advice needed diagnostics

[srplus]

dash mount vacuum gauge

am i hijacking my own thread?

decided to take back the diagnostic vacuum gauge and install one permanently in dash to monitor things, after reading more about the gauges on the site and in the FAQ's. my mechanic friend (who will only work on cars built in the USA) told me the one i purchased was not the best quality. so why invest in one that is of questionable quality when for the same amount of money i can have one of the best to look at all the time. i told him that the toyota boys stole an old chevy 6 cylinder and changed the nuts and bolts to metric and relabeled it and stuck it in the cruiser. he then laughed and said - 'not made in the USA'. he fought in WWII and has little use for anything japanese or german.

so before i opened the package of the new vacuum gauge, i tried the spray starter fluid and did not notice any changes in engine speed when at idle and spraying it all around the bottom of the carb and the intake manifold... got to thinking if i spray any more of this stuff in there with that manifold being so warm – KA-BOOM!. so i am gonna get a small propane tank with valve and try that and install the in dash gauge.

talked to PO and he said that his mechanic had found a vacuum leak and had fixed it right before he sold me the truck so i have a meet with his mechanic to see if he really got it or it might still be there... also do not think i have stock distributor and the one i have has a cap with two vacuum hose nipples on it. when i talked to my old (and no longer my) mechanic. he noted that there was only one vacuum hose on one of the nipples on the cap and the other didn't have one on it. he wondered about that but never mentioned it to me. i figured it ought to either have a hose to it or be plugged. since i could not find an errant hose i put a short piece of hose on it and plugged it.

it is hard working on this thing by myself under the shade tree... i saw a couple of posts from somebody in Tallahassee and wondered if they would get in touch with me by site email or the email link in my sig line.

for the in dash vacuum gauge i am looking at stewart warner, auto meter, or VDO... and leaning toward the auto meter or VDO. does anyone have any experience with these three brands and would eliminate at least one? my preference is for the black bezel instead of the chrome. the three that i am looking at all take a 2 1/8” hole. i have done an extensive search in the forums for preferred mounting locations and would ask those that have them installed if they would install them in the same location or if they think they made a mistake and would install them elsewhere.

 

[chitown40]

It's good to see all your enthusiasm working on and learning about your 60, but I think you're really overthinking this one. PigHead and dd113 ar pretty much right on the money. Most of our trucks develop the same symptoms and have the same problems as each others somewhere over time so we've all been there before. Start simple. Get the handheld vac gauge (no more than $20 for a decent gauge) and plug in onto the manifold where the brake booster rigid vac line goes into the manifold. Take a reading at cold idle. Idle should be around 650-700rpm. When the truck starts to stall out, stop, reconnect the vac gauge and take a reading at hot idle. I'm suspecting your hot idle reading (where truck is close to satlling out) will be somewhere around 10-11 in./hg on the gauge, maybe even less. Spray CARB cleaner or un,lit propane, not starting fluid, around the following places to narrow down where the leak is: base of the carburator, carb base where metal tube connects to vac line, on the carb body itself where the three pieces of the main carb body attach together, and around the intake manifold where it contacts the head. Note when the engine rises in RPM and where you sprayed. With the engne off and cool you can also take a flashlight with a good strong (ultra-white) beam and look down through the carburator into the intake manifold. You may be able to see a small crack. Most often if you can see it from the top it is cracked all the way through as it is most likely to crack fromt he underside due to the hreat from the exhaust manifold. Anyway, start there and see what you get.