83 Ram 50 Named Chuck

[hondabuilder]

he put his GOOD gas tank and pump from the old truck into this one.

Luke, seriously, in the best interest of getting the thing running, have your friend come back over and clean the carb.

he seems like a nice helpful guy, but no one likes to work for free, so be ready to give him something, 40-100 bucks at least for the hour or two hell spend on it. its still WAY cheaper than actually taking it to a shop and he will show you the proper way to clean it, how it works, and if something ever happens in the future you know how to take care of it. its very rare for people to know someone who is that knowledgeable and willing to help, so take advantage of it, but not of him.

you can try to clean the carb yourself but they are tricky and easy to really screw something up.

my guess is that the float is stuck open from old gas and flooding the engine, the fire was from the carb throat where air goes in, thats the only place where it could have combusted, not inside the carb.

[LukeGirard]

Would I be able to swap the G54B with the G63B easily? Would the transmission bolt up the same on both engines? Both trucks are auto. I haven't been able to get the G54B to run yet and it's been sitting since 2001so I don't know what it needs to get it running again. The G63B ran great and worked fine even after the wiring got burnt. I really just need a running truck asap and I don't have any money sadly.

[noahwins]

EDIT: Wrong again.

[LukeGirard]

If they're both auto, they're both wideblock, so the transmission will bolt up. But the accessories and manifolds will be different going from G54B to G63B

That's fine I have both trucks so I'll be able to swap over everything that won't fit. I hope that I can get it done this week that would be great because then I would have a truck to drive again.

[pennyman1]

on an 83 both are narrow blocks but can still swap one motor for another.

[noahwins]

A narrow automatic and narrow 2.6??

[BradMph]

DO you really want to go to a less power motor?


early 80's k cars with the 2.6 had the narrow bell housing also

[LukeGirard]

For now I don't mind. I just want a running truck. If I pull the 2.6 out then I'll probably tear it down and rebuild it when I have time and money and then through it back in. It sounds like a good plan to me.

[noahwins]

You know what Luke? I just remembered there's a guy with a complete running wideblock G54B that he's trying to trade away because he doesn't need it. He's way up outside of Sacto, tho. You want his contact information?

[LukeGirard]

You know what Luke? I just remembered there's a guy with a complete running wideblock G54B that he's trying to trade away because he doesn't need it. He's way up outside of Sacto, tho. You want his contact information?

I PM'd you. And I'm not sure where that is. I've never really been further north than Ventura.

[pennyman1]

that wide block g54b won't work - he needs a narrow block g54b.

[LukeGirard]

that wide block g54b won't work - he needs a narrow block g54b.

Darn. If anything hopefully I can swap the engines this weekend. What fluid do I need for the auto transmission? In my BMWs they used ATF. Also if I swap engines what seals so I replace? Rear main seal? Any hoses or things easily replaced with the engine out?

[pennyman1]

dextronIII ATF - nothing special. There are several versions of Dextron III with different friction modifiers in it, you just want the straight Dex III. The original fluid was Dextron II, but that has not been around for 15 - 20 years.

[LukeGirard]

Okay. I can get that at Napa yeah?

[pennyman1]

yes indeed.

[LukeGirard]

So I don't need to replace any seals?

[pennyman1]

never hurts to replace the input shaft seal on the tranny if you pull the torque converter out - may need to change the valve cover and rear main seal on the motor as well.

[LukeGirard]

Okay the engine that I'm swapping in doesn't leak at all. Hopefully I can reuse the main seal.

[LukeGirard]

So I'm not swapping the engines after all. My friend wants to get the 4x4 running as is. If I got it running and driving would it make a good daily driver or would I be better off selling it and buying something else. If I did sell it how much would it be worth? Same with Chuck the 2wd truck. Would he be worth anything right now? I haven't been able to find a wiring harness for him yet and have taken parts from him to use on this truck.

[BradMph]

When you buy parts, Think cost effective. Order from RockAuto if you can wait a few days. Napa is expensive unless you can produce a lower priced part on a competitor's website or store. All the Autoparts stores have price beatings, but to have it delivered to your home is even better.

Save money, don't buy Chinese and search online first, if you can wait a little.

[LukeGirard]

When you buy parts, Think cost effective. Order from RockAuto if you can wait a few days. Napa is expensive unless you can produce a lower priced part on a competitor's website or store. All the Autoparts stores have price beatings, but to have it delivered to your home is even better.

Save money, don't buy Chinese and search online first, if you can wait a little.

I really just need something to drive asap. All of my family's vehicles are broken and we're all sharing my mom mini van. So I really need one of the trucks running asap so I have something to drive.

[LukeGirard]

So I found a wiring harness for chuck at a junkyard! But it's from an 85 so it has a completely different ecu that won't plug in so I wasted my money =( my other truck needs a new starter and then it should be good to go. Hopefully I can replace that tomorrow. In the repair manual it said jack up the car and remove it from under the car but the driveshaft is kind of in the way and I can't really reach it. Any tips on removing the starter?

[pennyman1]

Does the 83 have an ecu? If so, rewire the 83 ecu plug into the 85 harness, or swap the carb from the 85 onto your motor. Or change the carb to a weber, then you don't need the ecu at all. If the truck still runs after the fire, how bad is the harness? Use the 85 harness to replace the damaged wiring.

[LukeGirard]

Does the 83 have an ecu? If so, rewire the 83 ecu plug into the 85 harness, or swap the carb from the 85 onto your motor. Or change the carb to a weber, then you don't need the ecu at all. If the truck still runs after the fire, how bad is the harness? Use the 85 harness to replace the damaged wiring.

Engine still ran after the fire. And I tried repairing the burnt and melted wiring but it didn't work. I got the wiring harness at a pick a part so I don't have the rest of the truck sadly. And the ecu plugs into a completely separate harness! So I'm replacing the starter on the 4x4 tomorrow and see if it starts and stays running. I'm ready to part out chuck. Parts he needs to run again - Starter, Distributor, Coil Pack, wiring harness. He also needs a dash. But other than that the engine ran just fine before the fire.

[pennyman1]

found this on ebay - listing says 1980, but when you look at the listing, it is an 83 truck: http://www.ebay.com/itm/79-80-DODGE-...3D251820321304