise. I do want to add more exhaust to make it just a little more quiet, but it's honestly pretty tame as is. I still need to get the new tires on it, but I'm planning on holding off until I get the rest of the little stuff ironed out, and put the new rubber on when I'm actually ready to drive it any distance.

As always, I'd love to hear opinions or advice.

And obligatory pic:

22852

[WarStryker13]

After letting the truck sit for a week, I tried to start it and absolutely nothing happened. Battery was at 4.65v

I took the battery to AutoZone, after an hour and a half of charging it failed the ammo test. The machine doesn't have a readout, so I don't know how badly it failed but I don't really have the extra cash to get another battery.

Part of me hopes the battery is complete junk, and that there isn't a parasitic draw that's draining the battery... But the other part is hoping that the battery is just barely under the threshold for being "bad" so I can hold off on buying a new one at least for a little bit longer.

The truck is back in the garage now, I'm going to go through the front brakes and try to get the A/C working. I'm pretty sure it's just a wiring issue, the A/C was serviced a little over 10 years ago and there's no evidence of the UV dye that was put in. (There's a sticker with the info on the radiator support.)

Wish me luck, I guess. Lol

[geezer101]

Electrical gremlins are a nightmare. Corrosion, wear and tear plus the dreaded DIY ghetto fixes of yesteryear can leave you tearing your eyes out in frustration. Fingers crossed you can get it sorted. :)

[WarStryker13]

Thanks!

I went ahead and started pulling the front end apart, found one of those past "fixes"...

Once I got the calipers off, I noticed a little bit of play in the hubs. The driver's side auto locking hub was missing the spacer that goes behind the snap ring, and the lock nut wasn't even remotely close to putting any preload on the bearings. And the hub seal was bent, missing pieces and of course leaking like a sieve.

The passenger side still had the spacer, but the lock nut was just as loose. The seal did look much better, but it leaked too so it's getting replaced as well. The grease in both hubs was mostly black, with a hint of red and green here and there so I have a feeling they haven't ever been cleaned out.

This is the point in time where I start thinking the truck has a mind of it's own and broke itself repeatedly to keep me from driving it too much and getting up to speed... Because I'm reasonably convinced that if I drove that truck on the highway for any real amount of time the front wheels would have fallen off.

I'm really glad I pulled the hubs apart, even though it means more work and more parts. But honestly, all it really needs is new seals, grease, and that one spacer that's MIA. I could just switch to manual locking hubs, but I don't have those funds right now and there's slightly more important stuff that needs fixing first.

As for the wiring, I'm wanting to put in a couple of power distribution blocks, a battery +12v and a keyed ignition +12v. What I'm probably going to do is just put a multimeter between the positive battery cable and the post to see if anything is drawing on the battery with the key off. Then it's just a matter of pulling fuses until that draw goes away.

For the A/C, I think I'm just going to super-simplify it and run a single wire from the A/C switch to the compressor clutch. I know the ECU had some control over the A/C circuit, and without the ECU I think there isn't a connection between the switch and the compressor. I think.

Oh, and the caliper pins were bone dry and a bit stuck... That explains the lack of front brakes, and there's more than plenty of pads left on both sides. The rotors are still in good shape as well, the only thing I would consider doing is resurfacing. They're not warped at all, not even slightly. I don't know if I'm going to go through the effort of cleaning off all the rust and painting, but it depends on when I get the money for parts. It might be a while...

Now, aside from ordering the special socket for the lock nut for the hubs, what tools have others built/modified in order to get the lock nut tightened properly? I can't remember if there was a torque spec, but the hub shouldn't be able to slide back and forth on the spindle.

Thanks for reading.

[FMS88]

Now, aside from ordering the special socket for the lock nut for the hubs, what tools have others built/modified in order to get the lock nut tightened properly? I can't remember if there was a torque spec, but the hub shouldn't be able to slide back and forth on the spindle.

The Miller/Mits P/N for the special socket is MB990954. A similar tool for Ford hubs will work if you cut off all but two opposing tabs to get it to fit the lock nut. A spring scale is very helpful to measure the hub's turning resistance which should be 1-4 lbs. The lock nut should be torqued first to 95-145 ft.lbs, loosened to zero, next torqued to 18 ft.lbs, then loosened 30-40 degrees to get the correct rolling resistance and to get the lock washer and nut holes to align. Also useful is a dial gauge. It can confirm that the hub's back and forth movement on the spindle is correct (.002" or less). More importantly, it will help you determine the thickness of the MIA spacer you need behind the snap ring and confirm that you have the correct drive shaft end play (.008-.020") on both sides.

[WarStryker13]

Thanks!

[geezer101]

I've been checking out various forums where a Weber swap is common. Some suggest when it comes to setting ignition timing, between 10-15 degrees BTDC @ 850 rpm with the engine warmed up and vacuum connected. Others say 7-9 degrees @ 900 rpm with the vac advance disconnected. I would try the latter method, then reconnect the vacuum advance and see what the difference in ignition timing is. Honestly, +/- 50 rpm at idle is negligible. Next ball park figure is 25 degrees BTDC on throttle (at a guess somewhere around 2000 rpm). You'll need to adjust the fuel mix if it feels like it's running rough on idle. The Weber is sensitive to engine tune and although a timing light will give you a ball park to play in, each engine will behave slightly different. Best way to get it pulling hard and smooth is by trial and error.

[WarStryker13]

Well the second method sounds like the one shown on the under hood sticker, but just setting it at 7°-9° instead of 8°-10° BTDC.

As a matter of opinion, what idle speed do most have their truck set at? Right now this truck is idling at ~1250 rpm and I feel like that's way too high.

I still have yet to actually set the idle mixture to lean best idle. The instructions state that the idle mixture screws should be between 3/4 and 1 1/2 turns out and I just put them at approximately 1 1/4 turns out. I figure halfway is a decent starting point. The instructions did say that if the screws are less than 3/4 turn or more than 1 1/2 turns that a jet change is required, but I'm hoping that if I can get the idle mixture set properly I can get rid of the dieseling problem.

I need to do the Seafoam treatment as well, and then de-carbonize the engine just to eliminate any carbon deposits or hot spots that could be interfering with the tune up.

Once I've got the carb situated and the timing set properly, I'll be able to focus on all the oil leaks.

There is one thing that I'm mildly concerned about... The caliper slides on both sides seem to be seized inside the caliper brackets, and I don't know if I need to be super careful extracting them or if I can just hammer them out. If those slides are a lost cause, I might be looking for a used set of calipers with brackets. I don't want to buy new, because I can't bring myself to put new calipers on old pads and rotors, with an old master cylinder and original brake hoses.

[geezer101]

1250 rpm is too high for my liking. On a cold start it should be no more than 1100 rpm (IMO). This may actually be the root of your engine running problems. Without a base line idle rpm it will throw your ignition timing out and dieselling is one of the symptoms. I would start from scratch - reset your cold start idle rpm and then adjust your ignition timing and fuel mix accordingly. Good luck!

[WarStryker13]

Ok, so I'm pretty confident on the order of operations...

Set the idle to somewhere around 750-850 rpm at operating temperature, let it cool down completely and check that the cold start idle is somewhere around 1k rpms.
Set the idle mixture screws to lean best at operating temperature, and then double check that the idle speed is still good.
Set the ignition timing by ear for smooth running, then Seafoam and decarbonize.
Check the ignition timing with a timing light, adjust it until maximum smoothness is achieved throughout the rpm range.
Drive the truck and see if it's any better.

Throughout this process, I'm hopping that I fix the dieseling with one of the above steps.

Thanks to everyone who has provided advice or information, and shootout to Mr. Paco for hooking me up with new mud guards. :thumbup:

[Giovanni89]

My experience with dieseling with a 32/36 on a 2.6, is that it cant get enough air to idle through the idle circuit. This forces you to crank in the idle speed screw allowing more air past the throttle blade and exposing the first transition circuit hole. I saw great improvements by drilling a small hole in the throttle blade and being able to back off of the speed screw. It still does it occasionally. I have an automatic, and if I shut it off in gear it never diesels. I set my idle speed to about 900 in park, but I only get about 600 in gear

[WarStryker13]

Well I've got a 38/38, so I think that once I get the idle set properly it should have a little more airflow through the idle circuit than the 32/36 and that might be all I need to do to fix the dieseling.

I'm still hoping that someone has input or experience with the caliper slides that are stuck in the caliper bracket... I have a feeling I'm going to need new rubber boots, because I don't think they survive the extraction. Especially if they have melted inside the bracket and that's what is keeping the slide from moving freely.

[MrPaco]

I set my idle speed to about 900 in park, but I only get about 600 in gear

Mine (also an automatic) runs at 1,100 in park, and 800 in gear. Is that too high? Should it be set lower?

[Giovanni89]

I forgot you had the 38/38. Sorry about that.
Mr Paco, If i'm going to be sitting for and extended amount of time (traffic) I just nudge it into neutral. Not only is your transmission happier, but you will get more air and coolant flow with the water pump spinning faster. 1100 at idle is faster than I would run, and will make you more prone to dieseling. Idle speed was high when i first got the truck, and it slammed into gear and pulled hard when you first put it in drive. Much nicer to drive with a lower idle.

[WarStryker13]

Ok so I'm kinda dumb...

I spent the past week or so away from my house and the truck and I was going off of memory for the brake questions... Apparently while I was taking them apart in the middle of the night I didn't get that good of a look at how they work.

I finally got another look and realized that the slider pins that I'm having issues with are in the caliper body, and the pin that bolts to the bracket is totally fine.

I guess the new question is do I try and get the slider out of the caliper, or is it a lost cause?

[WarStryker13]

I got the caliper slide pins out (with a pair of vise grips and a hammer) and ordered new ones, along with new rubber boots.

I'm going to wait until I've got everything I need before starting the reassembly, and hopefully I can find a source for those spacers to get the hub axial endplay set properly...

I got the throttle linkage set up so that I now have wide open throttle, and it should also be slightly less touchy.

I'm also going to wait until after everything is back together before adjusting the idle, because I'm going to be doing the Seafoam at the same time and I'd rather not fill the garage with smoke. Lol

[geezer101]

Ok so I'm kinda dumb...

I spent the past week or so away from my house and the truck and I was going off of memory for the brake questions... Apparently while I was taking them apart in the middle of the night I didn't get that good of a look at how they work.

I finally got another look and realized that the slider pins that I'm having issues with are in the caliper body, and the pin that bolts to the bracket is totally fine.

I guess the new question is do I try and get the slider out of the caliper, or is it a lost cause?

If you were 'kinda dumb' you wouldn't have figured this one out under your own reconnaissance, so you get another gold star for the fridge lol. I'd give it a clean, a blasting with WD40 and see how you go before sending it off for scrap. You may end up needing a replacement if the slider pins are all scuffed up from wear but you might get lucky and all it needs is some TLC to get it operational.

[WarStryker13]

22902

I'm gonna need new pins... Lol

The caliper itself seems to be fine, just the sliders were stuck. The rotors and pads seem to be totally fine as well, barely any wear on the rotors...

Now it's just a matter of cleaning everything and waiting on parts.

[geezer101]

...err, yeah. I can see how that may slightly impact on braking performance. That slider is FUBAR

[WarStryker13]

Well if it hadn't been stuck in the first place, I wouldn't have had to fubar it out....:shrug:

[pennyman1]

after all the years of neglect before you got the truck, its a wonder you were able to get it out at all...

[WarStryker13]

Chunks of the rubber boot are still stuck to the slider pin... lol

Thankfully the passenger side was less stuck and didn't require vise grips to remove. The pistons do move inside the calipers, so they will work once I get everything back together.

The only things left are to clean and re-pack the wheel bearings, put everything back together and get back to driving it.

[WarStryker13]

I got the new pins, but the boots that I ordered weren't the boots shown in the picture... So after a trip over to the local parts store, I've got another set of boots on the way and a new 75 group battery with dual terminals.

I did grab one of the cheap battery hold-downs, but I'm not a big fan of it. I thought it was made of some type of hard composite plastic, but it is in fact made of rubber and I think I might be switching it out for a sturdier battery hold-down. It holds the battery in place just fine, but I'm not really that comfortable with it as a long term solution.

I am picking up the (hopefully correct) caliper slide pin boots tomorrow, the 2 1/2" hub lock nut socket, (the Ford/GM one and grinding off the 4 extra pins), and while I'm there I'll grab some universal power distribution blocks and more electrical wiring connectors and ends to (hopefully) get the wiring mess figured out and semi-sanitized. Probably some other stuff that I won't remember I need to buy until I see it on the shelf.

I'm wanting to isolate the ignition wiring from the rest of the electrical wiring, and I'm wondering if there is another keyed +12v source I can use that is easily accessible and will potentially handle the possibility of up to 10 amps...

I'm going to do one power distribution block for battery +12v and the other for keyed ignition +12v. The battery +12v will power the fuel pump relay, the off-road lights relay, the 12v triple socket box I've got mounted under the dash and the tiny 100w sub behind the seat. The keyed +12v distribution block will run the electric choke on the carb, the signal wires for the two relays and possibly some additional accessories and/or relay signals.

The power distribution blocks I'm getting have a fuse for each output, and I will be running a 30a fuse maximum on the battery +12v block, and the keyed +12v will only have signal wires connected, nothing that will actually put any real amperage draw on the keyed +12v source.

I've got a buddy that has a seal installation kit, big ass torque wrenches, and a couple other tools that I'm likely to borrow. This upcoming weekend I've got 3 days off and I'm going to do my damnedest to have the truck back on the road by Monday.

[Giovanni89]

What I did on my truck, was get a marine grade tinned copper junction block. There are 4 lugs on it. One to battery, one to alternator, one to the factory harness, and one that feeds into a 12v 100amp (or maybe 200) continuous duty solenoid. That solenoid is triggered by my original coil wire. The solenoid feeds a marine grade fuse panel. The fuse panel feeds my electric fuel pump, fog lights, ignition system, carb choke, auxiliary gauges, and power feed for my trailer lights.
It's a little bit hokey, but it keeps the load of all the new accessories off of the factory wiring. All of the wires between the junction block, battery, alternator, solenoid, and fuse block are 2 gauge. Almost no voltage drop. It's been going for about 60k miles/2 years with no trouble. I'll try and snap a picture today.

I got the new pins, but the boots that I ordered weren't the boots shown in the picture... So after a trip over to the local parts store, I've got another set of boots on the way and a new 75 group battery with dual terminals.

I did grab one of the cheap battery hold-downs, but I'm not a big fan of it. I thought it was made of some type of hard composite plastic, but it is in fact made of rubber and I think I might be switching it out for a sturdier battery hold-down. It holds the battery in place just fine, but I'm not really that comfortable with it as a long term solution.

I am picking up the (hopefully correct) caliper slide pin boots tomorrow, the 2 1/2" hub lock nut socket, (the Ford/GM one and grinding off the 4 extra pins), and while I'm there I'll grab some universal power distribution blocks and more electrical wiring connectors and ends to (hopefully) get the wiring mess figured out and semi-sanitized. Probably some other stuff that I won't remember I need to buy until I see it on the shelf.

I'm wanting to isolate the ignition wiring from the rest of the electrical wiring, and I'm wondering if there is another keyed +12v source I can use that is easily accessible and will potentially handle the possibility of up to 10 amps...

I'm going to do one power distribution block for battery +12v and the other for keyed ignition +12v. The battery +12v will power the fuel pump relay, the off-road lights relay, the 12v triple socket box I've got mounted under the dash and the tiny 100w sub behind the seat. The keyed +12v distribution block will run the electric choke on the carb, the signal wires for the two relays and possibly some additional accessories and/or relay signals.

The power distribution blocks I'm getting have a fuse for each output, and I will be running a 30a fuse maximum on the battery +12v block, and the keyed +12v will only have signal wires connected, nothing that will actually put any real amperage draw on the keyed +12v source.

I've got a buddy that has a seal installation kit, big ass torque wrenches, and a couple other tools that I'm likely to borrow. This upcoming weekend I've got 3 days off and I'm going to do my damnedest to have the truck back on the road by Monday.

[Giovanni89]

That random green wire is hooked up to the starter solenoid. My neutral safety ate shit this week, just been popping the hood and hitting something hot with it to start it. Once i fix the car I'll remedy the truck. Broken shifter cable22946

[WarStryker13]

I like your setup, and I'm digging the old style electric fuel pump.

I actually haven't touched the truck at all, things happened and long story short, I had to purchase a new vehicle for my wife on short notice.

Whenever I do actually get back to working on the truck, the first thing to deal with is cleaning all of the old grease out of the wheel bearings and hubs. I'm trying to decide whether to buy regular degreaser, mineral spirits, or some other specific type of solvent to dissolve old, gummed up, dirty grease out of the bearings and hubs. As it is right now, I can't confidently say that all of the bearings are not worn out or binding because they're still packed full of dirty, nasty gummed up old grease.

I really need to get the parking brake cables replaced as soon as possible, because I have been officially warned by my direct supervisor that I'm not allowed to drive the truck until they are fixed/replaced and the parking brake is fully functional.

I found the part number of the shim kit, MB241229, and it's even harder to find than the parking brake cables. I'm going to try the local dealerships and the one-man Mitsu parts warehouse that I know, I really hope I don't have to order the shim kits online, but I did find it on mitsubishipartswarehouse... Last resort would be Ebay but I'm not a fan of ordering from Australia or UAE and waiting a month.

Once I figure those two things out, the rest should go back together relatively quickly/easily. Hopefully.

[Giovanni89]

Its the venerable carter P4070. being mounted above the tank, it requires constant flow to keep the pump primed. The fuel pressure gage is teed into the return line to the tank. I have a plug in the return line with a 1/16" hole through the center of the plug. This keeps the pump flowing about 5 gallons or so per hour
For really grungy de-greasing like that. I buy a paint can at the hardware store and fill it with kerosene. I'll soak the parts and then brush them under the surface of the liquid with a nylon or brass brush. Under the surface of the liquid keeps the globs of kerosene soaked grease from flinging all over the place. Diesel also works but smells a bit more. Of course mineral spirits and WD40 work well too, but the cheap bastard in me likes the 3 bucks a gallon for kerosene/diesel at the pump.

[WarStryker13]

I got a $20 gift card for AutoZone, so I just picked up a 1 gallon jug of Purple Power, a tub of grease (I didn't have as much as I had previously thought) and a few other small things...

I've been busy with work and home stuff, so I haven't done much with the truck... I did start on the wiring, separating and organizing the relay circuits. I temporarily mounted the power distribution block, I still need fuses and connectors, and to figure out something for the keyed +12v.

I'm seriously considering doing what I had mentioned before, but modifying it a little... I would run a relay off of the coil wire, and use that to power another power distribution block to run the electric choke, the signal wire for the fuel pump relay, the hot side of the switch for the off-road lights (which is the signal wire for that relay), and to have an extra keyed +12v source for anything else I might add later.

Eventually, I would like to put together a system similar to yours Giovanni89, but make it waterproof. I'd be waterproofing the rest of the wiring in the engine bay at the same time (or at least making it water-resistant) and pulling out all of the extra wiring that used to run the stock carburetor and emissions crap. That's gonna be a little while, so for right now this should work just fine.

I'm going to go ahead and start putting the front end back together, even though I don't have the shim kit yet for the driver's side... I still need to replace the parking brake cables and a bunch of other little stuff before driving it again. I still have to figure out the A/C and mount the new tires before driving it long distance, but then again I need a little more practice with stop and go traffic. I moved the throttle linkage to a different position, so now I should have both wide open throttle and a less sensitive pedal at part-throttle.

I'm mildly concerned that the A/C is going to take quite a bit of troubleshooting and testing to get working again, but I'm determined to make it work. I did pull the ECU out of the truck, I don't know if it controlled the A/C somehow but I am willing to re-wire the entire system if necessary to get it to work. I'm hoping that it's just an unplugged connector that I didn't notice, but I'm well aware that one of the common problems is the module on the evaporator housing going bad. I'm just speculating right now until I can start testing for voltage with the multimeter, but if someone has an idea of where or what to start with, I'm all ears.

After I've got the truck running properly and reliably, I'm gonna need to figure out what to do about the lack of rocker panels. I don't know when I'm going to have the rectangular tubing and a welder to make the rock sliders I originally wanted, so I'm going to need a solution of some form to keep the jagged, rusty sheet metal from stabbing me in the legs and catching on my pants before I try driving it on a regular basis. Running boards would help a little, but not enough. I could try using the rocker panels I have, but I would need more tools than I currently have access to, including free use of a welder. I could order the correct rocker panels, but those are kinda expensive and I'm on a very limited budget. I could go to a junkyard and cut the rockers out of a truck there, but I'm going to want to grab quite a bit of stuff from there and those parts will add up very quickly.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading through my early morning brain dump. :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

Got everything cleaned, found a few problems. The cage on one of the wheel bearings is bent, soI need at least one new wheel bearing. One of the hubs is bent out of round and therefore is impossible to put a new seal in it.

I tried.

So now I'm gonna need another two seals, at least one but probably all four new wheel bearings, and both front hubs, because I kinda got angry and yeeted both hubs out of the garage into the driveway... They're junk now, so I need new ones.

[geezer101]

Damn, the rabbit hole gets deeper. I hate bodywork, it is something that can break your plans after investing a ton of time and what little cash you have in your pockets. I have a donor truck that I can cut up to get decent rockers but I think I'll have to pay someone to do the actual repairs. That will mean paint as well :rolleyes: I am waiting so see what similar woes await me with my own A/C refit. None of the original A/C lines will connect to the new condenser, dryer and NipponDenso compressor I've used to replace 30 + year old set up in my Gen 1 and the wiring was CRAP. You might get lucky and find post 1990 front hubs for your truck (anything remotely newer is a bonus) and luckily you aren't restricted to only Rams for parts. You're made good ground so far. Keep posting your progress :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

A rattle-can paint job will be good enough for this turd of a truck...

I'm gonna be junkyard diving for the hubs, and I'm planning on picking up a bunch of other parts while I'm there. Might as well bring a sawz-all and liberate some sheet metal...

Are the post-1990 hubs different?

[geezer101]

There shouldn't be any change in the mechanicals throughout the Gen 2's. The later the build date, the better. Good hunting!

[geezer101]

I've seen some not-garbage driveway paint jobs using rustoleum through a cheap gun and rattle can 2K clear over it. Just coz it's ghetto, doesn't mean it has too look like it :)

[WarStryker13]

Good preparation can make a driveway rattle can paint job look just as good as one from a paint shop. Well, at least as good as a MAACO paint job, or what most other cheap, high volume paint shops will do...

But I have been throwing around the idea of covering the entire truck in red bedliner.

[85Ram50]

My two cents the Dupli color brand is great for color matching and because the nozzle sprays in a fan pattern and can be rotated. If you are going to stop for a while turn it upside down and press the nozzle until it clears itself.
I recently painted mine and it looks good. I also did not prep the skirts very well as now that I have one off and have hit it with a hose and wet sand to do the edges the new paint has come off in one area that I apparently did not get sanded well enough for the new paint to grip it tightly.

[WarStryker13]

Surface prep is about 85% of a good paint job, and if this truck was in better shape I would probably work towards getting it re-painted. As it is, there's too much rust and body filler to be worth the effort.

On a different note, I took another look at the dented hub... I could take a file to where the metal has been pushed inward and file those dents back down, and since the rest of the hub is still in usable shape all I really need is new seals and bearings.

I'm debating on whether I should just replace all of the wheel bearings, I don't really want to have to pull this all back apart again later.

I made some progress on the electrical system, I've got all the connectors and fuses that I needed and I can finish that tonight. I also got the steel battery hold down to replace the weird rubber one.

I still need to get the new tires mounted, debating on whether I want to drive the truck over to the shop to do that or just take the wheels and tires to the shop.

And I still need new parking brake cables.

[Giovanni89]

I'd go the file route, but I'm a cheap bastard. Did someone stake in the last oil seal? I can't imagine a chunk of metal as solid as a hub has more than a small dent that can be ground off. I'd do all the wheel bearings too. Cheap peace of mind.

[WarStryker13]

The dents are small, but just enough to prevent the seal from going in. I did end up getting all new bearings and seals, and they should be here this week.

The parking brake cables wont be here for another week, and I have to decide whether to go ahead and pull the old ones out, or wait until the new ones arrive.

I'm also going to be getting a used tool box from a co-worker as payment for helping him get his vehicle hauled onto post. He bought a little 99 Ford Ranger, and the title/registration is taking longer than originally planned so we're just going to put it on a trailer and haul it from the storage lot it's currently parked in to the barracks parking lot. He's feeling a little uneasy about leaving it parked in that part of town, and he's also got a bit of work to do to it, some cleaning and fixing little stuff.

I don't know yet if it will even fit the bed of my truck, but I'm still gonna take it, even if it's just to have it. His ranger is a step side, and the box is pretty narrow... If it's not wide enough to sit on the sides of the bed, I'm just going to fabricate brackets and mount the box so the top of the lid is flush with the sides of the bed. I can also figure out where I will need to cut holes in the bed to mount a roll bar while I'm doing that.

Once I'm done with the front end and the parking brake cables, I'm going to start driving it every day. Once the truck has been running problem free for a few weeks, my next priority is going to be getting a roll bar in the truck and fixing the rusted out rockers.

Hopefully I'll actually be able to get some work done on the truck and have an actual update within the next week.

[WarStryker13]

Anyone remember off the top of their head which way the seals go into the hubs?... Is it with the lip towards the bearings?

I might have kinda forgotten. Lol

[WarStryker13]

Had to fight with every single part, but I got it all back together finally...

The hub took just over an hour of working with a file to get it back to round, the edge had mushroomed out from being beaten with a hammer. After cleaning both hubs thoroughly, I got all of the new bearings packed and installed and got the new seals tapped into the hubs.

Next I decided to clean the spindles up a little bit, replaced the rusted and stripped phillips head screws holding the rotor guards on with stainless steel 10mm bolts. Once I got the hubs back onto the spindles I had to fight with the lock nut socket trying to get it to seat correctly and get them torqued down... The two pins on the socket kept slipping out of the holes in the lock nuts, but after about an hour of fighting with it I got them torqued properly to about 125 ft-lbs, loosened and re-tightened until the fish scale read about 4 lbs of force. It turns out I only needed one shim from the kit, I didn't have a dial indicator but both sides have the same amount of play, which feels like about 3-4 thousandths. I feel like it's good enough.

I had to take a round file to one of the calipers, the bottom slide pin hole was too small for the new pin and boot, but after that the rest of the brakes went back together pretty quickly.

The old parking brake cables were a fight to get out of the rear drums, but the new ones went in easier. I did have to fight with them a little in order to attach them to the lever, but it's all back together and the parking brake does keep the truck from rolling away on its own... If I push our pull the truck it'll still move, so I'm gonna need new drums next, but it'll be fine for now.

The rest of the electrical system is mostly finished, I need to go get another switch for the lights, but everything works.

I'm going to roll the truck into the driveway and work on getting it tuned up, then another test drive just to verify that everything functions as intended.

[WarStryker13]

SUCCESS!!!! The truck is back on the road, and everything functions as expected. Ish.

The brakes are better than last time, but they still take quite a while to bring the truck to a full stop. I know I need new drums, and the brake booster doesn't seem to be doing much in the way of boosting...

But they're good enough for short drives. Tomorrow morning I'm going to start driving this thing every day, because I know the front brakes will get better with use, and the rears will work much better with new drums.

The throttle is still touchy, but it's better and I have wide open throttle now. I haven't gone wide open yet, because about half throttle broke the tires loose at 35 mph in second gear... This truck is pretty damn quick for only having 100 or so horsepower stock. Either this engine has been rebuilt and bored over, or the few small mods I've done have greatly improved the power output... Either way, I'm impressed by how this truck performs so far.

I'm also very impressed at how cool the engine is running, it didn't get above 1/3 on the gauge for the entire time I was driving.

I'm mostly just happy that it's done and driving.

[MrPaco]

Great job, Stryker! Congratulations on getting the truck back on the road.
You've done a lot, I'm impressed by all the hard work and perseverance, and I'm sure you will continue to make it better.

Btw, I agree on the engine running cool. I was worried about not having a fan shroud and thought that I needed to get one before it got hot out (I got the truck this past winter). I recently noticed that it actually runs relatively cool, even when it's stupid hot out. The needle never gets past the middle of the gauge, and haven't noticed it being hot otherwise. Still looking to get a shroud though , but now it's more out of a desire to "have the complete set" than because I need it to stay cool.

Anyway, keep at it, I look forward to your progress. And how about some pictures?

[geezer101]

I get nervous with brake stuff for the obvious reasons. Check the booster hose from the intake manifold is nice and firm on the hose barb and the hoses on the check valve and booster are firm as well. It could be a small leak caused by a loose fitting hose (maybe the 38DGES has altered manifold vacuum? Those big throttle butterflies won't make much torque down low but will open her lungs up from midrange onwards...) Good power delivery, engine is behaving itself - you've done everything right. The throttle probably feels sensitive due to how non responsive it was before you worked on it and you've got the ignition tune nailed down. Good stuff :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

I checked for vacuum leaks using starting fluid and spraying everything, no jumps or drops in RPM tells me no leaks.

I think my sensitive throttle issue might come from how long it's been since I drove a standard, and how little experience I had previously.

Pictures will come eventually.

[Giovanni89]

Awesome that it's on the road! One word of caution on running cool. It's a 30 year old gauge, with a who knows how old temp sender, possibly corroded connections. I hooked up a mechanical temp gauge on my truck. Took out one of the emissions temp senders and retapped the manifold for 3/8NPT. I like having a mechanical gauge that I made sure was calibrated in a pot of boiling water. It gives me peace of mind, especially with all the work that went into making the truck run better.

[WarStryker13]

I noticed this morning that the engine RPMs change when pushing the brake pedal, so I think the booster might still be functioning... I'm going to replace the brake drums first, then the brake hoses, and then if there isn't enough improvement I'll either replace or rebuild the master cylinder, and finally, if necessary, the brake booster.

The temp sensor is brand new, so it could be the gauge... I've got a long list of things that I need to do, but I'm much more motivated to work on it now that it's running and driving.

After I get the brakes working better I still have to replace the oil pan gasket, clean the engine bay, change the gear oil in the axles, change the engine oil... Lots of little stuff.

[MrPaco]

One word of caution on running cool. It's a 30 year old gauge, with a who knows how old temp sender, possibly corroded connections.

Interesting observation, makes sense.
Are there any temperature test that can be performed to somewhat get an accurate reading without replacing the sender/gauge? I don't mean continuous accurate readings, like if you had a new sender/gauge, but a specific test you can do. Like running the engine hot and measuring the temp of the coolant, or something like that, and then comparing that to the readings from the gauge.

[85Ram50]

A point and shoot temp gauge. I got one for like $20 at the home despot.

[geezer101]

Interesting observation, makes sense.
Are there any temperature test that can be performed to somewhat get an accurate reading without replacing the sender/gauge? I don't mean continuous accurate readings, like if you had a new sender/gauge, but a specific test you can do. Like running the engine hot and measuring the temp of the coolant, or something like that, and then comparing that to the readings from the gauge.

Neanderthal tech - put a thermometer on the top tank when it's hot (peak normal operating temp) and see what the surface temperature is like. Not super accurate but it'll put you in the ball park. Even an infra red reader will be better than a guesstimation.

[MrPaco]

Sounds like something I can handle.
And what are some of the temp ranges to look out for? What temp is running too cold, proper or too hot?

[geezer101]

Normal operating temps are 195 - 220 degrees F (95 -110 C). Less than 185 is running cold and over 235 regularly is indicating there might be something up. Be aware that most temperature senders and gauges can be a bit 'iffy'. It doesn't always come down to how much you've paid for them...

[MrPaco]

And this is measuring the actual coolant? you mentioned the top tank, is that the radiator? the reservoir?
Thank you, this is helpful.

[geezer101]

Its the radiator. I am not endorsing this as an accurate indicator but it will at least let you know if it's in the right zone temperature wise. Installing a gauge with increments isn't really necessary. If it's gonna bake, you're going to find out when it's doing it and not before. I kind of beat this dog on a regular basis but the factory clutch fan isn't great in any vehicle and it's worth installing electric thermofans (even more so if you have A/C) The benefits will pay for themselves. Better insurance policy than an aftermarket temperature gauge IMO.

[WarStryker13]

Well for me there's no obvious signs of overheating, but I do have another concern... After driving it in the morning, letting it sit all day and driving it back there's some smoke when coming to a stop and going again. At first I thought it was just my lack of skill and that I was burning up the clutch, but after looking at it again in the daylight I'm not so sure.

I'm pretty sure the rear main seal is leaking, and I think the clutch is getting covered in oil every time I drive it and that's what is causing the smell of burning oil and clutch material...

I am not excited about dropping the trans and t-case to do a clutch, but I don't think the clutch will survive much longer. I'm going to have one of my coworkers drive the truck since he has been driving a standard for much longer, and if his driving doesn't make the smoke then I know it's my lack of skill that is burning up the clutch. (he already knows that the brakes are terrible, and I'm helping him rebuild his little '86 S10 so he owes me a favor or two)

I planned on eventually replacing the clutch, but not quite this soon. I'm going to pull the inspection plate off later today and get a better look at the clutch, hopefully it's not completely wasted yet.

[geezer101]

Fingers crossed it isn't a rear main seal. I'd be a bit worried about obvious smoke coming out from under the cab. The clutch may have already been toast. This truck has had no love for a long time and with all the grief you've had with it, I wouldn't be surprised if it was worn out part it's serviceable life. If you have clutch slip, you can be pretty sure it's tired - it'll be exaggerated by a ton of new found torque and power being pushed through it. You shouldn't have passed the threshold of clamping pressure from the clutch assembly yet. Don't forget that the brakes haven't been worked for ages and the smell might be from them.

[Giovanni89]

Do what I do, light a cigar and you won't notice the smoke coming from the truck :grin:
But in all seriousness, clean up the area and try and find the source of the leak. When I went up to help Pennyman load Scott's truck, I blew about 2 quarts of transmission fluid out of my Crown Vic. Pretty sure after chasing my tail a bit I fixed it. The o-ring for the dipstick tube was shot. ATF was blowing up as I drove down the road making it look like it was puking out of the top of the dipstick. Once your driving down the road, oil can and will blow in crazy directions with the wind. And if it is rear main seal/clutch, that's a bummer, but you'll basically have a totally serviced driveline when you're done. Keep fighting the good fight

[WarStryker13]

So the clutch is mostly fine, the smoke was from oil getting on the exhaust because I haven't cleaned anything yet...

I realize now that I always jump to the worst possible scenario, but I feel relieved when it turns out to be something much less severe.

Hopefully I should have the new tires on the truck today, and new drums should be here today to hopefully help with the lack of brakes.

[geezer101]

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best... good philosophy to have in my book ;)

[WarStryker13]

New meats on the truck.

23175

It took a little while, but I'm starting to get much better at driving it. Practice, practice, practice...

I got the new drums yesterday, I'm going to fog them black before putting them on the truck. I'll be ordering the hoses soon, just have to wait for certain bills to come out first.

I temporarily fixed the temporary fuel tank strap I made, the two screws I used before had started to strip out so I just drilled a hole and put a bolt in. I'm going to actually fix it eventually, but for right now it'll hold.

I changed the oil, because it was already almost completely black. I'm going to keep an eye on it and I'll change it one more time once it's turned black again. After that I'll just change it at regular intervals.

I'm just going to keep crossing things off the list.

[pennyman1]

use a quart of Rislone in place of 1 quart of oil in your next oil change - it will help clean out the gunk gently and help the truck run better and quieter.

[WarStryker13]

I haven't ever used Rislone, but I know a cup of diesel or kerosene right before an oil change will clean out quite a bit.

I got the drums painted with some leftover duplicolor caliper paint, I've got a new toggle switch to install for the off-road lights and new hood pin retaining cables, tomorrow morning I'll be installing everything.

I'm just waiting on a check to come in the mail before I order the brake hoses, and hopefully more of the parts I have left over from my last car sell so that I have a little bit more cushion just in case.

[WarStryker13]

I found a flaw in the truck... While driving, if I put a little bit too much throttle into a shift, the engine will rock sideways just enough to pull the coil wire out of the distributor. The engine mounts aren't falling apart, so I think it's just the coil wire is a bit too short. I have a longer one that came with the plug wire set, I'll just toss that one on later.

I started digging through the A/C wiring, there's one relay, a thermostat and thermistor, a low pressure switch and a coolant temp switch. I bypassed the coolant temp switch to eliminate that as a variable while troubleshooting. I made a jumper wire to bypass the thermostat and thermistor, but when I started tracing voltage I didn't get very far. I had the truck parked in the driveway and the sun started to get to me pretty quickly. I pulled the relay out in order to test it, and when I get more time I'm going to start the troubleshooting (again) by testing all of the wiring between the switch, the relay, and the connections in the engine bay. I'm just trying to get +12v up to the compressor clutch, so that I can see if the clutch works, then I'll be able to tell if the compressor works. Then I can check for any leaks, check if the A/C is actually getting cold and recharge it if necessary. I'm determined to have this A/C system working.

The drums are on, I did have to wind the adjusters back quite a bit to get them on but the parking brake works much better and the brakes are a little more effective... Still not quite where I would like them to be but they're getting better.

The brake hoses should be here tomorrow, and Friday I'll be installing those and bleeding the brakes again. I also ordered a new pop-out lighter that "should" fit and work properly, the adapter to put a regular 5-1/8" air cleaner on a Weber carburetor, and a 2-1/2" to 2-1/4" header collector reducer with an O2 sensor bung.

I don't plan on doing much with the exhaust until later, but I am planning on getting a universal 10" air cleaner to replace the tiny Weber filter. Later on I can either put a snorkel hat on it or get another stock air cleaner and modify it for the 5-1/8" neck.

Thanks for reading!

[WarStryker13]

23211

Got the adapter on (with a little modification) and a 10" round air cleaner (with a little more modification)

I had to file the K&N brand adapter just to get it to fit onto the Weber, and I used the original mikuni carburetor's air cleaner stud with the adapter's bracket.

I know the air cleaner says Edelbrock, but that was the only one I could get on short notice.

I put the longer coil wire on it, but I haven't gotten to replacing the brake hoses because I'm soaking all the connections in the special sauce just to avoid potentially ruining the hard lines.

Today I'm working on figuring out the A/C wiring, and I might get around to doing the brake lines. Maybe.

[geezer101]

It looks like an engine fresh out of the crate :thumbup:My biggest question is - how to set the idle up for the A/C? I've had to rewire all of the aftermarket A/C harness as it literally fell to pieces, but I'm not ready to take the next step and look at installing my 34DATA Weber which uses vacuum assist to idle up the engine (my guess it was intended to operate the A/C)

[WarStryker13]

I honestly don't know... But I did finally get the original A/C wiring to function. I can press the switch on the dash and it sends voltage to the magnetic clutch, but every time I turned it on with the engine running it would pop the fuse. I even tried a 35 amp fuse, it worked for about 4 minutes until that fuse ended up blowing.

Right now I have it hooked up to the relay and switch for the off road lights, and it works just fine on that wiring... I'm going to add one more relay and use the original switch to trigger it, because for some reason the original wiring simply can't handle the load of the magnetic clutch anymore.

It does cool the air slightly, but not very well and I think recharging it will help a lot. But it works, so I'm happy.

[StarquestMan]

I honestly don't know... But I did finally get the original A/C wiring to function. I can press the switch on the dash and it sends voltage to the magnetic clutch, but every time I turned it on with the engine running it would pop the fuse. I even tried a 35 amp fuse, it worked for about 4 minutes until that fuse ended up blowing.

Right now I have it hooked up to the relay and switch for the off road lights, and it works just fine on that wiring... I'm going to add one more relay and use the original switch to trigger it, because for some reason the original wiring simply can't handle the load of the magnetic clutch anymore.

It does cool the air slightly, but not very well and I think recharging it will help a lot. But it works, so I'm happy.

if its blowing a 35 amp fuse its drawing way too much current! something is shorted to ground somewhere or the clutch coil has some shorted turns in it. i would ohm that out then ohm the wiring if the clutch coil tests within tolerances. you will want the factory ac circuit too work to keep the evaporator from icing over solid and the low pressure switch to protect the compressor from destroying itself.

[StarquestMan]

if your 85 is in any way similar to my 87 the idle up is wired in parallel with the ac compressor coil. it may have a dedicated ground for the idleup solenoid that is controlled by the ecu. the idea being that once the engine reaches about 2000 rpm the ecu cuts the ground path to this coil to disable it for cruising but since you would be doing away with that simply grounding at the carb or elsewhere would be fine. the FSM for my 87 specifies the idle up to be set at around 800-850 rpm so about 100 rpm above idle.

[StarquestMan]

that last post was meant for geezer101 btw.

[geezer101]

thanks :thumbup:I have a feeling all they did to accommodate the A/C on my Gen 1 was ramp the idle as it was added in the dealership.

...and thread successfully hijacked :lmao:

[StarquestMan]

...and thread successfully hijacked :lmao:

haha oops hopefully this helps warstryker too!

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to keep the stock wiring, or at least the original function of the stock wiring...

I just needed to get the system running to make sure I didn't have a much bigger problem, like a bad compressor or a big refrigerant leak.

[WarStryker13]

So the new brake hoses are in, they helped quite a bit. Now that the pedal feels firm, I realized that there was quite a bit of free play. So I pulled the master cylinder off and adjusted the booster pushrod out.

That adjustment helped even more, but the brakes still didn't quite feel like I wanted them to.

In my mind, swapping out random components seemed like the best option. So I pulled the check valve out of my old booster and swapped it with the one on the truck.

It didn't seem to change much, until I tried pumping up the brakes with the truck running... It finally feels like I have a brake booster. I'm guessing that the check valve wasn't holding vacuum in the booster before, but now as long as I pump up the booster the brakes actually work decently.

I probably should get a new booster eventually, and maybe rebuild or replace the master cylinder and front calipers, but I'm totally ok with it the way it is. I got it to work, maybe not the way it technically should work, but it works nonetheless.

Oh, and I was wondering if the load sensing valve over the rear axle should be bled, and if so how would one go about doing that?

[WarStryker13]

After driving the truck for a few days, I'm starting to think that it's just the rear wheel cylinders being pumped up instead of the booster, because the proportioning valve may not be holding pressure in the rear drums. I'm going to start searching junkyards for potential donors, but until then I think I'll at least try to bleed that valve and see if that helps... I'm reasonably convinced that it isn't completely dead, because both front rotors are showing signs that the calipers are actually clamping down on them, which it would not be if the valve wasn't at least somewhat functional. I'm going to go through and bleed the entire system AGAIN, just to be sure. And to try and get every last bit of old brake fluid out...

As for the booster, I'm going to try "testing" it, but I don't expect it to be functioning properly. I'm going to try the three "tests":

Holding pressure on the pedal while starting the engine and seeing if the pedal drops.
Running the engine for a couple of minutes, turn the engine off and pressing the pedal several times slowly. Starting the engine and pressing the brake pedal, then turning the engine off with the pedal still pressed and holding it for 30 seconds.

I use quotations because those are subjective tests.

I went ahead and bought a Thrush Turbo muffler, 2.25" offset inlet, 2.25" offset outlet. I'm going to try and toss that on tonight, if I have time after getting home from work. I decided to go with that one because it was on sale at AutoZone and I'm wanting it a little quieter than I previously thought I would after driving the truck in normal traffic.

I'm still wanting to re-do the exhaust properly, but I'm going to have to modify the header a little and figure out the bends I'm going to need in order to clear all of the crossmembers. I'm also going to need to add in some hangers, and I want the exhaust to dump right behind the axle, so I'm going to hold off until I can either get a welder to use or get the truck over to a shop that'll do it for cheap.

I need to get a vacuum tester and timing light, because I've got the idle mixture and timing as close as I can by ear, but I would like some numbers that I can use to either compare with others, or ask questions and potentially get clear answers. I leaned out the idle mixture screws a little, but I haven't adjusted the timing since then and I'm not 100% sure that the distributor is functioning the way it should.

I've had a few times where on a cold start, the truck would idle rough as if it had a vacuum leak. It would act like the timing was either retarded too far or advanced too far, and I had to rev it to 2k -2.5k RPM in order for it to smooth out. Then it would idle at 650-700 RPM and run smooth.

That would also happen if I stalled the truck out at a stop sign, and it went away as soon as I hit 2k -2.5k RPM.

I'm wondering if I need to pull the distributor back apart and clean/lubricate the mechanical advance... The issues have been getting much less common, almost as if the sticky bits are working themselves loose again and the truck is self-healing. I still want to get a timing light on it just to see what the timing is at right now, because I'm concerned that the distributor might be off by a tooth and the vacuum advance is the only thing letting the truck run. I say that because I can only find one vacuum port on the Weber 38/38 DGES and I'm not sure if it's above or below the throttle blades. Also, when I was setting the timing by ear I don't think I got it as close as I would have liked, because I had just turned the idle screw until it hit 2k RPM and went from there, I think I could get it much closer if I had someone actually holding it at 2k RPM.

It runs pretty well as is, I'm just wanting to get it as close to perfect as possible. I still have to get an AFR gauge and wideband o2 sensor, so I can see where the carburetor is and order the correct jets if necessary.

One weird thing I noticed is the truck is popping fuses randomly. Last week it popped the reverse lamp fuse, a couple of days ago it popped the turn signal fuse, then one day later the radio fuse, and this morning it popped the tail light fuse. At some point the fuse for the extra 12v outlets popped. Most of them seem to be related to exterior lights, and I'm thinking I might have to go back and re-fix the tail light harness. I had pulled out the terrible attempt at trailer wiring, but there might still be some wires that aren't properly isolated. That doesn't explain why the radio fuse popped, or why the fuse for the extra outlets popped because that one is on a completely separate fuse block from the rest of the truck.

Eventually I'll be done doing stuff to this truck, right? lol

[WarStryker13]

So I took the truck on a road test... Or at least attempted to.

I was heading to a junkyard about 50 miles away to help a coworker get some parts he needed for his '86 Chevy S10, but as soon as I got up to about 45 mph the brakes started dragging. By the time I had pulled off the highway I could smell them, and when I rolled into a gas station parking lot they were starting to smoke. The pedal was rock hard.

I unbolted the master cylinder from the booster and adjusted the pushrod back in, then put it back together and headed back home. The brakes are back to where they were before, with almost 3/4" of freeplay in the pedal.

I've done some searching and I'm pretty sure my LSPV is actually broken. The lever isn't attached to the piston anymore, it looks like the shaft snapped at some point and the nut is missing. I'm going to look for one at the junkyard next time I go, and continue to search for either a new one or a good used one for sale.

[Giovanni89]

Nothing like a real planned trip to shake out all the bugs! I have a Thrush Turbo on my Falcon in the Avatar. It hasn't been on the road in a few years, but I do recall liking the sound. You can hear it, but it's not obnoxious. My LSPV was totally frozen solid. When I replaced all of the brake lines on my truck, I bypassed it. I gave it a few hard stops, and it still was locking the front wheels before the rear wheels. Overall braking performance improved for me. Your mileage may vary, but my braking improved, and I couldn't find a replacement, so I said the hell with it.
I had some similar timing issues on my truck. The Mechanical advance was sticking. I'd set the timing with it stuck advanced, and then when It freed up and retarded it barely wanted to run. Other times it would stick further advanced and want to run away. If I snapped the throttle the advance would retard, but if the engine slowed down gradually it would stick. I replaced the distributor and still had problems. The vacuum advance unit that came on the new distributor was stamped with an 11.5. The one on the old distributor was stamped 10. I had a backup sitting on the shelf (standard motor products vc268, which was also stamped 10) and that fixed it.
She's getting there. Keep up the good fight.

[tortron]

My Ute doesn't have the lsbv either, no major issues with it

[WarStryker13]

I'm a little surprised at how quiet the Thrush Turbo muffler is, but it sounds pretty good IMO. It's got a deep tone at idle and cruising, but it still sounds aggressive at throttle without being raspy.

I think I might have found a LSPV on Amazon that will work, it's for the L200 but it looks the exact same. I'm going to try the junkyard before ordering it... I would just delete it, but I don't want to take a week to make new lines and try to figure out junction blocks and valves. I don't feel like I have found all of the bugs yet, and I want to have all of the kinks ironed out that could potentially leave me stranded on the side of the highway.

I said previously that I thought that it was the LSPV that functioned as a check valve for the rear brakes, but after reading this www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/3974-87-MM-am-I-supposed-to-not-have-power-brakes?p=34792&viewfull=1#post34792 (http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/3974-87-MM-am-I-supposed-to-not-have-power-brakes?p=34792&viewfull=1#post34792) I don't think so.

My distributor had some form of red gunky buildup inside of it, along with some surface rust... I could take it back apart and clean it better, which I might still do, but your experience points toward the vacuum advance being the culprit. I'm going to tackle that after the brakes are fully fixed.

I'm hoping that I can get the brakes adjusted so that they don't drag, but still stop the truck... Just so that I can drive it up to the junkyard that (hopefully still) has a few Ram 50's and a Raider, and get the parts I'm needing (plus some extras). ;)

[geezer101]

Sounds like you're almost there. I like a nice custom exhaust, it can really change the presence of a car if it's not obnoxious. I wouldn't be surprised if the vac servo on the distributor wasn't working. I struggled to find a working used one... I might still have a go at deleting the vac advance when I do my carb swap by using a distributor off a 4G64 and see how it goes.

[tortron]

My minor has no vac advance. Works best for cars with a binary throttle

[Giovanni89]

My problem was the mechanical advance sticking. I replaced the distributor and had new problems (pinging badly under light throttle). It turned out that my new distributor had a vacuum advance servo that was pulling in way too much timing. Once I put the correct vacuum advance servo on the new distributor it was all good. If you read through 87Junker's thread I have some pictures that describe this better.
My opinion is that going mechanical advance only really doesn't make sense on a street driven vehicle. Timing needs are based off of rpm and AFR. A vehicle being run wide open doesn't need much timing. The fuel charge is fairly rich, and rich fuel charges have a much higher flame front speed than leaner mixtures. A vehicle running lean (light throttle cruise) can use way more timing. Cruising down the highway at light throttle, all in timing is quite often in the 30-35deg BTDC range. The ideal crank position for maximum cylinder pressure is about 15deg. ATDC. AFR (because of flame front speed) has a much greater effect on how much advance you need to get peak cylinder pressure at 15deg ATDC. That is why vacuum advance units will quite often give you 2-3X as much advance as the mechanical side of the distributor.
In real world driving, you spend the overwhelming majority of your time in the part throttle range. Not having a vacuum advance will just move your peak cylinder pressure well past 15deg ATDC reducing part throttle power and economy, putting extra heat into the engine and exhaust path, and building more carbon deposits.

[WarStryker13]

That's why if I was going to delete the vacuum advance, I would modify the distributor to use an ignition control box like an MSD 6A box or something similar.

As it is right now, the distributor in the truck works more often than not, so I think I'm just going to spray some WD-40 into the mechanical advance inside the distributor for now. I'll look for a couple of spare distributors in the junkyard, but a new distributor is a long ways away.

[geezer101]

A blast of WD-40 wouldn't go astray. As long as the ignition isn't running erratically it should still be fine.

[WarStryker13]

Well I did get the chance to work on it today, and realized that I am totally blind.

23327

My LSPV is not broken. I couldn't see that nut before, and the fact that I can grab the lever and move it by hand tells me that it's frozen... But it appears to be stuck in the halfway loaded position, so I'm gonna call it "it'll be fine". I did bleed it again, but this time I actually got all of the air out... It came out as foam, and after bleeding everything again just to be sure I reset both the brake and clutch pedal height and free-play. I've got about 1/8" play in the brake pedal, about 3/4" in the clutch pedal, and they're both at 7" height.

I then reset the carburetor to baseline, tuned it to lean best idle, set the idle adjustment screw at just barely under 1/2 turn and finally reset the timing.

It idles at 500 RPM now, any higher and it would be exposing the progression holes. But it doesn't diesel anymore.

While I was setting the timing, I noticed that it would start missing at the halfway point, and I could swing the distributor fully advanced and it still ran smooth... It could be off by a tooth, but I honestly don't know.

I did take it on a short test drive, but I haven't gotten it up to speed yet to see if the brakes at going to start dragging again... They are working like they should though, at least as far as I can tell at 25 mph.

I'm going to keep fiddling with the timing tomorrow, I really should get a timing light on it...

[WarStryker13]

I ripped out all of the wiring that used to run the stock carburetor, the truck runs quite a bit better now that all of that crap is no longer connected to the ignition and acting like a parasitic draw.

I took it out on the highway today, got it up to 65 mph without any issues. I also, accidentally, peeled out of a parking lot trying to merge with traffic. It was fun. :)

[geezer101]

...yeah, "accidentally" :lmao:

[WarStryker13]

I honestly wasn't actively trying to spin the tires, but I will admit that I'm still learning how to drive a standard and sometimes I make little mistakes here and there... I'm getting much better the more I drive, and I've gotten the clutch and brake adjusted nearly perfectly. Or at least to the point that the truck drives exceptionally smooth according to two of my coworkers that can drive a standard.

I did manage to borrow a timing light last night, and after I run a few errands today I'm going to see what the timing is at on the truck. I don't know what the range is that these engines will run at, but I have a feeling it's a pretty wide range. I'm hoping so at least, because this truck feels a bit sluggish at higher speeds and it's taking quite a bit of effort to get it started once it's warmed up. It does start easier when it's cold, but part of me is wanting to convert it to manual choke so I can start it easier when it's hot.

I'm going to set the timing at about 8° BTDC at idle, then bring the RPMS up and see what it ends up at. From my understanding, most engines will want about 30° to 35° total timing, I'm hoping I can get this thing somewhere in that general vicinity.

On another note, now that the extra wiring is out of the way I found out why the A/C kept popping fuses... The two wires that go to the A/C compressor clutch and the low pressure switch have melted insulation and copper showing, right where they come out of the harness, next to the fusible links. I'm going to have to peel back the vinyl tape wrapped around everything and pull those wires out of the harness. I'm going to try and just replace those wires with new copper, if I can separate them from the rest of the harness and just put the entire circuit on it's own fuse in the fuse block I would be plenty pleased. Right now the stock location has it pulling power from the reverse lamp fuse, which is not a circuit I want constantly popping fuses. I'm wanting to try and add an extra circuit to the stock fuse box, but I think I'm going to need a second fuse box to pull apart and harvest the wire terminals... Another part to look for at the junkyard. ;)

Has anyone else has had issues with getting new 74 bulbs to fit and work in the sockets, or is it the brand of bulbs I bought that are just barely too big to fit? If there's a specific brand that people have had luck with, I'm all ears.

[85Ram50]

Buss is an old common brand of fuse. They make all the glass fuses and the new style too. There is a uniform size standard but you never know with some after market stuff.

EDIT- Doh! its Bussman not Buss. And yea now that I look you did ask about bulbs?????

[WarStryker13]

I was talking about the tiny light bulbs in the instrument cluster and dash, not fuses... But I do appreciate the info. :thumbup:

The brand I bought is Phillips, and every other bulb I've ever gotten from them has fit just fine... But those tiny little 74 bulbs are near impossible to find locally, and if I order anything I'm going to want to order enough to make the shipping worth it.