New Member ~ Hello from Hawaii

[xboxrox]

My 1st post, hope I'm doing this right? Just shipped my 1986 Dodge Power Ram 50 to Hawaii (4wheel drive 2.6L 5 speed manual with power steering) all original with a stock carb, no radio, no A/C

Hello to everyone... My truck misses & has oily coolant... Keeping this truck forever; bought it for my brother who just passed...

I'm wanting to compare cylinder head brands from auto parts stores located here on Oahu, Hawaii:
1) O'Reilly has PowerTorque
2) Autozone has Surefire & American Cylinder Head
3) NAPA has ATK

I'm thinking get whichever head has hydraulic lifters & NO MCA Jet valves, right..?

Wishing Pick N Pull was located here,
Aloha~George

[xboxrox]

1st try photo

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. Sorry to hear of your brothers' passing. Sounds like you and this truck are already building a backstory. Yep, get a head without the jet valves. Are you planning on swapping the carb and doing any other mods to it? It looks really clean in your pic (and on Cali plates?) so hopefully Hawaii doesn't have smog regulations to have to adhere to.

[jamesw]

hi and welcome xboxrox hope your no where near the volcano stay safe.

[xboxrox]

Thank you geezer for the kind words; Hawaii only has annual safety checks, no smog checks... Truck now has Hawaii plates...

We plan to keep the truck all original if possible... We are the 2nd owners; USN @ NAWS China Lake was original owner...

OK, head without MCA Jet valves BUT what about the lifters (?) I hope not to be opening the valve cover to make manual valve lash adjustments... I don't know what type lifters are stock with a manual tranny? The plan is to only replace the head, head gasket, head bolts, exhaust gasket, thermostat and if needed intake gasket AND flush the cooling system... I don't know if any other gaskets or seals will be needed when replacing the head..?

O'Reilly's is nearby their cheapest head is casting # G54B $401.00 comes with cam & HAS MCA Jet valves (no info about lifter type)... In keeping the truck all original, we might buy this head; especially if it allows reusing all other existing engine parts...

Truck has 125,450 miles ~

Happy New Member ~ George

[xboxrox]

No hot lava near us here on Oahu, just the big island which is called Hawaii Island or BIG Island by the locals... Thanks for the concern jamesw ~

[xboxrox]

Thanks geezer for the kind thoughts, no smog checks in Hawaii; keeping truck original whenever possible, 125,450 miles

[pennyman1]

keep in mind that there are parts of that truck that will be California specific - regular parts will not work in some cases. Welcome to the forum!

[xboxrox]

pennyman1, you're right, keeping this truck original probably means keeping it with California parts... I hope to learn a lot from your posts; my wife and I really like this older style truck and it's smaller size... It's the 1st truck and the 1st Dodge I ever owned; it's very cool... Would have never bought it except my brother needed a 4x4 truck & I got super lucky winning the bid @ www.govtliquidaion.com

It's the perfect little metal wind-up toy ~ Happy George

[pennyman1]

That O' Reilly head is probably a remanufactured head, not a new one. The year of the truck determines whether it has manual or hydraulic lifters. Manual adjusters were used up to and including 1984 motors, 1985 and up are hydraulic lash adjusters. You can get aftermarket heads either way - just have to specify when ordering. It would help if you tell them it is a California truck to ensure the easiest install.

[xboxrox]

Pennman1 Thank You (1986=Hydraulic lifters)

Aloha ~ George

[geezer101]

That O' Reilly head is probably a remanufactured head, not a new one. The year of the truck determines whether it has manual or hydraulic lifters. Manual adjusters were used up to and including 1984 motors, 1985 and up are hydraulic lash adjusters. You can get aftermarket heads either way - just have to specify when ordering. It would help if you tell them it is a California truck to ensure the easiest install.

If you plan on modifying the engine you can ditch the factory exhaust manifold and get a set of headers, then use a non-Cali intake manifold with a Weber kit and seal up the EGR ports on the head. Once you do these mods you can delete all of the carb control related gear and the emissions junk which will all improve performance and free up the engine bay.

[pennyman1]

I would have suggested it, but since he is in Hawaii, finding the intake would be tough. I did find that there is a company that makes new jet valve heads, so I stand corrected - not sure why anyone would buy them though.

[xboxrox]

geezerLOL :^)
I just drive safely as possible 'n most of windward Oahu is only 25mph to 45mph ~ not planning any mods ~ H3 Fwy to the VA Hosp is 60mph in spots... I must spend money wisely now-a-days living on unka Sam's retirement; I do enjoy this little truck; it reminds me of the past...

FWIW, in 1971, I was duty driver on USS Somers DDG-34 in Subic Bay, Philippines; we were given two identical brand new Mitsubishi work pickup trucks... White with camel color interior black vinyl floor 4 speed manual diesel engines... I was very impressed; only needed 3rd gear in stop n' go traffic..! Those 70s trucks were even smaller than these Ram50s...

Newer is not always better ~ except for my face n' stomach

[geezer101]

Not so much newer, but 'better'. The Mikuni carb from factory without the Cali strangulation is complicated and expensive to fix by itself. It isn't great on fuel economy either. The Weber is easy to pull apart and rebuild, easier to set up and straight forward to replace (there are a ton of different Mikuni 32/35 DIDTA variants so if it needs to be replaced, the local JY, parts shop or online retailer might not have what you want). Deleting all the pollution junk will make the engine run a lot smoother and if you need to really load your truck up or get it onto some steep roads, you'll have the torque available to do it without beating the crap out of it. It's not all about traffic light drag racing

[xboxrox]

I hear you & am listening geezer; X'ing my fingers things keep working ok on my truck... After reading the New Member sticky, I hope to check the ignition coil ohms & clean/check the EGR (truck misses some under load & a minute after starting begins to run rough for a little while)... AutoZone, O'Reilly's maybe others have rebuilt carburetors (perhaps a number on the carb body can be matched?)... Cooling system flush is planned too...

The truck is performing well enough to meet our needs for now... If I still had a garage then I would fix everything; apartment living now...

There was a ton of USN maintenance records but they have not been located, guess my brother hid them too well back in California...

Anyone happen to know the weight of a complete passenger door?

[geezer101]

Wow, an ex military base run around. No wonder it is in great shape. Sounds like you have got your own history too with the USN. If you're not up to speed on Mitsubishi trucks, the jet valve head is a weak link in the 2.6 engines. The jet valves have a tendency to burn out and if the head is going to crack it will always be in same location as the jet valves due to the lack of cast metal. Good when they're working (like most things).

[xboxrox]

geezer and pennyman, the two of you have given me a really informative and warm welcome; thank you for that guys...

Carburetor adjust/fix seems needed more than any head work now..!

My parking spot has a big black soot mark about the size of a basketball on the white cinderblock wall right behind the tailpipe side... Yikes..!

This truck has run extra rich when cold ever since we got it @ 112,000 miles... I am surprised it never got fixed by the shop my brother used..?

I ordered a Haynes manual hope it explains how to choke this chicken...

Safe from Lava & not harmed by volcano VOG (yet)
Aloha ~ George

[geezer101]

That is kind of normal and is even more prevalent if your engine is healthy and/or there's a lot of moisture in the air. If your plugs aren't showing signs of fouling from a rich mixture then everything is normal.

We're all watching the lava flows on the news or youtube - it is scary and incredible to witness. It doesn't look like the flow is going to stop anytime soon and it's created some huge challenges for the region. Hope you and those around you stay safe.

[yamahlr]

Welcome! Spent a month on your island just about 2 years ago. Great (but expensive) spot. Loved that you can use any beach publicly. Traffic was nearly as bad as Suburban New York City,wasn't expecting that.Condolences on the passing of your beloved brother, but he left you with a great truck as a memory.

[xboxrox]

Thank you geezer man for the well wishes; I just uploaded a photo to this reply (I think I did it..?) A viewer sent the local news an aerial view of the lava flow to compare with a local artist's painting of the Hawaiian Fire God Pele ~ I see the similarity for sure...

VOG a.k.a. volcano smoke, interferes with my breathing; if we lose our Trade Winds then Oahu gets VOG from the big island, a week or two sometimes! VOG also burns the eyes, sore throat, itchy skin...

Mahalo (thanks) for teaching me more knowledge of a mechanic ~

[xboxrox]

look lower for my reply

[xboxrox]

yamahlr,

Luckily we live in Kailua on the windward side of Oahu; the locals call Honolulu "town" H1 Fwy is a mess during the am & pm commute... I can just afford my rent & food because age 62 low income apartment and retired military shopping on base MCBH... Our apartment is very near the home former President Obama stayed in during his vacations here...

I bought this truck for my brother Bill in 2011 with the agreement I get it back when he passes... He needed a small 4x4 to get into his garden on his northern California property... I had it completely repainted original white at Beale AFB and he really missed having it during it's makeover... Photo taken the day we presented him his newly painted truck ~ brother Bill (L) painter Curtis (R)

[yamahlr]

Thank you for sharing! Was fortunate to have security access to bunker on Diamond Head etc... Spent day@ filming of Hawaii 5-0 and did all of the tourist stuff,but local things too. Loved the Waimia Coffee House near Ala Moana Blvd. old time cool. $5 Mai Tai w/ extra shot dark rum. I may have a factory Chrysler manual covering your year in my garage somewhere, if I do I'll send it along to you no charge.

[xboxrox]

yamahlr, you're more familiar with Hawaii than me; cool that you enjoyed your time here... Wow, regards to your Chrysler manual, God is watching over me and/or, I must have done something right..? Well, I will pray you find the time to search and the memory recall to locate the Chrysler treasure...

Make it a great day ~ George