Merle Coggins

If it's the by-pass system the bottom port should be a drain to sump, so there shouldn't be any pressure there. The pressure should be at the upper port. From Don's drawings of the full flow system, the lower port would have full pressure and the upper port would only have pressure if the pressure regulator was fully closed opening up the "idle pressure gallery". That's how I read that info anyway. Merle

I'm sure that would work too. However, if your diaphram rips and floods the engine with gas, like you said yours did, then the electric pump would also pump the gas into the crankcase. That wouldn't make for a good backup system. I may have to do some testing. The parts truck that I just picked up has an electric pump on it and the mechanical pump is still there, but not connected. Hmm... The electric pump would solve your misterious disappearing gas problem, Reg. Turn the key, let the pump refill the float bowl, and go. Merle

Looking at the drawings that Don posted, the lower connection is slightly different. On the by-pass setup it appears to angle down into the relief valve similar to how mine is. On the full flow setup it appears to come out of the block horizontally just above the pressure regulator. Also, Don's full flow filter housing bolts directly to the block and doesn't have any external lines. Also, if you've been running the engine with the lines plugged, and it is a full flow system, you'd have a junk engine. That would have stopped any and all oil flow into the vital pieces of the engine. I'd have to guess that you have the by-pass arrangement. Merle Edit... I just reread the part about the full flow setup. I suppose you could still get oil to the bearings with the ports plugged, but only if the regulator was stuck closed. Once the pressure rises, it is supposed to move the regulator and block the flow of oil into the engine through the filter bypass channel. But if the regulator was stuck closed I would think your oil pressure would be pretty high since it wouldn't be able to relieve the excess pressure if stuck closed.

I would think you could just tee them together at or near the carb. Each pump has to have some kind of check valve to keep pressure from backfeeding into the pump from the discharge side, otherwise it wouldn't be able to pump or maintain a pressure. And like Johnny says, put the electric pump on a switch so it only runs when you want/need it. Sounds like a good idea. I may have to try it. Merle

Even if it's a new battery doesn't mean much to me. A co-worker here is working on a Willys pickup for a friend. He bought a new 6 volt battery for it, but it would crank very slow and would only crank a few times before it wouldn't crank any more. He would connect his battery charger for several hours and would get the same reaction again. I suggested new cables, so he made up new battery cables with 00 cable. No change. He tested the battery with a load tester and it would drop to under 4 volts under load. He took it back to the battery store where he bought it. They tested it and said it just needed to be charged, even though he had it on a charger before he took it in. They wouldn't take his word about that (just assume the customer is to stupid to understand batteries?) They put it on a charger over night only to determine that the battery was indeed bad. They get him another new battery. He hasn't tried this one yet, but it does test out better. This one will at least hold 6.3 volts on the bench. The other one wouldn't. Merle

Bad or weak battery perhaps? If one cell is bad in the battery, it may show 6 volts surface charge, but when it is under load it could be dropping off to 4 volts or lower. Connect a volt meter to the battery and measure the voltage before and during cranking. This should be similar to using a battery load tester and will give you a good idea of the state of your battery. Merle

Are you absolutely, positively sure that you got all nuts and washers removed? It may sound like a stupid question, but I've fallen into that trap before. "I know I got all the bolts removed, why won't it come off." After taking a break, or getting a fresh set of eyes to look, "Hey, what about this one?"... "DOOHH!!!" Remove one more and it magically comes free. Otherwise it's just rusted to the stud. A little heat around that stud hole may loosen it up, if you can get in there without burning the car down. You don't want to turn her into a car-b que. Good luck, Merle

I can't see how it would hurt anything. Merle

The one higher up on the block is the pressure. The lower one is return. Merle

Maybe it doesn't want to go out in inclement weather, Bill Merle

The P15-D24 (car side) does get more action. Probably because there are more cars out there than trucks. And that relates to more car guys than truck guys. Either that or they just have more problems than us truck guys. Or they are just more chatty. Like I said. several of us jump back and forth between the two forums since there are some common systems between the two vehicle types. And although there are no hard rules regarding which forum to post in, I think you'll get more of the truck guys reading you questions if you use the Pilot-House forum. Especially on questions like this one. The cars use a different throttle linkage setup. I went out and shot a couple pics of mine this afternoon, so here they are. I believe this is the spot you were refering to? The cab's not on it yet so I can't verify the fit through the floor, but I haven't modified anything.

Nice Welcome aboard. Lots of help here. These trucks aren't very complicated once you get into them. It's just a matter of reverting back to old school technology. I still can't find the socket to plug in the code scanner Merle

If it's the "eyes" that I think you are refering to, there is just a pin that connects them to create a pivot point. How is it scraping the floorboard? Might things just need a little allignment? By the way... You keep posting your questions on the car portion of this forum. If you take them over to the Pilot-House area you may get more "truck guys" providing help. Many of us cross back and forth, but not all do. Merle

I don't remember any gasket on mine when I removed it. And nothing went in there when I installed it. However, my floor shift 4 speed didn't have any of those shafts in the trans housing. And from what I can see of the column shift 3 speed in my parts truck, all the linkage appears to be in the top cover too. Merle

Every project has to start somewhere Ed. Acrually, I don't know that there's much there that I need. I had thoughts about altering a front bumper to work at the rear, but I don't know that it's worth the effort to get that one down here. The one on my parts truck has some HD guards welded to it. It's a hack job and pretty much ruined it for me. Merle

Certainly looks like it. Good price if someone needs one. Would be interesting if it still has the original wheels. They are sometimes sought after. Wonder if they're 15"ers or 16"ers. And the front bumper looks OK too. There you go Ed. A start for your "late model" truck. Merle

Cool (no pun intended) Glad it worked out for you.

Yea, on the parts truck that I just got the engine is the same rusty color as the rest of the truck. Sorry Chris, I couldn't resist. Merle

That's about what I paid this past summer. I think one was $35 and the other was around $25. It was all part of more work, so I don't remember exactly. Merle

I don't believe the drum should be touching the seal. The seal should be sealing against the axle shaft. Here's a cutaway drawing from my truck manual. I believe your car axle would be the same.

If you can get away with just a hone job, and the pistons clean up OK, that could save you some on your budget. However, I caution you about cleaning methods on the pistons. Don't use a wire wheel or such to clean the crusty stuff. It can damage the ring lands, especially if the rings have been removed. There is a tool available for cleaning the ring grooves. It will keep everything true and square. Then you really should measure the ring to ring groove gap. There are specs for it in the manuals. However, the ring lands often get worn to a taper over time and they won't hold new rings properly. This is why I recommended new pistons. I didn't miss the part about doing it on a budget. I was thinking the same way when I did mine. But as you get into it, that thought that Norm mentioned creeps in. "Just spend the money now and do it right. Otherwise I'll end up doing it again later" Shop around, if you can, with local machine shops. The one that we often use here (at work) quoted me $100 to bore my block. I didn't ask them for any futher quotes. A friend told me about another shop. This guy has a farm tractor shop, but also does other engine work. I talked to him and found that he was very familure with flathead Mopars. He quoted me $80 to bore the block. I also had him shave the block deck and head, replace the valve guides and seats, and install wrist pin bushings. The total bill, which included new pistons and rings, was $735. Everyone I talked to about it said I got a good deal. Then, with around $600-700 in parts from other sources, I reassembled it and it runs great. Another thing that's often overlooked is the cam bearings. Unless you have the proper tooling to replace these, I would recommend having the engine shop do it. I understand trying to keep the budget as low as possible. So try to do as much as you can by your self. As you can see, half of my cost was from the machine shop. Merle

Make sure you have a good ground to the bed and light bracket

How bad are those scratches in the bores? Can you catch a fingernail in them? If they're not very deep a hone job may clean them up enough to go again. Otherwise you'll need to have it bored. I recommend rebuilding/replacing the oil pump and water pumps as added security on a fresh engine. I would also consider new pistons. for $20-25 each it's not worth the gamble on those old crusty pistons. They may clean up OK, but why take a chance. However, if you have to bore the block, you'll be needing new pistons anyway. If you do take it to a machine shop, have them grind the valves and seats and check the valve guides for wear. It's also a good idea to check the head for flatness or have it shaved flat, and if you're doing that, you might as well do the same for the block deck. And you might as well have them install new wrist pin bushings in your con rods. They are difficult to install without the proper tooling, and usually need to be reamed to size. Other than that, clean it thouroughly and reassemble with all new bearings and etc. I also recommend a new timing chain and sprokets. They may look OK, but are probably worn. Happy rebuilding, Merle

Cool. I don't recognize the truck, but it's obviously had some mods. Looks interesting. Is that a bamboo grill? Merle

Chain Lube is kind of a misnomer. You really don't want anything on your chain that will attract dirt. As you say, the O-ring chain is lubed and sealed to keep the lube inside. On the outside you just want to keep it clean and free of grit and grime. Most "Chain Lubes" are a type of cleaner with a lube that should dry up after a few minutes. I'd clean the chain, but not with any harsh chemicals that can harm the o-rings, then install it and spray with some Chain Lube and RIDE. merle