Okay, i have been working on a friends 79 dodge ramcharger with a 318 in it.. we finally got things working properly and the truck now runs, but we have ran into some more problems i can't quite figure out..

okay, so the truck will idle fine in park or drive, but once you start driving when you let off the gas and start to get on the brakes right before you stop, and when you stopped the truck tries to stall out (and will if you don't two foot it)

also would it be the pulley or the power steering pump, turn the wheels and the truck will start belt squeeling, so we looked at it, and when you turn the wheels, the power steering pump pulley will actually stop spinning (causing the belt squeel) is it a bad pump or something else??

the truck has had the intake and carb replaced with original (from a junk yard, but looked at and in good condition) all new spark plugs, ignition wires, oil change, and coolant flush.

also had to pull the front drive shaft due to it locking up the front wheel while turning, no matter what selection it was in 4H 4H lock, 4 low or 4 low lock.. (all time 4 wheel drive) once the front drive shaft was pulled the truck turns great and the front wheels don't lock anymore..

and how to check the fluid in the transfer case and what type of fluid is needed??

Thanks

 

did you set he timing correctly after you replaced the intake and carburetor? sounds like the power steering belt is loose and needs to be tightened.

 

A carb from a junk yard tells me it was sitting for a while. Try running a can of Seafoam thru it and see if that helps. Is the idle speed set correctly.

Pull the filler plug on the transfer case. The transfer case fluid should be level with the bottom of the filler plug when full. Since you say it has 4 operating ranges (2H 2L 4H 4L) it should be a NP205 but you must be sure because they use different fluids.

NP203=10W30 engine oil
NP205=90W gear oil
NP208 & NP241=Dexron 3 ATF

This locking of the front wheels that made you remove the front drive shaft is interesting. Can you be more specific about this problem so we can help you further?

 

on the carb, it was actually pulled from a running truck at pull-a-part (pretty much a junk yard that you pull the part yourself, so much cheaper...) but seafoam does sound like a good idea..

and the front drive shaft problem..

when we parked the truck in january the truck had good steering ( the wheels didn't lock on turning)
so when we finally got it running again, the front seemed like it was constantly locked, no matter what gear range we were in, so everytime that you turned the steering wheel to turn, the truck would skip on the front (due to both tires trying to spin the same speed you can see the inside tire flex and jump due to trying to spin faster than it needs to. so when we removed the drive shaft both wheels were free to spin freely... so for some reason when the drive shaft was in it was causing the pumpkin to lock... thats what i can't figure out is when the front would lock...


idle is set at 1,000 rpms at idle in park. and drops to 650 rpms in drive. when you hit the brakes and come to a stop the rpms drop to around 400-500rpms, which is around the area it tries to stall out.. i am confused on why it drops so much when you come to a stop..

but will try setting timing today, and run a can of sea foam through the tank..


also since its all time 4-wheel drive i think he said it was the NP203 but will make sure before i buy any type of fluid for it..


oh and timing is still the same as it was before we changed the intake, due to the nice design of dodge having the distributor not having to go throught the intake like chevy.. so the distributor has not been moved. but will check timing anyways

 

It will be the NP203 full-time case. Fill it with 10W30 engine oil.

In 4H or 4L, you'll have some differential between front and back - as if your front end was on pavement and the back end on ice, the *** end would spin. In 'lock', you'll have constant power to both ends with no differential.

Maybe pop the front diff cover off and check for damage in your spider/side gears. Possibly they've been welded? (it been done). Jack the axle up and spin the tires - on an open differential you should be able to spin the wheels in opposite directions freely.

If the front diff is okay, I'd suspect maybe your transfer case will not release from 'lock' position and it's giving constant power to both ends. You should be able to check it by jacking up the front end, placing the transfer case in H or L (not in lock), and try turning your front driveshaft. If it's still locked up solid, there is an issue in your transfer case.

 

One easy way to tell if it is a NP203 is that it is the only transfer case that does not have a drain plug. You must remove the lowest bolt from the round cover to drain it.

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/Diagrams/np203.htm

There are 2 idle settings to deal with. The curb idle speed I use is approximately 750 in park if there is no VECI label in the engine compartment. The fast idle should be approximately 1700 when the fast idle screw is on the second highest step of the fast idle cam.