6th Apr 2003, 23:31

I've been reading many reviews on the B Series pickup, and everyone is just about right, except for the truck being slow. I live in Canada, so I don't know what changes were made to our models, if any, but I own a 88 and an 89 B2200; they have an extreme amount of power for a little truck.

As for performance parts, there is a very wide variety to up those ponies etc: Pacesetter exhaust, Accel, K&N filters, comp cams, crane cams, Borla exhaust, Nology, J-E pistons, Bosch, Unorthodox Racing, Weber carbs, Ram clutches, Richmond gears, and even Royal Purple oil will give you up to 10 horses.

To solve your choke problem, it doesn't stick open, it's the heat riser valve.

Burning oil could be three things; fuel injected models, it's just the head gasket, carbed models, it's the valve seals or the oil bearings.

If you have any questions or concerns, email me at turbo032@hotmail.com

Also, if you're interested in lowering or doing custom work at extremely low prices, I have the easy way out of breaking your wallet.

22nd Apr 2003, 00:07

Hi, I currently own an 88 b2200, it has 180,000 kms and ran great for the first 178,000 of them. Now it seems like every week something new comes up. It's really starting to frustrate me especially the problem I'm battling right now. The truck is running way too hot and I can't find the source. Has this happened to anyone else, if so where did you come across the coolant leak? Another quick question, is it possible that this problem could be linked to my ignition seizing on my key to the point where it's become very difficult to turn?

Please email me with ideas at : mdarnbro@hotmail.com.

17th May 2003, 17:10

I've got an owners manual for an 89 b2200 if your just talking about the one that comes with the truck. As far as the slow comments go, mine isn't bad at all for a carburated little four, and I didn't start building it yet for speed. If anyone knows of a header out there for it let me know, I'd rather not have to weld up my own. The guy wanting the manual or anyone else can contact me at bigblockbird@yahoo.com.

18th Jun 2003, 00:08

I have a B2600. I replaced the coil, and replaced the ballast resistor with one from a Dodge Ram D50 dude to availability problems. Before doing anything to the truck I had a problem with it stalling after it gets warm. Before it warms up it runs great, after warming up it will barely idle, and will stall, if you give it gas it will stall immediately. After changing the items mentioned it still does not run right after reaching operating temperature. Anyone know of a solution? Please email me @ jasonpanus@hotmail.com or post the info here. Thank You.

9th Jul 2003, 08:29

My truck overheated the other day and I found it blowing steam from the overflow tube on the radiator.

I let it sit for about 4 hours, filled the radiator, and then cranked it. It was completely cold and was still spilling water. It ran, but very poorly. I then let it sit for 24 hours trying to figure out what was wrong.

Yesterday I tried again, but it would not start. Checked the dip stick and it looked like it had bubbles on it. I suppose that they are water. So I expect that I blew the head gasket. I also think that the reason it is squirting water it the compression from the pistons is traveling through the head gasket into the cooling system, and the excess pressure pushes the water out.

Does this seem like an accurate assessment? Could it be possible that something else is wrong besides the head gasket?

And most important, how long does it take to change a head gasket; do I have to remove everything including the exhaust manifold and timing belt? (I know they are in different locations, but I want to know what all it will entail)

Please advise.

I.B.S.

29th Aug 2003, 17:23

My '89B2200 was blowing water out of the radiator a few years ago. I changed the head gasket and it still blew the water out.

Turned out to be just a clogged radiator :- (

16th May 2004, 18:33

Hope someone can help. Truck died as I was pulling up to a red light. Started back up. I drove another mile or so parked for a few hours and then the truck would not start. SOUNDED as if out of gas. ADDED plenty of gas. Truck would drive for a few blocks then quit again. Did this several times. Replaced fuel filter and noticed that FILTER is not filling with fuel. FIRST... where is the fuel pump on this truck and SHOULD that fuel filter be filling with fuel? THANKS.

11th Oct 2004, 19:06

I have a '92 B2200 with 162K (not sure what is still original - I bought it with 130K). Recently I noticed a ticking sound (tranny? engine? shaft?) when cruising in a "no load" condition. It disappears when I let up on the gas or push it down, but always comes back when I feather it at "no load". I can make it do it in any gear and the sound seems to be matched to truck speed not engine speed (though it is hard to tell - I may be wrong). This sound familiar to anyone? Any hints? Thanks.

7th Feb 2005, 11:33

RE: Ticking noise when cruising in a "no load" condition. I've got the same situation with my '92 B-2200 since I've had it (6 years), have learned to ignore it! Does anyone know the Intake & Exhaust Value Clearances for a 1988 B-2200 with Timing Belt? Thanks, ken.

11th Mar 2005, 04:16

Ticking noises as stated in the above posts COULD BE, the speedo cable. The actual cable itself will sometimes start to slap the housing it's contained in. The resulting noise is a quiet tick heard while driving the vehicle. During my time as a mechanic, I've run across this now and again and it can really mess with your brain, trying to figure it out. The key here was that someone mentioned the frequency of the tick is matched to Road speed NOT engine speed. That eliminates valve lifters or anything else "engine related". The cure is to get a new speedo cable.

16th May 2005, 05:12

I have a 89 B2200 with manual transmission. Have an oil leak which appears to be at top of engine on the fuel pump side. Changed valve cover gasket which did not fix leak. Any suggestions?

9th Jan 2006, 01:39

I have a 1989 B2200 with around 200,000 miles on it, original owner. I've had problems with lifter ticking/knocking for most of the trucks life. I even had them replaced many years ago at the dealer when they were knocking very loudly and consistently. They claimed they were poorly designed with oil channels that are too small (pretty sure they ripped me off though).

Anyway, since then the ticking would get worse as the oil got dirtier and I changed the oil every 2k miles for a while. Then I switched to 5w-30 instead of 10w-30 or 40 and it fixes the problem completely. I've been running like that for probably 80k miles with no problems.