Justinhw

Hey All, just picked up a 1991.5 w250 and have some questions.



I'm looking to bring it back to stock, and the first thing I noticed was the lift blocks on the suspension:

REAR:




FRONT:




Is this stock? The front and rear is about level and the blocks are so much taller in the rears, so I'm not sure.

Also, what does the stock exhaust look like? Mine goes from the turbo downpipe down the passenger side of the truck without a muffler then splits to dual exhaust pipes just behind the transfercase. Is the stock exhaust a single pipe with muffler?

I'm also looking for a set of stock wheels, I know this is a long shot but anyone near central wisconsin with a set? Otherwise, what is the stock size/width/backspacing?

Thanks

oliver foster

The stacked blocks front and back are not stock.
The three 1 inch or so blocks on the rear have been added.
The one block and super short leaf in the front are not stock, as well.
Stock exhaust is a single muffler with a single pipe.

thrashingcows

Welcome and congrats on your new truck!

As Oliver said those lift blocks are not original, nor is the dual exhaust. You can skim through my build thread and see pics of what the stock rear set-up should be.

The stock rims are steel 16" and run a 235/85/16 tire.

91.5CTDBanks

Welcome. Nice truck. You are not far from stock. I will say however, my truck was stock height and I put a 3 inch lift on it and I really like it. Going to the stock height will be a change. Good luck.

Justinhw

Just wanted to make sure, so I'm taking out the blocks with red arrows, keeping the one with blue right?






Few other questions:
1. The odometer doesn't work but the speedometer does. Do this pretty much guarantee the problem is with the odo gears in the gauge cluster?

2. My trans is an A518. I was told it was rebuilt approx 50k ago. The fluid looks good but a little low. According to the dipstick it says "Hot and in neutral." How "hot" does it need to be? If I drive it up and down the street is that good enough, or should I be driving for awhile? Also, there is no drain plug for the transmission fluid on the trans pan. Is that normal? Is the only way to change fluid is dropping the pan?

Here is the truck after an oil change, coolant drain/refill:

Diesel_Dawg

That is a sweet looking truck!!!!
Here is a pic of my 1992 W250. I sold it about 6 years ago with just over 200K on her....Dont know what I was thinking at the time.

j_martin

Yep

Hot means hot. Fresh off the highway after running for 50 miles or so. It'll be quite a bit lower than that mark when cool. Stock pan has no plug. It's a pretty messy job to drop it unless you suck the fluid out through the dipstick tube.

thrashingcows

Ma Mopar has been very stingy with drain plugs in the pans of the automatic trannies it has used over the decades....

What I usually do is loosen all the bolts, but leave them still in place by a thread or two, then crack one corner of the pan loose so the fluid "should" drop out of that smaller area. Once most of the fluid has drained out, then you can carefully remove all the bolts and lift the mostly full pan down. Still going to make a mess...but will be a heck of a lot less this way.

B&M makes a universal oil pan drain plug. I usually put one of those in after the first tranny service. Front RH corner is usually where I put it.

mknittle

My old 727 had an aftermarket drain plug. B&M probably.

Justinhw

Good to know, thanks.
How often do people do a drain/refill or filter change for preventative maintenance? Mine has about 50k on a "rebuild" that was done before I got it.

bigragu

I believe the service manual states for severe usage on the transmission, fluids are to be changed every 12-15,000. I replace mine at every 12,000 religiously. It's not just a drain and refill on these things. The bands need to be adjusted. In the sticky there is an awesome post by DZL DAMON on adjusting the bands, and increasing the line pressure for firmer shifts. Check it out. He has pics, and lists the required tools needed.
Shop Manuals for our trucks can be had in CD or book form at Genosgarage.com

j_martin

NATCO transmission told me it should be PM'd about every 50,000. Hard pulling, ie the recreation double for 10,000 or so of those doesn't make any difference.

It's mildly built, with a Goerend low stall converter, and has a fan cooled cooler on it. Uphill WOT in the mountains seldom elevates trans temp over 225°. Keeping it cool is the trick.

Stock converter, stock cooling, cheap fluid, better change it frequently.

Justinhw

Thanks everyone, planning on dropping the pan, adjusting the bands, and adding a B&M drain plug while the pan is off.

I was thinking of adding another plug for trans temperature - Where is the best place to get a temperature reading from? The pain can be easy, but is it better to take the reading from somewhere else?

Justinhw

Oh, another question. I'm going to add some relays to reduce load on the stock wiring. The 4 I'm looking at adding relays for are
1. Low beam
2. High beam
3. Heater blower motor
4. Windshield wiper?

Is there anything else you guys recommend or is commonly done to assist stock wiring?

j_martin

If yer gonna tow, or add a lot of chicken lights, put a relay on the tail/clearance lamp circuit. Best location is under the dash near the headlight switch.