1988"s stock/modified build

well i included pictures of my truck on intro . my plans for this MM is basicly stock. (for now) something blows up may be different story.here are original pictures.Attachment 14354Attachment 14355Attachment 14356Attachment 14357Attachment 14358Attachment 14359Attachment 14360 now for some updated pictues. i have just done minor repairs and some cleaning so far.Attachment 14361Attachment 14362Attachment 14363Attachment 14364Attachment 14365Attachment 14366Attachment 14367Attachment 14368 . so rear shocks.. rear shackles bushings.. rear brakes.. front brakes hoses and pads clean and unfreeze acouple front brake sliders ..bleed brakes and change rear differental fluid have been done so far.. still need to do timing belts and find a fan shroud..should have done timing belts yesterday but had worked two 14 hour shifts monday and tuesday and regular yesterday so did not feel like doing..But i did do a little simple green cleaning under hood..Attachment 14369Attachment 14370Attachment 14371Attachment 14372Attachment 14373Attachment 14374Attachment 14375Attachment 14376Attachment 14354Attachment 14377 so i am going with the stock rims painted black chrome lugs.. will be putting 205 70/r14 tires on front 215 or 225 70r114 rear.. l(looking for 14 inch trim rings for wheels) . would like to find a rear sway bar set up?>(any one have a picture of what stock looks like) ? how are the after market sway bar kits? still need to replace all 4 ball joints (still tight) leaking grease and replace front sway bar end bushings. well that is all for now.:thumbup::))

have one more picture to shareAttachment 14378 my dog Roxie watching me do rear shocks and shackles:)

also want to get a K&N stock style air filter..question..i want to do exhaust eliminate cat converter (i can do this in mass over 25 years) and run 2 or 2 1/4 pipe to a single inlet dual outlet muffler of some sort. i think bigger exhaust and better muffler will work for now as want to keep semi stock. where should i get exhaust done from joint where converter meets front pipe or can custom exhaust makers make me front pipe from manifold back. had thought of weber and headers but will stick with stock/modified for now

looking for stock air cleaner assmebly to modify and paint posted with truck info in wanted section TY

you want to be careful modifying the exhaust with the stock carb without the cat - it will definitely uncork the motor to the point of leaning it out badly. I would do a cat back with a single 2.25" inlet / dual 2"outlet with a cat in the system until you put the weber and header on. I ran Geronimo without a cat with the weber and a header for years, but had to put the cat back when I put a new exhaust system on, and he runs better - its a free flow 2.25" cat for a 5.0 mustang, so the restriction is minimal. Geronimo is a 2.6 with a 5spd.

thanks for the tip pennyman1...i will do that to the exhaust when i get to that point.. just ordered a universal fit fan shroud off of e-bay for it

well after almost a year of owning my MM . it is on the road . well somewhat i still am only on a permit . so i got permit friday ...girlfriend and i took truck for 30 mile cruise saturday drove well . i do have an oil leak not sure if it is rear main seal or torque converter seal will have to clean and see what is going on . not gushing but is marking it's spot. all in all ran well drove well . now have to get my license appointment been three years without and another five on a hardship. but hardship will be better than nothing.

check that half moon rubber grommet between the valve cover and head at the back there by the firewall. Many times people don't apply gasket maker in the corners and it will oooz out down the back of engine and the fan will make it look like it is coming from everywhere else but there.

One more piece of advise from an old time driver, be careful out there. Drive it safely until you get a good feel for it. I can't tell you how many people I know finally get their vehicle running and end up totaling it. I totaled my first car 6 months after I bought it. Though I got a better car after, but I almost was not around to get another car.

Cute Dog!

It's good to see a new member that has heeded the warnings about repairs and maintenance on these trucks. Good luck with your license! :thumbup:

hi all another question . which way do you think i should go on tranny fluid change. the truck has 91K on it . it had been sitting for awhile the last inspection sticker on it before new one was 2012. the fluid needs changing. i have had mixed results over the years when i was in automotive repair with changing just filter and fluid most have been fine . other well had issues with tranny after . should i go filter and gasket change only or should i go to tranny shop and have all the fluid changed . just looking for your thoughts . thanks in advance for your responses.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 1988

hi all another question . which way do you think i should go on tranny fluid change. the truck has 91K on it . it had been sitting for awhile the last inspection sticker on it before new one was 2012. the fluid needs changing. i have had mixed results over the years when i was in automotive repair with changing just filter and fluid most have been fine . other well had issues with tranny after . should i go filter and gasket change only or should i go to tranny shop and have all the fluid changed . just looking for your thoughts . thanks in advance for your responses.

---

just my 2 cents when i got my 88 sport @ the first of the year the tranny fluid had never been changed so after doing some research and going around in circles lol i finally decided to just change the fluid not the filter. sense it is so ez to change the fluid by just unscrewing the plug on the bottom of the pan it was a no brainier. once i had all the fluid out i checked the fluid for trash or metal flakes lucky i found none second i smelled the old tranny fluid for any hint of burnt oil and once again got lucky. so then i filled it back up to the mark took it for a run down the road *about a mile or so* came back let it cool down drained it again checked the fluid for anything trash /flakes/ dirt /etc etc not finding anything but tranny fluid i went ahead and put new fluid *ya i know maybe over kill but hay it's cheap enough * and now have been running it for over 3 mo,s some of it has been up steep hills. the kickdown kicked right in no problems i checked the fluid last week and not a drop lost so that tells me that the filter and seal was ok. i think it will come down to what you feel comfortable with and your funds. hope this helped in some way.
my truck is a 1988 dodge ram 50 sport with the 2,6l and a weber carb. you can see my pics in my profile if need be.

When a filter on an automatic gets plugged it will just start shifting strange and not wanting to move. Always change the trans oil and filter once per year. Don't forget the gear oils. Then there is the brake fluid. It's made to absorb water. It need to be changed some time. That's why it turns black.

hi all here with another question on my mm. Well i got my part time license back. YEAH! So now driving truck more often ... well i filled the gas tank and now appears to be a leak. It is not leaking from the filler neck area so that means it is rusted out somewhere near the top . As smell of fuel goes away after i use like 1/8 of tank . Thru my research so far i can not find a fuel tank for second generation trucks ??? But i can find one for first generation . So what is the difference on the tanks . I did recently see a modification to fit a tank where the spare tire goes on here somewhere . Thanks for your time .

there are no aftermarket replacement tanks for 2nd gen trucks, and the 1st gens are totally different. You could try dropping the tank to see if it is something that can be fixed. Por15 and others make a kit to seal gas tanks with an epoxy finish from the inside that will hold up to gas and the additives in it.

thanks pennyman . guess i drop tank and see what we can do with this one :shrug:

ok i am at the next thing to do to my MM . gas tank is bad . i have gotten a fuel cell to put in bed of truck. i am going to install cell before i disconnect the old tank. i am having trouble figuring out the size of fuel lines i do not want to take apart to figure out what size as they will break. the feed line i guess is 5/16 ? and return line 5/16 also ? the lines are decent from rear to front so i only need to go to original metal lines leading to front also does anyone see a problem with the fuel pump pumping fuel as this will be well above the old tank level ? also should i be ok just putting a inline breather on the carb vent line. thanks for your time reading this.

Attachment 17614Attachment 17615Attachment 17616Attachment 17617

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 1988

ok i am at the next thing to do to my MM . gas tank is bad . i have gotten a fuel cell to put in bed of truck. i am going to install cell before i disconnect the old tank. i am having trouble figuring out the size of fuel lines i do not want to take apart to figure out what size as they will break. the feed line i guess is 5/16 ? and return line 5/16 also ? the lines are decent from rear to front so i only need to go to original metal lines leading to front also does anyone see a problem with the fuel pump pumping fuel as this will be well above the old tank level ? also should i be ok just putting a inline breather on the carb vent line. thanks for your time reading this.

---

Well finished aftermarket fuel cell installation. Think it came out ok . old tank was not as bad as I thought looks as just a seam leak but oh well

I am having trouble getting gm fuel level sender to work though , I read somewhere on here it works backwards . but it does not seem to work at all. Have to check again but appears to be only getting g 4 volts. Fuel gouge worked fine before???????? Any ideas

Hi guys. Having to rebuild my aw732 transmission . the place doing it ammco is
s having trouble at moment finding the parts . any ideas to where to find . not being brought to them until next Monday . they are looking at another distributor just thought I would ask here . thanks in advance .
M

look on starquest forums for parts - same trannys were used in them. Also look up Force10 transmissions - they used to carry parts for these trannys. The similar years of Nissan 300zx used the same trannys also - another source for parts.

Thanks pennyman . will do

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 1988

I am having trouble getting gm fuel level sender to work though , I read somewhere on here it works backwards . but it does not seem to work at all. Have to check again but appears to be only getting g 4 volts. Fuel gouge worked fine before???????? Any ideas

---

If it works backwards, would that mean you'd have to change the polarity of the fuel gauge? Might be a bit tricky with the printed circuit board on the instrument panel...but do-able.

the gauge sending unit is a resistor - polarity doesn't matter. you will need to get a correct gas gauge to make it work, unless you use an op amp circuit in the inverting mode. I also seem to remember seeing a Ford sending unit for a fuel cell that went opposite the GM one. This link has a variety of sending units to choose from: https://www.summitracing.com/search/...%20unit&page=2

Well have not visited here in awhile. Got tranny rebuilt in November . What an adventure . Problems finding rebuild kit . They found one yeah . Then no torque converter available . So they had to take out send to distributor where they found rebuild kit and they had to send to some place in Wyoming montana some place out that way to have it rebuilt .The distribution place would not send rebuild kit until they got torque converter back . Well two and half weeks later and $2700 later got "tonka" back. Well glad to say all is well shifting good no leaks . Hope everyone is well and had a good holiday season .

Hi guys can the manual steering box be adjusted ? Mine seems to have a little play in it

Yes - the slotted screw in the top cover is locked in place with a locknut. A little adjustment goes a long was - be sure the idler arm, pitman arm, and tie rods are all good, and the lca bushings and strut rod bushings are not shot before messing with the box adjustment.