[maxR]

Hello!

First time owning a project car. I work on large heavy vehicles for a living. My GF's a mechanic in training. Classified Ad for an '82 dodge Rampage came across my alerts and i basically ran to get it. We carted it back to a safe spot and popped the wheels off for now. Think we didn't do too bad for $1200.

Still working on how to take good pictures. But she's a 2.2L automatic rampage. We're in the NE of the US so there's rust but a PO made new floorpans so the worst is outside the cabin.

Good news is that she can run and has a clean title, though you had to press the gas and the brake to get her to start. If anyone knows what that's a symptom of i'd love to hear it.
She needs a total refresh for an interior (we just went and bought L body seats), vacuum/fuel lines, brake systems, floorpans, everything. But that's why we do this right ??
Current plan is to Drop and clean the tank, replace all the fuel lines, and then see how she runs on new gas. Once we got her running/idling stable, we're gonna replace all the brake lines/gear. Once she can go and stop, we'll focus on the nice to have things like an interior or emissions control.

So far we just rebuilt the carb (replaced all the gaskets and such) and put it back on. but it'll be a while until we get to test it out. I haven't wrenched on a carb before so while I'm worried, I do have the presence of mind to know that plenty of interchangable parts exist and I know when something doesn't look right. Ill be relying on my girl who's a mechanic to do fine tuning.

We also sprang for the 1982 Chrysler Engine Performance and 82 Car chassis/body/electrical service manuals, which are indispensable. Highly recommend getting a copy for whatever model year vehicle you have.

To reiterate, the focus is on overhauling the fuel system, and only after all that we're gonna try turning the key again.

IF anyone's got a lead on Rampage interior finishings in the NE region i'd love recommendations.
Thanks y'all!

 

[John83Rampage]

Welcome to TurboDodge!

I have found parts on eBay but depending on the seller they might be quite expensive. You can do a search on
Car-Parts.com and find a junkyard close to you that might have the parts. What you need is basically anything
that fits a "L-Body" '82 or '83 (some parts '84) which include Charger, Omni, Rampage, TC3, Horizon and Scamp.
The used plastic interior parts are usually in better shape in the north due to the cooler climate. I've had to find
replacements for nearly all of mine due to the Texas heat and sun. Most were brittle and falling apart.
You can always post here in the Wanted Section of course...

Be careful screwing down the air cleaner assembly onto the carb. Too tight and the aluminum air horn can warp.
Put a cheap gas filter in the hose between the charcoal canister and the carb. The charcoal can deteriorate into
dust and you don't want that being sucked up into your clean carb! I found a cheapie here at AutoZone.

Don't know why you would have to apply the brake to start it. Ideally just pump the gas pedal a couple of times
and it should start up. If it has been sitting awhile then you'll need to pump the pedal while cranking as the gas
can evaporate from the carb fuel bowl.

Good luck with your project!

 

[maxR]

got my buddy to come up and weld floorpans (will share pics later) and take a look at what i got in my earlier posted '82 rampage. so far it semes like i'm replacing the mechanical fuel pump with an electric one and wire that one to ignition, swapping the distributor with an HEI system, and replacing the pcv valve. lot of shit i'm not too knowledgable about yet but will probably need to do to minimize fail points.

PO deleted the automatic choke on the carb and installed an aftermarket manual choke. which was a really stupid move. Put in a spring that just kept the choke at full blast. again its stupid. Good thing i know where i can get a parts carb for same engine type.

Good thing is that with welded floorpans I'll have an interior thats more inside than it is outside. I'll cover it with enamel on the inside, do body liner underneath, do that thermal/noise dampening silver matting stuff, and then throw down carpet. Still gotta figure out how to put in holes for seats/weld nuts for seat bolts but that's an order of magnitude easier to handle once you have an interior you can trust.

cars are fun to work on.

 

[John83Rampage]

Yes, please post some pics of your floor pans. My floor pans also need replacing when I get to that point.
There are seams in the back of the front wheel wells that eventually deteriorate and let water seep into the
front floor pans. I've resealed mine but I might have jumped the gun depending on where the rust has reached.

It's strange how some people repair things. A PO repaired my Rampage's exhaust pipe with a tin can, hose
clamps then baling wire to hold it up. Go figure!

 

[Glhs60]

Welcome !!

Very nice Rampage!!

Gas tanks and floor carpet interchange between the L bodys.

Omni and Horizon 4 dr's and Charger and Turismo 2 drs. etc.

1982-83 dash's are unique but I put a 1984 and newer in mine complete.

Nothing wrong with the 1982-1983 dash, I just like the newer style better.

Tachs were more common on the newer dashes and with modern radios.

I'm old and still listen to CD's and cassettes, my factory radio plays both !!

Windshields are very hard to find so don't let anything happen to yours.

Using factory parts it;s not too hard to convert to TB fuel injection.

Or, Turbocharged Multi Port fuel injection for power and economy.

Both can offer excellent manners and driveability with OEM parts.

Thanks
Randy

 

[maxR]

Welcome!
Randy

Randy, thanks for the warm welcome ! I'm getting really into it. Mechanic buddy said it'd be wise to replace the mechanical pump with an electric one, and wire the electric up to the ignition. I've seen some on summit racing, do you know any to recommend for these 2.2L engines?

Second thing he said was that Replacing the distributor with an HEI kit could remove a lot of headaches, particular the oil filled coil that drives it. Minimizing Again, any tips? much obliged.

 

[Glhs60]

Right on Max !!

My 1984 Rampage has a dealer installed electric fuel pump.

It was installed many years ago before I even bought it.

There was a TSB and some vehicles got them courtesy of Chrysler.

Apparently, some cars had hot start issues the electric pump fixed.

Some people have rerouted the fuel line away from the Engine.

I think most any low pressure carb style electric pump would work.

I ran an old 1988 Chevy S10 on the W/W pump for over 2 years.

The intank pump failed and the truck was too rusty to fix properly.

I couldn't go very far as the W/W tank held less than a gallon !!

I normally convert mine to Turbo so no fuel percolation problems.

Unfortunately, I had a stroke just after buying my present Rampage.

While I have been planning my final Turbo swap, it might not get done.

Personally, I don't think there is any problem with our oil filled ign coils.

I don't think there are any HEI kits for our cars but your guy may know??

Some guys modify a VW 099 ?? distributor for our Engines.

I wouldn't bother as the Chrysler Turbo Electronics are so good!!

I do understand most don't want to go that route, too much power!!

Thanks
Randy

 

[maxR]

Great ideas Randy. I'm going to concentrate on fuel system overhaul for the moment. I'll post pics of those as i do it.
For now its

• Dropping the tank, cleaning the tank
• Inspecting/overhauling FSU/internal tank pump
• Replacing all the tubing with ones made this century
• Putting in a universal electric fuel pump up front and mounting it somewhere safe

I haven't posted floorpan pics because i can't upload em from my phone too good, and it's not done. It's just welded metal.

There's untold amounts of work to do to get this car back on the road. But it's fun!

 

[Glhs60]

I don't believe there's an intank fuel pump in your Rampage.

The original mechanical fuel pumps have proven very reliable.

For me, I would clean everything up and try the stock fuel pump.

You might be addressing a non existent problem going with the electric.

Very few vehicles actually had percolation issues requiring an electric.

Mine has one, it's the only one I've ever seen, possibly as it's from Utah?

Most owners fixed the percolation with slight fuel line mods.

Are you located in a very hot area??

Best of luck !!

Thanks
Randy

 

[maxR]

Hi gang,

Got back to wrenching after a long two weeks and I dropped the fuel tank. Pretty proud of myself, was worried everything was gonna be too rusted to move. unfortunately the Rollover/vapor separator valve top cracked. If you're not sure specifically, it's the small grommet supported insert on the top of the tank that's part of the evaporation control system. I can't immediately find a replacement for it. any ideas?

 

[james]

Jeep YJ XJ MJ ZJ Fuel Tank Vent Valve & Seal Kit J5360058 911-060 52018823 | eBay

Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ) (1993-1996). Fits Dodge Jeep Wrangler (YJ) (1987-1995). Jeep Comanche (MJ) (1986-1992). Jeep Cherokee (XJ) (1984-1996). Fuel Tank Vent Valve & Vapor Valve Seal Kit fit's.

www.ebay.com

 

[maxR]

that sure looks like it! For future reference here's an allpar forums link where it looks like others have figured that this is a drop in replacement. Looking for fuel tank vent valve .

 

[james]

I knew I had read it somewhere

 

[maxR]

Great news, tank internals look clean, no rust no mess. FSU looks good too, but there are filters (i think) on the intake/outlet for it that are falling off. I don't see them on New Stock units. Are those something that's necessary or easy to replace? Don't see a name for them and don't know what to call them proper. I'll take a pic if it's not immediately clear what i'm talking about.

Meanwhile i'm scrubbing and Weatherproofing the exterior of the tank. Measuring and ordering new tubes. Ordering new gaskets for everything. Might even tap the fuel tank straps so bolting them down will be easier for next time. Nothing pictureworthy for chat

 

[John83Rampage]

As long as you have the FSU out I would look for a generic "FSU filter" and replace the old one. It might save you grief in the long run.
I also dropped my fuel tank and before reinstalling it I replaced the rubber isolator (between tank and body) with an 1/4"
synthetic rubber sheet I got off of eBay. The old one was toast and I didn't want metal rubbing against metal especially
when dealing with gasoline.
Good luck!

 

[maxR]

Update:
used generic 5/16th FSU filters as replacements. Fits Fuel Gas Tank Sending Unit Filter Sock NEW 5/16 | eBay were what i got.
That earlier linked replacement Vapor line was a drop in replacement. Neither of these items have 'Dodge Rampage' specifically written out as being compatible, but i guess the market for Rampage parts isn't well advertised

replaced the barrier between the body and the tank with some 1/4 inch rubber matting i got from work. replaced all the fuel hoses, cleaned the metal lines with carb cleaner and compressed air, rebuilt the whole thing and reinstalled the tank. Should be good to go!

Next is swapping out the hoses up front. PO deleted a lot of emissions equipment. Going by the book, but it'll be an adventure. I think either the Bowl vent or the purge line to the canister got stopped up, going on what the carb looked like.

Kinda grateful these things are relatively simple machines, not high performance vehicles.

 

[John83Rampage]

replaced the barrier between the body and the tank with some 1/4 inch rubber matting i got from work. replaced all the fuel hoses, cleaned the metal lines with carb cleaner and compressed air, rebuilt the whole thing and reinstalled the tank. Should be good to go!

Don't forget the fuel filter!

No, seriously, Good job!

 

[maxR]

Don't forget the fuel filter!

No, seriously, Good job!

Thanks John. That's up front with the charcoal filter, the pump and the rest. I'll be going over all that next. But I will put a cheap little fuel filter in line with the return from the charcoal filter!

 

[maxR]

hoo boy. Kid brother wanted to help and he put the battery in backwards. Looks like fusible link got melted, but on an 1982 rampage what am i looking at? I'm guessing the battery's taken a hit, the fusible links need to go, the alternator maybe? Not a great thing to see.

Completely knocked me on my ass with that. I had redone all the fuel lines up front (and yes i added a filter to that charcoal line!) and wasn't getting any fuel to the carb. I think i'll detach the lines and see if the fuel pump is pulling at all when i crank her (a /long/ time from now, yikes)

 

[maxR]

Hey everybody! Got back to Jolene. Gonna throw my diary entries in here so future generations can find this thread and understand what I had to do. Going to dump text (because god knows how many times i went search for things online and the solution never got solved) and at the end i'll ask questions. Love this community.

PO torqued sparkplugs down to 20 n/m, not 20 ft/lbs. Big difference! New ones werent going in, so i put a 14x1.25 mm tap to threads and cleaned out the old antiseize. they slid right in and i torqued em right. Firing diagram/connection diagram is on page 8-165 of the big factory service manual if anyone reading this doesn't know.

Also, that damned PO seemed to have had to deal with Fusible links as well! someone has blown out the same one I have, because that one's just crimped and taped, instead of what the other ones have. The whole harness I'm holding in the pic below goes to a terrible blobby solder job.

That red wire looks like another replacement, because there's a missing hole in that rubber harness for another FL. I know what I'm going to do is cut out the FL that failed, and butt splice on a new one (smaller gauge than the regular wire, I know), but I'd like to do things cleanly and in a way that a future owner wouldn't want to deck me. Is anyone familiar with this 6 way rubber harness for these links ? I want them to all go cleanly to the same destination, the current 'solution' is globby and unprofessional. here's a top down view, notice empty hole, probably for that red one that goes below.

I've got both factory service manuals and i just came in from outside, so I haven't done the legwork to start looking.

So far so good. I think the reason why fuel wasn't getting to the carb was because the tank only has 2.5 gallons of gas in it, and i don't know if thats enough to get traction on the FSU. She's not running well enough for me to want to take on fuel pump replacement unless it's critical.

I love this ridiculous truck and i want to put a million miles on her