Re: 79 "Boat Tail" 750K and 78 750 K

Posted by rich on Jul 28, 2011; 3:21am
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/79-Boat-Tail-750K-tp3199246p3205482.html

I finally had a chance to get the beast out of the truck today. Charged up the battery and went for a couple of brief runs in front of the house. It runs really well (with a charged battery).

The charging system is not working, so I couldn't ride it much. I just wanted to run it through all the gears to be sure they all worked, which is tough when you live on a dirt road. I zipped it up to about the red line in 1st, 2nd, and had to back off in 3rd because I was doing close to 70 by then. You can tell when the battery starts to get weak because the high-rpm performance just goes away. Also, I believe I saw the oil light glow (very dim, not bright like when you turn the key on) just a bit a couple of times while I was checking it out. It may have just been the way the sun was hitting it or maybe it was caused by the  low voltage too. I was about a half quart low on oil though.

If we ever get a break in this weather, I'll get to inspecting the wiring and testing the alternator components. I'm going to leave it on the battery charger for at least 8 hours too before testing it. It was 106 here today (at least according to the thermometer on my front porch, it was). I've never seen it that hot and I lived in Vegas for 5 years.    

The truck's transmission appears to be OK. Last weekend, when I was bringing the bike home, I stopped to get gas and noticed a huge puddle of fluid so I had the truck towed home. I read where others had the same thing occur on their F150's with the same E40D transmission. Common factors were, heat, load, and a transmission that was well past due for a fluid and filter change. It just got so hot the fluid, for lack of a better term, "boiled over" and exited via the front seal. After they were allowed to cool down and the fluid topped off (mine took about 2 quarts) the seals seemed to hold again. We don't use the truck that often, only about 1000 miles a year, if that. I need to drain and flush all the fluids. I don't even remember the last time I changed the coolant. Just like bikes, letting a vehicle sit is the worse thing for it.