Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (6 Viewers)

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@theglobb and one friend rolled in last night at about 10. I got held up at work and didn't make it back to Memphis until about 11 this morning.
By the time I got here the two of them had the engine removed and loaded up in the truck.
They pulled out of here about half past noon headed back to the Carolina coast.
Good to hear!

BTW, Johnathan drove my N/A 3B Troopy and decided it has more pep than his turbo did before it blew up.
Very good to hear! :D
 
@theglobb and one friend rolled in last night at about 10. I got held up at work and didn't make it back to Memphis until about 11 this morning.
By the time I got here the two of them had the engine removed and loaded up in the truck.
They pulled out of here about half past noon headed back to the Carolina coast.

Well met, and good luck on the drive back!
I hope the engine proves a strong one and that it lasts until it's replaced with something better.

BTW, Johnathan drove my N/A 3B Troopy and decided it has more pep than his turbo did before it blew up.
Great to hear!
 
I'm clearing a spot in the garage!!!!
 
Made it back home, horrible crunching/squealing noise from the left front wheel/axle on the last 500 miles or so home. Head gasket sealer blew out a bit and started leaking oil/coolant onto the headers, which made for an absolutely fantastic smell on the long uphills. Not to mention the suspension bottoming out on every bump on the road. Nonetheless, the little taco made it, I saved some gas money to which I was able to buy the clutch kit with, and it makes for one hell of a story.

To everyone who donated some money and has offered advice, I'm forever grateful. I hope to someday be able to return the favor to someone who is in my position 20-30 years from now. Seriously y'all paid for like half, if not more, of my gas cost on this trip. Absolutely awesome of y'all, was not expecting that!

Got the nice camera out for this special occasion vs the iPhone pics as of late.

1,600 miles in 2 & 1/2 days, alottttt of this sight everywhere.
EDS_0874.jpg


Arrived late, started unbolting stuff worked for about an hour or so then passed out.
EDS_0905.jpg


10:13 am
EDS_0935.jpg


10:24 am
EDS_0990.jpg



Loaded up the truck, strapped the engine in, and @nuclearbeef pulled in the driveway. I'd be pretty weirded out if I left on a work trip and when I came back an engine was just out of my truck, haha.
EDS_0998-2.jpg


Once again, just thank you to everyone, hard to come off sincerely over the internet, much appreciated.

By the time I got here the two of them had the engine removed and loaded up in the truck.
They pulled out of here about half past noon headed back to the Carolina coast.
It's amazing how much easier pavement is to work on vs the dirt, took us 2-3 hours to pull the engine on the pavement when it took us like 6-7 in the dirt just struggling with the crane etc etc.
 
Those little metal wheels really need a hard surface to roll along. I changed out the clutch on my 40 when I was your age and I did it in the yard took me almost 5 days. Impressive how fast you guys got that done. It does get easier once you've done it a couple times.
 
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To everyone who donated some money and has offered advice, I'm forever grateful. I hope to someday be able to return the favor to someone who is in my position 20-30 years from now. Seriously y'all paid for like half, if not more, of my gas cost on this trip. Absolutely awesome of y'all, was not expecting that!
Word...
In 20-30 years from now (if we somehow refrain from self destruction) we'll probably be 3D printing 3B engines for chips and pickles and nostalgia 😆

But the stories, experiences, and friendships are what matters. These are things that we can never simulate, but we can always make more of 🙂 Stay safe and enjoy life.

Cheers
 
Since I got the new engine I've been swapping over the good parts from my old engine over to the new one. EDIC, alternator, water pump, and everything else that has been replaced within the past 2 years of ownership with me or by the PO before I bought it. Everythings been going well, just time consuming, but then I got to the injectors which were rebuilt right before I bought the rig. I got some questions regarding injectors as I don't know whats normal or not.

First off here is a side by side, on the left is the "rebuilt" injector from my blown up motor, on the right is from my new greasy engine. All the injectors look the same on each engine.
IMG_3323.JPG


Heres a picture of the threads down into the engine on the new motor, pretty clean. These injectors were easy to take out. All looked like this
IMG_3327.JPG


Here is one from my old blown up engine, every single plug looked like this or worse... very hard to take out, had to struggle the entire way thru from all the crap in the threads.
IMG_3337.JPG


and then also this melted injector, cool. this one came from the new engine I got, took whatever was melted off with a screwdriver and it looks perfectly fine again, just like the rest of them.
IMG_3321.JPG
IMG_3328.JPG


My question is... were these injectors running properly? The ones that were pulled out of the new engine I got just seemed to be cleaner aswell as not just totally covered in black, what would cause this? My engine blowing up or the injectors weren't rebuilt properly, orrrrr? Really just curious on which ones I should use in my up coming running engine. Thanks!
 
More pics of recent.
IMG_3172.JPG


Swapped the OEM priming pump over since there was some chinesium one on the new engine
IMG_3338.JPG


Swapped the EDIC motors, obviously one (cosmetically at least) is better from the other one.
IMG_3343 (1).JPG



The only thing that worried me when looking at this engine was the coolant looked like poop in some places. When I was swapping my brand new thermostat over from the old engine I took a minute to look inside... whenever I get this thing running I'm gonna put a crap ton of the coolant flush stuff in and flush it twice a week, dont want any of this crap staying in the engine or restricting flow.
IMG_3168.JPG
IMG_3163.JPG
 
Yuck!
I am allergic to any amount of cooling system buildup. Yes, once you have everything buttoned down, run a few cycles of a good coolent system cleaner.
I had good results using the Prestone AS107 with many, many gallons of distilled water. The trick is to start with an empty cooling system, then filling up with a bottle of AS107 and distilled water, running until hot (with your cabin heater on max heat) and topping off with distilled water and then letting it dwell for two days with heat cycles throughout. Drain and repeat until all the buildup is visibly gone and the drainage is almost clear.

Although I never tried it but I remember reading of someone doing the same procedure but used a second, different cleaner from a different class when the AS107 could no longer release anymore gunk. Can't remember what was the second product but I think it was an alkaline based radiator cleaner.

Keep up the good work!
 
Since I got the new engine I've been swapping over the good parts from my old engine over to the new one. EDIC, alternator, water pump, and everything else that has been replaced within the past 2 years of ownership with me or by the PO before I bought it. Everythings been going well, just time consuming, but then I got to the injectors which were rebuilt right before I bought the rig. I got some questions regarding injectors as I don't know whats normal or not.

First off here is a side by side, on the left is the "rebuilt" injector from my blown up motor, on the right is from my new greasy engine. All the injectors look the same on each engine.
View attachment 3043282

Heres a picture of the threads down into the engine on the new motor, pretty clean. These injectors were easy to take out. All looked like this
View attachment 3043281

Here is one from my old blown up engine, every single plug looked like this or worse... very hard to take out, had to struggle the entire way thru from all the crap in the threads.
View attachment 3043279

and then also this melted injector, cool. this one came from the new engine I got, took whatever was melted off with a screwdriver and it looks perfectly fine again, just like the rest of them.
View attachment 3043283View attachment 3043280

My question is... were these injectors running properly? The ones that were pulled out of the new engine I got just seemed to be cleaner aswell as not just totally covered in black, what would cause this? My engine blowing up or the injectors weren't rebuilt properly, orrrrr? Really just curious on which ones I should use in my up coming running engine. Thanks!
Injectors from broken engine weren’t properly seated I think (wrong generic thickness?)
Do you have access to a tester, only way to tell which one is good or not.
 
There should be a diesel shop near you somewhere that can properly clean and test your injectors. It's the best way to know if they're functioning properly.

Once you get the motor put back together, follow the FSM for setting it up: timing, fueling, etc. It's all in the book. If you don't have one, you can download it here:


As mentioned previously, get the cooling system working perfectly. You don't want to waste all this effort because your old radiator or something is bad.
 
If you have the engine out, still, youmay want to pull the water pump and then flush the entire water jacket with lots of water from a hose.
Not recommend to do so with the pump on. Any debris coming free would probably wreck the waterpump (happened to me).
On the injectors, as others said: Only a test can tell. Take them to a diesel shop. I believe its worth the money as you plan a long trip.
Cheers Ralf
 
If I had to guess I'd say your injectors were slightly overfueling based on the amount of soot built up on them and the injector ports in the head. The injectors from the new engine look really nice and clean, but as others have said that isn't necessarily an indication that they're operating properly either. If I wasn't 2500 miles away I would happily lend you my injector pop tester, but you should be able to find a shop that can do it or maybe even someone local that has a tester; they're pretty cheap on eBay. Those old IDI injectors are actually pretty simple, as long as they all pop at the right pressure and have decent spray patterns you should be good to go. Be very careful not to damage the tip of the needle when handling them though.

Hoping this new engine will stand you in good stead for long enough to get a good swap candidate lined up! If you do make it out to Montana this summer it would be awesome to meet up and maybe run some trails, I am only 120 miles North of Missoula.
 
Wlonder if the original 3B was timed correctly, not perfectly but near the right spot? As per FMS pump need to start pushing diesel at INJ marks on the flywheel.

As per Gerg and others, on a turboed 3B timing should be retarded a bit and I think you did that. There is a thread where Gerg tried advance timing and ended up breaking the crankshaft. There is others people too who add the same « catastrophic « issue.

Might be a good idea to make sure the injection is at the mark or a little after.

Now, is the automatic advance on the injection pump is subject to fail and give more advance when the rev are up to 3000?
Maybe someone can chime and have experience with that.
Keep up the good work!
 
I don't mean to take the thread off topic but I'm really intrigued on people reporting some 3Bs running stronger than others. I wonder if fuel economy is different too? Surely there is something going on, it's just science. Maybe it is timing related, measuring it on a diesel doesn't seem like a commonly discussed or easy thing to do for the average DIY mechanic.
 
The things you find in an engine sometimes. My 3B had the wrong size valves(too big) in it for the head previously replaced at least once. They still managed to somehow seal even though it wasn't on the seats and had been running that way for years. Machininst at the head repair shop said "he'd never seen that in 25 years.......When I pulled the oil pan on an chevy 350 that was in a truck I bought, I found a number of 3" wood screws and 2 cups full of some type of broken plastic pieces in the bottom of the pan.......... Don't pull your hair out trying/worrying to make it all perfect/like a new engine. Do what you can and should, but get it in and running to see what it really actually really needs. Good luck!
 
someone get this man some steel-toed boots or something!
Even though it may sound foolish (and is) me and my friends really don't wear shoes unless we have to get into a restaurant or something, or of course, if the conditions require them, typically under 50-60f degrees and we will wear shoes. I didn't bring a pair of shoes when I just drove to Memphis and back to pick up the engine and on the cross country trip last year I had a pair of flip flops that i rarely wore and some beat up vans
Yuck!
I am allergic to any amount of cooling system buildup. Yes, once you have everything buttoned down, run a few cycles of a good coolent system cleaner.
I had good results using the Prestone AS107 with many, many gallons of distilled water. The trick is to start with an empty cooling system, then filling up with a bottle of AS107 and distilled water, running until hot (with your cabin heater on max heat) and topping off with distilled water and then letting it dwell for two days with heat cycles throughout. Drain and repeat until all the buildup is visibly gone and the drainage is almost clear.

Although I never tried it but I remember reading of someone doing the same procedure but used a second, different cleaner from a different class when the AS107 could no longer release anymore gunk. Can't remember what was the second product but I think it was an alkaline based radiator cleaner.

Keep up the good work!
Just picked up a bunch of the prestone stuff for when I get it running and the coolant circulating, thank you for the tip and recommendation of what to use!!
There should be a diesel shop near you somewhere that can properly clean and test your injectors. It's the best way to know if they're functioning properly.

Once you get the motor put back together, follow the FSM for setting it up: timing, fueling, etc. It's all in the book. If you don't have one, you can download it here:


As mentioned previously, get the cooling system working perfectly. You don't want to waste all this effort because your old radiator or something is bad.
Got it, going to a diesel shop tomorrow morning that @LuckyDevil suggested to me the other day. Also your package arrived today, thank you again!!!
If you have the engine out, still, youmay want to pull the water pump and then flush the entire water jacket with lots of water from a hose.
Not recommend to do so with the pump on. Any debris coming free would probably wreck the waterpump (happened to me).
On the injectors, as others said: Only a test can tell. Take them to a diesel shop. I believe its worth the money as you plan a long trip.
Cheers Ralf
Pulled it earlier today after seeing this message, will flush it out as best I can with a hose and whatever else I have. Appreciate it.
Hoping this new engine will stand you in good stead for long enough to get a good swap candidate lined up! If you do make it out to Montana this summer it would be awesome to meet up and maybe run some trails, I am only 120 miles North of Missoula.
I am too!! Really really hoping... I'm doing everything in my power to get to Montana this summer, it'll be a bit tight with the engine swap but I'm banking on yes, we will pull it off. WIll be staying in Montana for a week or so with the PO of the troopy and his family, plenty of time to meetup!
Wlonder if the original 3B was timed correctly, not perfectly but near the right spot? As per FMS pump need to start pushing diesel at INJ marks on the flywheel.

As per Gerg and others, on a turboed 3B timing should be retarded a bit and I think you did that. There is a thread where Gerg tried advance timing and ended up breaking the crankshaft. There is others people too who add the same « catastrophic « issue.

Might be a good idea to make sure the injection is at the mark or a little after.

Now, is the automatic advance on the injection pump is subject to fail and give more advance when the rev are up to 3000?
Maybe someone can chime and have experience with that.
Keep up the good work!
correct... I did change the timing, idk if I advanced or retarded it, whatever the thread told me to do. I was messaging gerg a lot during my turbo built getting advice and knowledge from him. What are you suggesting to do if I end up turboing again? Leave the timing alone or advance it or retard it oorrrrrrr?
I don't mean to take the thread off topic but I'm really intrigued on people reporting some 3Bs running stronger than others. I wonder if fuel economy is different too? Surely there is something going on, it's just science. Maybe it is timing related, measuring it on a diesel doesn't seem like a commonly discussed or easy thing to do for the average DIY mechanic.
Please feel free to go on as many tangents as you want, doesn't matter to me. Plus with this topic, i am ALSO very intrigued. Just hard to get info and opinions from so many different people that consider the word "fast" or "slow" or even "highway safe" different. Maybe if we could get a 0-60 time, mpg, car, thread going but still. Everyone will have different weight loads, tuning, etc etc. Hope to end up driving some more 3B's in my future as I'm also very curious about this

The things you find in an engine sometimes. My 3B had the wrong size valves(too big) in it for the head previously replaced at least once. They still managed to somehow seal even though it wasn't on the seats and had been running that way for years. Machininst at the head repair shop said "he'd never seen that in 25 years.......When I pulled the oil pan on an chevy 350 that was in a truck I bought, I found a number of 3" wood screws and 2 cups full of some type of broken plastic pieces in the bottom of the pan.......... Don't pull your hair out trying/worrying to make it all perfect/like a new engine. Do what you can and should, but get it in and running to see what it really actually really needs. Good luck!
Wow! I wonder sometimes how stuff like that just ends up in certain places... in what world would someone put wood screws in an oil pan, or be careless enough to leave them in, or just be oblivious, it can go on and on, crazy.


In other words, my clutch kit arrives tomorrow, should be able to start stuff on Tuesday. Will keep you all updated with the progress and roadblocks I run into!!!
 

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