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.
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.