The Car Thread

[MikeGyver]

It will idle on its own for about a minute then dies, still tons of clatter, got really loud when I put it in reverse.

[FIGJAM]

Sometimes there is a combination for resetting the computer.

Like turn the key on/off three times, pump the gas twice, wait 30 seconds, then start.

Check the forums for your vehicle.

[MikeGyver]

Good Idea figjam. Ill look that up today.

[MikeGyver]

Well, the intake is off again, Dads friend that runs a shop says to soak the lifters in oil over night and put them back in and it should be just fine. Thinks that even though we pumped them they aren't full of oil so we aren't getting full lift on the valves which wont let it idle or pump oil all the way up to the rockers. Good news is, after the third time, I can have that top end torn down in half an hour...

[Captain Goddammit]

Good much to you, hope it runs well.
For the 2003 Burning Man trip, I put THREE different Cadillac 500 motors in my Chevy dually in the month of July!

[FIGJAM]

Did they all work!!!

[Captain Goddammit]

Lol FIGJAM the answer there is kinda obvious!
I'd just rebuilt the first one and in fact was having the exact issue MikeGyver is - the lifters wouldn't pump up.
I considered it too late to tear it apart and troubleshoot it, so I slapped in another that a friend had. I went to Critical Massive with it and it blew up. Now almost totally out if time, I hit craigslist and bought a '76 Cadillac Deville, yanked out the 500, threw the rest of the car away, dropped it untouched and went.
The problem turned out to be an O-ring. Apparently on a Cadillac 472/500 you absolutely must use a NEW O-ring on the oil pickup tube every time you install it, or it won't develop proper oil pressure.
I'm not a Mopar guy, but do you think that could be the issue you're also having?

[MikeGyver]

Nope, new oring, new pump, new pickup tube

[^Rhino!]

Sometimes there is a combination for resetting the computer.

Like turn the key on/off three times, pump the gas twice, wait 30 seconds, then start.

Check the forums for your vehicle.

True dat.

We had the 'two pump on the accelerator' primer for the engine for both a '69 Mercury Monterey and a '72 Ford Pinto stationwagon when I was growing up, too. Started the engine right up on cold days. I didn't know about the modern-day equivalent to reset the computer, other than pull the battery wire off the negative terminal. Did that once on a '86 Pontiac 6000 and it ended up costimg me $600.

[Captain Goddammit]

That's a different thing, on a non-computer carbureted engine pumping the throttle causes the accelerator pump to squirt some gas into the intake.
I'm trying to think of what else... maybe an oil gallery plug isn't there?
Are these new lifters?

[FIGJAM]

Well Capt, I figured since it was you, that you installed 3 engines so you could haul MORE of "All the things"!!!

[Captain Goddammit]

There was a time when I was seriously considering removing the transfer case from my 4-wheel-drive pickup and running the front driveshaft back to a second rear-facing engine in the bed!
I figured that added more capacity than just doubling the power, because there would be two separate transmissions and differentials each sharing about half the load instead of one drivetrain taking all the stress.
Fuel consumption would be ridiculous and the camper wouldn't fit though.
But it would sound great!!

[chuckularone]

And Redundancy!

[MikeGyver]

New lifters, new cam, all plugs in position. good oil pressure, just not getting to the top end. Hopefully soaking the lifters over night solves the problem, Will find out after work today and let you all know.

1500ci dually sounds like fun.

[Canoe]

... good oil pressure, just not getting to the top end...

Some things to check here
http://ramchargercentral.com/vehicle-he ... 18-roller/

[^Rhino!]

There was a time when I was seriously considering removing the transfer case from my 4-wheel-drive pickup and running the front driveshaft back to a second rear-facing engine in the bed!
I figured that added more capacity than just doubling the power, because there would be two separate transmissions and differentials each sharing about half the load instead of one drivetrain taking all the stress.
Fuel consumption would be ridiculous and the camper wouldn't fit though.
But it would sound great!!

Dude, not a bad idea. In fact, something similar (but not the same) was done with airplanes during WWII. Dornier came up with a front propeller+rear propeller aircraft, the Do335 'Pfeil' (Arrow). It was the fastest propeller-driven aircraft of World War II, but it was late in the war and no more than 20 were produced. The push me-pull you set up of the propellers actually was a valuable lesson in the application of centerline thrust to aircraft, which was used extensively in jets later on in aviation history. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_335.

[Tin Halo]

... '72 Ford Pinto stationwagon when I was growing up...

AUUUUGH!!!! MAKE THE MEMORIES STOP!!

Can't remember if ours was brown or green (leaning towards green), but it had those nifty faux-wood panels on the side.

[MikeGyver]

Its back together. Didn't have time before dark to screw with it more than finishing assembling. Started it up and didn't sound much different, but I only ran it for 30 seconds or so to make sure it ran. Will fuck with it tomorrow. Pretty much decided that I'm not driving it. I have to start actual prep, going to drive my cousins van. But I will sleep much better when it runs.

[Captain Goddammit]

This close to take-off with unsolved big issues, I was next going to suggest finding something else to drive!
I just bought a near-mint dually with a Cummins, and a fresh reman transmission, and I'm STILL worried about making it in one piece!

And now I'm also worried about paying this goddamm thing off...

[MikeGyver]

You'll make it just fine, My grandpa in Texas has had the same cummins drivetrain in 3 trucks, deer and shit keep attacking him.

When I can eventually afford to, Ill buy one of those.

[Elliot]

If a Cummins 5.9 is turned up beyond school bus power... install a pyrometer, and use it.
I often have to back off the power to keep it below max combustion temperature. But then it quickly becomes time for a downshift, and it is much happier at high RPM.
It's the old "Don't lug it".

[^Rhino!]

... '72 Ford Pinto stationwagon when I was growing up...

AUUUUGH!!!! MAKE THE MEMORIES STOP!!

Can't remember if ours was brown or green (leaning towards green), but it had those nifty faux-wood panels on the side.

We didn't have the faux wood panels, and ours was tan. Dad kept telling me when it was new, "I;m going to drive this thing until I get the zip out of it and then you can use it."

We'd use it on weekends to haul off the yard waste generated from picking up sticks and rose bush trimmings.

By the time I DID get hold of it and my driver's license, I found that it was an idea way to stay warm and dry on Scout campouts with the back seat folded down. I saved my money on tentage, getting a GOOD one when we backpacked some of the Tennessee area. I continued in my cheapskate ways all the way to Burningman. First year was spent in the covered bed of my Toyota Tundra over at Rue morgue in '08. Sure enough, the precedent was set. I ended up getting a really good tent for the playa

Thanks, Dad.....for teaching me the value of thrift to get what I really want.

And I know what you mean, Tin Halo, about the memories......and my first dates in that car. I still don't know which one of the Johnson twins I went out with the first time, but I was a gentleman, and we went to see a funnier than hell movie....Alan Arkin and Peter Falk in the original "In-Laws"

Every time I hear the words serpentine belt discussing cars, I remember "Serpentine, serpentine....."

[media]

Thank you, Tin Halo, for reminding me.

[FIGJAM]

If you serpentine everywhere you go, you will never be shot, and endlessly entertaining to the masses!!!

[^Rhino!]

If you serpentine everywhere you go, you will never be shot, and endlessly entertaining to the masses!!!

Perhaps we need to do a combination Chinese fire drill and yell 'serpentine, serpentine' when we get to the meet and greet.

[Tin Halo]

We'd use it on weekends to haul off the yard waste generated from picking up sticks and rose bush trimmings.

On that point, I've long thought it would be kinda fun - and funny - to chop one of those wagons down into a mini-Ranchero.

I still don't know which one of the Johnson twins I went out with the first time

(snicker) But eventually, one of the Johnson's got yours.

[^Rhino!]

We'd use it on weekends to haul off the yard waste generated from picking up sticks and rose bush trimmings.

On that point, I've long thought it would be kinda fun - and funny - to chop one of those wagons down into a mini-Ranchero.

I still don't know which one of the Johnson twins I went out with the first time

(snicker) But eventually, one of the Johnson's got yours.

Actually, that never happened. These were 'good girls'. Their primary use was as friends to see a movie with, and that usually turned out really well. I worked with both of them at the local Mexican eatery, and I was their favorite cook, because I got the food up hot, the order was correct, and it was plated in an appetizing manner.

I won't tell you what happened with any woman in any case, because I don't kiss and tell....but if a non-sexual SITUATION was great, you'll hear about it with the lady's blessing. Even my last girlfriend loved my BBQ beef brisket, using one of the best sauces on the planet doctored to MY stringent specifications.

[southern crone]

Ok folks, a little help here. My daughter is looking at a 1989 Dodge Dakota Softie? convertible 4x4 truck. I've never heard of this before. Anyone have any knowledge or experience with these?

[Captain Goddammit]

I had an '87 Dakota, it was a good little truck and I always thought the factory convertible pickup was super cool.
I've had friends with Dakotas. The downside to them, in my opinion, is that unless you just want the truck to be small, there's not much advatgage over a full-size because they get about the same crappy MPG. The little V8 they came with is one of the most reliable engines around though. In fact I believe the Chrysler 318 holds the record as the lowest warranty-return engine ever.

Elliot currently owns one I think. Maybe he'll chime in.

[ygmir]

I had an '87 Dakota, it was a good little truck and I always thought the factory convertible pickup was super cool.
I've had friends with Dakotas. The downside to them, in my opinion, is that unless you just want the truck to be small, there's not much advatgage over a full-size because they get about the same crappy MPG. The little V8 they came with is one of the most reliable engines around though. In fact I believe the Chrysler 318 holds the record as the lowest warranty-return engine ever.

Elliot currently owns one I think. Maybe he'll chime in.

I had a 93 Dakota, v8. super good truck, and great power! got about 20 mpg on the open road.

[Elliot]

.
Mine is a 1998, which is a newer generation of the Dakota.

As the captain mentions, the rag-top version is for real. They were sold that way brand new at Dodge dealers.
As an aside, the truck was not actually built as a convertible by the factory, but was converted (pardon the pun) by American Sunroof Co., now named American Specialty Cars. ASC does such small-scale production/modification runs for practically all the World's auto manufacturers.

I would be concerned about getting parts for the convertible top. Not actually the availability, since anything can be hand-fabricated, but the cost. Hopefully this is not so, but it might be wise to look into it.

A mint specimen could have some collectible value, and might keep its value well in the long run. But a ragged one would not.