I have a 1982 Dodge Ram, purchased with a /6 supposedly with 142,000 confirmed miles from a nice southern gentleman who swore he would trust that truck to the end of the earth and back. Let's just say I am only now, a year later, fully appreciating the extent to which he lied.

I now have a 1981 /6 purchased from a man equally fervently claiming 73,000 miles on the engine. I have managed to go from only understanding how to change my oil, to taking out the crapped out engine, putting in the hopefully better one (yes, I did this mostly on faith as well as at least understanding that this engine has decent compression). I have put in a new water pump, fuel pump, timing chain, harmonic balancer, distributor, electronic ignition, and added a beautiful refurbished 2 barrel carburetor, intake and exhaust manifolds etc.... plus various little bits and pieces that I lost or messed up in the process.

Here's the puzzle: with the original engine it ran rough, if at all, and did this strange halting, as though it was fuel starved, then stalling with no apparent correlation to speed, load, temp, time etc. With all of this work done (with MASSIVE loads of advice and help with some very kind friends), the truck STILL DOES THIS! I emptied the gas tank and didn't dredge up any sludge or obvious water. I put a new fuel filter on that doesn't have a return to the tank, and I vented my gas cap. It still happens, and now I'm even having trouble starting it.

I have 1,000+ questions, and while I've made vast improvements in my knowledge base I would say I'm still basically at ground zero. If there is a patient soul out there who would be amused to share expert advice I would greatly appreciate it. I also have a lot of pieces to sell or trade for advice as I pieced out the 1981 truck that this engine came from....plus I have the abused 1982 engine and two wonky one barrell carbs if anyone might have a use for those as well.

Many thanks for making it to the bottom of this message. I am on a mission; tired of not understanding my own truck and having had a deep love for the /6 since I got to ride around in my brother's dart as a kid. AND I really NEED this truck to run for my work.....

sincerely and with gratitude,
-Elizabeth

The first question that comes to mind is, does it have the "lean burn" system?
This is a computer tat is usually mounted on the air cleaner, or inner fender. Someone with more truck experiance can supply more detail. I am not sure if this year truck even had one. If it does, it could be your problem.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

+1. The lean burn systems came in several varieties and after about 1980 the lean burn systems became more and more common in trucks. On trucks the computers were put either on the air cleaner or under the battery tray.

The easy way to tell if you have a lean burn system to to look at the carburetor and the distributor. If the distributor has no vacuum advance pod or if the carburetorhas wires going into the float bowl then you have a lean burn system.

If you can post a picture of your distributor and carburetor then we can help you determine if you have a lean burn system.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

This may help to identify the lean burn system http://www.allpar.com/mopar/lean-burn.html
Here is picture of computer that was on my 86, mine was mounted under fender behind battery. https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=D ... oto%2c.JPG
Computer converted to HEI https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=D ... oto%2c.JPG

Dave

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86 Miser 170,000+
2 1/4" exhaust
Holley 1920 #55
HEI MSD BLaster 2
17.8 mpg

Many thanks for putting your minds to this; but, the lean burn system is gone. It was on the air cleaner of the 1981. The truck with the 82 engine had been stripped of it. So, it didn't have it at all when I first ran the truck with its original engine, nor does it have it now.

(alt+p)

I hope the above works to post the images of the engine.... if not maybe just cut and paste the following into your browser?

https://plus.google.com/photos/11378554 ... 4975199921

thanks for your help!

The pictures:





My input:



The cap I am referring to with the arrow pointing at the front of the carb is the fitting below the float bowl between the mixture screws.

What happened to the elctric assist wiring for the choke thermostat (that thing on the exhaust manifold that connect to the carb)?

It looks like you have a cable actuated throttle kickdown linkage but that it is set up to operate backwards. The cable should come at the carb from the front so it is pulled as the throttle is opened and that motion is transfered to the lever on the trans so the trans lever is pulled towards the back of the car as the throttle is opened.

Other thoughts-

Is the carburetor a slant six specific or a 318 Carter BBD? I ask because the chokelinkage is different between the two. If a 318 carb is used on a slant six, the choke will not open fully and will lead to poor performance, much like you describe.

Have your read the Super Six article? Have you verified all the adjustments on the carburetor (choke, metering rods, mixture screws)? Have you verified tha tthe new vibration damper( harmonic balancer) has TDC marked in the correct place? I have purchased new balancers/dampers and found the TDC mark to be 8 degrees off.

What distributor are you running? I see your vacuum advance hose is not hooked up. What springs are in the distributor and is the mechanical timing advance system working properly?

How confident are you that the engine is a 1981 engine? I ask because 1981 was the year of the change from mechanical solid lifter to hydraulic lifters. If the seller was actually selling a 1980 or older engine then you may have a mechanical lifter valvetrain and you may need to adjust the valves.

Other isues may come up and others will have more ideas.

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

You might also check the fuel line from the tank. There is a filter on the fuel pickup in the tank, it could be partly plugged or the line itself. Good luck with your truck, hope you get it figured out and it is not too expensive.

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Dave

1977 d-200 crew cab ex-army pickup wants it's /6 back
1962 Valiant 2 door, 170, three on the tree
1972 d-100 parts truck
80 volare wagon now a parts car

could it be lock up trans? not sure which year it started

Pretty much every 904 was lockup after about 1980 (except for some California models). 727s still came in lockup and non-lockup depending on the GVW and equipment package ordered.

Looking closer, I can't even see the rod between the choke and the choke thermostat. Is it connected?

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Do you have proper wiring, good connections, good control box ground, etc. in the replacement ignition system?
Don't take anything for granted.

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O==\=/==O

"A mechanic is Somebody."
- Jim Preston

Many thanks for your thoughts and the information.

I am going through your suggestions and will let you know - if you are interested - if I come up with anything that correlates to your ideas....likely I will and more!

(by the way, it is definitely a 1981 - hydraulic lifters; it's a four speed not automatic, and you are absolutely right the choke isn't hooked up yet. I was told summer in Virginia would allow for me to wait a bit with that! Its on my list. )

Lots to consider....

Thank you again, and I will post an update after I dig back in.

Pleas elet us know how it goes. Summer in Virginia will not let you get away with not running a choke. Unless it is 170+ degrees outside, your motor will not be instantly warm enough to operate without a choke when you start it.

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.