Jeff Balazs

No I didn't clean the threads in the block. I had originally used Permatex 2 on all these bolts when I put the head gasket on. For whatever reason it either didn't hold or the head gasket itself is allowing coolant to migrate over to the hole for the bolt. As you know there is a cooling passage less than 1/2" away from these driver side head bolts. None of the other bolts are leaking. This time I used Permatex 59214 high temp thread sealer. I feel like this should have cured or at least reduced the problem if the coolant is coming from the threads themselves. The only other way coolant can get into the space between the unthreaded portion of the bolt and the head of this bolt is for it to come from the nearby coolant passage in head gasket. If that is the case it does not necessarily mean that the rest of the head gasket is compromised.

So during my recent brain fart episode (truck crapping on itself) I decided to try and fix this weeping headbolt. It is the headbolt that is closest to the distributor. I drained the cooling system. I then removed the offending headbolt and cleaned it up carefully. I then put fresh Permatex high temp thread sealer on the threads and even put some high temp silicone on the upper section of the bolt. Torqued it down and no apparent weeping for a couple of days. But now it is back again. No worse than before....but no better either. I figure that the head gasket has failed between the nearby cooling passage and this particular headbolt. I am considering having another go at it. This time using an O-ring up under the head of the bolt. To me this is a very odd little leak.....but I ought to be able to come up with a working fix for it. Anybody come across this before? Jeff

Mine is not hard to shift. You would never know there was this grease in it if I didn't tell you. Not sure if this being a fluid drive makes any difference in this either. I did have a few people tell me it wouldn't work.....but it works despite what they predicted. I figure I had nothing to lose as the transmission sounded like it needed a serious rebuild. Jeff

Veemoney; I pretty much used it straight. I just drained the 90wt out and pumped the grease in. I am sorry but I don't remember the brand but it was from England. I bought some years ago to use in old Brit Bike Burman transmissions that only had leather seals to keep the lubricant in. I do remember that it had very high ratings for use in older transmissions and that is why I tried it in the old Dodge. Like I have said it has worked very well in my truck. The transmission had a lot of slop in it and was quite noisy. I assumed at the time that the bearings/sleeves in it were pretty much shot. This stuff quieted it right down. I just figured at the time it was a "Band Aid" type fix and that I would deal with the worn transmission a little ways down the road. I have put more than 30,000 miles on it since so it has easily exceeded my expectations. Hth, Jeff

Well when I built my truck I did not rebuild the engine or the tranny. When I got it running the tranny was pretty noisy with 90wt in it. It definitely sound and felt like it could stand a complete rebuild. But with the semi fluid grease I run in it it is pretty quiet and works well. And it stays inside instead of dripping out. So far I have gotten 7 years out of it. I am certain that just the noise factor with 90wt in it would have made me pull it and have it rebuilt. So it has been an effective "bandaid" to say the least. Jeff

Well if I was you I would stay away from synthetics. It is very hard, almost impossible to get it to stay in older machinery. I know lots of people who have tried and gave up. And most of them were running stuff that was quite a bit later than our old trucks. Not saying it can't be done but it takes more effort...costs more and when it starts leaking out you will never get it to stop. I have buddies who have shops that constantly struggle with oil leaks on very new cars. Some of these new vehicles use 0-16wt oil. May as well be water. Talk about oil that can find it's way out of the slightest imperfection. All this new stuff is pretty much throw away in my eyes.

Fwiw I use Semi fluid grease in my trucks transmission. Keeps leaks to a minimum and really quieted the old transmission down. It was noisy with 90wt. in it. I have been running it this way for more than 30,000 miles now....so it works. But then it is going to be 85 F here tomorrow.........

? Nobody attacked me. ( I attacked me ?) That has never really been a thing on this site in my experience. This has always been a good source of help and moral support. The truck is running fine now. Perhaps a little better than before the incident as I went through the entire fuel and ignition system trying to solve a "problem" that it never actually had. Oh well nothing lost there. It is all good. Dave; I don't generally leave it in gear so I don't depress the clutch when I start it. I would if it were a conventional stick though. But I will always check for neutral from now on. ?

Wally; I had no idea you could actually push start one of these. Did you use another vehicle to push it? My 3/4 ton is a heavy beast......about the only direction you could push it manually is downhill. ?

Uh-huh. My driveway is fairly steep. Not at all optimum. I would say the front tires are about a foot higher than the rears when parked. When we first moved into this house a few years back I had to go through a whole series of parking brake adjustments. I remember seeing the truck inching down the slope one day. Definitely gets your attention!!!!

Yep. Fluid drives are a little different. It is funny as it is not something that comes into my daily driving routine very often. I rarely ever use it as such. Once in a while in heavy stop and go traffic.... It is sort of a novelty item otherwise. And having one complicates your build as there are some FD only components. Different bell housing....different clutch......Dash pot carb to name a few. And with the added weight behind the flywheel there is a special main bearing that should be fitted. But in general I drive it pretty much like you would a non FD transmission. One significant difference is you must have a perfectly functioning parking brake. Because a FD will roll freely when it is not running....in gear or not. Jeff

Tooljunkie; You should take it out. It is good for them to get used. I am glad we don't have a season for using our classics here. I have used my truck year round for the past 7 years. It about drove me crazy to not be able to use it for a week or so. Had to use a couple of different "modern" vehicles.......and I must say I missed driving the real thing. I am just so used to it. I still can't believe how this brain fart experience went down.? But at least I can say it was the operator and not the truck that was at fault. Jeff

Yep. Sure wish it would have occurred to me a bit sooner. What is funny is that it didn't feel like it was in gear at all. I will be sure to check for this from here on out. ?

Oh Dopey me. I finally "discovered" the problem........and I can't believe it either. I park on a driveway that is sloped a fair amount. My parking brake works very well....it has to. Because my truck is a 4 speed fluid drive. Some how the truck was in 4th gear this whole time instead of neutral where I always leave it when parked. So it would start and as soon as the revs came up slightly it would bog down against the fluid drive.......but not give any indication at all that it was in gear like a normal manual transmission would. I can't believe I missed this. My surgery must have taken even more out of me than I intially thought. ? It is running exceptionally well now...so not a total loss. But man do I feel like a real dope. Thanks for all your suggestions. Jeff

Well I spent a fair amount of time this afternoon checking/cleaning the carb again. Did not find any issues.....and of course it still runs crappy. The Step up system is clean and clear and seems to be functioning just as it should. I am really running out of ideas. It just feels as if something is plugged up. I have a SS exhaust system with a SS Magnaflow muffler......I am about ready to pull it off to check to see if it came apart inside. I don't think it is likely but I am really at my wits end. Jeff

I don't believe that the fuel is either old or contaminated. My truck is a daily driver that was driven right up to my surgery. Then it sat for about a month and I resumed driving it. I did top the tank up the day before it started acting up. But I drove it about 25 miles after topping it up with no issues. I have considered contamination as a possible issue. I don't think this is the case but it would be nice if there was an easy way to rule this out. Jeff

Ken; By power enrichment piston are you referring to the Step up assembly? I have been wondering about this as a potential source for the poor running conditions I have been experiencing. I will definitely take a closer look at this area next. Thanks, Jeff

Thanks for your suggestions guys. This one has got me really baffled. It is definitely not a nest in the air cleaner. The float is working perfectly and maintaining the proper fuel level in the bowl. I have checked the fuel supply and it is clean at around 2.5-3# pressure. Fuel filters are new. Have not found any vacuum leaks either. Had the distributor out when I changed the module and it appeared to be working normally. Also cleaned the draft tube breather and fill breather. I modified my exhaust manifold years ago and deleted the butterfly....so that can't be it either. I am starting to run out of ideas. I will go at it again and disassemble the carb once more. I will also do a careful compression test this weekend. This thing has really got me puzzled........ Jeff

Hey Guys; Thanks for your responses. I did not work on it until after it started acting up. The float is in perfect condition. Fuel level looks to be spot on.....with the top of the carb off. I tanked the carb and inspected everything. I got a kit from Mikes and went through it as I have done in the past. I even checked the fuel pressure as I have a full time electric pump and a Holley regulator. Everything is good and the fuel is clean. I had just changed the oil a few weeks before this began. It doesn't smell too gassy to me. The plugs that were in it were very sooty after a few minutes of running. I put fresh plugs in along with new plug wires. I did a quick compression check with an old stab type tester I had. It seemed fairly even but I have just bought a new tester and will check this again. My truck has a Pertronix module and matched coil. I had a brand new spare module so I swapped that in and even tried a new coil. Nothing so far has seemed to make any difference. It starts up but runs like crap....... I will do another compression check and hunt down any possible vacuum leaks but I am running out of ideas. This has been a real head scratcher. The truck ran just fine the evening before this started. Then the next morning it didn't. Jeff

Hey Guys; I am recovering from surgery and have run into a problem with my daily driver 52 B-3-C. It sat for a little over a month while I was incapacitated. As soon as I started feeling better I went out and got it started and warmed up. I drove it for a few days and it was running fine. Then I went out the next day to go to work and had trouble getting it started. When it did start it was running rough.....some black smoke was coming out the breathers and the tailpipe.....and it would not rev up. I have been through the carb....checked fuel pressure...etc. I went completely through the ignition system.....new wires, plugs, Module etc. I can't seem to figure out what is going on? I am not 100% right now and this is not helping. It is all of a sudden hard to start and when it does start it feels like it is loading up. I need suggestions of what to check next. Thanks, Jeff

You could try doing another teardown and a careful check of all the mating surfaces. I would try a very light application of Permatex #2 to both sides of the gaskets then carefully snug up all the fasteners. Hth Jeff

Jim There are probably several combinations that will get you where you want to be. I know there are members out there that run T5's with a 4.10 Rear axle and do quite well. It all depends on the internal ratios your trans has. In my opinion this requires a very careful trans selection.....as there are many variants of the T5 available. What I can say for certain is that using a stock transmission a 3.73 or a 3.55 and 30" high tires work pretty well. I hope this makes sense. Jeff

Hey Jim; if your engine is up to snuff then you should be able to get the higher cruising speeds you want by putting a 3.73 or 3.55 in. I have a 3.55 cherokee axle in my 52 3/4 ton with a 4 speed FD trans and it will go well over 70 if needed. But as you already know these trucks are always going to be happier running at a slower pace. My truck is very solid feeling in the 50 to 60mph range. I are very glad I decided to go this route with the 3.55 swap. Made the old truck very usable. Hth, Jeff

You have an aluminum housing? That is certainly not an original type part. Might want to find a better replacement. Jeff

Did you use sealer on the bolt threads? If not that is probably where you leak is coming from. Otherwise Check the mating surfaces. Make sure the thermostat is properly seated below the gasket. Permatex works just fine in this application. And Yes you need to use the gasket. Hth, Jeff