Weber 38/38 instal questions

[88powerram]

I’ve got an 88’ power ram 50 that I have just recently gotten the Weber 38 conversion kit for. I haven’t tore it all apart yet because i use the truck for my daily driver and I was wanting to ask if there are any other supplies I’ll need for this conversion. I’ve been looking through all the threads for about 2 hours now and just wanted to get a total supply list together. I understand you need a new electric fuel pump (42s mr.gasket) and a block off plate for the old fuel pump on the head. Just didn’t know if an EGR block off plate or possibly a regulator was needed. I’ve got headers and a cherry bomb muffler installed this week. Wanted to tackle the instal on a three day weekend if I could. Just didn’t want to be surprised by anything

[Salteen]

yes you need a EGR block off plate. some gaskets too. and you need to A: bore the factory intake holes to 38mm or B: size your adapter plate to the holes in the intake inlet.

if you ever replace the intake gasket port matching the intake to the head is a good idea. get your gasket and stick all the holes in, and take a die grinder and remove all the marked area and make a flush round surface. then test fit until its completely flush.

i also reccomend modifying your factory air filter box to use because i dont like the idea of a square filter that intakes hot air.

take the plate given and cut the bottom of your box out, weld the plate in place and at the angle it needs to be, and get the air filter hold down threads (the threaded rod the wing nut screws to) and screw them into the carbuarator. now is a goot time to wire brush and sand down your new (modified) air filter cover and base and repaint them and block off unnescecary holes.

note 1: the back left bolt on the carb is a booger to get to

note 2: the air filter box mod is only a reccomendation. if you dont want the hassle then intake hot air and lose precious power and economy, thats fine by me.

[Salteen]

i would also go ahead and redo al your vacuum lines. you may pick up 10 HP and get the same economy by doing that!

if you ever get the time, replace the jet valves with the jet valve eliminator kit. valve vover off, lifters off, unscrew the jet valves, replace with delete kit, reinstall valvetrain and torque to spec, and reinstall valve cover and torque to spec.

the jet valves are useless when you replace the carb. may as well delete them and pick up a little power and economy

also experiment with your jet sizes.

[88powerram]

Okay thank you salteen!! The gaskets for all this stuff are hard to come by around here.. usually takes a day or two to get them.. thanks for helping out! Any other things that might need addressed while I’m there? Might wait for the jet valve elimination kit.. was possibly planning on getting a new cam for it and that sounds like a great time to do both

[Salteen]

thats about it, youve done exhaust work, you could do a cam later on when you do the jet valves. or when/if you have timing issues, go ahead and do the delete and get a better spec cam.

thats about it though.

[geezer101]

The headers + exhaust will go a long way with improving engine performance. The best way to make the most of a Weber upgrade is headers, exhaust, EGR delete, intake manifold mods + port matching on the intake side, clean up the exhaust ports (minimise the amount of material removed from the port walls but feel free to smooth and polish the hell out of them) a wider duration street cam (high lift cam will kill performance in these engines) and redialling the distributor to compensate for the Webers' increased vacuum. I would wrap the headers too to aid exhaust gas scavenging (helps reduce under hood temperatures too) You can get away with not modifying the distributor but it will take trial and error to get the ignition tuning near perfect.

*open air filter elements are not a good idea. Hot air from the engine bay will rob your engine of torque and affect fuel economy so do your best to duct a fresh, cool air charge into the carb. If it's an enclosed air filter like the factory unit you can actually increase torque by making the intake tract longer...

[88powerram]

The headers + exhaust will go a long way with improving engine performance. The best way to make the most of a Weber upgrade is headers, exhaust, EGR delete, intake manifold mods + port matching on the intake side, clean up the exhaust ports (minimise the amount of material removed from the port walls but feel free to smooth and polish the hell out of them) a wider duration street cam (high lift cam will kill performance in these engines) and redialling the distributor to compensate for the Webers' increased vacuum. I would wrap the headers too to aid exhaust gas scavenging (helps reduce under hood temperatures too) You can get away with not modifying the distributor but it will take trial and error to get the ignition tuning near perfect.

*open air filter elements are not a good idea. Hot air from the engine bay will rob your engine of torque and affect fuel economy so do your best to duct a fresh, cool air charge into the carb. If it's an enclosed air filter like the factory unit you can actually increase torque by making the intake tract longer...

thanks Geezer!! Does anyone know of any off the shelf cams? I’ve read somewhere on here about getting one re ground from a shop (ex. Oregon cams) but really can’t find anything but a stock replacement.. even those are kinda hard to find..

[geezer101]

There are definitely threads on cams here (looked but couldn't find them straight away - sorry). Cams are a source of frustration on the site. Schneider had a good cam for these engines but IIRC some people have had mixed results with them more recently. You will need to get a stock cam re-profiled. I highly doubt you will find anyone with a stock blank cam for custom grinding. What engine do you have? A trick for making power is finding the same engine generation/designation and swapping the cam from the lower CC engine. E.g. you could take the cam from a G62B (1.8) and use it in a G63B (2.0) The cam in the smaller capacity engine has to be more aggressive to compensate for the decrease in CC's or it would be a slug. This will only work with the same design head - mechanical to mechanical, hydraulic to hydraulic as the parts aren't cross compatible.

[Salteen]

UNLESS you also change the rockers out. which sometimes requires a head change. usually a smaller engine has smaller valves and combustion chamber. so basically you sacrifice valve size for performance, but youve also got more lift and duration.

fortunately for me, the EGH is almost completely the same exception for the engine sizes and the OHC variants. fuck me and fuck custom grind cams.

[88powerram]

Geezer, I’ve got the 2.6L I think it’s the G43B??? I can’t remember the numbers on these from previous research.. I do however KNOW it’s a 2.6. Ended up finding the original window tag. I’ll keep checking for cam info on here when I get some time

[Salteen]

the 2.6 is the 4G54 or G54B

the 2.0 is the 4G63 or G63B

the 2.4 is the 4G64 or G64B

the 3.0 is the 6G72

[SubGothius]

You can disable the jet valves without an elimination kit by simply removing their lash adjuster screws in the rocker arms.

You don't strictly need to replace the EGR valve with a block-off plate; just disconnecting the vac hoses to it effectively disables the valve, leaving it closed by default. May be a good idea to remove and clean out the valve with brake cleaner, just to make sure deposits aren't propping it slightly open.

To cover the hole where the stock fuel pump mounted, a block-off plate for a big-block Chevy or Ford V8 can work but may need slight modification to fit, so an alloy plate may be preferable to steel for ease of modification. I wound up getting a Procomp PCE140-1004 (https://speedmaster79.com/Universal-Chevy-BBC-Ford-SB-BB-Chrysler-Fuel-Pump-Block-Off-Plate-Chrome), which almost fit with the long end pointing up, but still needed to grind off a mm or so from the sides just below the bolt holes for it to fit into the recess in the head where the stock pump went. You'll also need to use a gasket for the stock fuel pump, as the one supplied with the plate has unsuitable cutouts.

You'll need a stainless M8 grub screw (set screw) and M8x1.25 thread tap, to block the coolant passage in the stock carb mounting flange. Use Permatex #59214 hi-temp thread sealant to seal and retain the screw in place. In hindsight, I wish I'd tapped that port just deep enough for the screw to start getting tighter until it fits flush against the flange, rather than tapping threads all the way through.

The tap may also be useful to chase the threads in that flange, if yours are as gunked up as mine were. Which reminds me, be gentle removing the stock carb bolts in case they're seized. Mine already had one bolt snapped off by the PO, and two of the others I could tell the bolt was twisting rather than budging at all. If yours runs at all with the stock carb, get it fully warmed up before you try breaking the carb bolts loose, but only just so. Once they budge at all, don't remove them fully until it cools down again, so you don't flood your intake with coolant; then once it's cold, drain your coolant from the rad and block (remember to open the heater valve), then remove the carb bolts if you can. Free All (best penetrating rust-eating lube I've ever used) may help break them loose and help clean up any gunk in the threads.

There's snorkel/plenum kits for Weber DG*-series carbs (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=weber+(snorkel%2Csnorkle%2Cplenum)&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15), basically a "hat" that goes on top of the carb with a fitting for a hose/duct you can route to a clamp-on cone filter in a cooler-air location. Avoid any listed for the DFEV or other non-DG* Weber variants, which won't fit yours.

For wiring the electric fuel pump with a relay and safety switch to avoid hosing down a crash scene with fuel, see my posts in this thread (http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/7609-Replacing-a-Mikuni-Carburetor-with-a-Weber-Carburetor).

[geezer101]

the 2.6 is the 4G54 or G54B

the 2.0 is the 4G63 or G63B

the 2.4 is the 4G64 or G64B

the 3.0 is the 6G72

Early trucks ran 4G52's (Astron I 2.0L - it looks identical to the 4G54/4G54B/G54B). Some countries also got 4G32/4G32B's (Saturn 1.6L) and were in production the same time as the 4G52. So your engine will be a 4G54 variant. SubGothius has got this covered :thumbup: Only thing I would do is block the EGR gallery from the exhaust port and remove the EGR stuff altogether (keeping it all in place will be enough to make the casual observer think all of the anti-pollution stuff is still connected and operational) but that is because I am severely OCD and have a raging hatred for the anti-pollution crap. I completely ground off the EGR gallery on my intake and cut 50% of the valve mount off in preparation for a Weber swap on my G63B...

[Salteen]

i thought the 88 power ram used the 4G6 series, not the 4G5. hmm, odd.

the new weber carb has no provisions for egr, the best way to go is to completely remove the EGR system and get a block off plate, because if he goes with a header its more likely than not that the header WONT have provisions for an EGR system. then youve got a big hole in your intake manifold.

i know that the 1 gen trucks did use the 4G52, but i was sure that the conversion year (1987) was the year they went 4G63.

THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THE WEBER CARB IS TO GET A PLATE AND BLOCK IT OFF. NO NEED TO LEAVE SHIT THERE WHEN IT DOESNT WORK!!!!!

the intake mod was just a suggestion

i didnt even use a block off plate, i used a fuel pump gasket in place. simple and cheap.

get a 1st gen intake manifold, no tapping required as it does not have all that stuff on it.

[Salteen]

let me go ahead and clarify i did not use a fuel pump block off plate and i did use an egr block off plate and a single plane carb spacer.

[Salteen]

i knew i was right! 87-98 G63B ...

25016

[geezer101]

4G6X variants didn't start until about 88-89. And I think I goofed - the 4G32B/G32B's were Sirius engines not Saturn (Saturns were chain driven)

[Salteen]

his username is 88 power ram... and under his profile it says 1988 dodge power ram 50. so either he has a swapped 2.0 or he actually has a 2.6. there is an emissions decal under the hood that states what engine its got. or is there a 4x4 with a 2.0 offered from the factory? i must be missing something here.

but given the redesign was in 1987 im pretty sure thats the swapover year for the 2.0 engine. makes more sense to me anyways, but i could be wrong there.

[88powerram]

his username is 88 power ram... and under his profile it says 1988 dodge power ram 50. so either he has a swapped 2.0 or he actually has a 2.6. there is an emissions decal under the hood that states what engine its got. or is there a 4x4 with a 2.0 offered from the factory? i must be missing something here.

but given the redesign was in 1987 im pretty sure thats the swapover year for the 2.0 engine. makes more sense to me anyways, but i could be wrong there.

guys take it easy!! Lol I’ve got the original window tags and it specifically says I’ve got a 2.6. It 25032..

now, I’m not sure of the technical name of the motor but thank you for all the wisdom! I’m just trying to figure out cam options and maybe some tips and tricks on how to instal the Weber 38/38 within a 3 day time frame so I can get it back on the road

[88powerram]

Is there anything I’ll have to do to keep the fuel gauge functioning? With running a new fuel pump and all?

[geezer101]

Nope. Fuel gauge sender is an independent circuit (don't try to bridge power or anything else from the fuel sender in the tank, it will end badly...) The fuel cut wire that goes to the original Mikuni carb is the ideal place to run power from for a fuel pump whether it's directly off it or the much smarter idea of using it to trigger a power relay and connect it straight from the battery with an inline fuse to protect the circuit.

[Salteen]

the 2.6 is called the G54B or 4G54

i had my weber on my truck and running in 2 hours. i had the throttle cable re routed the next day because the company didnt send me the bracket to use the cable in stock location!

should be quick and easy. i just used a new fuel pump gasked and stuck the pump up there, i am going to use a block off plate i found that will work perfect. im buying 2 and im gonna weber swap my 1976 F100 with a 40/40 carb, or maybe ill buy the top end kit and convert it to a roller motor. im not sure yet.

i need a name for the F100, still thinking.

anyways, the ford 302 has a block off plate online for an electric fuel pump and with a little machining it fits on our engines.

i regret buying a holley pump. i took my holley off the G54B and used it t get the F100 to crank up, then it just coughed some brass up into the carb filter. so nice rebuilding a motocraft 2150 carb and cleaning it. (it needed a rebuild anyways)

[88powerram]

Does anyone know the tourque specs for the intake to head? Having to remove intake in order to get existing fuel pump off

[88powerram]

And do I have to remove valve over to remove fuel pump

[camoit]

You should not need to remove the intake. Just turn the engine over by hand. Once the cam lobe goes to the bottom it will fall out nice and easy.
As for torque just good and tight is fine. I don't think I ever torqued them in 30 years. But it's only like 18 FTLB
The first time I did mine it was on the high part of the lobe and it was a PIA. Then I pulled the valve cover and figured out what I did wrong.

[88powerram]

Thank you camoit! I already removed intake by the time I saw this. And the valve cover. New gaskets and a clean up never hurt anything I guess. But you weren’t lying about it being rough to get that thing out while it was on the lobe lol

[88powerram]

Got the new carb and fuel pump installed and tuned. It could go down a jet size I think but it’s running leaner than with the old carb. Thank you to everyone who helped with input on the instal. It’s a whole new truck!! You wouldn’t believe the get up and go it has now compared to the stock carb. And with only 81k original miles I can’t wait to drive this thing everyday! Will post pictures in the morning