Nice looking truck! I bought an 85 about six months ago and have been driving it daily. Been doing maintenance along the way and replaced the clutch master. So far its been great!
purchase advise
- Thread starter allworknoplay
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
Thanks. So far I have been pretty happy with it. The truck is in slightly worse mechanical and cosmetic condition than I usually look for, but it makes up for it in the cool factor.
I have been doing a ton of research on trying to definitively identify the engine, transmission, and t-caee. It appears that I have a G52 or G54 5 speed. Which should have come from a later model. It seems to be mechanically sound, but I am poised to replace the clutch as I have a leaky rear main that I need to replace much sooner than later.
I mentioned earlier in this thread about some "lurching" or jerking of the truck when making tight turns on pavement. It felt like an issue with the front end but after researching and inspecting i believe now it is a sticking locker or limited slip in the rear. I jacked up the back of my truck and when I rotate the wheels both spin the same direction, but if I quickly rotate one wheel the other direction the other wheel stays forward for a but and there is noticeable vibration and a clicking noise for a moment. Maybe it has just been lacking an additive in the fluid. I drained it and it seemed very fresh and clean. I can't seem to definitively determine if that Is a locker or limited slip. But anyway.....there is definitely too much play in the driveshaft at the rear diff. I am very confident it is not the u-joint. The driveshaft rotates about an inch and one half before engaging the wheels to spin. Right now I am all over the internet trying to see if that is just a characteristic of a sticking/slow to engage locker or LSD, worn pinion bearing, or (with my luck) a completely obliterated 3rd member. The latter of which would give me my first opportunity to rebuild an axle. There doesn't seem to be any excessive noise from bad bearings but if I need to rebuild/replace the rear end I think I would go the whole 9 yards And do all the bearings and seals.
I had a small victory earlier this week with the weber carb. I had a bad gas or exhaust type of smell from the truck seemed to takeover the cab. Along with that I had a black sooty moisture coming out of the tailpipe. A little research and a visit to Weber's website got me confident enough to try to tune the carb myself. Although I would have assumed the truck was running too rich, Weber's sight seemed to describe this as a lean setting. I tuned it roughly to their specs and wouldn't you know....it runs better and the smell went away. That, and I turned down the idle.
I haven't had time to check the timing or much of the other general maintenance items but should be able to get to it soon. I noticed there isn't a fuel filter in line anywhere in the engine bay. I haven't checked along the frame for a filter yet, but I was under the iimpression they were mounted on the firewall in the early model pickups. No filter could be problematic however easy to remedy.
The previous owner did mention that when the truck belonged to his son "they" attempted to set the truck up for EFI but were unsuccessful. I am still trying to wrap my head around the nuances to that. From what I understand, if the 20r has its original 20r head it is not adaptable to EFI from say a 22re. So I assume this is why they were unsuccessful. But it has me wondering if this is truly the original 20r engine, especially since it has a later model transmission. I recently read 20r or 22r should be stamped on the block above the exhaust manifold. So that is another mystery to solve.
I have been doing a ton of research on trying to definitively identify the engine, transmission, and t-caee. It appears that I have a G52 or G54 5 speed. Which should have come from a later model. It seems to be mechanically sound, but I am poised to replace the clutch as I have a leaky rear main that I need to replace much sooner than later.
I mentioned earlier in this thread about some "lurching" or jerking of the truck when making tight turns on pavement. It felt like an issue with the front end but after researching and inspecting i believe now it is a sticking locker or limited slip in the rear. I jacked up the back of my truck and when I rotate the wheels both spin the same direction, but if I quickly rotate one wheel the other direction the other wheel stays forward for a but and there is noticeable vibration and a clicking noise for a moment. Maybe it has just been lacking an additive in the fluid. I drained it and it seemed very fresh and clean. I can't seem to definitively determine if that Is a locker or limited slip. But anyway.....there is definitely too much play in the driveshaft at the rear diff. I am very confident it is not the u-joint. The driveshaft rotates about an inch and one half before engaging the wheels to spin. Right now I am all over the internet trying to see if that is just a characteristic of a sticking/slow to engage locker or LSD, worn pinion bearing, or (with my luck) a completely obliterated 3rd member. The latter of which would give me my first opportunity to rebuild an axle. There doesn't seem to be any excessive noise from bad bearings but if I need to rebuild/replace the rear end I think I would go the whole 9 yards And do all the bearings and seals.
I had a small victory earlier this week with the weber carb. I had a bad gas or exhaust type of smell from the truck seemed to takeover the cab. Along with that I had a black sooty moisture coming out of the tailpipe. A little research and a visit to Weber's website got me confident enough to try to tune the carb myself. Although I would have assumed the truck was running too rich, Weber's sight seemed to describe this as a lean setting. I tuned it roughly to their specs and wouldn't you know....it runs better and the smell went away. That, and I turned down the idle.
I haven't had time to check the timing or much of the other general maintenance items but should be able to get to it soon. I noticed there isn't a fuel filter in line anywhere in the engine bay. I haven't checked along the frame for a filter yet, but I was under the iimpression they were mounted on the firewall in the early model pickups. No filter could be problematic however easy to remedy.
The previous owner did mention that when the truck belonged to his son "they" attempted to set the truck up for EFI but were unsuccessful. I am still trying to wrap my head around the nuances to that. From what I understand, if the 20r has its original 20r head it is not adaptable to EFI from say a 22re. So I assume this is why they were unsuccessful. But it has me wondering if this is truly the original 20r engine, especially since it has a later model transmission. I recently read 20r or 22r should be stamped on the block above the exhaust manifold. So that is another mystery to solve.
With the Weber make sure you have a flue pressure regulator. Don't go cheap get a holley