Free 88 Ram50, lots of issues.

[Divisible_By_0]

Hello, I have just acquired a 1988 Ram50 for $free.99 my list of issues in order of greatest concern are: the starter, the cooling system, the fuel system, the electrical system, basic neglected maintenance for who knows how long. It is a 2.6L engine originally EFI but someone has cut all the emissions out and the wiring for the ECU and EFI and converted the truck to run on carb, and the wiring makes me cry.

I got this truck for free mostly due to the starter. PO put a new starter in and it lasted 3 weeks then started grinding and not engaging. First thing I did was pull the starter on the side of the road with the single set of box wrenches that were left in the cab, come to find all the bolts for mounting and power were finger tight, I tightened as best I could with the tools I had and drove home. The starter actually engaged the flywheel at this point but made a horrendous sound but started the truck. At home I removed the starter and inspected the teeth, they seemed okay so u put it back together and tightened down the starter to the specs I found here, and also tightened the battery terminals since they could be removed by hand with no tools and the starter now engages almost every time but sounds to skip a few teeth then free spin. I have not inspected the flywheel yet for missing teeth but the truck came with new clutch kit and full trans rebuild kit so I will find missing teeth soon enough but I'm not sure if this is even the right starter, it fits in the starter opening but is super loose compared to any starter I have ever touched and the bolts seem to wobble in the holes, either wrong starter or the bell is worn out of spec.

My issue with the cooling system. I got it and driving home the temp gauge never went above the first tick just after the cold tick, but when idling for long periods it would heat up to the middle of the gauge at what would be "normal" operating temp, turning the heat on at all or driving again would put It back to the first tick. Upon stopping and shutting the truck off it would puke coolant everywhere. I installed a dash mount aux temp gauge I had laying around and it reads that the truck is always at 192 F which the oem dash gauge shows as the first tick, when it idles the aux gauge shows just over 212F which corresponds to the center of oem dash gauge. So I know the truck is not over heating but pukes coolant out and when it's cool and I open the rad cap the rad is quite empty like it's not pulling coolant back from the overflow tank. The cap is an aftermarket safety cap with the red pressure release lever before opening the cap from the PO, idk if this has anything to do with the issue. I read on here some tanks have a diaphragm mine doesn't not appear to have been a diaphragm cap and I blew into the overflow hose and it pressurized the radiator but didn't let the pressure out until I opened the cap. The radiator is full of stop leak so I'm thinking about a new radiator but I can't find any leaking anywhere on the cooling system tho I do not trust the cap.

The fuel system is horrendous it is a parts store $15 edlbrock electric inline fuel pump self tapped to the frame just at the rear of the cab and is fed by a lawn mower inline filter I have not followed it back to the tank so idk whats past the filter but pump forwards is awful and a fire hazard waiting all the pump wiring is alligator clips and house wiring twist nuts. Pump forward is the factory hard line fuel line to the engine bay then a part store fuel regulator and rubber hose to the webber 26/28 carb. Other than being jank as hell the fuel system works as it should I just want to replace all of it so that it wont catch fire and has fewer than 15 points of leaking. One issue it does have is if the truck runs for more than 40minutes the fuel pump either shuts off or overheats or vapor locks and stops supplying fuel until you pull the line between pump and filter and let the pump forward drain then reattach and start truck.

As I said in the fuel pump section the wiring is bad, the fuel pump wiring is switched off the resistor block that feeds the ignition coil circuit and is stealing all the coil power so I bet it will run better once I add an accessory circuit to the truck because it was once EFI all the switched power for injectors and ECU are gone its just the bare minimum to run lights, coil, and pump. And the pump is loose wires twist nut together then dangling down the steering shaft and alligator clipped to the ign coil. The rest of the wiring is pretty junk too and theres no reverse lights.


Any help and recommendations for what I should look at with the starter and cooling are much appreciated I would like to get this truck into daily driver status but it needs every seal replaced first the engine bay looks like the Exxon Valdez.

[FMS88]

Greetings and welcome to the forum. Congrats on the free truck, but looks like you've got some work cut out for you. First off, Mitsubishi/Chrysler didn't go to EFI in these trucks until 1990. As part of the Weber conversion the installer removed hoses, wiring and the ECU needed for the original Mikuni carb because they have no purpose with a Weber. The Weber only needs power to its electric choke, assuming it has one. I believe the 12v side of the ballast block is a valid source. There are many Weber conversion threads here that can confirm the best power source. (I still have the Mikuni carb.)

Not sure about the starter but inspecting the flywheel teeth and bolt holes for damaged threads seems like a good place to start.

Regarding the cooling system, if you don't trust the radiator cap, replace it. They're inexpensive. If it's wrong or failed, the coolant overflow and recovery system won't operate properly. Once warm, the gauge on my truck stays at 12 o'clock which is 192F. It varies slightly but never drops to the first tick. Check your thermostat. I suspect the PO removed it.

As to the fuel pump wiring, looks like you have a good sense of all that is needed and how to go about it. While you're at it, check the fuel tank and cap for proper venting. The loss of fuel flow on a 40 min drive might be due to a vacuum build up in the tank. If it happens again, remove the tank cap then see if it starts.

Good luck and have fun with the truck.

[Divisible_By_0]

I know that it has a thermostat but it is the cheapest one from O'Reilly same with the rad cap. Do you know off hand what the oem temp and pressure specs are for the thermostat and cap? I'm not familiar with the year variants of these trucks yet the PO to the PO did all the jank wiring and fuel work to add the carb, I was just told it was efi before, that's cool to know that I wont run into any other odd things pertaining to left over EFI. The tank vent which I assume is the other rubber hose that runs into the bay on the driver side under the brake booster next to the fuel line to the carb. That line has a bolt in the end so the tank is not venting if so. There is also a brake line looking line that runs up under the brake booster and across the firewall behind the head with the passenger front brake line but it is slightly larger diameter, that line is open to the air. I assume its another vent or for the missing charcoal canister. But once its done raining for 40 days and 40 nights I will crawl under and trace all the lines, I'm also curious how its tied to the tank and what the connections look like back there.

[FMS88]

The recommended t-stat for your truck is a 88C/190F and the cap should be rated at anything between 11 and 15 PSI (75-105 kPa). Do you know if your current t-stat is a "fail-safe" type. They lock open if the engine overheats. Locked open it's like having no t-stat at all.

The fuel line with the bolt plug is a return line to the tank. The original mechanical fuel pump has two output ports, one to the float bowl and a restricted one to both the carb accelerator pump and the tank return line. The Weber and electric pump don't need the return line so leave it plugged. Your correct about the other line going to the missing cannister. It may provide some venting, but most venting is through the tank cap. See if it's stock and operating correctly. When you crawl under the truck to check the lines and tank, have a Haynes manual or better yet, a factory service manual. Both illustrate how things should look, the part IDs and their locations.

Most importantly, check or replace the fuel filter(s). It's wise and recommended to replace the fuel filter after acquiring a vehicle whose service history is unknown or questionable.

Lastly, the correct starter for the truck should have the identification number M1T70481 stamped on the front mounting bracket between the two screws holding the solenoid. Here's a pic of a spare starter I have showing the number:

[Divisible_By_0]

Alright I got time to inspect everything today and I found this, O'Reilly universal 13lb radiator cap, it does have an O'Reilly saftey Stat fail safe t-stat. And here is the starter that O'Reilly gave the PO and is currently installed. M3T 32995

[FMS88]

Alright I got time to inspect everything today and I found this, O'Reilly universal 13lb radiator cap, it does have an O'Reilly saftey Stat fail safe t-stat. And here is the starter that O'Reilly gave the PO and is currently installed. M3T 32995

The cap should be fine. Was the t-stat locked open or installed upside down? I'm wondering if O'Reilly sold the PO a starter for a 2l engine. Per the FSM, its ID number is M3T41081. I couldn't find any starter or info with the ID number M3T32995.

The starter for 2.6 and 2.0 engines with auto trans has internal reduction gears while the 2.0 w/manual trans is a direct drive type. The front mount bracket of the 2.6 starter houses the reduction gears and is longer (the green line in the photo below) than the bracket length of the 2.0 starter (represented by the red line).



Looking at online images, the difference in the front bracket appears to be consistent regardless of manufacture.

[Divisible_By_0]

Alright I'll head over to my napa and get a new starter as the one in there is definitely not that one or that size, i tried to post the photos i took of the reman starter in the truck but it kept saying faild to upload. The part number is scratched off the only thing still legible is the M3T but I know for sure the second digit after the M3T is a 2 but it's the wrong starter so whatever. I have not pulled the Tstat housing as I don't have a gasket for it yet but I will when I pull the rad out to replace it, all I know is that it's a fail safe Stat and 2 or less months old based on the receipts I got. The PO said that replacing the Tstat did not change anything with the cooling issues, so my guess is for the time being it's working properly whether or not it's installed in the correct orientation is a different story. Pulling the rad cap and looking in the rad I can see goo and A LOT of stop leak in the visible fins, I'm gonna put a test tank on the hoses and run the water pump with my milwaukee and dump some coolant flush in there, maybe some ascorbic acid and see what I knock loose before I put my new rad in

[xboxrox]

FWIW

My truck has a O'Reilly's (made in Mexico) starter ~ not as strong cranking as the one that failed but so far (6 months?) its working...
Flushing my cooling system (twice) helped unplug the stop leak in the radiator BUT eventually a new cylinder head was the final fix in stopping coolant coming out the tailpipe etc...
Good Luck fixing Math Man

[FMS88]

Divisible_by_0 - Looks like you have the solution to the starter issue and are correct about a thorough flush of the cooling system as the next step. If there are white deposits around or in the radiator passages, that may be aluminum oxide. An acidic flush will help remove some of it, but not from passages that are completely plugged. Another forum member used a heat gun to break up the deposits, but I've always had a shop rod out the core or just replaced the radiator. Is your truck 2wd or 4wd? The rad sizes are different.

Regarding uploading pictures, other members had complained of difficulties especially if from a phone and I've found large files fail to load. So I use a PC and files less than than 500kb. Seems to work well most of the time.