[83scamp]

You can check easily if it is your ECU by simply pulling the vacuum line, you car should run on base timing. If doing this does make your truck run smoothly, then that's your problem. When you unplug it, your truck will run kind of boggish, but shouldn't die. Based on what you are saying though you have checked alot of things, but I didn't see the pick up coil on your list of replaced items. This would be a place I would definitely check.

+1, I'd start with replacing the HEP( hall effect pickup) in the distributor. Another thing to try: pull the rotor and sand the distributor shaft. On the carb motors, the rotor vanes ground through the shaft, if you have any rust or corrosion on the shaft, it can cause misfires.

These engines with a carb tend to be pretty cold blooded, so the stumbling until warm isn't unusual. The intake is heated by coolant, so it's not unusual for it & the carb to get pretty warm.

I also had an issue with my Scamp when I first bought it. It would bog, cut out, and run rough after sitting warm for a few minutes. It ended up being a bad ECU. It would heat soak, and act up. Replacing it cured the issue.

 

[Tommyboy]

When I get off work today I will head straight for the Hall effects store haha, so hopefully that will be replaced by tomorrow. Very cool you mentioned the shaft because I removed the distributor and noticed in that area it looked like a light arced area like a mini welding so I cleaned it up some.. Thanks gentlemen and will give progress report..got off work and Hall effect will come in tomorrow and its pouring rain.

 

[Tommyboy]

Replaced the Hall effect, very lightly sanded on shaft and inside rotor for an excellent contact between the two..I did notice that in the rotor the piece that contacts the shaft comes around the plastic shaft and under the 4 metal pieces, where it goes under the metal it can be touched and it no longer contacts there but when you let it go it slides back under making fair contact ( where the copper slides under the steel part ). With the ecu hooked up the engine misfires while running and makes a slight dieseling sound in the block and when I pull off and plug the vacuum line going to ecu the dieseling sound seems to mostly disappear, runs maybe a hair better, but still is misfiring in a spitting sputtering fashion. I was going to buy a timing light and see if this reputable mechanic that set it might be wrong but looking in the timing window bumping the car over never could see the mark and the chiton book doesn't show what it looks like..FYI ..my first dodge..been a back yard ford minor home mechanic in my growing up years and this is becoming frustrated, all the mechanics out here look at truck like it was made at Ripley's believe it or not and love it but they are all willing to take your money to not service it correctly, even dodge dealer thinks it to be cool but say they don't remember how to fix the probs, that leaves me..lol..and the help you give which is always appreciated and I thank you.

 

[rampagefan84]

Replaced the Hall effect, very lightly sanded on shaft and inside rotor for an excellent contact between the two..I did notice that in the rotor the piece that contacts the shaft comes around the plastic shaft and under the 4 metal pieces, where it goes under the metal it can be touched and it no longer contacts there but when you let it go it slides back under making fair contact ( where the copper slides under the steel part ). With the ecu hooked up the engine misfires while running and makes a slight dieseling sound in the block and when I pull off and plug the vacuum line going to ecu the dieseling sound seems to mostly disappear, runs maybe a hair better, but still is misfiring in a spitting sputtering fashion. I was going to buy a timing light and see if this reputable mechanic that set it might be wrong but looking in the timing window bumping the car over never could see the mark and the chiton book doesn't show what it looks like..FYI ..my first dodge..been a back yard ford minor home mechanic in my growing up years and this is becoming frustrated, all the mechanics out here look at truck like it was made at Ripley's believe it or not and love it but they are all willing to take your money to not service it correctly, even dodge dealer thinks it to be cool but say they don't remember how to fix the probs, that leaves me..lol..and the help you give which is always appreciated and I thank you.

The timing mark is very faint. What I did to find mine is take a piece of chalk and rub the places I thought it was. Once I found it I marked it with a paint pen so i could pick it up really easy with my timing light.

You know, this might be a long shot, but you could check your camshaft. When I bought my rampage I went to time it and to get to run right I had to set a base timing of 27 degrees! It should be around 12. Come to find out my camshaft had broken at the collar and rotated, making for some extra timing retardation. It ran with the timing being 20 some degrees off, but not smoothly. If I were you and running out of options, I would pop that valve cover off and inspect the cam thoroughly.

 

[bigbarneycars]

YO, Rampagefan! You in Jackson, Me in Chelsea, How have we missed each other?:shrug: Wife and I are folding our tent within the next 60 days and heading(moving) south. We should try and hook up before the white crap flies:nodding: I might have a few parts that you could use. I'm not hawking parts here, I'm unloading some stuff and it's you or the land fill. If I've got anything you can use you can take it home with you. BTW, My toy is ah Plymouth GT Scamp(with ah few up grades) P.M me if you're interested and we can start by swapping phone #s, Jerry

 

[Tommyboy]

Wish I wouldn't have been so long on response but a ton going on. I still couldn't find any timing mark but I did notice a groove about the size of a woodruff key when I bumped the engine close to dist. rotor lining up with #1 plug wire so I used it as the mark. When I see the timing mark which I'm lining up around 12* it bounces all over from 6* to about 18* as it has little pops and misfires out the exhaust. I couldn't get the nuts off of the egr on the intake side so I took the exhaust side bolts off the egr and slid a paint scraper in to seal it and it didn't do anything so I twisted the scraper sideways to leave a gap in it and still no difference so I'm guessing no leaks. The whole " no timing marks marked thing " makes me wonder how the last mechanic set the timing that I just paid for which dieseled all the way home. Scares me to think I might have to bring it to Dodge to see if they might remember a few tricks without making the cost of the vehicle skyrocket..thanks for the ideas given earlier and if I didn't like the little truck as I do it would be taking a cliff dive..lol

 

[wecycle]

My 84
Dennis Cote in West Richland, WA (Tri-Cities, WA)

 

[Gold85Glh]

Wow what a clean truck!

 

[83scamp]

My 84
Dennis Cote in West Richland, WA (Tri-Cities, WA)

Awesome!!! Gald to see another L-body pickup alive and well...:thumb:

 

[Tommyboy]

Wow, the closer the picture the better it looks..nice trucklett

 

[Tommyboy]

If I can get these pics sent here can someone please tell me if this is a water jacket on the bottom of my intake and if that is a crack and could it affect the car overheating and/or anything else, found it last night checking egr intake line..thanks to all.

 

[83scamp]

Yes, that is the manifold heat water jacket on the botton of your intake. It's tough to tell, but if that is a crack, it could be causing your issue. Those castings were pretty rough from the factory. Coolant runs from the thermostat housing on the head, through this water jacket, to the heater core in the dash, then back to the radiator.

Unfortunately, repairing something like that requires removing the head so you can get both manifolds off.

 

[Tommyboy]

Ouch, yeah, sounds like fun lol. So my problems after car warms up it seems to almost overheat, misfires some, and I figured there was heater core problems since the heater inside feels like it doesn't warm up..maybe this has been my prob..when I pulled off egr I started up the truck and the egr intake tube had no vacuum..sounds like another reason to take the intake off or maybe at this point take it to a mechanic for this part to get it done timely..too many 12hr work shifts.

 

[Tommyboy]

And thank you for your response..it helps bunches.

 

[83scamp]

If I were you, I'd remove that EGR crap and block off the ports permanently... I did years ago, and my truck runs fine.

Another thing to check is the radiator. How dirty is it? I had an issue with my Scamp getting pretty warm a few years ago. Turned out the bottom half of my radiator was plugged. L-body radiators are getting pretty expensive, but it only takes an afternoon of work to put a larger(and much cheaper) G-body radiator in. Move the bottom passenger side mount over a few inches to match the longer radiator, fab up new top mounts, and install with G-body hoses. A really easy job. And best of all: You get a much higher capacity radiator for about 1/2 what a new L-body radiator costs!!:thumb:

 

[Tommyboy]

The radiator isn't dirty, but that sounds like a great idea. I'm working on that egr valve which I hoped was the problem and could partially be but I'm going to try and cut straight to the bigger job of fixing that water jacket first.. But may let a mechanic do it since the driveway for that long job doesn't sound appealing. Off I go to access the length of the job and if I will have the time..thanks bunches..do you know about how long it would take you so I could get an average and then add more time to it..thanks for help

 

[Tommyboy]

Thanks 83scamp, in the process of capping that egr system but will have to do it when I take the head off and get to the bottom of the intake but I'm having a problem finding out what they call that manifold water jacket to replace it before digging into that job. I have put in all different combo of words into the internets and can't tell what they are calling it and I have gone through the chilton book and it shows everything around it but I see nothing referring to it. I'm guessing this will be a couple day job in my driveway to remove, replace and reassemble it..might send it to mechanic if I can find the replacement parts..maybe

 

[83scamp]

Thanks 83scamp, in the process of capping that egr system but will have to do it when I take the head off and get to the bottom of the intake but I'm having a problem finding out what they call that manifold water jacket to replace it before digging into that job. I have put in all different combo of words into the internets and can't tell what they are calling it and I have gone through the chilton book and it shows everything around it but I see nothing referring to it. I'm guessing this will be a couple day job in my driveway to remove, replace and reassemble it..might send it to mechanic if I can find the replacement parts..maybe

Honestly, your best bet is to look for a newer intake manifold. I believe starting in 85, they were cast as one piece. Eliminating the issues with the bolt on cover leaking or cracking. I doubt you're going to find just that cover for sale.

Here is one on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-86-87-OM...odge|Submodel:2.2&hash=item20d2a00f04&vxp=mtr

 

[Tommyboy]

This is wierd, the picture showed that crack plain as day, I got the intake off without taking off the head and there was absolutely no crack anywhere but I got to take some more pics. I think the lines running into the water jacket may be leaking a little but not bad. I took a pic of the egr tube running into the intake and of the valves.

 

[Tommyboy]

Looks like I can only do 1 pic at a time with phone.