1989 Dodge Ram 50 air cleaner system?

[CarbonJawed]

Hey does any one know where I can find the entire air cleaning system for a 1989 Dodge Ram 50? I bought this truck a few weeks ago and there are many issues with it that I am working on. Just swapped the radiator, fuel tank, gas lines, bondo'ed a new driver floor, seamfoamed the vacuum, carb and fuel systems but she's still running sluggish. I think it may be due to the fact that its got no air cleaner/snorkel system and is getting too much air. The last guy who owned it lost the intake and lagged a filter to the carb. Any clues as to where to find one? I picked up an 82 snorkel system but it doesnt mount to the engine right. If I cant find the vehicle specific part Im just going to finagle the 82 snorkel to it.

[Giovanni89]

I'm pretty sure I still have the factory one that came off my 2.6. Was in a box when I bought the truck. PM me if interested.
And welcome to the forum.

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. The engine will never get too much air unless it's not being matched with fuel. Buying someones elses' grief is always frustrating as you'll have no idea what the PO did/has done to it. Break out a timing light and check base idle and advance, check the alignment mark on the cam sprocket vs the timing mark on the crank pulley. Check the actual carb over (the Mikuni can have a number of things go wrong with them and they are always at the mercy of someone messing with setting screws without having a clue what they do) Common faults are dead accelerator enrichment pump (bad diaphragm, blocked jet), bad wax pellet choke assembly, dead secondary vac unit (no power from mid throttle upwards). There's an intro page to new members on what to do when you get your first truck -

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/3278-To-the-New-owner-here-you-can-find-what-people-recommend-you-do-first-and-do-it-ASAP

[BradMph]

Please List your wanted request for stuff in our Wanted Section of the forum. It helps us keep these request in a general area that many more can view and locate the items you need. :)

[CarbonJawed]

Thanks all! Just trying to understand what might be wrong with the truck. Im applying science from working on bikes to this (granted there are a few things I dont understand yet). All I know is that if something bogs out under acceleration, its either too rich/lean, clogged lines, weak sparks or the timing is off. Id really like to get this truck running nice. Trucks arent made small anymore.

[geezer101]

99% of what you know with bike engine will apply to any other conventional piston engine (ignoring the 2 stroke stuff). Trucks are still made as light utility vehicles but you fellas in the US get the short straw (mind you they aren't the small trucks of 90-00 vintage). Intakes on bikes are a lot more sensitive to set up and tune. No intake/air cleaner on the carb yields instant throttle response but kills torque and pulls hot air from the engine bay (not good for anything). There are some things that are easier to do on these trucks like being able to visually check fuel delivery by being able see what's going on down the throats of the carb while it's running. Tune up is a relatively straight forward deal but replacing timing chains is a process in itself. The electronic carb control stuff and vacuum control unit + EGR/anti pollution gear does not do these engines any favours.