MBF

Don't know how politically correct this is, but for the first time I'm in the majority again-31%'er's. KEDS were ok, but with PF Flyers you could run fast enough to warn the engineer of a locomotive of trouble up ahead. Never had to actually do that, but it was nice to know I could if I needed to. I'm still "wondrin' where the yellow went cuz I brushed my teeth w Pepsodent. A little dab will do ya, YAHOO!

I think this was an idea that Chrysler had going back to the 30's maybe earlier. In my 36 Plym, and my Dad's 35 Chrysler there is a 3 position switch on the left side of the steering column and under the dash of all places to turn the dash lights off, dim, and bright. Maybe a good reliable reostat was made at that time (I'm just guessing here) and to avoid glare-like the dash lights are bright enough to cause a glare anyway-they added the switch so that the dash lights didn't have to be on whenever the parking or headlights were on. I did just what the others said-opened up the switches, cleaned and lubed the contacts and put 'em back together. I guess every 50 yrs these need lubrication to work properly. I did mine about 10 yrs ago so I should be good for another 40! Mike

Having just done the engine in my 78 Dodge half ton, I can personally attest to what GB said. I did the ring gap test at 3 predetermined depths in each cylinder. No where near as accurate as doing it with a dial bore indicator, but it (along with the top ridge) showed that it needed to be bored and oversized pistons installed. Mike

To remove leafs you'll have to jack up the truck and support it by the chassis so that there is no weight on the axle. Then disconnect the rear of the driveshaft dnd undo the u-bolts that support the axles and remove them. Roll the axle clear of the springs. Next you'll need to remove the center bolt or rivet that holds the leaves together on the spring along with the clamps on the spring. Remove the desired leaf(s) and then install a new center bolt and reinstall the axle. Easier said than done, but that's the jist of it! Mike

Jerry-when I converted by 36 Plymouth to 12 volts I left the 6 volt horn as it was. No problems so far and that was 5 yrs ago. I even liked the pilot house horn sound enough to put one in my 78 Dodge half ton-same deal-no problem. Mike

Gary-I've swapped springs into my 52 1 ton when I did the king pins. I didn't remove any leafs that time, but I did just what you're asking about with a boat trailer several years ago. I removed a leaf on each side to lower the bunk height, and soften the ride (bought a lighter boat than the trailer was rated for). That worked out fine. Does your truck lean now or does it sit level side to side? If it leans to the side with the extra leaf you may have problems removing a leaf from that side. Mike

They might have just done a software update on your vehicle's ECM, or they could have just looked at it in the parking lot and said "looks good from here". One can only hope!

Does anyone know of a reputable repair shop that handles the temperature guages? Thanks-Mike

I managed shop and personnel for a fleet of 500+ electric vehicles (material handling equipment) for many years. As the technology got more sophisticated-so did the troubleshooting processes and methods. I do know that when regenerative braking came on the scene, that one manufacturer was having all kinds of problems with cards and modules that would sometime cause the vehicle to act in the opposite manner (accellerating when stepping on the brake). Anytime you use an electric motor in a dual function (motive power, or regenerative braking-where the motor acts as a generator) the possibility exists that a stray input or a mixed input signal could cause an unexpected event. I think the discussion of a electronic whiskers in micro circuits now that the solder contains no lead is very interesting. Same thing w cold soldered assemblies. Time will tell, but give me a mechanical linkage w a cotterpin anyday. My 52 1 ton ran away last fall-and the gov't didn't have to do a recall or call out 1800 lawyers-pulled off the side of the road, put in a temporarty cotter pin-drove it home and made a permanent repair! Mike

My machinist recommended a 10-40 high quality hi detergent with a zinc additive for the cam/tappets. Dropping the pan is no big deal in a truck-did mine last week. Let the front suspension hang and support the vehicle by the front of the frame-this will give you more room to maneuver the pan in and out since the front axle will give you more clearance. Mike

Hey-ya can ask whatever ya want-whacha get is a whole 'nother story.

They should be available as a male crimp on terminal at any automotive supply store. Mike

I moved the pickup tube on mine to the air cleaner housing. I was keeping an eye on the plugs and noticed she was running too lean when hooked to the vacuum port off the intake-even after switching to a smaller id pcv valve. I know the vacuum isn't as strong on the air cleaner (above the throttle plate) but I don't have to worry about running lean and burning a valve or a piston. If one had a later carb that was built for a PCV system-this problem could possibly be avoided. Mike

Lug wrench, jack, spare tire, and a folding chair, small table and bottle of Zinfandel to wait in comfort until the wrecker arrives. Don't forget the glasses

John-I the two long bolts wouldn't have access to the oil galley unless something was cracked. What I suspect may be happening is that its loaded up with condensation from short trips-having it up to temp on the guage doesn't mean that the oil is hot enough to vaporize the condensate. I just did a valve job on my 52 1 ton-got it together-took it for a 3-4 mile ride to get it up to temp so I could dump the oil to pull and clean the pan. Even though the coolant was up to temp on the guage, the oil was just barely warm when I dumped it-certainly no where near warm enough to allow the PCV system (or a road tube) to do its job. What you could also have is a leak at the face of the intake manifold to block surface that is drawing in water from the leaky bolts, but I'd bet its just condensate just waiting to be boiled out of the system. Did the swallows come back yet? Mike

Merle-correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that a properly working PCV system will remove moisture IF the oil temperature is hot enough to vaporize whatever moisture is in the crankcase. If I'm wrong, I stand corrected. I know that the PCV system that I installed made a big difference on how long the oil stayed clean looking.

Gravely Tractor made an adapter that allowed the use of a spin on filter vs the sealed type cannister that was used in the past for their L series tractor with the Gravely engine. I'll try to get a picture, but this should be a relatively easy to install replacement for the cannister filter housing and should almost bolt up to the head like the original. The only other thing to be done would be to reroute the feed and return lines to the adapter. Mike

Try a little tougher penetrating oil (Kroil or PB Blaster). Maybe the previous owner used a thread fastener or sealer the last time it was put in. I just took mine out for a block flush while I had the head off-and used neverseize on it when I put it back in. You're right-it is in a damn awkward location but you'll be surprised what comes out of the block once you get it out. Talk about a colon cleanse! Mike

The inner and out seals are available at NAPA. I made my own axle gaskets out of gasket material. If you can't find the gaskets, you can use the outer seal as a pattern for it. I put the gaskets on dry so they should be reusable if I ever need to go in there again. Mike

A couple of years ago while looking at a parts truck I also looked at a small dozer that was MoPAR flathead powered. Not sure who made it-supposedly from WWII era or slightly later-designed for parts interchagability with Dodge vehicles I was told.

Hanks-what I did was remove the road tube, and install a capped fixture with a nipple in its place. For the last couple of years I ran a hose from the nipple to a vacuum port on the intake manifold through a PCV valve. What I did last summer, was to route the hose to the air filter housing-I was concerned about my design making the engine run to lean as the PCV system is basically a controlled vacuum leak. I agree w GB on the thermostat being a 180, but after just completing a valve job, I want to see where she runs-I don't want to cause the truck to run so hot in the summer, that I'm doing a valve job again in a couple of years. In theory, the 180 thermostat causes the engine to run hotter which would enable the moisture in the crankcase to vaporize more fully and be disposed of through the PCV system. I don't think the newer oils will help much in getting rid of existing sludge, but I believe that if the engine oil is up to temp, and the road tube or PCV system working properly they will prevent or slow buildup. I'll let you know after I drop my pan and run the truck for awhile. Mike

I'm w Graybeard on this. I noticed a big difference in oil cleanliness when I added the PCV system to my flatty. She's going back together with a 180 instead of a 160. With the 160 she'd run at a max of about 170 in the summer going to shows. I want to keep the sludge out of that engine. Mike

I think asking a 218 or 230 to pull a 5K load is asking a lot. You might be all right for really short distances on the flats, but as soon as you come to a hill you're going to be done and driving in the right lane. I'd imagine you'd find driving such a rig to be very aggravating too due to the lack of performance. Stopping will be another issue. I'm going through the 230 in my 52 1 ton now, and its going to be a tight engine when I'm done .020 over, new valves, etc. I'm looking for something to tow my John Deere LI to shows, and the combined weight I'm looking at is less than half of the 5K you're thinking about. I'm only doing local shows using back roads. Mike

Anytime I start something that has been sitting I always pull the drain plug and see what's lurking at the bottom of the oil. Could be condensation, or rain inflitration if its been sitting outside. One winter I bought a 47 John Deere A that the owner said was seized. Brought it home, pulled the drain plug-nothing not even oil! I put a drain pan under it and let it sit-when it warmed up one day I got over 4 gallons of water in the pan! Changed the oil and filt, started it up and it ran great! Since you didn't have a radiator hooked up, I'd imagine like Dave said-you've got condensation and whatever rain water was down in the block. Keep us posted-don't get discouraged-that's a nice find you've got there. Mike

Chevy's of the 40's is one, the Filling Station may be another. Google "stovebolt" Mike