Hi All,

Some updates on my little truck that I got last December. When I purchased the truck, it needed some immediate attention. The water pump shaft seal was non-existent so it would puke coolant as fast as you put it in. Also, the muffler had rotted in half about 20 years ago and there was still a catalytic converter in the system. Those were the only known issues (along with the rust) upon purchasing, but of course I did expect to find some other stuff based on two facts.
1) The P.O. had no idea what was going on with the truck, other than he didn’t think he could fix it.
2) The truck had been sitting in the U.P. of MI since getting pulled on a tow bar from Cali 15 years ago.

Now obviously this wouldn’t be the ideal truck to get but the cheap price, the still installed tow bar, and the general rarity of the body style around here got me to bite. Not to mention the fact that a 2wd 86 was my first vehicle, so of course finding a 2wd 85 was too good to pass up.

I would like to say that I considered the repairs needed and price points of this and that…. but NO. In that moment there were only two things that I was REALLY considering. Do I have enough cash to make a deal, and Can I get the little truck home? Not very wise I know, and exactly why I’m in my current situation. That’s not to say that I regret my purchase, quite the contrary actually. I’m quite surprised by how complete and original the truck is, and I’m glad to be saving another “junk” truck. I’m just disappointed that it’s taking longer than expected to get the truck running reliably.

On to the completed work as of now.
I had to start with a water pump in order to be able to fire it up and start checking everything else, so I did that and got the system bleed out and that seemed good. I did not reinstall the clutch fan as it has been a very cold winter here, and I read that an old fan could ruin a new pump. I will have to come up with something before spring. The P.O. had included some parts that he pulled from a junkyard, so I replaced the D/S window regulator, and after pulling the beat-up vinyl floor, I bolted in the “new” bench seat that he made me pay 40 bucks for (totally worth it). By this time, it was almost Christmas and truck parts always fill the bill for me. We needed a new lower valance because of the tow bar setup (it was missing). The muffler still needed replaced, and the spark plugs looked more than fouled.

The week after Christmas I was able to get started on the repairs. I bolted on the new lower valance after cutting off the tow bar brackets. Replaced the spark plugs with new NGKs, and installed a stock replacement Walker Sound F/X muffler. Things were lookin Up or so I thought.

Now that the truck was quiet and would keep itself cool I could let it warm up and idle down a little. The only problem was the truck really didn’t want to idle very well. I thought that there could be a water temp sensor goofing with me or something. So, I replaced the thermostat and bleed the system again, no change. I came back to this forum for timing info, found that, and set it properly. The idle was worse, advance a little and slightly smoother, let it run and idle down. Then I heard it…. the tick.

Yup, you all could have guessed it probably. I pulled the valve cover to inspect and found a broken guide. More research, more parts. This forum certainly helped with the diagnosis and the repair, Thank-You all. I decided to leave the head on and drop the pan, I’m very glad that I did drop the pan. Not only was the oil pan and pick-up filled with what used to be a chain guide, but I also found a very thick layer of sludge on the inside of the pan. The oil plug is up off the bottom about a quarter inch and that was filled with sludge in my pan. This was also a good opportunity to knock the rust scale off the pan and get some paint on it. The bright side of this repair was that the timing cover hadn’t been ruined yet. I reused my water pump, oil pump, and timing cover. I did however replace all of the seals and gaskets involved, including the front main, and some coolant hoses. Now the timing was set properly and most of the vacuum hoses were replaced while it was apart. Long cold project, but moving on glad that I know its done.

Wouldn’t you know it, I got the timing chain job done just in time for what is known around here as the January thaw. It was almost 50 degrees for about a week, our snowman was the only one upset. I had been sick of looking at the rusty stock steelies and decided that Rust-Oleum “Almond” might look better. I needed something to get my spirits up after the timing chain job so I grabbed two cans of Professional for 14 bucks and got out the tape.

Now the truck is looking a little better, it sounds WAY better, and it unfortunately only runs a little better. I’m almost certain that the issues I’m experiencing now are all directly related to the carb. I can go out and start the truck pretty easily, even when super cold.

However, the truck still doesn’t like idling sometimes. I’ve been researching the carb and the baseline settings have been set back to where they should be. It seems to be better sometimes, but I’m still experiencing an intermittent rough idle. Sometimes it will idle great, other times it wont idle at all and acts rich. Then every once in a while, it will idle very high to the point that I worry and shut it down. Even with the idle circuit acting up the truck will run down the road just fine. It has always run great as long as I get it up off idle just a little.

That is where the truck is at as of today, it’s been great so far, albeit a little frustrating at times. I guess that makes the little victories that much sweeter. I will continue to work on the truck working towards my goal of making it my daily. The gas bill to drive our Tundra all the time is a bit much.

Thanks for reading my progress. If you have any input on my experience, it is always welcome.

 

Damn those steelies looked horrible! Lol.

Glad youre getting the kinks worked out little by little. Question though, do you have to go through emission tests where you live? If not swap in a weber and remove all the smog equipment

 

Lmao! They sure did!

 

No Smog testing here in MI. I've been researching the Weber conversion, and I agree, it seems like a great way to go. More money up front but sounds like I would be done after a little tuning. Need to save some money up.

 

Yea id definitely quit messing with the stock carb and move then