I recently bought an 87 5 speed 22r 4x4 solid front axle. The truck sat for a about a year before i bought it and its running rough. I changed the oil and filter. Truck is idling high and smokes when given throttle. it doesnt have nearly the amount of power that it should. I put some seafoam in the gas and it helped the truck run smoother but not much better. Where should I start?

 

Well what type of smoke are you seeing out the tail pipe? If its running rough there are a number of things to look at. Does it go away when you go to higher rpms or does it get worse? Does it stumble at all before you get it rolling? Did the carb have fuel in it when it sat? Check your plugs and wires. Check everything you can easily get to. Air filter ect.

 

Very generally, engine smoke is white (due to coolant in the exhaust), blue (oil), or black (unburned hydrocarbons, usually meaning an over-rich condition).

Can you classify the smoke by this sort of color scheme?

 

the smoke is white and gets worse the higher you rev. It idles high but will run all day, then lags when you give it gas and let the clutch out. no air filter on the truck at the moment

 

Well check your plugs. If you see white or perfectly clean plugs then most likely you have a bad head gasket. If the plugs are clean but there is still smoke then you may have a crack in your head where the water jacket runs past the exhaust valves.

 

once you get moving it runs better. no coolant in the oil, oil is not milky or anything like that

 

So once it warms up the problem is less noticeable? If it gets higher when you rev but isnt in your oil its a good possibility that your combustion is converting the coolant into steam before you get blow by into your oil sump. That's why I say check your plugs. A head gasket leak does not always mean oil and water will mix.

 

Replace plugs, wires, cap, and the rotor. After that let it run for. a bit. ill bet its nothing serious, since it sat for a year. just run it. ill bet you it gets better. no joke

 

It feels like it has lack of power. sometimes in 3rd and 4th i have to pin it to get up hills

 

You said no oil in coolant or coolant in oil.

BUT




you never mentioned if it is loosing coolant or coolant level is low.

Sometimes its about what is not asked.

 

no oil in coolant or coolant in oil and its not losing coolant or oil