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Overheating/Stalling/I'm a moron?

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  White spyder 
#1 ·
Ok so here's the background.
Vehicle is 1987 Dodge d150 5.2 RWD with Holley 2280 (2bbl) Auto-Trans
I am having a few issues at once and not sure if they are related. Here they are:

1. Idle is extremely rough and tends to stall out within 30 seconds. Idle is also pretty low. When I keep the idle high manually, it sounds beautiful, just a bit high. But then when I release the throttle, it sputters and for the most part stalls out.

Things I have done to counter this:
1. Attempted adjusting idle screw position on cam. But once it is warm it falls off cam and idles back to the low position, so it's more of a one time temporary fix.
2. New Spark Plugs and Wires (checked wire diagram for my truck and made sure wire placement was absolutely correct)
3. New ignition Coil and wire from coil to distributor (this one I need help with because there are three wires that connect to the coil, and I may have mixed them up but I've used three
different positions only one position did the truck not start. I cannot find a diagram the tells me where they should be. 2 wires are connected and one looks like it's a ground because it's
hooked to the bracket that is attached to the bolt that holds down the coil)
4. Disconnected distributor cap and rotor and cleaned all points with a fine emery board and reinstalled them. Not sure exactly how worn the points and rotor can get but I feel like based
on logic the points and rotor seemed fine. But when I go to auto parts store next, I will buy new cap and rotor. Just to have it done.

2. Truck is "overheating". This one is throwing me for a loop. When I would keep her idling wonderfully by putting pressure on the throttle, she heats up. And up. And up. Normally she is at the second or third tick mark on thermostat gauge, but she gets about 5 tick marks higher than that now. And she sat there. And wasn't blowing out heat. Didn't fluctuate very much but was extremely high compared to her usual position. Once I opened the hood I noticed the coolant reservoir was spitting out coolant. So turned her off and smoked a cigarette.
Ways I've attempted to counter this:
1. Found a split in heater hose; Replaced
2. Removed coolant reservoir and cleaned it (emptied it into bathtub and it was black, grant the bottom of the reservoir had only about a half inch of liquid. But it was not oily and black,
just black as if extremely dirty. Not sure when it was cleaned previously as I've only had it for about 3 months.
3. Made sure coolant level stays where I can see it in the radiator.
4. New Thermostat and gasket.

3. Transmission Leak. Noticed smoke coming up from the area around the distributor. Spent about an hour wondering why. Only to look under the truck and see that trans fluid was dripping on the exhaust from the bottom of the pan. SO here's what I did
1. Removed Pan; cleaned it and installed with new gasket and filter after removing old gasket residue completely. I may or may not have cross threaded a bolt putting it back on, but
honestly I'm so frustrated, I can deal with that another day. Get to last bolt to realize it's missing. Only to spend a half hour searching for it, then remove the pan again, to find it stuck
the magnet inside. If ya can't tell, at this point I'm getting so frustrated it's causing me to make stupid mistakes.



So here I am. All of this stuff was done, and none of it fixed the problem. In fact, the first time I started her after the thermostat change trans pan gasket, she poured coolant out of the new gasket and poured trans fluid out of the trans pan gasket (not near the crossthreaded bolt but three different positions between bolts). I am NOT a mechanic, but I believe that I am perfectly capable of replacing a gasket properly (Kinda ironic considering I'm a crossthreader...but I don't think that was the issue). And I mean come on, both of them? So I removed the radiator cap and the thermostat (put hose back on with gasket) to check a general flow of coolant and it flows great, away from upper radiator hose. Not sure if that's right or not but it's doing it. So while the thermostat of out and cap is off, if I carefully get her to warm up without shooting coolant all over my parking lot (my apartment complex is going to hate me when they see the mess I've made, coolant and trans fluid EVERYWHERE.) she can sit there forever it seems without any issues. But with the thermostat and cap back on, she builds up enough pressure to break the gaskets. Please help if you can, if you can't just pop in and tell me how many mistakes I've made along the way! Thanks! Oh, and sorry this is so long, but I try to keep it logical and organized.
 
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#2 ·
man I feel for you.

Here is my two cents on the heating issue.
I would flush the system and reverse flush. Who knows what was put in that radiator before you got it.
I wonder if the water pump is circulating the coolant. One thing you can try is taking the thermostat out. see if it overheats with it out. If it does then the system may be plugged up or not being circulated.
 
#3 ·
Been there - but know it gets easier if you stay at it. =)

I've gotten to the point where i have a strict ritual with gasket etiquette. I clean the old off - clean with denatured alcohol - put in the new (I have material preference for the paper type. I think it's a bit easier to deal with than cork or rubber) - and never use any sealant unless the casting surface is gouged or pitted or crosses a joint. Not on oil or water gaskets - I just don't like it when not required. Even when required I feel like sealants just make life harder - especially if you have a bit of oil on the surface and have to then remove all that cured RTV and start over -- PAIN. Lastly be sure not to over torque. It can seem like you're leaving them loose at first but when you're new to it and don't have the feel of "good-n-tight" yet an inch-pound cheapo torque wrench helps a lot. I normally use removable grade loctite as well for piece of mind.

Make sure when installing the thermostat it's sitting flush and centered in its little bore. This isn't a common issue on the manifolds I've seen on that motor as it's flat but on a Ford SB it's easy to mess up.

+1 to BBGBOUNCER -- assemble without a thermostat and see where you're at. If theres no coolant in the oil and no oil (or oil smell) to the coolant then it sounds like a clog or a bad water pump. Look on reddit's justrolledintotheshop and you'll see pictures of water pumps where the whole impeller has rotted off. A $20 water pump may be a good call once you get then hang of gaskets. I had a 4.0L Jeep motor do that once -- overheating and all that was left of the water pump impeller was the shaft.

GOOD LUCK and don't let it get ya' frustrated. YouTube is your friend!!!

EDIT- also notice that cork and rubber gaskets settle / compress more than paper. After they're tightened give it a little while and go back and check torque.
 
#4 ·
For your first issue with idle, take some carb cleaner and spray around the base of the carb and where the intake meets the block while holding the rpm up where it is running some what smooth. Move slowly around with the spray a bit at a time. If at any point it seems to choke down you have most likely found a leaking gasket.

Been there and done that on my truck. PO installed new Elderbrock intake and left the index studs in the block.
 
#6 ·
I'm running out of duct tape....

So here's an update, as I didn't even know I was getting replies on this. Managed to get the overheating under control. The cooling system is losing about a gallon of coolant every 3-5 days depending on the driving distances. When it gets low and I stop going at least 40mph it slowly gets hotter. At a long red light, it can go all the way to the second highest tick mark where it sits. This overheating is directly coordinated with me not getting heat at those times. As soon as I accelerate back up, heat comes out of dash and temp goes down. (With about a 5-10 second delay.) The coolant is not leaking anywhere visibly other than the reservoir. The reservoir is ALWAYS filled all the way to the top, way past the max line. Something is not allowing the flow of coolant all the way through the system and it's backing up at the reservoir. So a new radiator and water pump are my next steps, but as of right now, topping off coolant every day keeps temps down and heat blowing at all times. Not ideal, but working till I can make some money to replace these. And my gasket etiquette has gotten better as I've had to do a few more haha. As for as the idling, we had "fixed" that. The carb was rebuilt by a guy that I trust while I stood watching him work trying to learn something lol. That did not fix the problem but what we did discover is that there was an idle screw missing. I had the lower one (not sure what its called but for when you first start the truck) but the upper one was missing. So we put in a screw and I made it so that the truck idles higher on both of those, that way it basically forces it to stay running. We also had an idea to adjust the fuel mixture screws so now it is more rich. Still didn't fix the problem but it works till I can replace and rebuild altogether. But two days ago, truck stopped accelerating, THEN stalled. Even while holding the pedal down. Replaced fuel pump and filter and checked all fuel lines. Here's where it's at. Fuel is going from tank to pump to filter and making it to the carb bowl. When you press the gas it is spraying steady pulsing. But it will not stay running when we start her. Every time it starts and if you give it gas it will make it about .5 seconds through revving then decelerate the rev and stall. If I "prime" the carb by pressing the gas about 4 times before turning her over, she runs for about 4 seconds and then stalls out. This truck is a curse, but there is no giving up, as I need to go to work!!!! Haha! Any ideas, and thanks for the posts, sorry I didn't respond before but I didn't know the reply's were there.
 
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