The only thing that has gone wrong with it was that it started overheating.
When it is cold, it idles fast.
If you don't run the engine every day it makes a tapping noise for a while. One person told my that it was a tap-it which means the engine is adjusting itself.
I bought the truck from my mechanic. I didn't like it at first glance, but after the test drive I decided to buy it.
My mechanic had rebuilt the engine just before I bought it. The reason that it was rebuilt was because it had a cracked head and it had very low compression.
The truck runs great. It's great on gas mileage and the oil consumption is moderate.
My only worry is that it idles fast when the engine is cold, but the idle does slow considerably after running about two minutes.
The seats are uncomfortable, but there's nothing a little foam rubber and seat covers can't fix.
When I took it in to get a chassis lube they told me that the suspension was sealed and that there was no way to get grease into the suspension. The lube tech told me that the suspension was greased at the factory.
Due to the sealed fitting, when the suspension gets too noisy for me to handle, I'll have to replace the suspension.
All in all, the truck has great power, it gets great gas mileage, and it is very reliable.
Your truck is supposed to idle very fast when it's cold.
That's how the carburetor is setup on these vehicles.
If it slows down within a couple of minutes, then the choke mechanism (what makes it idle fast) is working just as it should be.
Your engine makes a tapping noise when it's cold because it may have little things called "Hydraulic Lifters".
These are a sort of "shock absorber" that sits between the rocker arm and the valves in your engine's cylinder head.
The tapping noise is caused by insufficient oil inside the lifters.
When the lifter fills with oil, and gains enough oil pressure inside, the tapping stops because the lifter is always touching the top of the valve.
Actually, you're never supposed to hear a tapping noise.
Have your mechanic check the oil pressure and the lifters themselves, to make sure these things are "up to snuff".
The oil pressure regulator on these engines can fail quickly if the engine is run a couple of times with a low amount of oil.
Once the regulator fails, the engine sees insufficient oil pressure and the Hydraulic lifters will take longer to fill with oil.
The remedy here is to replace the oil pump, since the oil pressure regulator is a physical part of the oil pump and it cannot be replaced separate of the pump.
If your engine has "mechanical lifters", then the tapping noise is normal.
The "mechanical lifter" on this engine is a bolt that is attached to the rocker arm (relay's movement of the camshaft to the valves in your cylinder head) and hits the top of the valve.
As metal heats up, it expands, so a mechanic must adjust these lifters from time to time, to ensure a certain (very tiny) space is left between the lifter and the valve, when the engine is cold.
This tiny space allows enough room for the metal parts to "grow" as they heat up.
If that tiny space is not present, you can ruin your cylinder head, and the engine may run rather "oddly".
However, your truck is an '88 model. I had a friend who bought an '87 when it was new, and it had mechanical lifters (it was also a B2000). My '89 model B2200 has hydraulic lifters.
It has always been my understanding that all 2200's had hydraulic lifters.
If an older, B2000 cylinder head was used to fix the engine at some point, this may explain the mechanical lifters.
It may be possible that some (very early) B2200's may have also gotten mechanical lifters.
Also, your comments about lubing the underside of the truck.
The next time you make an appointment to have your oil changed, ask the person you're talking to if it's OK for you to look underneath the truck, once it's been lifted in the air.
Have the mechanic show you the "Tie-Rod Ends" and the "Ball Joints" on the front of your truck.
If a small hole exists in those areas, or if there appears to be a small bolt inserted in those holes, then the person who told you the chassis cannot be lubed either doesn't realize that those holes are there to accept a "Zerk Fitting" (which allows the joint to be lubed), or that person was flat out lying to you (and I hope the former turns out to be the case).
My 1989 B2200 has small bolts inserted into holes at these points.
The bolts were placed there at the factory, to protect the joint from getting debris inside of it.
The bolt was supposed to be removed at the dealership and replaced with Zerk Fittings, but many dealerships never performed this operation, for a myriad of reasons, none of which had to do with the well-being of the vehicle itself.
It is very common to see such things in imported vehicles from around the late 1970's up through the mid-1990's (I ended my career as a mechanic at that time, so this condition may still exist).
If you'd like to discuss these points I've addressed, or any others concerning your truck, please feel free to E-mail me at any time (dseaman@uswest.net).
Sincerely,
Dean Seaman.
I have just recently bought an 1989 B2200,and it is a great little truck. It is good on gas, and runs fairly well except for a stalling problem when it is cold. it does have the valve tapping as was stated somewhere on this page. The instruction manual says that this is normal for a few minutes when the engine is cold.
As to the few problems I have with it, The front passenger brake caliper sticks and causes the rotor to overheat. In fact, I just finished replacing it today. and as I said before, the engine doesn't always idle correctly. I intend to have the computer looked at.
My recommendation is that this is a great truck that wouldn't let a potential owner down.
I have a 1993 b2200 with only 87,000 k the valves make noises when I started in the morning; I saw white grease under the oil cap. I guess the additive that I used before clogged my lifters. How can I clean the inside of my engine without clogged my oil pump? Do you know and additive can help me with this problem? Thank You. icaliente@yahoo.com
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