I almost feel as if this is some bizzare physcological experiment, with
one dude dropping acid, and having everyone else take notes and give
feedback on the guys actions and behavior while tripping out... as in I
try something new with the truck and then ask for everyone to give me
feedback LOL...
ok moving on... for those who may not know what I'm trying to do... I
have a large collection of various parts in the general shape of a 1989
Dodge Dakota. I'm attempting to run a 1999, 318 V8 off a hybrid V6/V8
premagnum fuel injected throttle body set up. Running the 1989 V6 wire
harness with the throttle body unit and SMEC unit from a 1988 Ram 318 V8.
here is where I am at with the truck. I reached a few road blocks.
First, the truck did not shift into overdrive at all. I was able to get
it to do it manually with a toggle switch supplying ground to the
solenoid pack in the tranny.
2nd... The engine, mostly cold, while under load in 1st gear - would bog
down. Example. - At a red light step on it to get moving and it would
hesitate - let up and feather the throttle and it would go. At higher
speeds, stomp on it - a slight hesitation and then it would take off
real nice. (read fast)
I just switched over the SMEC from the 88 Ram back to the V6 89 unit and
reconnected the transmission wires and disconnected the bypass toggles.
Here's what changed:
Idle speed dropped
Dash TACH started working again
engine would die at RPM speed about 3000
Overdrive and torque converter lock up both engaged, but not when it
should have.
I think its safe to say my transmission shifting issues are related to
the SMEC from the 88 Ram. I did not look at the donor truck close when
I saw it unfortunatly. However I now suspect that it must have been the
SMEC from a 3 speed non-overdrive Ram. The SMEC has all 60 pins on the
harness - I'm guessing it just lacks the programming. Anyone know if
thats the case?
As for the rest of the changes... I'm a little confused.
When Christine went in the drink... I had to swap out the intrument
cluster. I forgot who I bought it from here on the list? The tach
didn't work right. The RPM would jump WAY higher than the engine
actually was running (back when it was a V6).
As it is now - when the engine started cutting out at 3000 RPM, (I wired
up a cheap aftermarket tach and stuck it on the A-pillar) the dashboard
shows the engine speed at 6000 RPM. So the cluster is reading twice the
actual speed.
I initially attributed that to the fact the cluster was out of a Gen II
- and there must have been something different about the Gen I cluster.
My question is this... could the SMEC actually think the engine is
moving that fast? And the cluster isnt reading wrong? Would there be a
rev-limiter cutting in when the engine thinks its going twice the speed
its really going? I know that wouldn't effect the injector pulses,
because those, like the spark plugs, are timed off the distributor pick up.
Also - why would the stock dash tach not work at all with the 88 Ram SMEC?
The hesitation under lower engine speeds also seemed to not be there
when I was using the V6 SMEC. Engine also felt like it had less power
however.
I also noted the over drive would not engage until I lowered the engine
RPM. It would engage about 2000 RPM, about 45~ MPH. If it was any
higher, no engage. Which also makes me think the SMEC thinks the engine
speed is faster than it really is - because OD will disengage and not
engage again if the engine is under acceleration and at or above certain
percentage of throttle.
Keep in mind -- the Gen II cluster was reading RPM incorrectly back
before I started this frankenstein project.
I'm really starting to wonder if I should just scrap this project and
start over. I really wish I had some more spohisticated diagnostic
tools. However I can't justify - (read afford) to dump a grand+ on some
high tech scan tool. If I can't make this work, I can either strip
down the 1995 Dakota and convert Christine over to a full Magnum MPFI
set up. But thats going to involve a LOT more work. Fuel tanks, intake
manifold, all the wires... ugh...
Or........ scrap the gasser all together...
A 3.9L Cummins 4 banger with a 47RH...
mmmm diesel...
As always - I welcome, beg, plead, bribe, any and all feedback The List
can give me.
As for the suspension... well... I'm trying to get it running right
before I tackle that.
-- ------------------------------------------------------------ "Are you employed Mr. Lebowski?" ------------------------------------------------------------ http://members.aol.com/silvereightynine/ AIM & Yahoo: SilverEightynine ------------------------------------------------------------
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