truck talk

[Bluethunder3320]

i got a 93 dodge ramcharger and it looks like it has the original brake lines. it would have been nice if i could have found an older one but 93 was a one of the better years for dodge trucks. you get the older body style but get the newer transmission and more powerful engine.

my truck was when they first started putting emissions crap in it.. but also one of the first fuel injected, which is i guess a good thing. i like the body style of it.

when you get an old truck its gonna have problems especially if its been abused (like mine the bed was overloaded).

but i like older trucks better than new ones... WAY easyer to work on

 

[crazzywolfie]

my dad told me fuel injection is one of the best thing to happen to those straight 6's.

i like working on old trucks. once you get most of the problems fixed and straightened out they are just as reliable as a new vehicle if not more reliable. i got a 81 d150 that is almost scary how good everything works and i am not even done updating the wiring.

 

[devino246]

my truck was when they first started putting emissions crap in it.. but also one of the first fuel injected, which is i guess a good thing. i like the body style of it.

when you get an old truck its gonna have problems especially if its been abused (like mine the bed was overloaded).

but i like older trucks better than new ones... WAY easyer to work on

No it's not. First year for catalytic converter was '79, EGR started in the early 70's, PCV was late 60's, sealed fuel tank w/ charcoal canister was mid to late 70's. EFI became standard for the 300 in '87. EFI was an option for the first time on the 302 in '85; became standard in '86.

my dad told me fuel injection is one of the best thing to happen to those straight 6's.

i like working on old trucks. once you get most of the problems fixed and straightened out they are just as reliable as a new vehicle if not more reliable. i got a 81 d150 that is almost scary how good everything works and i am not even done updating the wiring.

I'll take a carb over EFI any day. If you know what you're doing, you'll have no trouble with a carb.

 

[B man]

No it's not. First year for catalytic converter was '79, EGR started in the early 70's, PCV was late 60's, sealed fuel tank w/ charcoal canister was mid to late 70's. EFI became standard for the 300 in '87. EFI was an option for the first time on the 302 in '85; became standard in '86.




I'll take a carb over EFI any day. If you know what you're doing, you'll have no trouble with a carb.

EFI really just gets better efficiency.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

theres a good chance ill get to drive the truck home tomorrow! only have to bleed the brakes then its DONE!

im going to have to look into the fuel system a little, because sometimes when i step on it the engine resists for a second then bursts into life.. and SOMETIMES it has a slight misfire.

has brand new spark plugs and high performance wires so its not that. the compression check had 145psi for 3 of the cyls and 150psi for the other 3.


i noticed the muffler is falling apart (probably the reason it did so good on the emissions test is because it has a huge exhaust leak)... so i want to just replace the muffler with a regular piece of pipe

once all the problems with this truck are sorted out, itll be great.

 

[crazzywolfie]

good to hear it is coming together so quick. if you have a miss and you have new plugs and wires i would guess the only thing left to check would be the cap and rotor.

I'll take a carb over EFI any day. If you know what you're doing, you'll have no trouble with a carb.

i would also. i was driving my carbed 81 d150 up until i bought the ram charger. it has overdrive which seems to keep me at a solid 14mpg. 81 was only averaging 11mpg. only thing keeping me in the ram charger is that it is way cheaper on insurance for some reason.

 

[devino246]

EFI really just gets better efficiency.

Not really. Identical cars, one with EFI and one with a properly tuned carb will get nearly identical mileages. Now, EFI will yield better mileage once the engine becomes well warn, since EFI is able to adjust a/f mixture accordingly.

theres a good chance ill get to drive the truck home tomorrow! only have to bleed the brakes then its DONE!

im going to have to look into the fuel system a little, because sometimes when i step on it the engine resists for a second then bursts into life.. and SOMETIMES it has a slight misfire.

has brand new spark plugs and high performance wires so its not that. the compression check had 145psi for 3 of the cyls and 150psi for the other 3.


i noticed the muffler is falling apart (probably the reason it did so good on the emissions test is because it has a huge exhaust leak)... so i want to just replace the muffler with a regular piece of pipe

once all the problems with this truck are sorted out, itll be great.

Check the accelerator pump to make sure it's giving you a solid shot of gas.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

so either an ignition problem or fuel problem? how would i know which?

how do i check the accelerator pump?

heres a pic of the old driver side shock... the right side was missing and probably worse condition lol if thats even possible

 

[devino246]

Pull the air cleaner off and look down the carb (with the engine off). Open the throttle while looking down the carb. You should see a solid stream of gas the whole way through the throttle stroke. It's likely that the pump diaphragm is gotten hard. A carb rebuild is never a bad idea.

Hesitation when stepping on the throttle sounds like accelerator pump problem. Misfiring is probably ignition related. Replace the distributor cap and rotor; they should be replaced every 30,000 miles.

EDIT: Forgot you have EFI Nevermind.

 

[fowler]

also if u can get a service manual it should have a spec for the fuel pump as in litres a minute or what ever the imperial version of that is

if u havnt already it would pay to clean and inspect the dizzy cap and leads

going by the rest of the truck its probs stuffed

also iv got no idea of how much driving experiance u have but dont forget this is no go kart or honda civic its gonna take a bit to get going

i had a problem of my landcruised burning alot of fuel and being really down on power
it turned out that when they took the sulfer out of the deisel it stuffed some of the seals in the pump

no that this relates directly to u but saying a dicky pump will be noticed

 

[Bluethunder3320]

also if u can get a service manual it should have a spec for the fuel pump as in litres a minute or what ever the imperial version of that is

if u havnt already it would pay to clean and inspect the dizzy cap and leads

going by the rest of the truck its probs stuffed

also iv got no idea of how much driving experiance u have but dont forget this is no go kart or honda civic its gonna take a bit to get going

i had a problem of my landcruised burning alot of fuel and being really down on power
it turned out that when they took the sulfer out of the deisel it stuffed some of the seals in the pump

no that this relates directly to u but saying a dicky pump will be noticed

whats a dizzy cap and leads?

as for driving this is the first "car" i actually drove other than taking my moms car down the street..

its pretty easy to drive but parallel parking is a little hard but ive done it.. lol


I TOTALLY HATE when i get stuck at a red light on a hill and the obviously automatic car behind me stops 2 inches close to me.... i have to be so careful to not roll back

 

[newrider3]

Distributor cap and plug wires

 

[fowler]

dizzy/ distributorn cap
tranny/ transmission
and so on

i also hate it when someone pulls up behind me at a red light but driving an old ute with some paint missing and putting out a fair bit of black smoke i rarely get it
if they do i just roll back as far as possible before taking off

my ute has very little bodywork it designed that way apart from the cab and over the engine so it is hard to get a dent on it

the back is purely a tow hitch a spare tyre and the tray with pressed steel fold down sides the front is a bull bar

if a car was to run into me they would do very little damage if any

as for parking
i acctually did the test iv got the turning circle the same as a 20 tonne rigid body mitsubishi truck
our rules are fairly leaniant so with high ground clearance there is usually a good peice of grass or sand to park on
i dont go well in car parks so i dont bother trying to find a proper one somtimes

 

[Bluethunder3320]

had a problem this weekend i went to the dump and it wouldnt start back up.. no power to the dash or anything. i found out the ground cable was falling apart there was no rubber left on some areas and it was all corroded.. a nice guy there had jumper cables and i connected the negative side of the battery to a random spot on the engine and it started up. i went right home and the engine sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders or running out of gas but it smoothed out thank god.

got a new battery cable and guess what? the PO tightened the starter bolts waay tight (new starter). i couldnt find a socket that even fit (in between 9/16 and 5/8 and 14mm and 15mm) so i put an adjustable wrench on it and the bolt just rounded off.

i ran the new battery cable over the engine and onto a place on the block where a few other small wires are attached for ground. it works like normal again, but the guy at the auto parts store said the starter will short out over time? is this true?

 

[Bluethunder3320]

im thinking about getting something like this because my muffler broke off and the ends are rusted to nothing

but im not sure how loud it actually is and if id get a ticket for noise

http://www.jegs.com/i/Cherry-Bomb/545/87502/10002/-1?parentProductId=769804

 

[crazzywolfie]

i think it is pretty hard to get a ticket for noise. you would have to almost be driving around subdivisions at night to get a ticket like that. as long as there is a muffler and cat there i don't think a cop cold do much other than pull you over to take a look.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Not really. Identical cars, one with EFI and one with a properly tuned carb will get nearly identical mileages. Now, EFI will yield better mileage once the engine becomes well warn, since EFI is able to adjust a/f mixture accordingly..

Aww- I gotta throw my two cents in...

EFI can also compensate for changes in air density/altitude and temperature, as well as other factors. Let's also not forget that EFI tends to be part of a complete electronic engine mamagement system that also controls the ignition system, altering spark timing and such to suit conditions. The best EFI system will beat the best carb for overall efficiency because of this. Carbs are "dumb", meaning that all you can do is have an ideal "overall" set up, but there is not a means of compensating for varying conditions on the fly. Another added bonus for the offroad nuts amongst us, is that a fuelie will operate at any angle.

On the other hand, the simplicity of a carbed engine makes life good for home mechanics. There's not much to go wrong- so it's pretty simple to diagnose without a Cray supercomputer, Man, I could tell you stories about pulling out hairs troubleshooting fuelie problems... Carb systems are basic. Air, Fuel, Spark, Compression. Time it right, and your engine runs. On the other hand, there's so many dang components and sensors on a modern fuelie system, you can literally go insane trying to get an engine to run right...

im thinking about getting something like this because my muffler broke off and the ends are rusted to nothing

but im not sure how loud it actually is and if id get a ticket for noise

http://www.jegs.com/i/Cherry-Bomb/545/87502/10002/-1?parentProductId=769804

Those 'bombs can get pretty obnoxious. Picking up a ticket for excessive noise is not hard to imagine with those.

 

[newrider3]

Don't run a cherry bomb, glasspacks sound terrible on the 300/6. Peruse the Exhaust Sound Clips thread on FTE to find something that you like.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I TOTALLY HATE when i get stuck at a red light on a hill and the obviously automatic car behind me stops 2 inches close to me.... i have to be so careful to not roll back

Don't worry about it. He'd only have to get backed into once before he learns to leave some distance when stopping on an incline, especially behind a truck. If he doesn't learn, he is an idiot, and deserves it.

 

[B man]

dual Flow masters anyone?