Los_Control

Charge the neighbors a fee for mosquito control. What I read sounds totally normal .... I was told that a good run down the road, going through a few heat cycles and running the engine under a load .... not just idle in the driveway. That will free up the rings and get everything working again as it should be. I'm still waiting for my first drive also .... I figure if a few hours of road time does not cure it .... then I will be changing the rings and lapping the valves. Remember when a engine sits, there are always a few valves left open. The humidity and condensation from the weather can attract surface rust on the valve seats that were left open .... just running the engine will help clean the seats up and make the valves seal better .... A good long drive is what the DR orders, before opening it up for surgery. This is my opinion and what I need to do myself .... my engine sat for 20+ years, then it ran and smoked .... then it stopped smoking ... then it sat for another year and it started smoking .... I dunno, I may end up going into the engine .... not til after a long drive though.

I would have to look at it again, certain my switch is mounted to the toe boards of the truck, underneath. When the brake pedal is moved, the switch is activated. Some old trucks you may have to move the pedal 3" before it gets any pressure and activates the lights .... some you move 3" and it activates the brakes. The problem arises when in stop and go traffic and you have a manual transmission .... most people could manage to crawl along and never activate the brake lights ... with a pressure switch. With a mechanical switch, as soon as you move the brake pedal ... the switch activates the lights .... warning the driver behind you we are riding brakes and not going anywhere. The pedal movement may not even be strong enough to activate the hydraulic brakes ... it is enough to warn the driver behind you we are not going anywhere soon. The same situation with a pressure switch .... driver behind you may never ever see a brake light and wonder .... I'm just saying. These old cars ran for 75+ years with a pressure switch .... it is period correct .... given a choice I would not.

The other bonus .... it's cheaper and less headache. Just assuming you have 5/16" line, you need a T, then a adapter to drop it down to 1/4" line .... then another adapter to convert it to the same threads as a pressure switch. Depending on if you have a original switch or aftermarket ... thread pitch is different then standard brake lines ... so you have some converting to get it to where you need it. I'm just suggesting, there is probably $25 worth of fittings in the photo, plus another $25 for the switch .... a headache to put it together .... A $15 mechanical switch makes all those issues go away. I still say a working mechanical switch is safer then a pressure switch ... if you are just creeping along in traffic and it is possible you are only applying 3psi pressure to the switch .... but it requires 5psi to actually activate the brakes lights .... yeah they are cool and a thing of the past, there is a reason they are not typically used today.

Your socket looks different then mine .... I have 2 switches and they both look different also .... I'm guessing they use the same bulb though. I am also 12V. The replacement bulb I bought from napa is a 3J53 ... looks like 53 is the actual bulb number, no idea what the 3J is for. My original switch does not work, so I bought a 12V replacement switch and the bulbs interchange ... the new switch, bulb just says 12V9W ... no number. So possibly 53 if you are 12V, or convert it to get the 6V version.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong ... (again 🙄) I(IRC, head bolts are not the same threads as a standard bolt ... I thought they had a unusual pitch to them to make them work better for a specific job. Just my personal opinion, the newer bolts do not look correct with the smaller head .... I would bet someone else's dollar they are actually stronger then the original bolt. Just with better modern technology ... it is possible to build better with less. Could be a offshore metal compound and actually worse .... why I'm betting someone else's $$ and not mine. Seems I read somewhere that the Chevrolet SBC 283 shared the same head bolts as our engines. .... they may be more plentiful in the aftermarket world. Either way, unless building a show car .... could replace all the head bolts together and nobody would know ... except a judge at a car show. With only 90 pounds PSI torque .... they really are light duty for the way they are constructed. If you want to restore a show car ... then snatch up some good original bolts from a parts engine .... otherwise there are other options.

What I did is go with a electric switch. 1949 chebby truck $12 While it may not be a issue .... some complain that if you just lightly use your brakes in traffic ... the hydraulic switch will not activate the lights, warning the driver behind you. Mechanical activates as soon as you move the pedal ... Just my feelings on it. No idea what the wires are for on top of the MC ... I have a Toyota MC also ... I'm thinking possibly a idiot light for low brake fluid or such. For me electric switch was just easier to wire in my add on turn signal switch ... brake lights go through the turn signal switch ... just simple instructions to follow.

I actually have a mental phobia about newer vehicles ... I wont even sit in them or be driven around in one .... I sat in a 2016 Ford Expedition one time .... Niece just bought it new and wanted me to back it up to hook up a trailer to it. Wheres the keys? .... just use the start button. You do not have a tow ball? .... Yes it is folded up into a pocket under the bumper ... figure it out I never used it she said. I literally freaked out over this thing and refused to drive it ... she thought I was nuts ... sure she is right. She is a head nurse on her floor in a major hospital in Seattle. Once I sat in it and had it running ... all the electronic gadgets back up mirror, stow away tow hitch ... heated seats ... it felt like I was in a cockpit of a space ship. I felt it was stupid to put that many resources into a car ... I refused to support it or even sit in it. The more I learn today about the electronic gadgets on them, the firmer I feel in my convictions. Engines that shut off at a stoplight and start when you hit the gas pedal .... engines that turn off 1/2 the cylinders when the car feels you do not need them .... I don't go for that crap at all and firmly will not even ride in one .... as long as I have a choice ... call me crazy, just the way I am. Neighbor brought over a 2018 Ford 4x4 a few weeks ago to look at the turn signal bulb ... I looked at it and changed the bulb ... I never got into the truck though. I'm sure it is a mental disorder of some sort ... but it's all mine Theres a reason why I own 3 vehicles and 1993 is the newest ... even my riding mower is a 1992

First of all, when I go to town and on the drive home ... I turn the corner onto the street and see my 49 Dodge truck sitting in the driveway .... My heart skips a beat and I say DANG MOMMA .... THATS A GOOD LOOKING TRUCK! I think it was in the later 50's, 60's, 70's .... when cars started to take on their own personal styling. A 1957 chebby shared the same big tail fins as a 1957 Desoto ... they looked nothing alike .... think this was the art deco period where everything made had style including a can opener. By 1972, Federal government got involved and started making rules that all cars had to meet ... EPA standards and safety standards. Within 10 years all cars started to look alike again ... just to meet federal standards ... After 40 years of regulation they all look alike. I remember when you could pick a 1960's Cadillac out of a crowd .... Todays Cadillac looks the same as a KIA.

Thats why I drive trucks

The first thing I would do is install a spark tester in line to verify you have spark when the problem occurs. This one is $4.99 at Amazon. They come in handy. When the engine is running correctly, you will see a steady pattern ... when the engine starts to sputter, you will know if the spark is also getting weak. At least you will know if it is a fuel or spark issue. Another quick test is to squirt some starting fluid into the carb when it dies and will not start. .... If it does start or tries to start, you know you have spark. Just need to figure out if it is a spark or fuel issue. One other thing, is this engine converted to 12V negative ground? 6V positive ground, the power wire to coil would go to the - side and + would go to distributor .... unless you converted to negative ground. Should still run OK, but could cause some strange issues ... something sounds goofy here though. ... need more info on the wiring setup.

It is OBD1, that makes things interesting. I thought about grounds ... Every external ground is connected and seems fine .... I thought about adding a ground ... but where? The ECM is all plastic and no metal to actually add a ground too. ..... BUT! Looking at the ECM, it has a air duct to pipe fresh air through it and cool the ECM. I know the air filter is bad and needs replaced ... lets get it running right first. Can you imagine if the filter is plugged ... can not see daylight through it. Could it be possible it is blocking air flow and the ECM is not cooling properly and overheating? Possibly not delivering enough air ??? Makes computer work harder .... Runs great in open loop ... when it warms up and goes into closed loop, the computer can not keep up with lack of air flow??? Just pulling stoofs out of the seat of my pants .... Thinking I might pull the air filter out and take it for a drive ... and get a new filter ordered. Highly unlikely, I'm ready to try anything at this point.

Possibly I may have to cut that connector out and replace it ... Wait and see, but something to think about. Way back in 2021 I started this thread because I had a transmission problem ... was stuck in limp mode. Took me awhile to figure it out .... it was this very same plug that was the problem. The connections were corroded and besides the crank sensor, it also has the main power wire to the Transmission computer. Once I cleaned this plug, all my transmission issues disappeared. 4 years later, I'm having a crank sensor issue "I think" and here is the same plug a month ago. Not disgusting, but a small amount of crud did come back on the tips ... I have cleaned them again. This is also the same plug that I just shortened the wires on yesterday. ..... I have had issues with this plug in the past. I may end up cutting the plug out and replacing it with something different .... Not ruling it out anyways.

Yes, there is no distributor on this engine ... crank and cam sensors controlled by computer. I think I have exhausted all known possibilities ... It acts like a bad crank sensor, spark getting erratic after it runs awhile. When I messed with the harness and found that moving it around would change how it ran and throw codes. When it was running bad and not driveable, I made a splint with a Popsicle stick and taped the wires to the stick. Then it ran fine again and the computer cleared the codes and CEL went off .... So I know there were breaks in that wire harness and corrected them. The crank sensor wires are in this harness, confirms my suspicion it is a crank sensor related issue. While it acts up less frequently with the wires fixed, it still acts the same way when warmed up and then comes and goes. There is a lot of heat in this area with the exhaust cross over pipe and the transmission housing gets warm ... just guessing it is heat related and the new sensor breaks down under heat ... new sensor is $18 and in the mail ... I will try it.

Actually had stuck valves with no compression, had to pull the head to free them and never put it back together Bought my house and moved 1500 miles away.

Just sayin ..... There is a 90 degree bend in the harness in the photo. .... At this point, someone had wrapped it tight with electrical tape and then put a zip tie on it to keep it tight. ..... I had already stretched it out, but the bend just comes natural now. So I really suspect I have broken wires here in this harness at the bend. Messing around with the harness created different issues including a CEL and shifting issues .... is also transmission sensors in this harness. So I'm really excited and think I found the whole issue .... I repaired the harness. Now all CEL codes went away, it runs great .... I can now drive 35 miles before it acts up again .... right back where I started from Seems it was gradually getting worse and causing issues sooner .... I repaired the harness and now I know .... been fighting two different issues. Repairing the harness fixed one issue .... now am back to drive 35 miles and it starts to act up .... slow down and can drive further. I ordered a different brand crank sensor today. The transmission bellhousing gets warm to the touch when driving it. I can only assume the crank sensor is getting warmed up and failing .... works fine when cool. I have tried 2 crank sensors already with same results .... this time I ordered a cheaper Walker electronics product. Feels like I'm going in circles.

I know what you mean. I felt blessed when my issue got worse and I could reproduce it in the driveway. I was at least able to test and found out my issue was spark. I had no idea though, until I could reproduce it in the driveway. So far, I think we are all waiting to hear if the issue happens when using the electric pump? Last I read, it works fine with electric .... you just do not trust your existing China pump. I'm just suggesting there are quality pumps available that you should be able to count on. There are so many cars being LS swapped today, they need electric to manage the FI .... just as many with a small inline pump like yours .... neighbor has a 1952 Ford shoebox with a 1990's FI 302 installed .... little inline pump has worked good for over 5 years I know the car .... they do work.

The best I have ..... I can not swear this was original .... A farmer owned it! .... Say hello to Molly. Possible if we blow the image up we can verify it was a 1938 ... what I came up with. While I went through the distributor and installed it back the way I found it ..... I was really skeptical if my work on the early style distributor would work. The points plate rotated on ball bearings and they were pretty rough when I assembled it ..... A future Fred problem if I had distributor issues. This is a 1938 engine installed in a 1949 truck and the old style distributor came with the older engine ... as far as I know. I ended up giving the truck away and never did get the engine started .... so I dunno.

I'm just curious what tank you have installed? .... Many vehicles this age have aftermarket tanks installed. I have a "Tanks" gas tank and it comes with a option to install a internal fuel pump .... They make a universal bolt pattern pump that you can install inside the tank and have a modern type fuel pump installed. ... that is cooled with the gasoline .... naturally there are different brands of pumps of different qualities .... you are stepping into a threshold of better quality pumps to fit your car. What I believe to be a factory hard line from my pump to carb, has a 90 bend in it. A fuel line has a more sweeping gradual bend then a brass fitting .... just not enough difference between them to make a real difference. Just saying, there are quality electric pumps available that should be trustworthy, in line or in tank ... things still happen and parts fail. Many people use a pusher electric pump through a mechanical pump with no issues .... I personally feel a issue going up a hill is because the float is set to low, it runs out of fuel on a angle .... where a electric pump is capable of keeping up. This has all been covered before though. You want to feel better, follow my thread on the way off topic caravan .... you can see where I have been fighting a simple issue for over 6 months now. I should make another report today on how I finally thought I found the issue .... just to realize I have been fighting 2 issues and now have one issue fixed .... not the main issue. .... I ordered more parts today 😕

My opinion is kinda worthless here .... I say it is wrong though!!! 🤣🤣🤣 My first 1949 Dodge truck had a 1938 Dodge 218 engine in it .... It was a farmers truck, A 3/4 ton truck with a 1/2 ton front axle and a 1938 engine installed. Just my opinion about a 1938 218 engine still shows your vacuum advance pointing in the wrong direction. Just the simple issue of connecting a factory hard line vacuum line to it is awkward. ..... Even if the factory actually installed it in this position on a 201 .... they quickly realized it was the wrong way to route it. ..... Is this a special one off car that did it wrong the first time? ... I doubt it. I agree the oiler is almost worthless in the position they are in ... they really are not any better if located on top. You still need a bottle with a hose connected .... just like you would with a speedometer under the dashboard. Even if you are correct thinking your engine came this way, they quickly learned it was wrong and changed it on latter models .... again, 1938 218 had it set correctly.

Yes sir, you are 100% correct .... those head bolts that enter water passages need a sealant. .... They will leak if not. Me being me, I prefer plumbers pipe dope for such a job. It is messy and takes a lil work to clean up .... stuff is like roofing tar, will jump 3 feet to get on a clean spot .... It has never failed me when sealing bolts. Previous jobs working with water fed boilers and steam ... I never had a leak when using it. .... Some will like Teflon thread tape and it will work, is clean and easy .... I have had it fail in the past .... have to pull the joint/bolt back out and redo your work. I'm sure there is a special automotive product specifically made for this at a premium price .... pipe dope is all I need. If it will seal threads on water pipes heated with a boiler to pass steam ... it will work on our old engine head bolts.

Makes me wonder if possibly you have a aftermarket tank installed ... and a sending unit sold with that specific tank. If possible you knew where the tank came from ... might help identify the sending unit. .... then identify proper wiring procedure. Just a heads up ..... I recently wired my new tank/sending unit to the original gauge ...... on my 49 Dodge truck ... sending unit had 2 wires, one for power and one for ground. Exactly what my original gauge needed. .... Just a heads up, seems 2 gallons of gas is not enough to activate my gauge .... needs lots of gas, 4 gallons to get it off of E With all that said, if you have a replacement tank and a 1 wire sending unit .... you might need to purchase a aftermarket gauge to work with what you have. More info is needed.

More importantly, is the owners cranky old men?

Come now .... the vega was a sweet car .... with a 350 installed.

That only works on pilot shaft bushings 🤣 Hoping you have the right parts, this feature of a bolt pattern that only goes on one way ... in your case could be so the timing marks are in exact position. I have seen the same "feature" when tightening a torque converter to a flex plate ... the bolt pattern only allows one way ... probably for balancing in that case .... I dunno Just sucks because you can only see 1 bolt at a time and have to start it, then rotate engine to next bolt ... see it does not match and spin the engine back and remove the bolt and then start over ... you eventually get it right. Just one of those things a mechanic have to work through. .... Nice the mechanic left a puller for you. I'm thinking you will need a puller for the job, but should be pretty easy from there. Seems like you can see the bolt pattern and just be sure they line up this time. A professional Dodge flathead 6 mechanic should have caught this .... not many of those running around as mobile mechanics .... Live and learn.

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