I just wanted to share a recent experience with my Stude. I have had the car for 4 years and in that time I have done some work on it, had some work done on it but all of it was tranny/clutch related. I pulled the tranny, changed the clutch, pressure plate, pilot bushing, thow-out bearing, etc. I still had a shifting problem so I took it to someone else. Turns out some new linkage parts helped the problem.
The bottom line is, I have NEVER had a problem with the engine. Well, as noted in another post, my wife and I had a trip planned to Northern Nevada driving the Power Hawk. About 2 weeks before we leave I am driving down the road to meet friends for BBQ ribs and the engine dies at a traffic signal. I start it and it dies again immediately. A guy is standing on the corner with a "will work for food" sign. I tell him I have some work for him so he helps me push the car around the corner. I get it into the gas station on the corner with the help of two other fellows (panhandler left as soon as we got around the corner). I put in 3 gallons of gas.....uh-oh! I spend about 20 minutes trying to find out why the electric fuel pump isn't working. I call my wife to have her take me to a parts house. I check all the connections and fuses and find nothing wrong. I put the fuses back together and viola'. Fuel pump starts working and all is good in my life. Got it! Yeah, that's not it.
A few days later my wife and I are out again running a few errands and on the way home.....you guessed it.....dead again. I got a tow from a concerned citizen to the nearest side street and started my search again. This time, again, I find nothing wrong but after 30 min or so the fuel pump started working again. At this point I decided that it was a heat related issue. I figured the fuel pump was overheating and shutting down. I get the car home and check all of the electrical connections for continuity and voltage and all is good on that front.
I get a new fuel pump install it and take the car for a test run and it seems to be ok, but the fuel pump is TOO loud. I decide to get a low pressure rotary pump instead and keep the loud one for a backup. I install the rotary pump and again took the Stude out for a test run. Seemed to be working great and I got within about 3 blocks of my house before it quit running!
So the ONLY thing in the loop that has not been changed or inspected thoroughly was the oil pressure safety switch. Knowing full well that it was unlikely to be the culprit, I decided to replace it. I went to Auto Zone, no luck, O'Reilys , no luck, CarQuest, no luck. Finally found one at NAPA, $35. I install the new switch and ran the car for multiple trips and hours at a time and no more problem. The car ran great on the Nevada trip (1600 mi.) and once again the north arrow is pointing up. It's always the last thing that you check isn't it?
OK bad joke.
Anyway, I hope this helps someone else.
By the way, the panhandler got $2.....= all of the cash I had in my wallet.
Rog
The bottom line is, I have NEVER had a problem with the engine. Well, as noted in another post, my wife and I had a trip planned to Northern Nevada driving the Power Hawk. About 2 weeks before we leave I am driving down the road to meet friends for BBQ ribs and the engine dies at a traffic signal. I start it and it dies again immediately. A guy is standing on the corner with a "will work for food" sign. I tell him I have some work for him so he helps me push the car around the corner. I get it into the gas station on the corner with the help of two other fellows (panhandler left as soon as we got around the corner). I put in 3 gallons of gas.....uh-oh! I spend about 20 minutes trying to find out why the electric fuel pump isn't working. I call my wife to have her take me to a parts house. I check all the connections and fuses and find nothing wrong. I put the fuses back together and viola'. Fuel pump starts working and all is good in my life. Got it! Yeah, that's not it.
A few days later my wife and I are out again running a few errands and on the way home.....you guessed it.....dead again. I got a tow from a concerned citizen to the nearest side street and started my search again. This time, again, I find nothing wrong but after 30 min or so the fuel pump started working again. At this point I decided that it was a heat related issue. I figured the fuel pump was overheating and shutting down. I get the car home and check all of the electrical connections for continuity and voltage and all is good on that front.
I get a new fuel pump install it and take the car for a test run and it seems to be ok, but the fuel pump is TOO loud. I decide to get a low pressure rotary pump instead and keep the loud one for a backup. I install the rotary pump and again took the Stude out for a test run. Seemed to be working great and I got within about 3 blocks of my house before it quit running!
So the ONLY thing in the loop that has not been changed or inspected thoroughly was the oil pressure safety switch. Knowing full well that it was unlikely to be the culprit, I decided to replace it. I went to Auto Zone, no luck, O'Reilys , no luck, CarQuest, no luck. Finally found one at NAPA, $35. I install the new switch and ran the car for multiple trips and hours at a time and no more problem. The car ran great on the Nevada trip (1600 mi.) and once again the north arrow is pointing up. It's always the last thing that you check isn't it?
OK bad joke. Anyway, I hope this helps someone else.By the way, the panhandler got $2.....= all of the cash I had in my wallet.
Rog