1949 2R5 Drive Notes

[Mrs K Corbin]

are you absolutely sure you don't have a plugged passage in the carburetor starving the engine for fuel?

[Robert Crandall]

I connected a vacuum gage to the inlet side of the fuel pump and cranked the engine. The readings are 17 in Hg which convert to 8.3 psi. The repair manual shows 4 to 5 lbs being correct. So, just as with my coil resistance measurements I showed in post #44, I do not know what my result means.

I took the spark plugs out to make the cranking easier, so I took six vacuum gage readings and made a compression check while I was at it. The compression readings are similar to those I showed in post #1. Cylinders 1 and 6 now show 135 psi. It seems odd to me that the repair manual shows 105 psi being correct for this engine.

Before I reconnect the fuel line, I will disconnect the line from the tank and find something that I can use in a drill to ensure the tube in the tank is clear.

[Greenstude]

I owned a sweet-running 2R5 for 14 years, and wish I still had it. It did not have overdrive, which I would have liked. The shift speeds were 10 mph from 1st to 2nd, and 20 mph from 2nd to 3rd. Maximum speed was 50 to 55 mph, and the squirrels under the hood were running very fast to achieve that.

If I still owned it, it would only have non-ethanol fuel in it, because of the many problems which ethanol causes. Because of the reduced fuel mileage with ethanol, my '47 Champion costs less to run on premium non-ethanol than it would on ethanol-ruined regular fuel.

Downshifting, done properly, saves a lot of wear on brakes. My 2004 VW Jetta with standard transmission went 208,000 km (about 130,000 miles) before the dealer recommended changing the front brake pads and rotors. My 2014 Jetta has 142,000 km (about 89,000 miles) and the topic has not been mentioned. Since the Studebaker transmission is not synchronized in low gear, it's necessary to double-clutch, which is easy to do. Shifting into neutral and relying solely on the brakes is dangerous.

[Robert Crandall]

My 2R5 barely goes fast enough to need the brakes, so they will last a long time. My shift points are the same as you show. Before this truck went on blocks in 1988 it drove like you describe. The revival began in 2012. Now those shift points are absolute maximums along with the 37 mph in 3rd gear. I did not cruise at 50 mph before 1988, and I would not now, but it is good to have the ability to get that fast for short bursts if needed. For the one and only overpass near my home, if I could get 25 in second, 3rd is happy to pull from there. It does not like grinding uphill in 3rd from 20, but 2nd will do no more than 20. My goal with this 2 pages of looking for things is to get back to where the truck drove before it went on blocks.

The nearest non alcohol fuel is 50 miles from me. I would use it if it were in my area.

[doofus]

Sounds like the pump leather is stuck in the pump well,try pushing down on the pump shaft with a finger. it should move with some resistance but do this carefully since top is off carb as you may see a gas geyser! there is i believe also a check weight nearby that will shoot out.inlet side of pump is vacuum only, for pressure measure outlet side it;s pressure only.I still say check your valve springs! Luck Doofus

[Robert Crandall]

Thank you for your answer. I do have your earlier suggestion to look at the valves in mind, but sort of paraphrasing Winston Churchill, I want to exhaust all other possibilities before I do any engine disassembling. I like driving the truck better than I like working on it. If I exhaust all other possibilities over the summer, then I may consider engine disassembly next winter.

I agree with you about pressure versus vacuum to check the fuel pump. The repair manual shows to tee it into the line between the pump and the carburetor and measure at idle. I do not know if it is a good idea to put gasoline into my vacuum/pressure gage, so I checked vacuum only for now. Does anyone know if a standard gage of this type will be bothered by the gasoline? I can ask locally about the possibility of finding a fuel pressure gage to use. The manual shows the pump should provide between 4 and 5 lb pressure. Is it correct to presume they mean psi?

The carburetor is back together now. The action of the pump seemed to work as you describe, and it is a new pump. One thing I do not understand about its operation is that when the top of the carburetor is in place, the top pushes the spring and the pump downward which pushes the accelerator linkage to the full open position. This makes the carburetor linkage in full open position when the linkage to the pedal is disconnected. The setup relies on the pedal linkage spring to hold the carburetor linkage to the idle position. This seems the reverse of what I am used to seeing on other carburetors. What am I missing?

I am making progress in other areas. I have separate postings for installing a hill holder. That is complete and fun to play with. I have separate postings for replacing the steering box. That is complete and all of the play is gone from my steering now. I have separate postings for adding an overdrive transmission. That looks beautiful setting on my bench, and one of our suppliers provided an NOS cable, but that project will go nowhere until I gather all other parts. Part of that project will be indicating the position of the bell housing, which I suspect is not correct now.

I appreciate the advice I have received from those who know what to do. Thanks to all.

[Lamar]

Sounds like you have the spring on the wrong side of the pump piunger, i believe it should push upward on the plunger.

[Robert Crandall]

Thanks, but I think I may be ok on that one. What I have, shown in the photos in post #44, match the repair manual photos 227 thru 330.

[Robert Crandall]

I teed my pressure gage into the fuel line between the pump and the carburetor. I figured that with nowhere for the air in the line to go that fuel would not get to the gage. It did work out that way. At idle the gage showed 1-1/4 psi. The repair manual range is 4 to 5 lb. I presume the manual means psi when they show lb, but I do not know. I do not know what to think of my measurement being nowhere near the published range. The truck will pull a hill in 3rd gear between 25 mph and its limit of 37 mph, so it does seem to be getting fuel. Also, the pump is happy to pump large sprays of fuel through any leaks in the lines. So, I still don’t know what I have with the fuel pump.

Does anyone see what I may be missing with this? I had a similar result with my resistance check on the coil, plus two other coils – measurements nowhere near the published range.

I overlooked the question in post #46. I am not positively sure of anything, but I did blow and check any passage that I found when I put the kit in the carburetor. I did run the carburetor dry when the truck went on blocks in 1988, so that was a help in the revival because I found no dried anything in the carburetor internals.

The last piece of advice that I have not done yet is to run something through the tube for the fuel line in the gas tank. I will do that as soon as I find something to use for that and after I use enough fuel to get the level below that fitting.

My search continues, but I am lucky that I can drive it between my checks.

[Mrs K Corbin]

while you have the manifold off, take a straight edge to the flanges to see how close they are. I don't know what the spec is, however. also you will need a new gasket. Don't put it back without one.

[christophe]

When I suspect that an engine is starving for fuel, I have the habit of simply pulling the choke when running on the road. If RPM increases, you are sure that the gasoline flow is restricted somewhere. As you have a vacuum gage, I would connect it to the intake manifold. Almost any engine trouble can be diagnosed this way.
Nice day to all.

[doofus]

Check both sides of your fuel pump, suction and pressure. then do a volume check. sounding like a weak pump. cant find specs for volume test so use common sense. saw the test in a chilton manual decades ago. Luck Doofus

[christophe]

Here is what they say about fuel pump testing in the 59-64 shop manual.
I hope this helps.

[Mrs K Corbin]

OK. do this. have someone go inside and MASH the pedal to the floor..... and hold it there.
#1 is the carburetor butterfly opening all the way. (look down the throat of the carb to see)
#2. The accelerator pump on the BBR1 has a linkage under the carb that actually pulls down on the FLAT piece that actuates it. it should go down far enough to compress the spring quite a bit and then the pump plunger should go down and you should see a Squirt in the carb throat. There are adjustments that can be made. Did you Soak the plunger in oil before installing as per the instructions? it's leather, and the leather must be pliable in order to work right.

As of right now, I'm of the belief you are not getting enough throttle to make it work. I dinked with mine for a while before i went to the CAR version of the carb and that was better. However, the BBR1 is a good carb, so don't give up on it. There is something that's causing the issue you are having. Question: are you SURE that you don't have a Rev limiter (I forgot what it's called) on the exhaust side of that thing? Also check to be sure that the "flap" in the exhaust works properly. that one stuck closed can cause some problems when warm.

[Mrs K Corbin]

OOOH check the actual fuel level in the bowl as well. You can do that by running the engine. shutting it down and immediately take the top off the carb. I've run mine with the top off to check a couple things, but it's not recommended, as if it ever backfires, it's got plenty of gas sitting right there to burn up your truck.

In any case keep a BIG fire extinguisher handy.