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i did a bit more stress testing of the truck it drives very smooth and with new tires the mpg is acceptable around 13-15 ish. where i live we have water that runs across the road and it had rained pretty badly in the past few days. so i was inspecting the cotter pins and looking how the new parts are holding up and i noticed by driving into the washes mud was on the frame and had dried and caked. the engine is an inline 300 is large but it does not have a under plate but its called a "engine splash shield" the wiring is directly exposed to any splashes. now the underbody does not have any salt damage because its been in the south west the entire time but it does have areas of slight rust. now i wont ever take a pressure washer and clean the engine ill do it by hand with a dry rag and maybe a bucket with soap and a rag but always careful not to excessively wet the engine and wiring ect. but i was thinking about pressure washing the under side of the truck as i had seen car wash services that offer under vehicle cleaning and i thought that was a bad idea because parts like the exhaust lines and catalytic converter will be at operating temperatures and the thermal contraction of the water will add micro cracks to the steel.
The under car wash is the best thing you can for the truck at this point. Here in New England, I go north almost every week in the Winter time to ski, on the way home, about 5 miles from home I go through the car wash and have the underside cleaned.
Yep under car wash is why I still have my 02 Durango after 13 years in CT.
After a snow / ice storm I did the same hit the car wash other wise it would be a rust bucket.
Down here in NC when it snows / ice they shut down everything so the Durango dose not leave the drive and the pick up dose not even come out of the garage!
I dont even know if they have under car wash down here?
There was power wash bays just down the road but has closed up a few years back now.
No clue if there are any others close by?
Phantom
There is nothing wrong with using a pressure washer. I have used it on my truck after the rebuild.
I had a timing cover oil leak at the top and it covered everything before I found and fixed it.
I sprayed the under side and engine bay with Simple Green and Awesome (from dollar store) in a pump sprayer.
After I let it soak in I fired up the pressure washer and washed the degreaser off.
As for what not to wash I would stay away from the dist., ALT / regulator, and carb and master cly.
I cant think of anything else that I would stay away from.
You may want to dry out the dist. cap & wires before starting but that is about it that I can think of.
Dave ----
When i had the truck out doing some errands but mainly to test the engine and reliability i noticed fuel mpg keeps going down - fast. So here is my procedure to check why mpg is going down:
I started the allow engine to run until at working temps and checked carb fuel mix to ensure i am not too lean but not too rich. I cam currently at + 1/4 turn, anything over 1/4 turn and the truck diesels.
I looked at the air filter and it was medium dirty but not enough to actually replace it. (possible cause idk)
I looked at the choke chain that connects to the carb that sets idle speed and i have it as low as possible. If this setting is too high / aggressive the engine diesels.
I had put some carb cleaner about two weeks ago with the intent to clean the valve carbon deposits this was the only change for the engine that is noted,
The tires are correct pressure, rotated, and in alignment and not excessively large to cause air drag.
Speed is always kept under 60 but i cruse at mostly 45-55.
I run with only one window down but sometimes i open the breaker window to decrease drag, i never turned on the ac hell i dont know if it even works.
The fuel filter is new and under a year old.
The oil is totally clean with fresh filter.
I looked for vacuum leaks and found all ports covered all hoses in order and it runs smooth and no hiss.
Possible concerns:
The engine idles is bit rough while in park, it shakes the truck just a bit to notice it and feel concern its totally smooth while in drive. But i would say it has always done this but its just a bit more shaky.
I had the tires professionally checked, alignment. I was shocked when they told me the truck did not need an alignment, i did not believe them and though they were incompetent. When i took the truck down to the shop i paid careful attention to how the engine was running and it was smooth. When i pulled the truck out of the parking lot it felt like an unstable engine idle speed. It would rev up and down in a sinusoidal wave pattern at 10 second intervals but with no power loss. I think because i was waiting in the tire shop for about 2 hours the trucks engine that was once warmed up became cold so when i took the truck out of the parking lot i did not warm it up enough. I normally turn the truck on and keep the engine on for about 3-4 minutes at around 1k rpm, just a little above idle. The purpose is to get the engine to working temp, not about prelube
As for mpg I have noticed that at 1/4 of a tank the gauge becomes totally unreliable and drops to empty. I might be totally fine mpg wise and the gauge might be in error.
I did some more driving and noticed the engine was running really really badly. I went down the list and everything checked out but the carburetor screw was open about 4 turns. I had set the carb from 1/4 turn to 1 1/2 turn but no where 4 complete turns. Some how the carb came out of tune and it ran so badly in traffic i was worried the engine was gonna quit. So after adjusting the carb the engine is running fine - with the engine is warmed up. The strange issue now is when i turn the engine on yes it does turn on fine but if i dont bring the rpms up just a bit the engine quits. The engine wont stay on when its dead cold starting up you kinda need to press on the gas it does not just idle straight away like it used to. After about 1 minute its fine i just thought that was really odd and if that meant something i was not sure.
My headlights are acting up one of them is dim and flickering so it might be a good idea to just swap out the stock part with a LED light.
The headlights need to be as bright as possible but not bright enough to get pulled over. Since I live in the country I have had to avoid cows and horses on the road and there is zero lights out here just starlight it gets really dark out here especially in the hills. I do have a light bar on the truck and it has save me countless times from hitting deer just standing in the road.
As for the mpg i got no idea, i am running off the back tank and its about 15-20 gallons. 40 dollars is 10 gallons and that is half a tank so i assume its 20 gallons but it just burns so much gas. I keep it at 45-50 mph consistent speed i can watch my fuel gauge lose 1/4 in a single trip no idea what is going on.
I dont know what motor you have maybe add it to your sig with rebuilt in 2015?
Guessing a v8 and you have 2 idle mixing screws, other wise you got just 1.
Anyway there should be springs on the screws before they are screwed into the carb.
They hold the screws from moving. If you have the springs then someone messed with them.
On the head lights save your money on the LED's.
Unless you buy the $500 ones the rest are junk and dont put the light down the road like is needed but all over it and not far out.
On the dim / blinking light check the ground to it.
Each side should have a screw in the corner of the fender & radiator support for the light grounds on that front side.
Pull the screws and clean the wire and where it bolts to.
Also pull the plug to the head light and see if it is clean. Sometimes they get funky and cause issues.
Once you have a good light on that side buy a head light relay kit. You can get it thru LMC Ebay and others.
It is plug and play, not cutting of wires and if a relay goes bad, strange size so little hard to find, you can unplug the kit and plug the trucks wiring back in till you can get a relay.
I use my truck sometimes to / from work and leave between 12am and 6am and no lights here either.
I am really happy with the light out put on the truck. So much so up till a month ago when I replaced the head light assy on my 02 Dodge I liked the pick up lights more, now they are both the same out put.
All rear fuel tanks unless replaced with after market are 19 gallons.
The front or side tanks come in 2 sizes.
Short beds have a 16 gallon tank.
Long beds have a 19 gallon tank.
Only style side, short or long bed, trucks from the factory had duel tanks.
If a flare side has dual tanks it was added by the owner
To figure MPG you have to make sure the odom is right first.
Find mile markers and check it between a few of them. once you know it is right you can figure out MPG.
You need to fill the tank(s) and mark down the mileage.
Drive till you need gas again filling the tank tracking the gallons and the mileage then do the math to see what you get.
You should also do this over 3 or more fill ups. My 81 F100 with a 300 six and manual and over drive 235 / 75/ 25 tire and 2.75 rear gear I avg about 15 MPG.
Not great and that is combo of high way and back roads. Have seen a high of 17 MPG. And that is over years of tracking MPG
Dave ----
So after adjusting the carb the engine is running fine - with the engine is warmed up. The strange issue now is when i turn the engine on yes it does turn on fine but if i dont bring the rpms up just a bit the engine quits. The engine wont stay on when its dead cold starting up you kinda need to press on the gas it does not just idle straight away like it used to. After about 1 minute its fine i just thought that was really odd and if that meant something i was not sure.
Ever start and run a weedeater or a lawnmower? You know they will not start and run very well cold without setting the choke. Your truck's engine is no different. The carb has a door on top of the opening that is the choke door. It's controlled by the round black plastic piece on the side of the carb. If it's not working, it will be hard to start, and it should fast idle when it's activated. To activate it cold, you have press the gas pedal to the floor once before you start the engine cold.
Something odd happened today, i was starting the truck and it cranked fine then all of a sudden nothing electrical worked. When i open the door i see the cabin light that stopped working, i put my key in and nothing lights up and the starter does not turn over.
so i did some basic checks:
i checked the cables to the battery and they were tight nothing loose.
i checked battery voltage and were are at 12.8
i opened up the fuse box and found a blown fuse, it was a 15 amp and was in the radio. all the other fuses look fine.
The starter solenoid , tap it with a hammer, If its bad, buy the good one from NAPA.
You can also clean its terminals, remove the battery cables first.
i tapped it with a hammer (lightly) and nothing happened. I do have a electrical tester unit how would i validate its bad? the pic is just to confirm i know what im tapping, its not from my truck.
The truck is also parked outside in a desert and the wild life chew on everything.
i tapped it with a hammer (lightly) and nothing happened. I do have a electrical tester unit how would i validate its bad? the pic is just to confirm i know what im tapping, its not from my truck.
The truck is also parked outside in a desert and the wild life chew on everything.
With your multimeter set on V DC, test the terminal from the battery to ground, should see 12V. Test the wire/terminal from the ignition switch to ground with key to start, should see 12V. Check the terminal to starter to ground with the key to start should see 12V.
You mentioned the interior dome light stopped working. How about other circuits, such as the headlights or horn? If all are dead, suspect the positive battery cable. Don't be fooled by the external appearance. The internal load-carrying capacity is what matters. This troubleshooting guide primarily covers the starter circuit, but the procedure is applicable to any circuit:
Before even touching your multimeter, do you have this style battery terminal?:
If so, slam your hand in the door a few times as pennance. Then get yourself a proper cable assembly with pre-crimped terminals. A bad connection in either battery cable could cause the symptoms you have.
If tapping the starter relay didn't do anything check the wires near the passenger's fender. I had a connector that melted down and failed on my Bullnose truck. It caused the electrical to be completely dead like your problem.
If everything is dead, try this. Turn on the headlights, even though they won't illuminate. Wiggle the cables near the battery and see if the lights flicker. If so, you've got a bad cable.
If you insist the battery cables can't be the problem because they look good, I will hack into your phone and change your ringtone to this:
I think Karl was kidding about slamming the door on your hand. With that kind of injury it's going to be difficult to hold and operate your multimeter much less change out the battery cables.
