87 Ram 50 4x4 "junkyard" rescue,

[WarStryker13]

23351

Starter gear drive went out yesterday.

Yay.

[geezer101]

Oh sh*t. Looks like the nylon split from age. First time I've seen one do that. Well, there's another thing that you won't need to mess with for a long time once you've replaced it :rolleyes:

[WarStryker13]

The thing that bugs me is the fact that it's a manual transmission truck, with an automatic transmission starter. Plus this starter is actually not that old, it's a Remy Gold brand new starter.

I ordered a new ACDELCO starter, the direct drive manual transmission one, and it should be here by next Wednesday.

One step forward, three steps back.

[geezer101]

Hmm, I was sure the auto vs manual starters were different (output drive gears on the auto are 9 tooth...?) so they couldn't be swapped. Then there's different throw-outs on them as well. Starter motors are one of the things that can catch you out on Mitsubishis...

[WarStryker13]

It says 8 tooth on the '87 starters for both auto and manual... I think the biggest difference is direct drive vs gear reduction for this specific truck, and I'll have both to compare once it shows up.

[WarStryker13]

Since I'm just sitting and waiting for the new starter to show up, I decided to take a look at the A/C wiring... There's more melted wires under the dash next to the fuse block, so now I'm pulling the dash again to see how far it goes.

While the truck is in the garage, I figured I'd take care of a few other things. I replaced the upper radiator hose, there was a pinhole in the side of the old one and I'm not taking any chances. I moved the ignition coil off of the inner fender, it's now mounted to the intake manifold on the EGR block-off plate.

I'm hoping that it's just the A/C wiring that is FUBAR'd, because I can replace that. I don't want to replace most of the wiring harness itself...

[WarStryker13]

New starter is in, it turns over quite a bit slower but somehow starts easier.

I pulled the dash out and pulled the three wires that had melted all the way to the connector next to the evaporator, replaced them with heavier gauge wires I stripped from the FBC harness, and I'm running then all separate from the rest of the harness.

Other than the truck not wanting to start for a few hours after driving it around a little bit, I'm going to call it fixed. I think it might have just been a slightly loose cable somewhere, after getting the battery tested and reinstalling it the truck fired up no problem... I guess I'll just wait and see if it's a recurring problem, might need to upgrade the battery cables and/or the alternator.

[geezer101]

Damn, why did this thing roast the wiring harness? I really should go back over your thread before asking this but - have you gone over the ground leads to make sure you've got good connections? Bad grounds do all sorts of weird stuff...

[WarStryker13]

The grounds are all clean and tight, but I'm seriously considering replacing all of the battery and ground cables with 0 gauge cables. Mostly just to eliminate the possibility of one of those 32 year old cables being full of corrosion or having a loose terminal...

With the amount of oil soaked into everything, the cables might not have any corrosion at all in them... But I'm pretty sure heavier gauge would help A LOT with the starting, and probably charging... That and a 90 amp alternator would help quite a bit as well.

[WarStryker13]

So, tried starting the truck again and it didn't want to. The battery has a full 12.5 volts, but it's acting like the battery is almost dead and the starter is cranking over extremely slowly. I might take it over to Advanced and have them do a current draw test on it, because if it's not pushing out enough amps then I can warranty the battery with those test results. Or just get a full refund and buy a bigger battery.

I'm also going to look at getting a heavier gauge battery cable to try and get all the power that I can to that starter.

Truck ran really well when it actually started this morning, though.

[WarStryker13]

Starter is still not wanting to turn over fast enough... I replaced the battery cable to the starter, added an extra ground to the engine block, and cleaned every connection.

The only other thing I can think of is to pull the starter out and check it over, see if it's a clearance issue between the gear and the flywheel or the brushes not making full contact...

But I did get that toolbox for the bed (finally). Its too narrow to sit on the bed sides, but it was free so I'll either figure out some kind of brackets to mount it or trade it for one that will fit. Part of me wants to mount it to the wheel wells and just mount a spare wheel or two behind it , maybe build a roll bar with an integrated spare mount. IDK.

[85Ram50]

I assume the latest post means you have had the battery tested under load? That means when you are trying to start the motor. If not try that before removing the starter. Cause that is a PIA
Actually if you have a newer battery you know is good putting that in and trying to start will also tell you if the battery is bad or too drained.

[WarStryker13]

I had the battery load tested, it had 708 cranking amps, it's rated for 650 at 32°F. That and it's only 3 months old.

[Giovanni89]

Other than the truck not wanting to start for a few hours after driving it around a little bit,
I'm thinking that either your starter is binding (was the tooth count on the drive gear the same?), or that the new starter is junk. Not wanting to start for a few hours after driving around for a bit makes me think that there is possibly a shorted winding that gets worse with heat soak. Replacing the cables with heavier gauge wire is never a bad idea, but unless you had cranking problems before you replaced the starter, they are not likely the culprit.

[geezer101]

Alright, I'm going to offer a synopsis of the problem. The 9 tooth starter has a slightly wider overall diameter of output gear than the 8 tooth manual starter. The small difference in diameter means it requires more force to engage with the ring gear and that extra diameter needs to be offset somewhere. This is where the shattered nylon gear housing and the difficulty in turning over is significant - that is the effect of the incorrect starter motor being used as it is literally jamming itself to engage. There is another issue waiting to surface which is a bad one - the ring gear getting damaged from excessive wear. Source a used manual starter and test the theory, then decide if you need a new starter motor. Like I said, just a theory...

[WarStryker13]

Found the issue...

23484

Reman starter was junk right out of the box, one of the brushes were cracked and split in half.

I'm going to grab a starter or two or three from the junkyard, along with a couple distributors.

Gotta love when things just keep breaking...

[geezer101]

Found the issue...

23484

Reman starter was junk right out of the box, one of the brushes were cracked and split in half.

I'm going to grab a starter or two or three from the junkyard, along with a couple distributors.

Gotta love when things just keep breaking...

Explains a bunch of things. No chance of claiming on the warranty?

[claych]

^^^
these work very well if You are on a budget .
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJXtHuh1NHL5jeWObYFi4TGEJy-7E7WGcElaVCkVf4kRgfnd8mylkCuFJlyr8U7geJ7CqTBGbm5xo&usqp=CAc
Volkswagen Generator brushes...

[WarStryker13]

With the amount I found wrong with that starter, I'm never getting an ACDelco reman again.

Both mounting holes had helicoils in them, the solenoid had issues, and the insulation for the windings was falling apart and flaking off. But the motor and the gear drive both look damn bear perfect, so I'll keep that and the other parts from the old starter...

I'm planning on putting together as many good, working starters as I can from the two I have and whatever I can get from the junkyard, and hopefully I'll have two working starters by the end of this. One in the truck, and another in the tool box in case I have issues later on.

[geezer101]

You can buy starter brush holder assemblies off ebay pretty cheap. Just need a starter motor with a good commutator that hasn't been roasted and clean it out. That is one crap starter motor overhaul - I do better jobs than that and I'm not even trained...

[WarStryker13]

A small update on the truck, I got the bed box from my coworker finally, it was payment for helping him get his truck onto post and doing a little work on his truck.

23509

I bolted it directly to the bed, because I'm not going to be building a roll bar or brackets for it any time soon. I did realize that with it sitting under the sides of the bed it's less visibly obvious, so there's less chance of someone trying to break into it or steal it.

I tried going to the junkyard today, but it's apparently closed. I did get a chance to look through the trees... The Raider is gone unfortunately, but there's still a few Ram 50s that I could see, along with a couple of 3rd gen Monteros. I'm hoping I'll be able to find a couple of starters and distributors, but I have a feeling I'll be lucky to find one of each. I am going to try and dig up some interior pieces, look for manual locking hubs, and anything else I can use.

[WarStryker13]

It blew up. But first a little backstory.

Went to the junkyard yesterday, only found one starter. The Raider is gone, there's only 4 Ram 50s left, two of them were missing the engine and trans, one had just a shortblock, and the last one was missing the distributor and carburetor...

The junkyard starter is a Bosch remanufactured unit, it works really well. At first I thought the solenoid spring might be broken or just weak, because it sounded like the gear wasn't fully retracting once the engine was running. I had the same sound with the ACDelco remanufactured starter, and the solenoid spring was much thinner and weaker than the solenoid spring in the old gear reduction starter.

So when I started the truck this morning, the oil light stayed on for a few seconds after the engine started and the rattle that I thought was the starter gear was quite a bit louder. The oil light went off after about 10 seconds of idling, and the rattle stopped after I bumped the throttle to back out of my driveway. The oil light has done that almost every time I started the truck before, but it usually went off after 3-5 seconds.

I drove it across post, parked it for an hour, and when starting it the second time the oil light went out almost immediately. The rattle didn't stop until I started driving away, but I could still hear a little bit of what sounded like the gear catching on the flywheel a little when I started off from a stop, and I heard it a few times after shifting gears or around corners. I was planning on pulling the starter off tonight after work, but I needed to head to work and I felt like the truck was ready for a long distance road test. I had prepared as much as I could, I double and triple checked everything, and I headed out. This time the rattle was a little more pronounced, but it went away pretty quickly. The oil light went off after 5 seconds of idling, and the rattle was intermittent and random. It was running great, I was cruising at 55 mph for about 20 miles, and then suddenly the oil light came on, the engine was slowly dropping in RPMs regardless of what position the throttle pedal was at, and it stopped as soon as I let off the throttle to pull off on a side road. I coasted about 50 feet, turned on the hazards and sat there for a moment hoping it was just a wire that came unplugged or something else small.

I popped the hood, there was nothing unplugged but I did see a small wisp of smoke out of the breather. I looked at the dipstick, there was still plenty of oil in the engine and I couldn't see anything obvious on it. I tried starting it again and smoke started puffing out of the breather, but it started. It died again after a few minutes, and after that refused to start and it sounded like the starter was fighting to turn it over. I pulled the dipstick again and found sparkles.

So now I get to pull the engine, pull it apart, figure out what went wrong and where, and go from there.

YAY! :shakehead:

[StarquestMan]

Dang! best of luck to you. I had my transmission fail on me last year and all the crap that went along with that so I know your pain! hopefully it will be something straight forward and fairly easy to deal with. someone will chime in and give some more pointers on things to check/evaluate but it may be a good idea when the dust settles to isolate where the engine has seized up. I think that it could be possible (someone correct me if im wrong) but these engines tend to seize up at the cam when they get low on oil pressure. by the symptoms you describe i have seen a g54b do that since the cam simply rides in the aluminum head near the top of the engine. i pulled the rocker arms off to find the cam all chewed up and if you remove the bolt holding the cam sprocket on you can try turning the crank shaft with a breaker bar back and forth to see if the bottom end is free (just don't turn it to far and let the timing chain jump a tooth). if it turns free you might just need a new head possibly. Again someone correct me if im wrong in this thinking. also the balance shafts and oil pump have there own chain to drive them separately from the timing chain so something could be wrong there however this is a single width chain that tends to just snap and starve the whole engine for oil if anything seizes on its path.

[geezer101]

Due to the abuse this poor truck soaked up before you got it, I hate to say it but it's either engine swap or rebuild time. Don't know about seized cams in the 4G54 (this seemed to be a trait of 4G64's that have been cooked) but this might only need new bearings put through it, timing chains and guides, a light hone of the block and new stock rings. If you decide to pull it down hopefully you won't find the head or the crank chewed up. It looked like it was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, too bad it was an oncoming train... :shakehead:

[WarStryker13]

The dipstick had some bigger pieces of bearing material on it, looked like aluminum flakes... So I'm pretty sure I won't be able to just swap the head.

[geezer101]

The dipstick had some bigger pieces of bearing material on it, looked like aluminum flakes... So I'm pretty sure I won't be able to just swap the head.

Unless that metal has come from the oil pump (still not a good sign though) - the flakes could possibly be nothing more than white metal from bearings.

[Giovanni89]

I'd drop the pan and start shaking some con rods. Unfortunately, I don't think it'll be a fluke. My truck builds oil pressure faster than that at -10deg F. There is a possibility it's the balance shafts and balance shafts/oil pump timing chain. Could have started chewing up the chain and chain wheels if those bearings started locking up. I believe they are usually the first to go, and what leads to the untimely demise of many a 2.6

[WarStryker13]

23536

All that's left is unbolting the engine from the mounts and bellhousing and yanking...

I still need to figure out how I'm going to lift it out, I don't have a hoist available and I don't exactly have the time or money to buy one right now.

[geezer101]

Anywhere you can hire one out? If you have all of the prep work done and it's just a matter of yeeting it out, you could book one for a day and get it swapped.

[WarStryker13]

Eventually, once I actually get the engine out of the truck and get it apart, my plans for this block are as follows:

1. Clean and hot tank the block and head

2. Machining (if necessary, hopefully not)

3. Adding piston squirters (I believe the Starion blocks have these, which is probably one of the reasons why it's preferable to start with a Starion block)

4. Drill and tap for oil feed and return lines for the turbo

5. Balance shaft delete

6. New bearings, rings, oil pump, timing chain, and any other parts that got maimed or are showing signs of excessive wear...

I'm going to do some research on camshafts, I'm thinking something relatively "mild"... ;)

I'm probably going to do some porting on the head and intake manifold, and I'm planning on doing a blow-through carburetor setup for two reasons: A boost referenced fuel pressure regulator is cheaper and easier than trying to find a Starion EFI setup, get it working in this truck, AND tune it... And I'm a rebel.

As for swapping to a different engine, I'm not going to unless I find a 4D55T for cheap.

[geezer101]

We had draw through 2.0 turbos here in Oz. They ran a CD175 Stromberg carb and a tiny bit of work made them fearsome. This has come up before and I posted this - http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/5074-81-2-6-sport-turbo-possible?p=44007&viewfull=1#post44007

[WarStryker13]

Draw through would be cool, but I'd have to buy more stuff and I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible.

I'm not looking for major power, just a little more... Plus turbo noises.

I'm also probably going to do a hater pipe, but it'll be off an exhaust cut-out so I can still drive the truck without hearing protection. Because tractor flappers straight out of the hood are awesome.

Oh, and when I pulled the balance shaft cover off the side of the block, there was zero evidence of any gasket material. Just a buildup of dirt and burnt oil. It didn't leak that much, surprisingly.

[WarStryker13]

I want to try cleaning the block as much as possible before I decide whether it's going to a machine shop or not, and I'm just wondering if what I'm thinking makes sense...

Once the block is completely torn apart, I want to take a pressure washer to it and get as much of the built-up dirt and grease off of it as possible, and get as much sludge and varnished, burnt oil out of it as possible.

Next, I was going to set the block in a plastic tote big enough to submerge it completely and fill the tote with a mild acid, either hot water and powdered citric acid, vinegar, or whatever... I'm hoping to break up and dissolve as much of the rust as possible, and potentially dissolve some of the sludge that I have no doubt is coating the inside. I'm hoping that I wont have to, but if or when I do take it to a shop it will be less work I'd have to pay them to do.

I know that I could just clean the oil passages, replace bearings and slam it back together, but if I'm going through the trouble of pulling the engine I want it to look like brand new when it goes back in.

I will be deep cleaning the engine bay, and paying extra attention to the front crossmember, differential housing, and anything else still covered in sludge... And since I'm making the engine pretty, I might as well drop the trans and t-case out from under the truck and pressure wash those...

I am not going to do anything to the outside of the truck to make it look nicer, because I like the idea of that contrast between the rusty, beat up faded shell, and the gleaming, shiny new engine bay...

Also, should I make it a point to check for ring ridge or bore taper? I'm already planning on measuring the pistons and crank journals, but if they're over/under sized I need to know before ordering new bearings or rings.

[geezer101]

If you're going down this path, get the bare block hot tanked. I did a 'dirty' block clean with oven cleaner and a small scrubbing brush and gave the bores a quick deglaze with a scourer ball on a cordless drill as there were no signs of cosmetic wear on the bores on this particular engine (I finished it off with spray can degreasers as hosing down the inside of an engine block with water is asking for trouble) . If it's got a lip on it, it'll need boring. Likewise if it has obvious cosmetic damage like scoring or gouges. But if the bores appear to be undamaged but worn smooth, my deglaze trick will work (I installed new stock size rings and polished up the pistons) This may be advantageous as a little extra clearance on the bores with a turbo install is helpful - boost will force the compression rings to seal tighter. An engine with already tight clearances will more than likely snap piston rings.

[WarStryker13]

That's why I'm wanting to get the engine torn apart as quickly as possible, so I at least know what will need to be done.

And I'm a fan of the dingle-ball hone too.

I was already planning on opening up the ring end gaps a few thousandths, just as a precaution against chipping a piston.

[geezer101]

I didn't use a dingle ball hone but something similar to this - https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-100mm-Abrasive-Non-Woven-Scotch-Brite-Polishing-Scuff-Ball-80-grit/352629667614?epid=25020236805&hash=item521a5db71e:g:tG8AAOSweW5U-NPd

It's not very aggressive and I was able to use a spade bit extension on my cordless drill to get the whole bore with the crank still installed without fear of damaging anything. The honing stone tool I bought was way too aggressive and I just happened to run into these by chance.

[WarStryker13]

Got the oil pan off, and found out what went wrong...

23617

Floppy chain.

23618

I'm going to say that chunk of metal looks like a bearing that fell out and got caught in the chain... and destruction ensued.

23619

More shiny bits...

23620

The sketch level here isn't as high as I would like. :lmao:

I still have to get the engine fully out and get it taken apart, but I've made progress and I'm claiming it as a win.

[geezer101]

It would take catastrophic damage to the engine for a bearing to make it's way out of a journal. Could be from a balance shaft? :shrug:When they fail you get a huge drop in oil pressure which sort of follows what you experienced.

[WarStryker13]

That's what I'm thinking, that it's a balance shaft bearing. Above that bearing there's a piece of the chain sitting in the pan...

[geezer101]

...and all of the shiny mud in the sump are bits of cast aluminium from the timing cover as it got ground off by the chain. The question will be - delete or not delete the shafts? There's a good chance that at least one of the balance shafts is chewed up as a result of the bearing failure (my money is on the exhaust side)

[WarStryker13]

Definitely delete. I'm not going to chance this happening again.

https://www.racetep.com/automaker/starion.html

I'm still looking, but I think I've found at least one place that offers some of the go-fast parts I'm looking for... I can at least ask them a few questions about stuff like their Montero turbo kit or head/block modifications.

[Giovanni89]

I have over 60k miles on my balance shaft delete. Don't notice anything in the oil at drain, and I make 90psi running down the highway. Would probably be a good idea to balance the rods and pistons while apart, should minimize any vibrations.

[WarStryker13]

If I cared enough, I would have it balanced... But I'm not worried about vibration.

I'm more concerned about ensuring that I have enough oil pressure and that there's enough oil flow, and I'm concerned about removing potential points of failure...

In my case, that point of failure fulfilled it's potential.

[geezer101]

You don't need to take it into some high performance engine shop to balance your rods and piston assemblies. Buy a cheap set of digital scales, weigh each one 3 times to get an average weight for each assembly, record the average weight and take a die grinder to the heaviest one first and use the lightest one as your bench mark. You will literally be shaving off a few grams to get the balanced weight you're after. Anything that helps... Don't forget that turfing the balance shafts is going to improve throttle response plus ramp your oil pressure.

[claych]

????
"turfing the balance shafts is going to improve throttle response plus ramp your oil pressure."
????

Turfing ????
Please, do explain ---thx.

[WarStryker13]

Turfing: Deleting, removing, tossing in the trash, etc. lol

I'll weigh the pistons and con rods, if they're close I'll just leave them. I don't want to accidentally remove material from a potentially weak spot and lose a piston skirt.

[claych]

Well then ,
Please forgive My intrusion on the 'Mutual Administration Collective ' super secret squirrel handshake society:shock:

[WarStryker13]

LOL

I had never heard the term before myself, but I figured that was the gist of it.

[geezer101]

LOL

I had never heard the term before myself, but I figured that was the gist of it.

:lmao:You have grasped the vernacular well, my apprentice...

[WarStryker13]

I'm on my way to pick up an engine stand, and either later today or tomorrow I'll be renting an engine crane.

By the end of this weekend I should have the engine torn down and have an idea of what all it will need.

[Giovanni89]

The first rule about the super secret squirrel handshake society is that you never talk about the super secret squirrel handshake society

Well then ,
Please forgive My intrusion on the 'Mutual Administration Collective ' super secret squirrel handshake society:shock:

[WarStryker13]

Why I didn't say anything about it. Lol

[claych]

wow,
what does 'vato' mean ??

[geezer101]

..one of your bros/homeboys :)

[WarStryker13]

Engine is out.

23654

23655

Dirty girl...

[WarStryker13]

Found the problem.

23656

23657

And that explains why the timing was constantly off...

[claych]

..one of your bros/homeboys :)

Please do take a trip to The United States ,pm Me your itinerary ...

[geezer101]

Hmm, ate a guide. This is one of the things that has put me off the 4G52/54 engines are the collection of guides and chains. It makes working on them complicated. I think there's a non-balance shaft chain kit for the 4G54 (forklift engine?)

@ claych - glad you'd have me, but if I'm struggling to get my truck on the road there ain't much chance of getting myself on a plane :lmao:

[WarStryker13]

It did more than that... It tore the bolt out of the balance shaft, destroying the end of the balance shaft and ripping the gear completely off the end of the balance shaft

Ah well. That kit does exist, and after all of the cleaning and disassembly I'll be ordering parts.

[WarStryker13]

More pics of the carnage:

23658

23659

Bearings are completely destroyed. The crank doesn't look much better, unfortunately... It'll need the journals polished at a minimum.

[geezer101]

Jeez, that is easily as bad as the catastrophic damage my original G63B engine went through. With the bottom end that badly chewed up, I'd be worried about the head. Got my fingers crossed your crank can be salvaged...

[WarStryker13]

The crank will need polishing, but the scratches aren't very deep so it shouldn't need ground...

23660

23661

23662

23663

23664

The rear main seal might need some help, but it should be fine.

[Giovanni89]

Yepppp, another balance shaft failure. Sounds like you have a good handle on it. I think, but someone else should confirm, that the cam chain tensioner is pressurized by the oil pump. Pretty sure the little spring in there is just to keep it tensioned while the engine is shut off. Low oil pressure could explain why your timing was jumping around. I can't tell by the picture, but it looks like the guide still had some meat on it.

[xboxrox]

WarStryker, hope you enjoy wrenching and getting your hands dirty NOT ME, I do THIS if I see any dirty work to be done ----> :dogrun:

[WarStryker13]

23689

Well there's yer problem.

[pennyman1]

balance shaft seized I assume...

[geezer101]

Whoa, that is one ugly hunk of metal...

[xboxrox]

overpowered engine damage :(

[WarStryker13]

I've made an executive decision: This rebuild will NOT be accomplished "properly" or in the "right" way.

I am not taking this to a machine shop, I am not having a shop do a "professional" job, I am not spending that kind of money.

However, this engine WILL run again.

I am going to polish the crank journals by hand. I'm going to (carefully) clean up/polish the cam journals both in the head and on the cam. I am going to very lightly hone the cylinder bores, clean the block and paint it Chrysler Hemi Orange (just because).... And I will be putting in new main bearings, rod bearings, piston rings, a new timing set, balance shaft delete kit, and new oil pump.

I am going to measure every bearing clearance, but I will be fixing non-optimal clearances with liberal treatments of Motor Honey or equivalent oil additives and stabilizers. I will be using a proper engine break-in oil for the first start up and (however long) break-in period.

I might try a bottle or two of the "nano-particle" or "metal treatment" oil additives, give this engine the best chance to survive the horrific things I'm about to do to it... :lmao:

I do really wish I could do this the "proper" way, "professionally" and whatnot... But I don't have the money or time right now, and if this works I'll do a legit turbo 2.6 build for this truck. Later.

Forgive me for the sins I am about to commit... lol

[Giovanni89]

I can't speak for anyone other than myself...but I've certainly committed more egregious sins. :grin: Well, maybe I haven't set out with such things in mind, but there's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution! Get it!

[geezer101]

There's a lot to weigh up on any project. I had only ever done top end work on engines before and the prospect of taking an engine in for machining and a full rebuild is still daunting. Last summer my Hung Dog wagon bit it hard - radiator split and it overheated badly. I managed to limp it home belching black smoke and knocking like an angry hoard of rioters and I felt I didn't have anything to lose by pulling the engine and giving it an autopsy. Turned out the bores and block weren't chewed up and the head didn't crack or warp so I threw the dice. I polished up the rod journals and deglazed the bores (using what is probably the most unorthordox method I could come up with/anyone has ever used...) , polished up the pistons and installed new standard rings, gave the head to a shop for a once over (hot tank, pressure test, 3 way valve cut) Not the way to do a full engine build but it is still going strong and hasn't griefed me at all. It wasn't cheap getting a new radiator, a full VRS kit and having the head prepped by a shop but it was put back together and got running on a very tight budget and time frame - in my driveway.

[claych]

warstryker13,
After You -abuse (lol) the crankshaft journals & take measurements.
Pay an PROFESSIONAL PARTS SUPPLIER to provide You with a 'custom' bearing set.
Edit,
> 'custom' < each bearing is sized to a specific journal.

[WarStryker13]

I'm not looking to take that much off of the journals, I'm just trying to get them to a polished finish.

I will measure the clearance just to be sure, but if it's 6 thousandths or less I'm calling it good enough.

[geezer101]

I cheated with the journals - I used paper towel, a nylon ratchet strap and some autosol polish. I folded up the paper towel, put a small swab of the metal polish onto it and then wrapped the paper towel around the journal. The nylon ratchet strap then wrapped around the paper towel and I see-sawed it back and forth to buff up the journal. Not the perfect way to do it but it polished up. I only did the rod journals and not the mains. I also buffed the old bearings up gently by hand using the paper towel and autosol. The bearings weren't munched but were a little laminated from the gunk in the engine. Still going strong...

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to use crocus cloth to polish the journals, it's a very fine soft abrasive cloth that is comparable to 1500-2000 grit...

It's an old product, it's similar to emery cloth but instead of abrasive grit that is glued to a cloth backing, it's a loose iron oxide abrasive embedded into the cloth. It's perfect for a fine polish on metal surfaces, and very difficult to find now.

The good news is that I found a 60ft roll of it for less than $20 on the McMaster-Carr website.

[geezer101]

^never knew something like that even existed! Sounds old school... 60ft is a lot of cloth tape, but for $20 you don't have to worry about wasting it.

[claych]

I'm not looking to take that much off of the journals, I'm just trying to get them to a polished finish.

I will measure the clearance just to be sure, but if it's 6 thousandths or less I'm calling it good enough.

Plastigauge?? or Telescoping Gauge & Micrometer ??

[WarStryker13]

Plastigauge, because a bore gauge and micrometer are much more expensive. I'll measure in multiple places on the journals, but it'll have to do.

[WarStryker13]

Small update:

I've gotten the block almost completely cleaned, just a few more small spots to take care of before it's ready for paint. Side note: it took two different razor scrapers and 6 razor blades just to get the old paper oil pan gasket off. Timing cover gasket was only slightly easier to remove.

I'm going to be spraying it Chrysler Hemi Orange, because hemi, and because there was no way I was going to go with black after the amount of effort I've put into it so far.

I'm leaving the timing cover and rear cover as bare aluminum, along with the head and valve cover. I will be fogging the oil pan orange once it's cleaned up as well.



I did have a question about the rocker assembly: do the shafts press out of the caps, or am I missing something? I don't want to destroy something by accident, but those rocker shafts need to come apart so I can get them as clean as possible.

I understand that I most likely won't get every single last particle of bearing material out of the engine, but I'm trying to get enough out that the oil filter will catch whatever's left, and the moly lube will grab what the oil filter doesn't.

And no, I haven't started polishing the crankshaft yet. I had an extremely busy two weeks at work before going on holiday leave and I did not actually get the crocus cloth ordered. At this point I don't know if I even will order it, because I found a few sheets of 2,000 grit sandpaper in a drawer that I forgot about, and I might just use that for the final polish.



I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked to have made by this point, but progress has been made.

[Giovanni89]

It's been a while, but I seem to remember that there was a retaining ring on the end of the rocker shaft. Once you removed it, everything slid right off. Next time your fighting a paper gasket, get out a propane torch. I've found burning the gasket does a great job of getting it to let go. Also, the "surface conditioning discs" on a die grinder work great. They are basically a very coarse scotch brite pad. Just be extra careful on aluminum that you don't dig into the mating surface. They are about all I use now for cleaning gasket surfaces. Blocks, heads, water pumps, etc. Road salt and oil/grease will make your timing cover look nasty in short order. Consider a silver brake caliper paint. Will look close to aluminum, and not get as crusty.
Progress is progress, keep it up!

[WarStryker13]

Thanks for the reply about the rocker shafts.

I wish I had thought about the scotch brite wheel before, probably would have saved me so much time.

I've still got to soak the pistons, main caps, rocker shafts, front and rear covers, the head, and assorted hardware in some degreaser/cleaner, clean the oil pan and prep it for paint, and all the front accessories still to clean...

All that, and I still don't have all the parts and gaskets to reassemble the engine.

I really wish this engine had held together until after the holidays. Lol

[WarStryker13]

Quick update:

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Block is painted Chrysler Hemi Orange.

Almost ready to assemble the short block, still have quite a bit left to clean before I can get the entire engine back together.

Progress is painfully slow, but it is still progress.

[geezer101]

The hemi orange is out of control! There is nothing like a freshly painted block to raise an engine bay a level or 2. Nice :grin:

[WarStryker13]

Made some decent progress...

I de-glazed the cylinder walls with a homemade tool, basically a stack of ScotchBrite pads, a few washers, and some all-thread.

I measured all of the clearances, they're all either within spec or close enough. I would list all of the individual measurements, but I don't remember them exactly. I did at least write down the min/max of the measurements that I took, which are as follows:

Main bearing oil clearances are all between 0.001" and 0.002", rod bearing oil clearances are all between 0.0015" and 0.0025". Service limit is 0.004" oil clearance for the main and rod bearings.

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Piston ring end gaps are between 0.016" and 0.019" for the top compression rings, 0.012" and 0.016" for the second rings, and 0.014" and 0.016" for the oil rings.
Service limit is 0.031" end gap for the top and second ring, 0.039" for the oil ring.

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I slammed the pistons back in last night for the final assembly, after letting them soak in some SAE 40 oil for a few hours, and I officially have a (mostly) assembled short block.

I did have some questions now that I'm at this point:

1. Is there a specific number of ft-lbs for the amount of torque it should take to rotate the crank? Right now I have the crank bolt and washer threaded into the end of the crankshaft, and using that I'm measuring it at approximately 65 ft-lbs. Once it starts rotating, it becomes easier to keep it rotating with a ratchet on the end of the crank bolt.

2. I know that there are certain engines which are very difficult to rotate when freshly built/rebuilt, and once the bearings are "broken in" the engine rotates much easier. Is the G54B similar?

3. I'm planning on using break-in oil for the first start-up and first 500(ish) miles. Is there any recommendation on what brand of break-in oil would be best?

4. Is there any recommendation on what weight of oil to run in this engine AFTER the break-in period, considering the oil clearances are only slightly more than standard specifications, but well below the service limits?



The new gaskets and seals should be here by the end of today, but I might not get anything else done until after the weekend.

I did get a good look at the old oil pump... It's completely worn out. There's deep grooves cut into the housing by one of the gears, and both gear shafts have a lot of play in their bores, even with the pump assembled. The balance shaft chain rubber guides are completely mangled, the timing chain rubber guides are cracked and missing chunks, and the timing chain tensioner spring was completely stuck inside the oil pump housing. The timing gears themselves don't show signs of excessive wear, but the teeth on the crankshaft gear for the balance shaft chain look like shark fins and both of the smaller gears have quite a bit of damage to the teeth, likely from the chain failure.

It's gonna be a while before I can afford a new timing set, new oil pump, the balance shaft elimination kit and the new gears and chain guide for it, new head bolts, and all the fluids and miscellaneous things that are keeping me from getting this engine back in the truck.

Thanks for taking the time to read my brain-dump, and thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

[WarStryker13]

Oh, and there is about half of a 16oz tube of moly lube in the short block right now, because you can never have too much lubrication.

[WarStryker13]

I've had nothing to do but think about it while at work these past few days, and I'm not happy with the cylinder walls.

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I just want to get rid of the wear marks and get a proper crosshatch pattern.

The ScotchBrite barely touched the buildup at the top of the cylinder... I'm gonna need an actual cylinder hone.

[geezer101]

How many passes did you make? I used the same technique with a little fresh engine oil just to prevent it from ripping into the cylinder walls and, although my bores weren't vertically scored like yours are, I managed to completely de-glaze the surface (might need to use a coarser finished pad... I tried with the spring loaded stone tool and I was scared that it was too aggressive so I gave this method a shot) If you are going to hone it you may be going beyond the tolerancing for 'stock' pistons and rings. I think the rule is that if your thumb nail can catch on the score marks, it's time to rebore the cylinders.

[WarStryker13]

I went at the cylinders for a solid 30 seconds each, but I'm gonna say it's because the "tool" I made just doesn't have enough material to put enough pressure against the cylinder walls. I could probably buy more ScotchBrite pads and make it thick enough to do the job, but it would end up costing more than just getting one of those spring loaded cylinder hones.

According to the factory specs, the piston-to-bore clearance in a brand new G54B should be 0.0009", and the limit is 0.0008" to 0.0016". Right now I've got a piston-to-bore clearance of 0.0008" to 0.001".

So as long as I'm particularly careful with the hone, I should be able to get a good crosshatch pattern and get rid of all of the score marks without going too far past the clearance limit. Considering the nature of this rebuild, I would still feel comfortable if I ended up at 0.002" piston-to-bore clearance. It might not be optimal, but it will run and right now that's all I'm going for.

[Giovanni89]

It's looking good. I'm sure it'll run just fine!

[WarStryker13]

Finally ordered the new timing set, balance shaft delete kit, new guides, new sprockets, new oil pump, new head bolts, and a new oil pickup tube.

I got a new oil pickup tube because I didn't want to try un-crimping and re-crimping the old oil pickup screen, and the new one was $16.

I still have to buy a clutch alignment tool, some gasket sealer goop, the oil and coolant, some fresh gas to put in the tank...

And one of those universal triple gauge sets. I'm not gonna try starting this engine without knowing exactly how much oil pressure it has... Plus I'd like to know actual numbers for temperature and volts.

The total for this rebuild is currently right around $250, not including tools or cleaning supplies.

[WarStryker13]

Everything except the oil pump has shown up...that won't be here until the 22nd. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the timing set. It's from ITM Engine Components, and everything looks to be of decent quality. I found it on Amazon for $44, P/N 053-93800, and it has everything. It's a regular timing set, with a balance shaft delete kit and all of the sprockets and guides included.

I went ahead and bought that spring-loaded cylinder hone, on my next day off I'm going to tear the engine apart (again) and get the cylinders honed (properly).

I picked up some high-tack gasket sealer for the cork gaskets, Indian Head shellac for the paper gaskets, PTFE thread sealant for the block plugs, valve lapping compound, more RTV, a couple extra fuel filters, and the clutch alignment tool.

I had to get a 1/8" NPT female to 1/8" BSPT male adapter fitting in order to run the new oil pressure gauge, and it was hell to track one down.

I also picked up a jug of Super Clean and way too many cans of brake clean from Walmart, because cheap, and I'm going to try and finish cleaning everything that's left before the oil pump shows up.

I'm gonna soak the head overnight to try and break up all of the carbon deposits that I can't reach, finish cleaning the oil pan so it can be painted, clean up all of the valvetrain and hardware, and clean up the front accessories and brackets.

The only things I still need to purchase is the engine oil and filter, a fresh set of spark plugs, and some fresh coolant. I'm still considering grabbing a bottle of engine break-in oil additive, or one of those fancy engine treatments with friction modifiers and micro-lubricants that soak into metal surfaces.


I'm excited. I can see the finish line, and it feels absolutely fantastic.

[Salteen]

yeah, i have an 82 motor going in 87, i am getting my restricted license in 2 weeks (finally got all as and bs [all shit and bull shit] for that lower insurance) i cant wait to be driving. mom says i drive like hell on wheels, which means i drive good. i took a 05 yukon through gorgia mountains at 80 mph last summer and dad said i done real good. cant wain to go on my first camping trip, i have a camper top and a 6' cot which fits perfectly in the bed. i like that red color, trimming my silver 87 in red. 24179241802418124182


here:

[WarStryker13]

Shame that 82 has so much rust, those are pretty rare...

If you're willing to listen to it, I've got a little bit of advice for you: Take some driving classes.

You'll learn a hell of a lot more about how to drive than you thought was possible. I got the chance to take a few driving classes at a legitimate racetrack, and it completely changed the way I think and how I drive on a regular basis.

It will keep that "hell on wheels" away from public roads where one tiny mistake could put yourself and others in danger, and you'll learn how to use it like a weapon... There's a reason why professional drivers get paid well.

As for your 87, I would suggest keeping the red subtle. If you have to follow the stereotypical teenager thing and make everything look gaudy with bright colors in weird places, at least use vinyl wrap or plasti-dip. It's much easier to remove than paint, and you don't run the risk of permanent stains or damage.



Now, more updates.

The cylinder head, camshaft, valves, springs, retainers, keepers, spring seats, rocker shafts, rocker shaft caps, and a few other bits are soaking in Super Clean... I think 48 hours should do the trick.

I got the inside of the oil pan almost completely clean, there's still a bit of sludge/buildup inside the baffle but I'm reasonably confident that all of the bearing material is out of it. I'm going to do this the easy way and just fill the oil pan with full strength Super Clean and let it soak.

I absolutely love this Super Clean stuff. I wish I had started using it sooner...

[StarquestMan]

Shame that 82 has so much rust, those are pretty rare...

If you're willing to listen to it, I've got a little bit of advice for you: Take some driving classes.

You'll learn a hell of a lot more about how to drive than you thought was possible. I got the chance to take a few driving classes at a legitimate racetrack, and it completely changed the way I think and how I drive on a regular basis.

It will keep that "hell on wheels" away from public roads where one tiny mistake could put yourself and others in danger, and you'll learn how to use it like a weapon... There's a reason why professional drivers get paid well.

As for your 87, I would suggest keeping the red subtle. If you have to follow the stereotypical teenager thing and make everything look gaudy with bright colors in weird places, at least use vinyl wrap or plasti-dip. It's much easier to remove than paint, and you don't run the risk of permanent stains or damage

I highly agree with this! Back in high school I had worked a summer job 2-3 years saving up for my dream car, a starquest, I finally saved up to buy one and traveled out of state to acquire this dream car of mine. It took me many months and disappointing times of calling on ads only to have the car sell within hours of its posting. well I went to the bank to get the money to go buy the car out of state hoping that the 1 or 2 other people looking to buy it before me would flake out. When I was in the bank getting the money the lady at the counter asked me what kind of car I had saved up for. when I told her she said she used to have one and absolutely loved it...until her boyfriend went and raced it and blew up the engine. after that my family went up to Portland Oregon to buy this car and we lucked out in that the other parties didn't buy it so I did! the guy I bought it from, the original owner warned me that it was a tail happy car. later that night we stopped at a motel with the car on the trailer in front of the lobby. the guy at the desk came out and said it was the same car he was looking at to buy but didn't for some reason I cant remember but he said his dad owned one when he was a kid but said his sisters boyfriend stole it and wrapped it around a pole! I should have gotten the message by now!

fast forward a while and after I had replaced the bad clutch that the car needed when I bought it and had some miles under my belt both driving normally and crazy, a close friend of mine went driving one night and I decided for some reason that I should show off. I was approaching a corner that seemed much wider than I had thought and decided to punch it in 3rd and send the car sideways around the turn and before I knew it I had screwed up big time! the car went too far and I had the wheels locked in the opposite direction when the back end decided to grab and send the car right into an rock embankment.
24210
All that hard work was gone in a second. I was in a pretty hard spot in my life and it nearly put me over the edge. I regrouped and lucked out and found an identical parts car and went to work. over 200 hours later I found myself with a car that was never quite the same. I hope to eventually fix it the right way but thats besides the point. had things gone differently me or my friend could have been seriously hurt or even killed. sure I only hit the wall at about 30-35mph but the car almost rolled and had it hit differently the force could have been more head on and really hurt us more. I had neck issues for the next few years after that but had things happened differently it could have been worse. I learned that as fun as driving is you never really understand how wrong things can go when they do.

as to the modding of your truck its yours and you can do as you please of course, but try to avoid anything permanent because your tastes will change. When I got my truck at age 14 I did all kinds of mods that I came to regret later and took a lot of work to change later. I painted my dash black and it was a nightmare to fix which eventually required replacing with a donor, I cut holes in the door panels for some cheapo walmart speakers that I then realized kept the windows from opening all the way. I learned more about speakers and found some quality ones that fit in the stock location that sounded way better. Im sure there are a million things I have done only to regret later but luckily none involved any cutting metal on the body or anything too permanent. my advice is if you modify anything keep the original part and if you have to cut up a part try to use a donor part to use if possible and when it comes to aftermarket radios use an adapter harness, its a million times nicer that cutting up the stock wiring and you'l thank me when you go to replace it in the future;) hope all this saves you (or anyone else reading this) some future grief

[Salteen]

Shame that 82 has so much rust, those are pretty rare...

If you're willing to listen to it, I've got a little bit of advice for you: Take some driving classes.

You'll learn a hell of a lot more about how to drive than you thought was possible. I got the chance to take a few driving classes at a legitimate racetrack, and it completely changed the way I think and how I drive on a regular basis.

It will keep that "hell on wheels" away from public roads where one tiny mistake could put yourself and others in danger, and you'll learn how to use it like a weapon... There's a reason why professional drivers get paid well.

As for your 87, I would suggest keeping the red subtle. If you have to follow the stereotypical teenager thing and make everything look gaudy with bright colors in weird places, at least use vinyl wrap or plasti-dip. It's much easier to remove than paint, and you don't run the risk of permanent stains or damage.



Now, more updates.

The cylinder head, camshaft, valves, springs, retainers, keepers, spring seats, rocker shafts, rocker shaft caps, and a few other bits are soaking in Super Clean... I think 48 hours should do the trick.

I got the inside of the oil pan almost completely clean, there's still a bit of sludge/buildup inside the baffle but I'm reasonably confident that all of the bearing material is out of it. I'm going to do this the easy way and just fill the oil pan with full strength Super Clean and let it soak.

I absolutely love this Super Clean stuff. I wish I had started using it sooner...

I have done this, mom said I drove like hell on wheels when I started (which is her way of saying I drove good) and dad said I do good too. I took a 05 yukon through the Georgia mountains at 60 -80 mph last summer and it was honestly really fun. And dad said that was some of my best driving. I have studied my book up and down and have learned from a man who can drive a semi truck for 28 hours straight only stopping to pee and eat. That's a round trip from SC to MI and back. I started on a dirtbike when I was 4, been using clutch since 8 years old or so. I am 15. My first truck I ever drove was a 1980's model Touota Pickup that dad sold to some Cubans who imported it back to Cuba. I miss that truck. But yes, I know how to drive, I am not saying i know everything, but i fair better than most, you could say.

[Salteen]

As in hell on wheels being a big exaggeration lol

[Salteen]

I had forgot about my earlier post, sorry if it's literally a repeat. Cant edit.

[WarStryker13]

I wasn't saying you were inexperienced or didn't know how to drive, but you sound like I did when I was 15 and I don't want you to learn the hard way... like I did.

I've been driving since I was 10, and I started racing dirt track and jr. drags at 13. I won close to 75% of the races I entered, and there's a closet full of trophies at my parents house that told me I knew what I was doing. I truly believed I knew how to drive by the time I was 15, but life will almost always kick you in the nuts and make sure you understand that you should never be comfortable in your own abilities, or your knowledge of something.

When you get comfortable, you get complacent. When you get complacent, you let yourself make little mistakes because you trust your own ability to deal with the situation. Those little mistakes always add up, and they will always come back to bite you when you don't expect it.

I got that lesson at 19 years old, when I rolled my first car that I bought on my own 2 1/2 times. I was going the speed limit, I had good tires, good brakes, good suspension and steering, and none of that mattered when a fox darted out in front of the car while I was going around a corner. I saw it in time to hit the brakes and slow down enough for the damn thing to make it across the road, but that didn't happen. The fox decided to turn around right before I hit it. It managed to bend the driver's side tie rod in and I couldn't countersteer when the tail end of the car started swinging around. I went off the road and the back driver's side tire caught the outside of the ditch, and all of this happened in a fraction of a second. I tore my left rotator cuff, and my passenger ended up with a couple of fractured vertebra in his neck.

It wasn't until I took those racing classes that I figured out why I had that accident. I realized that even the best driver in the world can make no mistakes and still wreck, because there is no way to control what happens outside of the vehicle, or someone else's actions.

That's why I suggested taking driving lessons, because they can teach you how to react to something you've never encountered before AND have you physically experience it in a controlled, safe environment. It doesn't matter how long you've been driving or how much you know, because as soon as an accident happens your brain gets flooded with adrenaline and you can't think about what you should do, you just react by muscle memory.

Those driving courses will help you teach your body how to react before your brain can react by forcing you to make split second decisions and avoid moving obstacles while going 60+ mph in heavy rain, or by having you hydroplane at 100+ mph twenty times in a row, or by having you roll a cage car until you throw up. The most important part of these classes is when they teach you the little details and techniques that have taken every professional racer decades of failure to figure out.

My point is, you don't ever want to think that you have enough knowledge or experience. That is how you end up learning this particular life lesson the hard way, and the hard way could cost you your life...or someone else's life. That's a risk I sincerely hope you are not willing to take.

[MrPaco]

Now I want to take some classes

[WarStryker13]

I highly recommend it, even if you're never going to be on a race track.

On another note, I pulled the hoses off of the coolant pipe to clean it up and now I'm sad.

242132421424215

The ends are paper thin and already collapsing just from handling, and there's plenty of evidence that someone tried using stop-leak in the cooling system at some point.

I've already flushed out the heater core with distilled water, I'll work on flushing out the radiator at some point before it goes back in the truck.

Now I get to look for a used coolant pipe in decent shape; see if I can fab one up myself or find a shop to do it for a reasonable price; or dredge through the oem-auto-source-warehouse-direct-parts sites to find it at a reasonable shipping rate. I might call some of the local dealerships, see if they've got one sitting on the back shelf that hasn't been touched in 25 years... eBay is my last choice because the shipping is usually more than it realistically should be for me.

Just gotta keep telling myself that I'm getting close, I'm in the home stretch.... :lmao:

[geezer101]

I've seen plenty of the coolant bypass pipes rot on the heater hose end. It's pretty common. As pennyman suggested, a hydraulic shop could make one (I've toyed with the idea of making it out of copper plumbing pipe and soldering elbows and mounts for the 'steam punk' look lol) With the amount of these engines around I would hope that someone would have a lead on new bypass pipes.

[geezer101]

Oh, better add a tip - go to a supermarket and buy citric acid powder from the baking aisle. Dissolve a stack of it in hot water and use it to descale your radiator. Take the radiator out, lie it horizontally with the cap on and the inlet/outlet facing up and fill the radiator with the solution and leave it for a few hours. Pour the solution into a bucket, flush the radiator in both directions with a garden hose and look for debris/junk that comes out of it and if you think it needs longer, refill it with the reclaimed solution. IIRC you've already taken the heater out but this does a great job with heater cores too. They collect a lot of calcification and rust flakes etc and this stuff does a good job of dissolving contaminants in cooling systems. I have heard of guys filling their entire cooling system with a strong solution of citric acid powder and running it for a day or 2 but you'd want to really flush it out afterwards and remove both the heater core and radiator so they can be reverse flushed as the crap from the block will try to plug up the inlet sides of coolant galleries. This will expose weaknesses in the cooling system so if there are and perforations or holes anywhere, it will eat through the corrosion and start leaking.

[Salteen]

Wow, that's some good insight. I will look into racing classes, I have already taken the driver education course (lower insurance) and passed perfectly. That reminds me of the movie Ford V Ferarri when Ken Miles had brake fade and went off the track and the car blew up, him in it. You're absolutely right, never thought of that.

[Salteen]

I pulled my Jose's out and someone had used well water. Oh and I found out my 2.6 had a cracked block, and it was dripping coolant there, not the raditor. I am gonna get it rebuilt though, it looks rough. I have silicone hoses to go on the truck, I would reccomend those.

[WarStryker13]

Heater's still in the truck, I only had to replace the section of rubber hose on the valve under the dash.

I've got the citric acid powder, and I had a pretty similar plan, but I'l probably add in one or two extra steps... Maybe a garden hose in the inlet and no thermostat, upper hose pointing straight down to the ground and just spin the water pump to get everything I can out of the block, or do the dexcool removal flush I learned from my old car forum buddies (it involves a few chemicals and a spirited drive, pulling a hose and dumping the hot garbage out of the engine while it's still hot, and garden hoses)....And I'm probably gonna fog the radiator with some fresh black paint before it goes back in.

Just need enough time to get it all done.

[WarStryker13]

Wow, that's some good insight. I will look into racing classes, I have already taken the driver education course (lower insurance) and passed perfectly. That reminds me of the movie Ford V Ferarri when Ken Miles had brake fade and went off the track and the car blew up, him in it. You're absolutely right, never thought of that.

I'm just glad to hear that you're willing to learn, because it'll only make you better.


I pulled my Jose's out and someone had used well water. Oh and I found out my 2.6 had a cracked block, and it was dripping coolant there, not the raditor. I am gonna get it rebuilt though, it looks rough. I have silicone hoses to go on the truck, I would reccomend those.

If the block itself is cracked you might not be able to have it rebuilt, but if it's salvageable I would suggest doing a full rebuild and keeping it just in case. And keep the silicone hoses for yourself, toss them behind the seat in case you suddenly need a new hose on the side of the road 10 miles from anywhere.

[geezer101]

Thermostat out is a good idea. Shouldn't need to tell you not to flush a hot engine with a garden hose though lol. My knuckle head cousin did that to a car that he'd just overheated. Pulled into the driveway and jammed a hose straight into the radiator. Split the head... and his dad was a mechanic :rolleyes:
Fresh black paint will help heat transference and looks nice too :P

*side story. A friend of mine owns a '74 Mazda 808 and I offered to do a chemical flush on his heater. I use a pressure cleaner with a bad pressure regulator in it. Filled up a bucket with citric acid solution, one end hooked up to a heater hose, the pick for the pressure cleaner submerged in the bucket and the heater core outlet hanging over the bucket to dump it out. Got it running and within 5 minutes lots of old murky green coolant sludge started flowing along with 'gravel' (rust granules and white calcification - lots of it). Reversed flushed it and it kept coming. This is good! No more crap coming out. Get into the car - floor is wet. The years of crap were plugging up all of the holes in one end tank and it was spraying like a shower head under the dash. The core was bad for a long time and it set him back $400AUD to get one made...

[WarStryker13]

I went ahead and made a new "How-To" thread for a simplified version of the flush I like to do when I find a problem with contaminated cooling systems.

The garden hose is only used once the engine has cooled sufficiently.

[Salteen]

Yeah, anytime an engine overheats you can be damn sure the thermo is shot too.

[WarStryker13]

It depends on how bad the engine overheated, but it's always a good idea to replace it anyways...

Tracking on the new oil pump is now saying it will arrive on Friday instead of today, so I'm still going to be waiting to re-assemble.

[Salteen]

Well true, but usually either people dont realise it's overheated until it ceases, or they are sitting at a redlight behind grandma and it's like that for an eternity. Not often do you see a engine that mildly overheats, and usually that's caused by low coolant. But the thermo.on theaw trucks are like a 190 thermo or something really low. I would say 205 is the point the gasket goes, 215 the head, 225 for the block

[WarStryker13]

These engines definitely don't like heat...

That's exactly why I'm taking extra precautions with the cooling system. I'm going to clean out the radiator as much as I possibly can, and maybe pressure test it if I can figure out how to do it myself... Or see if I can find a place to do it for cheap enough. I want to do the same with the heater core, but I really don't feel like pulling the dash back out unless I absolutely have to.

I've got a full three days off this weekend, and my goal is to have the engine ready to go back in the truck by the end of the day Sunday.

[WarStryker13]

Oh, and I found a coolant bypass pipe.

I will post pictures when it arrives...Totally worth it. :thumbup:

[geezer101]

If the engine is still out of the truck you shouldn't have to pull the heater blower unit out to flush it. You could get a funnel, plug up the outlet heater hose and fill the heater core with citric acid solution and let it sit for a few hours then dump it and reverse flush with a garden hose. Ideally it would be good if you had a way to circulate the solution through it like I did as it will do a better job (got an old fish pond pump somewhere?)

[WarStryker13]

I meant in order to pressure test it after cleaning.

[WarStryker13]

New oil pump finally showed up, it's surprisingly decent quality from what I can tell.

I cleaned up the cylinder bores a little with the hone, got the cylinder head clean, now to finish cleaning all of the valve train and start assembling the head.

There's one thing that I am unsure about...

24284

There's an "oil control ring" in the rear main seal housing, is this the correct orientation, or does it need flipped around?

[Salteen]

good question, I am getting my g54b out my 82 Tuesday or Thursday, when I get it on the stand I can pull the pan and post pics, I need to look at the bearings anyways.

[WarStryker13]

So I'm extremely glad I opened up the oil pump and inspected it... I had to clean out a few metal shavings (most likely left over from the machining process), but all of the clearances are well within spec.

I packed the gears with plenty of grease (I would have used petroleum jelly, but I didn't have any on hand). I got the oil pump plug installed, I haven't fully torqued it to 50 ft-lbs yet, but it's decently tight. I coated the gasket with high-tack gasket sealant and installed the oil pump onto the block.

I started working on the cylinder head, but I might be looking at finding another head...there's quite a bit of oxidization from sitting out in the open air and I'm not sure yet if I can get the cam bearing surfaces back to a usable condition without going over the clearance limit.

But I did get everything else cleaned up and ready for re-assembly... The rocker shafts are clean (enough) inside, rockers, valve springs, seats, retainers, and keepers are all clean. I had to break out the angle grinder and wire wheel in order to get the build-up off of the valves, and I used a piece of rubber hose and a drill to "power-lap" the valves.

I got all of the sludge out of the oil pan, I still need to clean the outside and prep it for paint.

[geezer101]

Use some fine cut abrasive metal polish and paper towel on the cam journal faces to buff them up. You won't be able to remove a measurable amount of surface metal doing this. Considering how badly I've seen journals ripped up, I doubt it will make the head unserviceable. I use Autosol for... everything. It's especially good for alloy and stainless steel. A tip for using it - add a very light shot of silicon spray. I find it keeps the polish pliable for longer and gives a finer finish.

[WarStryker13]

I'll probably try some metal polishing compound once I get rid of all the oxidation.

In other news, I got more things...

The coolant bypass pipe I found on FB.

24308

The hood prop rod clip and grommet I ordered from Engine Machine Services.

24309

And a bunch of extra stuff that the guy from FB sent with the coolant bypass pipe...



Chrome alternator bracket, t-stat housing, and some hardware

24310

Fancy hoses

24311

Chrome dipstick

24312

Chrome oil pressure sender, it's unfortunate that I'm not going to be able to use it since I'm running a mechanical oil pressure gauge...

24313

A couple of fan spacers, and what I'm pretty sure are chrome headlight surrounds for a 1st gen... Also not going to be able to use.

24314

Me and him talked for a bit about our projects after agreeing on a price for the coolant bypass pipe... After the box showed up he told me why he sent all of this when I only paid for the one thing. He wasn't going to be able to use these parts for his truck, and would rather see it being used by someone who would appreciate it. Since I was the only one to show interest in any of it, he decided that I should have it.

His name is Jacob Gardin, and he is one damn fine human being.

As for the parts I can't use, I'm not going to try and sell them. I'm going to pay it forward and send them to whoever wants them.

And yes, I'm excited for shiny chrome. :grin:

[geezer101]

Nice haul :grin: A chromed bypass pipe? He was going to build something flashy. Can't wait to see it glued back together :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

I found the original source for all of this chrome...

A couple of years ago someone (can't remember his name) bought a half disassembled D50 from an estate auction, and it came with a ton of extra parts. The original owner had several of the parts chrome plated, including the oil pan, timing cover, valve cover, brackets, pulleys, skid plates, block plate, a box full of hardware, and this stuff.

Jacob bought this stuff from him about a year ago because he was going to use it when he swapped a 2.6L into his truck, but he ended up keeping the 2.0L and building it.

So now I get to build the flashy engine, and I'm going to stab it into a dirty, rusty, faded paint, beat to hell old truck. :lmao:

[Salteen]

Very interesting! I dont like alot of chrome but I do like a good looking set of valve covers and a chrome intake manifold!

[WarStryker13]

I'm not huge on the chrome either, but a little bit here and there goes a long way to making an engine look good...

I'm just going to clean the rust off of the rest of the pulleys and brackets, and paint them with a fresh coat of rattle can black. No need for everything to be chrome...

[pennyman1]

I am interested in the chrome headlight rings - they are for an aftermarket stull grille - I have one on Geronimo. PM me about them please.

[WarStryker13]

Message sent.

[WarStryker13]

This is the part of the program where I take a few steps backwards, because my methods are for impatient, hyper people.

After spending a few days researching, I'm going to go back and re-do a couple of things for my own peace of mind....

Yay. :P

[Salteen]

anything new?

[WarStryker13]

Not really, had to deal with a few things past couple weeks...

Had a pretty bad toothache, found one of my fillings had popped out and I thought that was the problem... After getting it fixed i still had the toothache. Turns out I needed a root canal on the tooth next to it.

That, along with some stuff at work, and I haven't been able to do much of anything with the truck.

[Salteen]

Well that sucks. Dentists are pretty expensive so that will suck some mod money away from you. Oh well...

[WarStryker13]

I don't pay for dental, because military, but then again you get what you pay for. Lol

In other news, I found a problem...

24426

It's not the greatest picture, but that's a crack between the valve seats, and all of the work I've done to this head is all for naught.

I'm thinking I'll order a new one from Engine Machine Services, they have the best price I've found so far.

[geezer101]

Oh damn. Kind of a sore point but this is the reason why I get my heads pressure tested. Not worth putting through a shop to get welded up?

[WarStryker13]

With everything that I would want to have the shop fix, it's cheaper to just get a new head...

The good part is that I emailed Randy from EMS (Also known as Dad on starquestclub) and he's tossing a couple of goodies in the box with the head just for good measure.

I did ask about a military discount, he doesn't offer a discount on parts but he's hooking me up with some free stuff anyways. I hope I get a few stickers.

[Giovanni89]

Exactly where mine cracked, and where I purchased my new one. I got the HD valve springs and stainless undercut stem valves while I was at it. Randy is a great guy, extremely knowledgeable about these engines, and has really good prices too. One thing to note, I had to find an old stock Melling cam on E-bay for my new head. My cam was a bit scored and I wanted to replace it. All of the cams I could find at the parts suppliers were .020" over on the bearings. The new heads are bored for a stock diameter cam.

[WarStryker13]

I'm running all of the old valve train, it was dirty but didn't have any real signs of wear.

The box should be here tomorrow.

[Salteen]

how is it coming along?

[WarStryker13]

Slow still, dealing with a lot of stuff lately and haven't had much time to do anything with the truck, but I did get the new head.

I'm legitimately excited about this.

24477

I took it out of the plastic just long enough to get a good look at everything, and then it went right back into the plastic bag.

24478

And the extra goodies I got:

A new "free" oil pump gasket, because he has a pile of extras that he's never going to use... And I had to pull the oil pump back off so I needed a new gasket

A set of dowel pins for the gear cover and a set for the head, because I was missing one of each and they were cheap.

And finally all new studs for the head, which is nice because I totally destroyed a few studs removing them from the old head.

24479

I was kinda hoping for a bit of swag, maybe some stickers/decals or a can coozie or something... But I'm still completely satisfied with everything.

I'm kinda wishing I had added the nuts and washers for the intake and exhaust to my order, but I can get suitable replacements at any local hardware store.

I'm going to try and make some progress on the truck this weekend, but I'm not making any promises.

[Salteen]

its looking clean man! when I replace an oil pump I always pack gasoline between the gears for pre lubrication, thats just me. I learned it from a 75 year old man who has been building collecting and selling cars since he was my age. he has some rare stuff that I probably shouldn't mention for safety sake

[Salteen]

sorry meant to say vasoline but my phone hates me. 'petroleum jelly' if you will

[geezer101]

^ a good idea - exactly what you should do with a completely fresh rebuild.

[WarStryker13]

I had already packed the oil pump with petroleum jelly, but I had to take the oil pump plug back out and replace the bolt.

I'm also planning on pressure priming the oil system before starting it up for the first time, give this engine the best chance at survival.

[Giovanni89]

buy these instead of what they have at the hardware store. I used them on both the intake and exhaust side. I was pretty happy with them.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DUM884/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DUM884/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

[WarStryker13]

The copper plated is nice, I will give you that.

But I might be putting the engine back together and back into the truck before those would show up, so I would just be replacing whatever is stripped or missing right now and replace everything later.

[FMS88]

Warstryker, are you replacing the valves or getting the old ones refaced?

[WarStryker13]

I'm just going to lap them and go, I'm going to wait to replace the valve train until I do another rebuild on this engine.

[WarStryker13]

Got the head assembled

24480

Tomorrow I'm going to work on installing the timing stuff, hopefully I'll have the engine fully assembled by the end of the day.

[Salteen]

thats sweet. haven't done much this week, but next week, its go time!

[WarStryker13]

I didn't get as much done as I really wanted to today, but I did make some progress...

I got the oil pump packed with vaseline and ready to install, used a block of wood and a hammer to "carefully" pound the new dowel pins into the block, pulled the engine off the stand and installed the rear main seal, and started cleaning up the bolts that I tossed into a box without labeling or separating... It's gonna be fun figuring out which bolt goes where. :shrug:

There's still plenty of cleaning left to do, but hopefully the weather cooperates and I'll be able to roll the truck out of the garage and pressure wash the engine bay this week. I might as well clean off the brackets and everything else while I've got the pressure washer hooked up and running...

[Salteen]

thats why if I replace a part i always set the bolts in the hole and either set it on the floor or I will hang it up on a nail on the wall so that when I reinstall i know about what goes where

[WarStryker13]

I'm not organized enough to remember to organize and separate bolts... I'm only organized when it's actually necessary, like with valve train, or the rotating assembly...

Speaking of rotating assembly, I decided that I wasn't happy with the amount of effort it took to rotate the crank, so I started pulling the rod caps to see what was binding...

Number 2 and number 4 connecting rod bearings had shiny spots where they had made contact with the rod journals, so I pulled all the pistons back out and I'm polishing the rod journals again. I used some cut down foam earplugs to block off the oil passages and keep the debris out, and they're easy to pull back out with a pick.

I found some really fine grit scotch-brite type pads, I think they're 800 grit... I used that to clean up the marks on the bearings, it worked better than I could have hoped. They literally look like brand new bearings again.

I went ahead and bought the high zinc engine break-in oil, as well as a bottle of Liqui-Moly Cera-Tec (added insurance). I also bought a couple of oil filters and 5 gallons of fresh gas, I'm ready to finish this damn thing.

[Salteen]

Anything new? I've just gotten my head back from the machine shop, going to order timing guides and chains soon. Get them installed and be on my way.

I know our projects are at about the same exact stage right now, so igs nice to do a comparison.

[WarStryker13]

Well I decided to pull the pistons back out yet again, because it still didn't want to rotate freely...

I'm still getting wear marks on the bearings, which leads me to believe that at least two out of the four connecting rod bearings were the wrong size. So, I'm going to order a full new set and hope that they actually are the right size. I did use plastiguage to check the oil clearance, but obviously it wasn't totally accurate.

Yours will most likely be done far before mine at this rate. :shrug: lol

[WarStryker13]

Got the bearings, the box looks like it's been on a shelf since the 80's but the package is still sealed perfectly and looks correct.

24702

I'm going to work on getting the engine back together this weekend, and I have a gut feeling I'll still have issues pop up here and there... I've got my fingers crossed that I've hit enough small/medium problems to appease Murphy's Law and the gods of internal combustion, I'm really hoping that this engine actually survives.

[geezer101]

Fingers crossed for you. This engine has been through hell hasn't it. I still don't know how a company can manage to screw up packing critical parts. This causes a congo line of pissed off people especially it the parts are being bought by a workshop...

[WarStryker13]

To be fair, I did buy the cheapest I could find... And it probably doesn't help that the new set of bearings only cost $2.19, but they're a decent brand that just happened to be on wholesaler closeout. :thumbup:

And one of my co-workers has to get rid of a bunch of stuff quick, so I got a basically brand new workbench with a peg-board backing for $60. He's going through a divorce and needs to move out of the house he's currently in, so he's selling off a bunch of his stuff as cheaply and as quickly as he possibly can.

Coincidentally he's the same co-worker that had the '86 Chevy S10... Unfortunately he didn't get it running in time, and had to send it off for scrap value, but he did manage to get about half of what he spent on it back.

So now I'm working on clearing out a space for the workbench in my warzone of a garage, I'm hoping it'll help me get some stuff organized a bit better and I'll be able to get more work done.

I'm also finding some of the tools I had lost during this whole engine rebuild debacle, which will come in handy here really soon.

[WarStryker13]

24715

I think this stator is done for.

24716

Somehow this alternator still put out a full 14 volts, and I'm 99% sure it's the original alternator. I wonder how hard it'll be to find a new stator...

[WarStryker13]

Rotor, not stator... And I found a listing on eBay for a new slip ring that should fit this alternator, so I shouldn't need a completely new rotor...

I'm going to keep this alternator and just rebuild it, I haven't had much luck with remanufactured stuff.

[geezer101]

Never seen one that badly hammered before. Amazing that it even worked...

[WarStryker13]

I'm going to go ahead and replace the bearings while I've got it apart, they're both a little stiff and the drive end bearing felt a little crunchy at first.

I should probably work on getting the engine back together and in the truck, but I'm easily distracted. lol

[WarStryker13]

I made progress today.

24755

I need to clean up and paint the oil pan, and then it'll be ready to go back in the truck.

[geezer101]

Nearly there! Nothing like a freshened up engine ;)

[Salteen]

Looking great!

[WarStryker13]

Ordered more stuff, because why not.

I bought new brushes, new bearings, and a new slip ring for the alternator... I have yet to decide if I'm going to repaint the stator and rotor, the factory green is still there but very faded and worn.

New alternator/water pump belt, power steering belt, A/C belt, upper and lower radiator hoses. Better safe than sorry, but I'm keeping the old ones in case of emergency.

New copper-plated hardware for the intake/exhaust, because the old stuff is...old.

I found new heater hose barbs with the correct thread, and without the side nipple... But they only come in a pack of five. I'll probably sell the rest later, once I know for sure they fit properly.

Six quarts of Valvoline VR1 10w-30, because high zinc racing oil. Once the engine is broken in I'm doing an oil change and I wanted to have it on hand rather than wait for it.

A cheap 4" three jaw gear puller, because I don't have one and I kinda need one.

And finally, a seat cover. It's the $50 Amazon A25 bench seat cover meant for a 'yota, but it'll do for what I need.

This weekend I should (hopefully) be able to make more progress... There's still a lot to do, and I want this damn thing running again.

[Giovanni89]

Coming together quite nicely! And you're still married! Really liking your color choice on the engine block.

[WarStryker13]

Thanks! The wife is kinda used to this, she knows I'm a gearhead and has resigned herself to the fact that I'll always be working on something...

I'm officially at the point where the engine is ready to go back in.

I replaced the slip ring, bearings, and brushes in the alternator, soldered everything and re-assembled it.

24905

24906

I cannibalized the junkyard starter and used it to rebuild my old starter, the gear in the junkyard one was some kind of heavy composite instead of the white plastic that got eaten in the old one, so it should fare better.

24907

I got the oil pan, water pump pulley, and crank pulley painted, everything else is going to be black.

24908

And the finished product. I've got most of the bolts cleaned up and threaded into their respective homes. I still need to make a new water pump gasket and thermostat housing gasket, but the only thing keeping the engine from going in is time off and the need to go get an engine hoist.

24909

I might be able to do it tomorrow, if the stars align...

I'm not going to lie, before I had the oil pan and crank pulley on I was starting to doubt my decision to keep the timing cover plain... I'm still not 100% that I shouldn't just go ahead and spray it orange as well, but I'm more comfortable with it after seeing it mostly together.

[WarStryker13]

I just picked up the engine hoist, in a few hours I should have the engine back in it's home.

[WarStryker13]

Engine is in. :rock:

24974

24975

24976

Still a lot of work left to do, but I don't care. It's officially bolted in.

I'm not gonna lie, it took a little bit of finagling to get the input shaft to cooperate, and to get the motor mount bolts lined up, but it only took maybe two hours from lifting the engine off the stand until it was on the mounts.

The rest should (hopefully) go together pretty quickly.

[geezer101]

It looks awesome dude :thumbup:Are those inlet ports stock? They look ENORMOUS. 2 hours solo is acceptable. No fun trying to steady a long block by yourself without it bashing into everything.

[WarStryker13]

Oh, it wasn't solo... My first line supervisor came over and helped me get it in, and the wife was helping as well.

I realized after that I had forgot to take the trans out of gear, that definitely didn't help.

Those are stock inlet ports, as far as I can tell.

I figured out the placement for the gauges and where to run all of the lines and wires, and got a fresh coat of black on the radiator.

[WarStryker13]

Quick update:

24990

I noticed this while putting the distributor in, I freaked out for about a minute until I realized I had rotated the engine over a few times to set the valve lash... I was trying to figure out why the link had moved, but the cam and crank were both still at TDC on cylinder #1.

24991

I went ahead and cut out the center bridge in the intake manifold, I didn't get it 100% perfect but all of the transitions are smooth and it should help a little with inlet turbulence.

24992

There's the shiny chrome alternator bracket, hiding under the A/C compressor.

24993

And the front accessories all mounted. I cleaned up the fan shroud and fan, painted everything, and installed everything. I had to make a gasket for the water pump and thermostat housing, really glad I picked up that gasket material a few weeks ago.

24994

24995

I primed the oil system with a $5 garden sprayer from ALDI's and some hose clamps, and poured the rest of the oil into the pan. I filled up the radiator with plain water and only had one connection start leaking, I had forgotten to tighten the clamp on the lower hose going to the heater core.

I've got to run the fuel lines, install the spark plugs and wires, wire up the distributor and ignition coil, and it'll be ready to fire. Oil pressure line went in without any issues, water temp sensor is threaded in right beneath the thermostat, and I just need to add a wire for the voltage gauge... And decide where to splice into to connect the gauge lights to the illumination circuit.

All that's left after that is to finish installing the seat cover, put the hood and grill back on, and clean up.

I should (tentatively) be driving this damn turd by next week.

[Giovanni89]

Nice work man, that engine bay looks great. Eager to see this thing on the road.

[WarStryker13]

You and me both. :grin:

[geezer101]

Oh yeah :grin:

[Salteen]

i just got mine on the stand. im not painting it or doing anything too special. i expect in a month mine will be on the road 'restored' and with a classic tag on it, hehehe

[WarStryker13]

The plan was to start the truck today, but I forgot about one tiny detail... The battery was half dead.

I did get all the rest of the little stuff done, but I'm going to have to try again tomorrow.

I did take a couple pictures...

25013

25014

I've got a trickle charger hooked up to the battery, by tomorrow morning it should be ready to go.

[geezer101]

Nice :grin:

[Salteen]

i love it! the engine color is pretty cool, cant wait to get my little 4 cly in the truck.

then yank it out and throw a 3 3 in there

[WarStryker13]

I'd say run the 4 cyl for as long as you can, the fuel economy will help you save up for the swap and give you plenty of time to find all the parts and little things you'll need.

I did not try starting the truck again yesterday, I was working by myself and I want to have an extra set of hands so I can adjust timing, idle mixture screws, and (if necessary) spray starting fluid into the carb while cranking. Wife is having a hell of a time with her allergies, so there was no way of getting her outside yesterday while the mowing company were out cutting the grass. :shrug:

I have a few ideas I want to bounce off of the more experienced on here, as to why the truck did not want to start:


The battery had 12.67 volts, and it tested at 832 cranking amps, it's rated for 650 CCA. However, during cranking I watched the voltage drop down to 10 volts, and then 8 volts. I'm hoping that's the main reason it didn't start, but I have a few other suspicions.
I have a new fuel filter directly before the carb, but I haven't checked the filter next to the tank yet. There is fuel in the new filter, but it does not visibly look like it's flowing through the filter while the fuel pump is running. It could be because the float bowl is full and the needle and seat is doing it's job, but the accelerator pump doesn't seem to be squirting as much as I remember... It has been 6 months though. I went ahead and added another 5 gal of gas to the tank just to be sure.
I have the ignition coil and distributor wired correctly (as far as I can tell with the 15+ diagrams and reference pictures I still have), but I have not yet pulled out the spark plugs and tested for spark. I did have a few small sputters and burbles when I tried to start it the first time, but with the voltage dropping down to 8v I seriously doubt that the ignition pickup in the distributor was even activating.
I've double checked cam timing, distributor position, firing order, and I even put a 1/2" ratchet on the crank to make sure it did not take too much force to rotate the engine with the spark plugs in. I looked for any potential vacuum leaks, oil leaks, and water leaks. I checked the tightness of every fitting, bolt, nut, and clamp. I found and fixed a couple of tiny things, but not anything that would prevent the engine from starting.


I did find a noticeable oil leak at the fuel pump block off plate on the side of the head, which had ran down to the back of the block and was dripping off of the bellhousing. I pulled the plate back off, put it in the tiny little bench vice I have, and straightened it out. If that doesn't fix it I'm probably going to have to cut some new gaskets, or possibly cut the block-off plate so it'll actually fit properly.

While I was installing the flywheel inspection cover I found one of the oil pan bolts had snapped off (it happened after I installed the engine...somehow) and leaking as well, but it's not even dripping yet, so I'm going to procrastinate on deal ing with that until after the engine is running reliably.

I have the gauges almost completely wired up, the only thing that isn't connected is the power for the lighting, because I haven't figured out where exactly I want to tap into for that. I have the positive wire for the voltage gauge connected to the switched +12v powering the ignition system... I doubt it will draw enough to cause issues with the coil or distributor, plus it will tell me immediately if the ignition system loses voltage.

I still need to actually mount the gauges to the dash, I'm thinking some heavy duty velcro-type tape, the kind with the mushroom shaped heads that interlock. That's what is currently holding the tach to the dash, but I can't seem to find the rest of what I used before.

I finished "attaching" the seat cover, I'm not 100% satisfied with how it attaches to the bottom seat but it seems to be holding relatively well. It does look pretty damn good, though.

I decided to cut/remove what was left of the upper bump stops on the front suspension... The upper bump stops were already sitting on the frame brackets, they were crumbling and falling apart, and I (eventually) will be replacing the control arms anyways. At some point I should pull the torsion bars out, clock them and adjust the anchor arms properly... Both anchor arms are within 1/2" of each other, but the front end is kinda tilting sideways. The driver's side front is about 3/4"-1" lower than the passenger side, and the rear end is another inch higher than the passenger side front. I at least want it level side-to-side, later I can worry about getting Montero upper control arms and making the front level with the rear.

Oh, and I put the center caps on the rear wheels, installed the underseat cubby on the passenger side, and then sat in the driver's seat for a couple hours... I'm remembering why I absolutely love this truck.

The shoulder-to-elbow arm angle with my elbow resting on the window sill is perfect, and the distance between the steering wheel and window allows the perfect elbow position on the window sill while still having a decent grip on the steering wheel. When the bench is positioned at the perfect distance for me to reach the pedals comfortably, the steering wheel and shift levers are at the perfect distance, and all of this culminates in the most comfortable cruising position possible... For me, at least. :thumbup:

[geezer101]

IIRC the backlighting power wire for the instruments/gauges are off a green+white wire. Look on ebay for 2" gauge housings. There are a few made from ABS that look half decent and will cover the wiring/vac lines etc. I bought a dual gauge holder for the Hung Dog that I'm waiting on. The Hyundai has no real flat faces to anchor the gauge mount to as it's all curved but a few minutes with a heat gun should allow me to tweak it enough to sit down flush. I am not a fan of gauge pods on brackets with wiring sticking out the ass of them - it looks like they're ghetto fixed. Even a pillar mount is a better option and they're reasonably cheap to get now.

Here's the dual gauge mount I've ordered just to give you an idea - https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-52mm-Car-Dual-Dash-Gauge-Meter-Pod-2-Hole-Dashboard-Mount-Holder-Pod-Black/274293841026?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I also ordered a single pillar mount a few days ago for like $5 from China. A heat gun and some trimming will help me get it to sit flush on the big plastic 'A' pillar cover. I have matching volt, vac and AFR gauges on their way. I'm going to wrap both gauge housings with the self adhesive black PU leather or maybe coat them with vinyl spray - not sure yet.

Make a remote starter wire for your truck - a female spade terminal on a long wire. Just disconnect the starter wire, connect your jumper and turn the ignition on. Strike the end of the jumper on the +ve on the battery and it'll kick over. To kill it, just pull the main coil wire. I've had to do this when going solo on engine tunes or diagnostics. Having to get in and out of a cab to start an engine and meddle with ignition timing is a PITA :rolleyes:

[Salteen]

better clean that thing with some bleach geezer! china + shipping = coronavirus :grinno:

[Salteen]

in all seriousness could you link me to it? i may use it on the D50, although im considering a completely custom console with elevated bucket seats and a touchscreen bluetooth radio.

[WarStryker13]

I am not a fan of gauge pods on brackets with wiring sticking out the ass of them - it looks like they're ghetto fixed.

I am going to be honest with you, that's exactly what I did...:lmao:

Later on I'll make it look decent, but right now I'm only concerned with function. Plus I don't really feel like pulling the dash right now.

I feel really dumb that I didn't think about using a jumper wire...

[geezer101]

I am going to be honest with you, that's exactly what I did...:lmao:

Later on I'll make it look decent, but right now I'm only concerned with function. Plus I don't really feel like pulling the dash right now.

I feel really dumb that I didn't think about using a jumper wire...

The simplest answer is the one you end up using. And if you make the jumper wire, then my comment has helped you which is still a win :thumbup:
If your gauges are reading right and the electrics are bug free, you can swap it over to a nicer looking set up later knowing the nuts and bolts of it all are solid.

[WarStryker13]

Speaking of electrics... Even after charging the battery overnight, it still drops in voltage every time I crank the engine. I even tried jumping it with a friend's truck, no change. I'm about to take it back to AutoZone and force them to warranty it.

The good news: Every time I crank it, the needle starts moving on the oil pressure gauge, so I know it's pumping oil through the engine.

[Salteen]

you can un dumb yourself because you listened and learned. well, you read and learned.

anyways, i really love how the truck is coming along, cant wait to see the gauges in. what gauges you using? what brand and size?

[Giovanni89]

It's normal for battery voltage to drop while cranking the engine. typically a 12v battery should be about 13v fully charged. Dropping to 9.5 or 10 volts during cranking is normal. This is why there is a ballast resistor bypass hooked up to the start position on the key switch. So when the battery voltage drops during cranking, you still get a hot spark.
If your spending some time cranking it, keep a fire extinguisher handy. Once some fuel pools up in the intake you have a fire hazard.
A little shot of starter fluid and it should stumble for a second or two. If it doesn't, recheck your ignition.
I just finished rebuilding a 318 for my friends dodge camper van. I made sure to keep the timing marks lined up right, and still put the distributor in 180 out. I think I spun it over tightening the fan. At 180 out, it sounded normal cranking. It would stumble here and there with the occasional burp/backfire in the intake.

[WarStryker13]

The distributor was one tooth off.

I feel dumb.

But it's alive.

[Salteen]

try going another tooth, seems to me these engines love some timing put into them.

[Salteen]

personally dont see how 1 tooth off makes such a difference, say does yours have a clip tyoe distributor or a cap ith 2 screws? my 1987 and 1982 had different caps. the 87 had a clip distributor, but the 82 had the screw in and i nearly stripped the screws getting it out. going with 87 distributor.

just a heads up to gen 1 owners if the gen 2 had a clip type.

[geezer101]

Going half a tooth out will kill these engines. Going full advance or retard on the ignition under this situation won't be enough to get it to run. Experimenting with dynamic tuning will yield results but you need to regap plugs and/or change the temperature rating. Dynamic tuning seems to work very well on OBD I/II engines.

[WarStryker13]

https://youtu.be/xyXUtpJnGEc

[WarStryker13]

This truck never fails to fail.

Thankfully I was almost to my house when the tach started to jump back and forth from 2500 to 4500, before finally dropping to zero right before I pulled into the driveway. As I was pulling in, the engine died, wouldn't start back up.

My first thought was the ignition module died. I tested the coil first, it will make a spark when jumping voltage to the negative terminal. I haven't measured the resistance on the ignition module, but it's still under warranty through RockAuto so I'm just waiting on the replacement to show up.

Since this one is a cheap knockoff, the next one will also be a cheap knockoff... I don't expect the new one to last long, but it'll give me time to buy a legit Mistu OEM module when money isn't so tight, and I'll keep the cheap knockoff as a spare in the toolbox.

Other than that, I haven't had any issues with the truck. Every time I let out the clutch in first gear with more than 15% throttle it will spin the tires for a solid 3-5 seconds, and if I'm giving it any amount of beans in third gear the clutch will slip going to fourth gear... So a new clutch will probably be the next most important item on the list.

I'm gonna have to wait for a little bit, because I would rather spend more on a decent clutch in a few weeks/months, than burn through another stock clutch in less than a year and be back in the same boat again.

I do have a number of extra parts from all of the junkyard trips, I'm most likely going to post them for sale on the book-face because things sell faster there, but I will post them on here first just in case someone here needs it.

Hopefully the ignition module shows up today, so I can take this turd on a real road test.

[geezer101]

Well that sucks. It wasn't the truck that let you down - it was a junk aftermarket part. There's got to be an online source for a decent ICM. Option #2 - a good used distributor. Getting one shouldn't be that bigger hassle. Other than the distributor glitch, it sounds like it's ready to go hard!

[WarStryker13]

The new ICM showed up today, got it installed and the truck started right up and ran for about 5 minutes before dying again. Started it again, ran for another 5 minutes and died.

I borrowed a multimeter (can't find mine) and started measuring resistances... There is no continuity between the positive and negative terminals of the MSD coil. It's dead.

I'm gonna guess that the MSD coil is doing the exact same thing as the stock coil did when I first bought the truck, it works for a little bit after sitting, but it stops working after a few minutes.

[Salteen]

wonder if something is causing the coil to go bad? i can ship you an almost new genuine mitsubishi coil and distributor if youre interested, DM me for more info.

anyways, im really surprised your truck is spinning tires. what all did you do?

https://www.amazon.com/CLUTCH-MIGHTY-PICKUP-RAIDER-MONTERO/dp/B06XW3RLKM/ref=pd_di_sccai_1/138-2696591-8502111?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XW3RLKM&pd_rd_r=aa47a016-1c8d-40d7-96cb-ed8e45409978&pd_rd_w=egfS6&pd_rd_wg=UlCCl&pf_rd_p=61ce50cf-2379-4458-9044-fa8b402c702d&pf_rd_r=RB45EZA54EHCQ36B4CBV&psc=1&refRID=RB45EZA54EHCQ36B4CBV

clutch kit, there is a stage 2 3 and 4 for different applications.

there was one for $75 but it was 2 star, guess it was that low for a reason, this was 4 star and $90 AND a reputable brand.

better yet, there is upgraded options.

[Fordubishi]

I hate to say this but... A failing fuel pump will cause this issue as well. The pump gets hot and the metal expands causing the pressure to drop. Let it sit the gas cools down the pump and will fire right up again. Then a few minutes later it dies again.

[WarStryker13]

If that were the case, the bowl would be empty when it dies and I wouldn't be able to get the accelerator pump to squirt.

I started with the alphabetical order: Air, Compression, Fuel, Spark. I have the first three.

[WarStryker13]

Murphy's law strikes again. The distributor wires from the ICM to the coil have broken off at the ICM connectors, and the rubber grommet is cracked and falling apart.

Now I get to look for a new set of wires, or at least a good used set...

[WarStryker13]

I forgot to mention this earlier, but the oil pressure gauge failed... I don't think it liked 120+ psi. :lmao:

25115

I've replaced the gauge since this picture, and before anyone else freaks out (like I did at first) the color is from the CeraTec additive. It looked like a melted orange creamsicle while pouring it in, but the color is already starting to go back to looking like regular oil instead of a blown head gasket.

[85Ram50]

Murphy's law strikes again. The distributor wires from the ICM to the coil have broken off at the ICM connectors, and the rubber grommet is cracked and falling apart.

Now I get to look for a new set of wires, or at least a good used set...
Looking at this https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1987,ram+50,2.6l+156cid+l4,1096286,ignition, ignition+control+module+(icm),7172
And this https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1987,ram+50,2.6l+156cid+l4,1096286,ignition, distributor,7108
It looks like to me yiou can probably just get new wire of the right gauge and make your own since they do not seem to be physically attached to the ICM but rather bolted to it with end connectors.
I sent a PM with the same advice before I saw this post.

[85Ram50]

Take a look at some auto parts stores or harbor freight they have grommets. You may be able to make one work.

[WarStryker13]

I found one in the UK, but in total it'll cost less than $40 shipped. In the meantime I'm building a new "harness" to try and figure out if the brand new ICM has already gone bad.

Is there any decent quality ICM that can be found relatively cheap? I would go with an OEM module, but they seem to like committing seppuku every time something else goes wrong and $150+ is a bit much to spend every time that happens...

[85Ram50]

The Ignition Control Module and Distributor Pickup Coil look similar, same part number so. Is this the thing you are dealing with? Note the prices.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1987,ram+50,2.6l+156cid+l4,1096286,ignition

[WarStryker13]

Yes, I have bought both the Ultra-Power brand (and had to warranty it three times), and the Standard Motor Products/Intermotor brand (had to warranty it as well).

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried using one of the cheaper ICMs from Amazon or Ebay, if they had any luck with it, and which brand/seller they tried.

[85Ram50]

Found these two Mitsubishi brand https://www.ebay.com/c/1415035879
https://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-MD611384-Ignition-Control-Module/dp/B00KWFKQ2A#productDetails
I expect that part number might help you.

[Giovanni89]

You shouldn't be burning through ICM's like that. I'm gonna sit and ponder on this one, but something is up. Is it hooked up to the 12v side of the ballast resistor? If you're on the lower voltage side, you will draw more current, and that could be burning them up.

[WarStryker13]

I think it was a combination of the dead MSD coil, multiple issues with the wires connecting the ICM to the coil, and the fact that I probably should have been using thermal paste from the beginning...

The ICM is getting +12v, or at least should have been. Both of the wires going to the ICM measured at over 1.5 ohms of resistance, which what ONE THOUSAND FEET of 12 AWG copper wire should measure at. On top of all the cracked insulation, the brass connectors being so fatigued that they just snapped in half, and the rubber grommet that is so old and hardened that it's crumbling and falling apart...

I finally got the flag terminal connectors and finished making the new wires. They will work for right now, but I'm not going to glob silicone all over the distributor housing in an attempt to make a new grommet to keep water out. I did manage to find this:

https://www.allcarpartsfast.co.uk/genuine-parts/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-md611029-lead-wire-dist-4g5/

The price is pretty reasonable and the shipping is relatively cheap, even though it might be a few weeks before it shows up. I'm generally willing to trust a website that isn't blocked at work, unlike certain other websites that sell hard-to-find Mitsubishi parts.

I went ahead and warrantied the ICM through RockAuto, should be on it's way soon. I also went ahead and ordered one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ignition-Control-Module-Fits-Plymouth-Colt-Premier-For-Mitsubishi-Montero-LX549/164169903866

It might end up being a dud, but I won't be that upset if it doesn't work.

As for using thermal paste under the ICM, I feel really dumb that it never crossed my mind... :doh:

[WarStryker13]

Quick update:

I got the new ICM(s), used thermal compound to mount it, and it seems to work just fine with the new coil and wires.

The website I tried ordering the distributor wired from refunded me, they didn't actually have them. Just my luck.

I tried going on a test drive, didn't get very far before I stalled out and couldn't get the truck started again. I noticed it started weeping from the water pump, decided to try and get it back home. I managed to get it started by popping the clutch while going down a hill, made it about halfway before having to shut it off and pull over because the temp started to climb.

I ended up having to call a tow truck, I'm going to start investigating what actually happened once I have the time to.

Never fails to fail.... :shrug:

[WarStryker13]

After about a month of procrastinating, I'm finally starting to dig into the truck again.

I charged the battery outside of the truck, hooked it back up and tried to start it. The starter isn't doing jack, not even when jumping the solenoid with a pair of (insulated) pliers. I'm going to have to pull the starter back apart and see what went wrong.

YAY #1.

Like I said before, the water pump is weeping, I (finally) have the new one, which came with all new bolts (that I may or may not use). I ordered a new radiator cap and thermostat with the new water pump, haven't decided yet whether I'm going to install the new thermostat, because I didn't pay close enough attention when I was ordering and now I have a brand new 160 degree thermostat.

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out why the engine had started to overheat, then I remembered that I had reset the timing after replacing the distributor wiring. I decided to look at the timing light afterwards and sure enough, the dial was at 10 degrees instead of the zero I thought it was while I was setting the timing. So the truck was at 18-20 degrees at idle instead of the 8-10 I was going for... I guess I had bumped it without realizing, and the engine wasn't too happy with that extra 10 degrees timing.

My neighbor just bought a new truck, she thought it would be funny to park next to mine... Joke's on her though, my truck doesn't care if he's smaller than everyone else. He isn't compensating for anything. :lmao:

25328

25329

[WarStryker13]

Starter melted.

25337

25338

25339

25340

I have another armature and set of brushes, but I'm gonna have to re-solder the brush holder in order to make it work.

I looked online, but none of the local parts stores have starter brushes in stock.

It seems that, for whatever reason, I am particularly rough on starters. I don't know if it's something I'm doing wrong, or I just have terrible luck.

At least I know how to fix the things I break. :shrug:

[geezer101]

...you have no manner of luck at all (Pirates of the Caribbean reference)

[WarStryker13]

Well, I did manage to put together a working starter, got it back in... That to starter bolt is a total pain in the ass.

New water pump is installed, everything is back together, but I'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow to drive the truck. It's a bit too late to be annoying the neighbors.

I don't know if the A/C has been switched over to R134 yet, there is a sticker from 2012 stating that UV dye was added to the A/C system but it doesn't say anything about the type of refrigerant.

Is there a way to figure out what refrigerant is in the system without having someone do a full flush and refill?

[85Ram50]

My solution to the top bolt is removing the air cleaner and valve cover, cover with towel I have small rubber mats I put over that, lay on motor and with my left arm around the back and my right arm under the intake I can get at least 1/4 turn each time. Careful if you have a metal gasket on the head its like a razor.

[WarStryker13]

I stand on the driver's side, lean over the fender and just shove my arm down next to the clutch cable and brake booster.

The stubby ratcheting wrenches help a lot.

[85Ram50]

There is too much stuff in the way on mine and my arms aren't long enough :)

[Giovanni89]

eek! That starter let the smoke out for sure. Long periods of cranking drastically shorten the life of starters. They can't dissipate the heat fast enough. I'd spring for a new one if you can. The insulation on the windings of the armature might not be much longer for this world.

[claych]

^^
Giovanni (2 n's :) ) has the starter issue 100% covered.

As to the refrigerant conversion warstriker post some pics of the systems access ports.

Humble thanks.

[WarStryker13]

Well the upper radiator outlet is now leaking, pretty sure it's cracked right at the joint...

As for the starter armature, I swapped the burnt one out for a spare I had. Eventually I'll be able to afford a new starter...

The A/C ports still have the 30 year old discolored plastic caps, so I have a feeling it's still running R12. That's gonna be fun trying to find...

[geezer101]

Take the radiator to a shop and they'll solder it back up - no problem. If you are going to do that, I would also consider having a temperature sender bung soldered into the bottom tank so you can add an electric thermofan (install the sender, but leave it disconnected until you are ready to tackle the fan install)

[WarStryker13]

If I can find a local shop that has the capability to repair a brass radiator...

Since Maryland has such strict inspections, there's practically nothing on the road older than 2005, and probably 25%-50% of the vehicles that I see on a regular basis are electric.

Most of these so-called "shops" are basically just expensive parts changers. I think I might have found a few places, that might be old enough to know what they're doing, but I'm still gonna have to make a few phone calls.

[geezer101]

If I can find a local shop that has the capability to repair a brass radiator...

Since Maryland has such strict inspections, there's practically nothing on the road older than 2005, and probably 25%-50% of the vehicles that I see on a regular basis are electric.

Most of these so-called "shops" are basically just expensive parts changers. I think I might have found a few places, that might be old enough to know what they're doing, but I'm still gonna have to make a few phone calls.

I feel ya. It took me 5 goes before I found a radiator 'repair' shop that #1 - actually repaired radiators, and #2 - didn't have 2 guys waiting at the door so they could pin me to the floor and rifle through all of my pockets looking for every cent they could wring out of me... $400 for a replacement core (not even a whole radiator - just the core and then I'd have to pay for it to be soldered in and pressure tested :rolleyes:)

*#3 was finding a shop that was still actually in business. They appear to be on the endangered list. I got lucky with the guy I found - friendly, honest and cheap as !@#$ :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

I finally found a guy, didn't even charge me because it's a dead service and he was just happy to have the opportunity to practice again.

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25455

I'm not gonna complain about a free repair, especially since he went ahead and pressure tested it to 30 psi. Hopefully tomorrow I'll actually have time to install it.

[geezer101]

Nice find. You need to keep this guy for later reference. The thermofan sender bung would be an easy job for him. A shot o' paint at it'll be ready to go! :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

Shot a fresh coat of black onto the radiator, put new clamps on the heater hose connection at the back of the water pump outlet, and now the battery is charging.

It might be back on the road later today.

[WarStryker13]

So either the flywheel is falling off of the crank, the pressure plate is falling off of the flywheel, the clutch is falling apart, or it has instantly developed a really nasty rod knock while not running for two weeks.

I've already got a new clutch on its way, but it won't be here for at least three weeks (thank you Summit Racing for changing the shipping date from August 2nd to August 18th the day after I order the clutch).

Yet again........................YAY.

[WarStryker13]

Out of curiosity I drained the oil and cut open the oil filter, there's a little bit of super-fine glitter visible in the oil filter element, but no flakes or big chunks that I can see. The glitter could potentially be left over from the Cera-Tec additive, but it's a small enough amount that I'm totally comfortable with the thought of it being due to the engine break-in process.

I did notice that the old oil seems to be very thin, despite how much assembly lube I used and the fact that the break-in oil was SAE 30... I'm seriously considering running a slightly heavier oil, like 15w-40, because the old oil being that thinned out concerns me slightly.

I'm having a hell of a time trying to decide whether I want to drop the trans now or wait until the new clutch shows up. On the one hand, I would know exactly what's going on inside that bellhousing, and if it's just a matter of a few bolts that came loose I would probably just put it all back together and drive it... But when the new clutch finally arrives I'll be pulling the trans YET AGAIN to install it. :shrug:

[geezer101]

I would play it safe and drop the transmission. If something really came apart it would damage the flywheel, end of the crank and the input side of the gearbox. PITA - yes, but better than having to fix something that wasn't busted. I think going 15w40 will be fine. It'll hold up better when it's warmed up. I did a change to semi-synthetic on my Hung Dog after I went overdue on an oil change (used 20w50 mineral oil initially) and I lost power so I thought. Now the oil has had a chance to circulate around the engine I think the rings weren't sealing from the mineral oil being gummed up and they're finally expanding. I probably won't go back to mineral oil again and hopefully it'll keep the innards of the block cleaner.

[WarStryker13]

Dropped the transmission today, found quite a few issues...

First, all four bell housing bolts were loose, enough so that I didn't even need a wrench to get them out.

Two of the rear driveshaft bolts were starting to come loose.

The rubber in the transfer case mount is hard as a rock, and the stud snapped almost immediately.

The good news is parts did not fall out when I dropped the trans, and there's no obvious damage to the pressure plate or flywheel.

Now I have to just sit and wait until Summit decides to ship the new clutch... I'm probably going to pressure wash the transmission and transfer case, replace the little rectangular side cover gasket that's leaking, and do a bunch of other little things that ultimately won't make the truck more reliable or improve performance, but I'll feel better for having done something.

[WarStryker13]

Clutch finally shipped, it should be here by Tuesday of next week.

[geezer101]

Hope your new clutch isn't another one of your headaches :thumbup:

[WarStryker13]

Well the clutch finally showed up, and I realize now that the pilot and release bearings aren't included with this particular one.

But I did find a shop that'll resurface the flywheel for only $55, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

[Giovanni89]

:Sigh: it's always something. 55 is not a bad price. I have found that flywheel resurfacing runs from "that's it?" to "I have an extra kidney".

[Salteen]

Mine was done for $15 at a local NAPA store. They even sprayed it to protect it from rust.

[WarStryker13]

Been way too busy to even touch the truck, but I've had the trans laying on the ground for a week or so...

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=25727&stc=1

I haven't pulled the clutch or flywheel yet, but hopefully I'll get the time to after this weekend.

The transfer case shift lever mounting plate is missing half of one of the mounting ears. I'm not particularly concerned about it.

I (finally) got the new transfer case mount, but it didn't come with a new nut so now I'm trying to find an extra M10x1.25 nut in my pile of parts. I don't really feel like trying to drill the broken stud out of the old nut...

I do have a jack stand under the engine to protect the mounts.

Now I have to decide which method is a level of sketchy I'm comfortable with in order to get the trans out from under the truck. I can either lift one side of the truck to get the torsion bars and frame rail high enough to clear the top of the bell housing, or jack up the rear axle and drag the trans out the back.

[Giovanni89]

Been way too busy to even touch the truck, but I've had the trans laying on the ground for a week or so...

I haven't pulled the clutch or flywheel yet, but hopefully I'll get the time to after this weekend.

The transfer case shift lever mounting plate is missing half of one of the mounting ears. I'm not particularly concerned about it.

I (finally) got the new transfer case mount, but it didn't come with a new nut so now I'm trying to find an extra M10x1.25 nut in my pile of parts. I don't really feel like trying to drill the broken stud out of the old nut...

I do have a jack stand under the engine to protect the mounts.

Now I have to decide which method is a level of sketchy I'm comfortable with in order to get the trans out from under the truck. I can either lift one side of the truck to get the torsion bars and frame rail high enough to clear the top of the bell housing, or jack up the rear axle and drag the trans out the back.
Definitely jack up the back! Either with the front wheels on the ground, or the front jacked and the truck level.

[85Ram50]

Jack Stands are cheap at harbor freight. I had four of them under mine to pull the trans and I tested it out after I put it back together while it was still on the jack stands. if you can find them those ramps you drive up are nice too. Don't do sketchy, that cool feeling you get when you get away with it is not cool enough to make up for as bad as you will feel when it eventually fails. Even a pile of lumber, cinder blocks or spare wheels for safety is better than sketchy.

[Giovanni89]

Ramps are the best. I made some from Lumber. Properly made, very safe. Never use concrete block. It doesn't like the concentrated load. Also, check your jackstands for fatigue occasionally. Watched my buddy's HF jackstand fail about 3 seconds before he was about to get under the jeep it was holding up. You never want to mess around with supporting a vehicle. It kills


Jack Stands are cheap at harbor freight. I had four of them under mine to pull the trans and I tested it out after I put it back together while it was still on the jack stands. if you can find them those ramps you drive up are nice too. Don't do sketchy, that cool feeling you get when you get away with it is not cool enough to make up for as bad as you will feel when it eventually fails. Even a pile of lumber, cinder blocks or spare wheels for safety is better than sketchy.

[85Ram50]

I got a couple of the steel ramps, I think it was an estate sale. I'll check my jackstands for cracks. I usually get it set then try pretty hard to push it over before I crawl under just to make sure its safe. I'm sure if I wanted to I could get one of them to tip over. Never use cinder blocks, good to know.

[Highdesert56]

Dude...
This thread seems to have cooled off, but you deserve an award of some type for your patience and perseverance with that thing.
It's great seeing old vehicles loved on like this and I can totally relate to all the shenaningans it's put you through. It becomes personal after a point and only we can understand how these little pickups become so endearing and seemingly worth all the attention and frustration.
I just ordered new tires for my '87, so after I mount them I'll post a pic or two on this thread in hopes of enticing you out of your hiatus with some updates on the red zombie.

P.S. Thank you for your service.

[WarStryker13]

I have returned with a pile of news.

#1. I'm officially out of the military, my body couldn't keep up and I felt like it was time. Not a bad thing, honestly.

#2. I'm getting a divorce. We hit a point where it simply wasn't working, our relationship wasn't healthy for either of us, and she left to be with her family. Problem is, she took the savings and the car, and left me here to deal with packing up and moving an entire house by myself.

#3. I managed to get the truck back together, more out of necessity than anything else, and on the first drive it started rod knocking. Which was just today, btw. The new clutch felt great for the hour it took before the knock got bad, and I somehow managed to make it back home with it still running. There's already glitter in the oil, and the knock sounds really nasty.

To add to it, I've got two weeks before I need to be out of this house and less than $50 to my name, and this truck is my only vehicle right now.

I might, might be able to swap another 2.6 into it, but there's a lot of things that have to fall into place exactly and in record time for that to work out.

Lovely time I'm having over here. Just lovely.

[royster]

The chips are down, WarStryker, but you will find kind words here, and some encouragement. We'll pray for a couple of miracles, so be on the lookout for those :). I send my best hopes for you, and hope you can hang tough through this sh*t storm.

[xboxrox]

The chips are down, WarStryker, but you will find kind words here, and some encouragement. We'll pray for a couple of miracles, so be on the lookout for those :). I send my best hopes for you, and hope you can hang tough through this sh*t storm.

Bless you royster

[geezer101]

Oh man, people complain about how bad life is until they take hits like that. Sorry to hear you've been backed into a corner. Hope things improve for you soon dude :(

[WarStryker13]

It's not as bad as it could be, but still thank you everyone for the support.

I might be bent all out of shape right now but I don't break so easily.

[xboxrox]

It's not as bad as it could be, but still thank you everyone for the support.

I might be bent all out of shape right now but I don't break so easily.

GOOD FOR YOU WarStryker 13

[WarStryker13]

Made it back home, total of 9,454 pounds of stuff moved 1,236 miles over 6 days. Not including weights of vehicles.

Now I'm just working on getting a job lined up and figuring out a place to live.

Things are going better.

[geezer101]

That's good to hear dude. No cash and no fixed roof over your head is a death loop. Hope you can land some work and start clawing your way back asap. You got a skill set that can make you some cash money in hand? Might be time to think about being your own boss...

[WarStryker13]

My skill set is "fixing things" so I could easily make some quick cash here and there.

But the real money is the technical knowledge I've got, and the clearance. Both of those should land me a decently well paying job, it's just finding the right people and asking the right questions.

For right now I can slum at my parent's house, they've got a camper trailer that's in decent shape except for the floor in the back where the bathroom is, and a small ant infestation that I'm steadily eradicating... But it's got power, heat, and the wifi just barely reaches out here, enough so that I don't have to tether my phone the entire time.

Things aren't perfect right now, but they aren't bad.

And to get back onto the topic of the truck:

Once I have the time and/or inclination to do so, I'll be pulling the engine out of the truck and dropping the oil pan to find out what went wrong where. I have a feeling I might have missed something tiny like a nick on one of the crank journals, or a bearing was just barely too tight and ended up spinning, something to that effect.

Once I get a look at what is salvageable and what is beyond saving, I can either rebuild it yet again or start looking for a new engine. I am open to swapping in something else. But that's future plans.

[WarStryker13]

I've successfully gotten settled, still waiting on the job thing but I'm doing better than expected.

I've filed for the divorce, gotten a few payments from the Army I didn't expect, and I might have found someone that is willing to be a partner instead of a leech. Obviously not moving forward until after the divorce is finalized, but I'm quietly confident that she a good one.

I got a little 2003 Chevy S10 to get me around while I look for a new beating heart for the '87, which my new friend has given a name that fits way too well with the personality of the truck IMO:



Pickles.

it doesn't make sense, and that fits.

[geezer101]

Life is messy. Doesn't mean it has to be bad (sorta like a 2 year old eating spaghetti by themselves lol) Good to hear that things are levelling out now for you :)

*Pickles... now you can find yourself to be in one, and not in a negative way :grin: