My 81 Voyager had 496k when it went to the yard and as Greg said timing chains were it's only weaknesses. Changed it four times, my parents bought it at 57k from an antique dealer and my mom used it in her Amish hailing business till she totaled it and I bought and rebuilt it. Every 100k we would change it.
In reply to chandler :
Boom.. I'd say you got it!
Greg
Had to make a lumber run last night for a small house project, so yeah...
I scheduled some "lift time" at my friend's place after the holidays are over with. On the docket are the oil pan swap, changing all the fluids, and possibly tackling the front leaf springs. If I get a mild December day, I may try to tackle some of that in my driveway, but we'll see. Still doing that weird thing where it doesn't want to start without starting fluid after sitting a week, but once it gets going, it's perfectly fine. Choke setup does seem to be working OK, so I'm not sure that's it. Once it's running, it drives great without issues.
Another thing that's annoying that's fresh in my head is that the dome light doesn't work. It hasn't worked since I bought the truck. I checked for power at the light, and it gets nothing. Replaced the headlight switch and the door jamb switches and that didn't help. No idea what's causing that, but I plan on chasing it down soon.
Tony Sestito said:
Still doing that weird thing where it doesn't want to start without starting fluid after sitting a week, but once it gets going, it's perfectly fine. Choke setup does seem to be working OK, so I'm not sure that's it. Once it's running, it drives great without issues.
Interesting you should mention a starting issue. I have a 1974 W150 360 Auto. There have been times when mine wouldn't fire up but it would turn over. I found that if I lifted up the distributor cap then reattached it it would fire up. It helped me buy it for half the asking price but I would like to resolve that some day.
Is the fuel pump leaking down? Weve had that issue with infrequently driven mechanical pump cars in the past. Takes forever of cranking the starter and pumping the pedal to get enough to prime the engine enough to start.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :
It could be possible, but the pump is near new. Of course, that doesn't mean anything. I replaced it a few months ago when the stock pump cracked and was shooting fuel everywhere. It does feel like it's losing its prime. Once I get it running, it's good for a few days. There's no leaks or anything.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Or solution has been to put a cheap electric pump back at the tank to get the system primed quickly.
I swear, parts quality and functionality for carb vehicles has gone straight to hell. This was NOT an issue for many many years when carb cars were the predominant vehicles. Same with caps and rotors.
Man, I thought the parts situation was dire for my full size Jeep. You're really swimming upstream! Cool truck, though. Read through the thread today on my breaks. Really neat to see something get saved.
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Tony Sestito :
Or solution has been to put a cheap electric pump back at the tank to get the system primed quickly.
I swear, parts quality and functionality for carb vehicles has gone straight to hell. This was NOT an issue for many many years when carb cars were the predominant vehicles. Same with caps and rotors.
That's a fact. And I don't think it's limited to carbonated vehicles, but it may be a greater problem when OEM parts (and their implied higher quality) are no longer an option.
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Tony Sestito :
Or solution has been to put a cheap electric pump back at the tank to get the system primed quickly.
I swear, parts quality and functionality for carb vehicles has gone straight to hell. This was NOT an issue for many many years when carb cars were the predominant vehicles. Same with caps and rotors.
The electric pusher pump has crossed my mind.
I've been reading about this issue, and it happens a lot with old Mopars. There's really no concrete solution, either, which is frustrating. I do know that it wasn't an issue when the carb vacuum lines were hooked up "wrong", which is extra weird. It could be a variety of things:
-Improper vacuum line routing
-Bad fuel pump
-Vacuum leaks
-Bad/leaky fuel line or return line somewhere
-Internal carb issues
-Bad carb gasket
It could be something else not listed, who knows. The thing that's odd is I smell fuel at the carb when it's trying to start, so I know it's getting there. Maybe it's getting too much, which would be a carb issue. Even though it's recently been rebuilt, maybe it needs another? I've also noticed that instead of the usual 8-9mpg, it's been getting about 7mpg lately since this nonsense started.
I'm still planning on pulling the intake at some point soon to do the gaskets, so when I do, I'll continue ditching the rest of the EGR system, simplify the vacuum routing even further, and hope that helps. There's always the option to swap a 4bbl carb/intake on there. Already have a carb, just need to get an intake. Rather not go that route right now, since that could compound the issue.
Tony Sestito said:Still doing that weird thing where it doesn't want to start without starting fluid after sitting a week, but once it gets going, it's perfectly fine. Choke setup does seem to be working OK, so I'm not sure that's it. Once it's running, it drives great without issues.
FWIW, same thing happened to my J20. I replaced every (factory original) soft line in the fuel system and finally had to replace the fuel pump to rectify the problem. Still takes a few seconds on the starter if it's been sitting for a couple of weeks, but now it usually starts before the battery runs out of oomph. So that's an improvement.
Hate to think your new fuel pump could be a dud, but it happens more often than it should. A booster pump is probably the only real cure, short of poopcanning the whole affair and going EFI.
I don't generally have all that much interest in old Dodge trucks, but for some reason felt compelled to jump into this build and just read the entire thing, and thoroughly enjoyed the way you documented all the little details (which is the way I do my build threads as well), even the stuff that doesn't seem that exciting.
In any case, looking good and keep up the good work!
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:I don't generally have all that much interest in old Dodge trucks, but for some reason felt compelled to jump into this build and just read the entire thing, and thoroughly enjoyed the way you documented all the little details (which is the way I do my build threads as well), even the stuff that doesn't seem that exciting.
In any case, looking good and keep up the good work!
Thanks man! I've been trying to catalog and document old truck ownership for anyone who has an interest in getting one. Everybody seems to want some sort of old rig these days, and no matter the make, they are all similar in maintenance and fixing the weird old crap that can happen to them. Also, with old Mopars specifically, there's lots of "lost knowledge" for all sorts of reasons (shut down forums, people unwilling to put things on the internet, etc), so having a thread for reference that might help someone down the road is the least I can do.
Since it's been a couple days since I drove the truck, I went out there today to see if it would start. One pump, and it fired right up without a fuss. I can live with that for now. It's old, and if it needs coaxing after sleeping for a week or two, I don't blame it!
I also bought a few cans of this stuff:
I sprayed about half a can on some of the frame spots that weren't already covered in Mopar's "natural" rustproofing (aka decades of oil leaked grease). I will re-apply more as the season wears on.
I really need to get a GRM sticker on this thing at some point.
I thought of you since Walmart had the holiday 1/24 display out and one was an honest to goodness early first gen long bed.
In reply to chandler :
Oooh, I need that!
EDIT: I actually bought one from Michael's a couple weeks ago!
Going to convert it to a '79 with bits from a Ramcharger model kit, and then build the Ramcharger as a replica of my great uncle's old '78.
Tony Sestito said:irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:I don't generally have all that much interest in old Dodge trucks, but for some reason felt compelled to jump into this build and just read the entire thing, and thoroughly enjoyed the way you documented all the little details (which is the way I do my build threads as well), even the stuff that doesn't seem that exciting.
In any case, looking good and keep up the good work!
Thanks man! I've been trying to catalog and document old truck ownership for anyone who has an interest in getting one. Everybody seems to want some sort of old rig these days, and no matter the make, they are all similar in maintenance and fixing the weird old crap that can happen to them. Also, with old Mopars specifically, there's lots of "lost knowledge" for all sorts of reasons (shut down forums, people unwilling to put things on the internet, etc), so having a thread for reference that might help someone down the road is the least I can do.
Yep, kind of like the old Mitsubishi truck forums....a lot of the old ones are shut down or dead these days (but there are some good FB groups), but I try to document everything for other peoples' use. My "old truck" (about 10 years newer than yours though. lol)
It was over 60 degrees out here today. In Massachusetts. In DECEMBER. That's bonus wrenchin' weather!
While I really wanted to work on the other 42 year old vehicle in my yard, I decided to tackle the oil pan in the truck. I was waiting to get it on my friend's lift, but recently, the gasket leak started getting worse and the pan had self-preforated again in a different spot. It's also going to snow this week, so it shot to the top of the list.
Between this borked gasket and the new pin holes, this wasn't going to last much longer.
When I was taking the starter off, one of the lugs decided to fall off. Got that back on nice and tight.
And out! Engine still is cleanish on the inside. Definitely not the cleanest engine ever, but I've seen worse. It didn't smell as much like oily farts this time, so I guess that's a good sign?
D'OH!!!! That happened in all four corners. I was able to re-align the gasket, but that was not fun. I also chunked it up pretty bad at one of the corners, but it seems to be holding. I hate multi-piece oil pan gaskets.
After futzing with the gasket for what seemed to be hours, the new, shiny pan was in. No leaks... yet.
42 years. You served this truck well. You can rest now, well, at least until I bring you to the scrapper.
I put that epoxy on the pan about a year ago. It held up its end of the bargain!
For oil this time, I decided to go with this Traveller diesel-grade oil from Tractor Supply. People on the Bob Is The Oil Guy forums seem to like it. It has the extra vitamins, minerals, and dinosaurs in it that old engines like. Plus, it was only $15 for 2.5 gallons! Can't beat that!
I didn't get any pics, but I also marinated the underside of the truck in copious amounts of Fluid Film. That stuff smells like the 1930's, so it has to be good. I have friends that swear by it.
I still have that lift time scheduled for next month. Since this is done, I may do the front springs on the truck, along with changing the differential oil and transfer case oil.
Glad I got that pan install/Fluid Film hose-down done last weekend. Winter is here.
No leaks a week later, which is nice. The only thing that's slightly concerning is that since the ol' 318 is a little "loose", I usually run 15W40, as it helps with the oil pressure. When I fired it up to move it after this week's snow storm, it was below 20 degrees out and it sounded a little clattery. Once things got moving, it was fine and it quieted down, but yeah, I might switch over to a lighter weight oil if it stays cold.
Also, this thing is an unstoppable beast in the snow. I swear, this truck gets excited when the white stuff starts piling up. I always forget that my very first experience driving the truck was pulling it out of its frozen roadside tomb:
What you can't see here is that the guy's yard had a huge hill that was right behind the truck, and it was 4 degrees out and everything was straight ice. In fact, I ate E36 M3 on that ice about 5 times trying to get to the truck! The Power Wagon didn't care. It crawled right up that icy hill without hesitation. And that's when the alternator wasn't even hooked up and it was running like crap!
I do try to limit my winter driving since they salt around here, but it needs to go out and play sometimes, so I'm hoping that Fluid Film holds up its end of the bargain. Also, this truck has the best heater in any vehicle I've ever had. Feels like there's a wood burning stove right in the cab.
Same truck in east Tennessee in the late 90s and early 2000s. Same experience. That truck NEVER got stuck in the snow as long as the driver wasn't a numbnuts. And its a 318. They all rattle in the cold in my experience.
Fluid film works great. My 03 Suburban that has always lived in the northeast is the only one left that still has rust free rockers because of it, and why our 250k mile 07 Mazda 3 still is 98% rust free
In reply to Tony Sestito :
The Ramcharger is the same. Loves snow, has a miniature sun tucked in to the heater core....
Mother Mopar knows her stuff...
Recon1342 said:In reply to Tony Sestito :
The LA blocks sometimes get air in a lifter too. usually its #1 or #2 as they are so far from the oil pump.
THe one on my truck is starting become loose on the rod bearings. - If I crank it fro 5-7 sec before setting the choke that helps prime the oil system.
Have a great winter with it!
Greg
Wow, today marks two years since I dragged this rig home. That went quick!
I haven't driven the truck since before Xmas for various reasons (actually, I haven't driven much at all since then), but I do have some things planned for the new year. I think one of the things I'm going to tackle soon is an easy one: weatherstripping. The stuff in the truck is falling off and chunked, and new stuff should help cut down on the wind noise and keep the weather out and the heat in. Figured that would be an easy fix.
Other stuff planned for the new year:
-Swapping my front leaf springs (D/S spring is sagging)
-Patching the floor pans
-Intake manifold gasket replacement and cosmetically sprucing up the engine bay a bit
-Transfer case and differential fluid changes
-Making my dome light work
-Installing a voltmeter in place of the ammeter
I'm sure other stuff will pop up as I keep driving. And keep driving it I will, because I love this thing.
Yesterday, I tackled the weatherstripping. Super easy job that does wonders on old vehicles like this.
Tools needed: a knife, an impact driver, and coffee.
Let's start with the driver's side.
This piece has been flopping around since I bought the truck.
Basically, you pull the sill plate, yank the old stuff out, clean the pinch weld up, and press the new rubber in.
Let's check on the floors... YIKES. More on that in a bit.
New rubber in. Sill plate reinstalled to whatever's left of the floors. Done.
Next, the other door. This one was a lot worse.
Lots and lots of chunks missing and the rubber hardened over the years. Nasty. It was leaking water over here, and now I know why!
I didn't take any after shots of the P/S, but it's done. The curious thing was I had trouble shutting the door on this side after I replaced the gasket. After slamming the door a few times, it shut better. Self-clearancing, I guess.
Now about those floors... I've known they weren't great since I brought it home. I already patched the seatbelt mount a while back. The week I brought it home, I ordered a driver's side pan and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. There's another spot on the passenger floor near the pinch weld that needs to be patched as well. After doing the floors in two other vehicles that were WAY worse than this, I'm not scared of digging into this. It's a truck, so it doesn't have to be pretty. I'm hoping to pull the seat and replace the pan once it gets a little warmer out. Hoping to bang it out in a weekend.
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