Builds Family haulin'

[boots4]

Update

I been doing some cleaning and organizing lately. My scrap metal pile was a mess so I built a shelf and sorted out the stuff I want to take to the recycle yard. It's not a big load like last time but definitely enough to use the trailer. I've got a couple old rims I need to demount tires from before I'm ready for the run.

My work buddy who is helping me with the new tranny control box came up with a better idea so we'll be trying that out shortly. It should help keep my hands on the wheel.

I get a decent amount of noise coming though the shifter boot so I wanted to do something different than what I had. Plus the boot was ripping from the curve I had in it so I decided to make a base to keep the boot flat.

I cut out a flat piece and put some curves in it to try and match the tranny hump and the boot curves. I'll need to seal it and paint it but I like how it keeps the boot flat. I lined the base with some sound dampener and right now it's just attached with one bolt on the side and then with the bolts that hold the boot in place. There is a metal piece inside the boot to give it some structure and then the piece that I cut out to sandwich it down.

This is where the shifters are when drive around.

I went out to start up it up this morning but there was not enough juice in the cold batteries to crank (haven't started it all weekend plus I still have them in parallel, need to hook up the isolator) so I didn't get to see if it makes any sound difference. I'm assuming it will make a little difference but that I'll still get lots of sound until I seal it and make an absorbing blanket/outer boot to throw on top of this one. I'm also thinking about redoing the whole tranny access panel with the aluminum sheet that I have from the stepvan but wanted to throw this one together to see what it could look like. Had the throw on the charger while I'm at work today.

Moab prep:

Steering system resealing, pump mods, and TREs
Finish front bumper and fender protection
Redo skidplate
Do some more wheeling so I don't get rusty

 

[chicago]

Hey Boots,
Have you ever sensed a need to support the rear of the t cases?
That is a LOT of fawking weight off the back...

 

[boots4]

Hey Boots,
Have you ever sensed a need to support the rear of the t cases?
That is a LOT of fawking weight off the back...

Nope. If the splitcase were heavy like a 205 then that would be a different story but the splitcase isn't that bad and I have not seen any loosening of the bolts or fatigue/cracks in the adapter between the 203 and splitcase and my drivetrain vibs pretty good on shutdown (the 4bt likes to rock on shutdown). It certainly wouldn't hurt but I haven't found it necessary.

 

[chicago]

Nope. If the splitcase were heavy like a 205 then that would be a different story but the splitcase isn't that bad and I have not seen any loosening of the bolts or fatigue/cracks in the adapter between the 203 and splitcase and my drivetrain vibs pretty good on shutdown (the 4bt likes to rock on shutdown). It certainly wouldn't hurt but I haven't found it necessary.

I can pick the 203/ split case set up and carry it, but its a pretty heavy combo. Since youve been running it, I was curious as to what you thought after I noticed that you didnt have a x member for that....

Im having a bitch of a time finding a way to mount a x member for my set up...The split case clocked a different way than I had originally thought it would. Better for my drive shaft angles and clearing the trans pan, but BAD for a good way to mount it.

Do you have a support for the trans anywhere?
All I have right now is the motor mounts and the 700R4 adapter between the trans and the 203...

 

[boots4]

Do you have a support for the trans anywhere?
All I have right now is the motor mounts and the 700R4 adapter between the trans and the 203...

Those are my only supports as well. Two on the engine and then my closer together two under the tranny adapter. My engine is also quite a bit heavier than yours.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Looking good Mike!

Clint

 

[boots4]

update

I had one of those weeks that nothing seemed to work out even though I kept trying. I just had to clean up my tools and go inside the house but here is what I attempted to do.

I wanted to hook up my National Luna battery isolator and get it working. Last time I figure I had it wired wrong and it wouldn't charge my aux battery. Before I mounted it I took the cover off to make sure there were no burned circuit paths and that the fuse was ok. This is the front of the board and the clips on the left is where the fuse goes. I inspected the board and found no issues. Tested the fuse and found no breaks.

Back of the board.

Made a mount from aluminum with a flap on top for some minor protection.

Last time I had it mounted on the air filter box and since I removed that I chose a place on the fender near the main battery.

Put some spacers I cut out of aluminum behind the mount due to not having a flat surface.

Mounted the isolator, hooked up the wires and changed one ground on the aux battery. I started the truck to see the isolator in action and the timer light was blinking. I believe it's suppose to stay solid for the first 5 minutes so the main (starting) battery gets the charge first and then after the 5 minutes it hooks the two batteries in parallel so the aux battery can get charged. After 5 minutes the timer light turned solid but stayed light and the solenoid light also was light. I tested the main battery for charge both times and it was being charged. I tested the aux battery both times and both times it wasn't receiving charge even though once the solenoid was active it should be receiving charge. I tested the lines to the batteries for continuity with no problems and I then tested the signal line going from the little control box to the actual solenoid and they were getting juice. I tested across the solenoid and found no connection. SO I believe I've isolated it to a bad solenoid. I've found replacement solenoids online for $30 so I'll grab a replacement and swap it out.

 

[boots4]

Update cont.

With the engine running I was underneath looking at stuff and found a decent dripping of coolant. I traced it back to the upper port block connection. It's obviously been leaking for some time. I figured the paint destruction was coming from spilling oil when filling up (it runs that path) or from diesel when I cracked the injector lines for air bleeding and that may be the case but it was also leaking coolant.

In the upper port piece is where the thermostat is which is working fine. I cleaned and sanded the mounting surfaces and applied some gasket sealer on the connecting parts and put it back together. I waited a couple of hours and then filled it with coolant. Perhaps I didn't wait long enough because it started to leak again so I didn't fix it. The other scare is that it could potentially be the head gasket leaking out the side. I have no signs that coolant is getting into anything internally like the cylinder or into the oil so it could even be a crack on the outside of the head that goes to a coolant passage. If I have to pull the head then I'll want to do a rebuild while I'm in there and I'm not ready for a rebuild so I'll have to inspect a little better on the outside to see if it's external.


I felt like cutting something so I started on my tailgate to get it ready for an access panel. I lined it and it's actually quieter now than it was when it was intact. I'll remove the braces once I get the lid fabbed up.

Hoping I have better luck next week.

 

[chicago]

For your sake I hope its NOT a crack. That would BLOW!

 

[boots4]

Update

So I traced down what I thought was a bad solenoid for my battery isolator. I didn't want to deal with shipping it back and all that so I found replacements for just the solenoid online for $30. Then I found a supplier right here in town and picked one up for $24. No shipping and instant gratification.

The national luna unit uses a cole hersee brand solenoid and they have the number printed on the top. I got the exact replacement and swapped them out.

Hooked everything back up and tested for charge. First 5 min the main got the charge and then after that the solenoid engaged and the aux got hooked in parallel and got charge. Ironically this has shown me that my aux battery is dieing, however I just ended up with another group 31 so I'll probably swap that out this coming week.

Dirtgypsy and I also had a little work party over at Brokenpart's place to bend some tube. I also got a chance to play with his dimple dies.

I wanted to follow the body line to finish off the front bumper and once Zach showed up after work we really got into the measuring and planning using his bendtech program. I was being picky but I'm glad I was because it turned out how I wanted it. With the notch out of the tube at the slider connection it will sink down to follow the body line but here is at least a mock of what it will look like. I didn't get a chance to bend a small piece to go at the front of the fender to connect the top and bottom together so I'll have to bug Zach again soon.

Clint liked them too so we bent another pair for him. I'll weld mine to the slider and then have a tube clamp insert near the front so that I can take the front bumper off for whatever reason.

While Clint was working on some rear bumper parts I started to play around with Zach's dimple dies. First time using them and I found that the hole size needs to be very close to the die size to get the nice dimple. I wasn't sure what kind of pattern to make so I did the outer parts first and that actually helped with how I want to do the middle piece. After I got them home I trimmed the panels a little to get them to sink into the tube some more. For now I just tacked them back on.

Dimple dieing was actually pretty easy especially with Zach's press so the hard part is coming up with a design. We ran out of time for more so this will be another reason to head back over and play in Zach's shop.

I studied the coolant leak some more and do think it's my head gasket. A head gasket won't be a hard job but since I'm in there I might as well... yeah so that's what I'm deciding now. So far I'll probably do a ring job while I'm there. I'll be studying my cummins 4bt service manual this week to see what I can do with it still in chassis. I'll probably take the head into the shop I know to see what they think. So I'll be adding a minor motor refreshening before the Moab trip. Good thing our tax return was healthy this year since I already have a few other things I was planning to purchase.

 

[Pacer]

Thanks for the update Boots, sounds like NOW is the time to handle this leak.... better than on the trail!

 

[boots4]

Agreed... and definitely before our 2300 mile round trip.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Those look bada$$. Hit me up with a PM for the next work party dates!

Clint

 

[brokenparts]

I know for sure that I can play March 22nd evening (wife and kids are gone). I'll see if I can get the day off too. My schedule is pretty tight until then but I'll see if I can get free before then too. I got a little guff from the neighbors about cutting the metal after 8 (tons of young kids in the neighborhood) so we'll need to get the cutting done earlier in the night.

 

[boots4]

Thanks for sharing Zach and we'll definitely get cutting done eariler or call it quits by 8 altogether. I appreciate you putting up with us.

Your limited availability is actually good for me since I'll be shifting my focus for the next couple weeks to my motor. Time to pony up and take care of the engine. Getting quotes for work this week and will probably get it pulled.

 

[boots4]

Update

Well, I shifted focus and dove in. Before I took Dora down I took a light load of scrap to the metal eaters to clean up my pile of rust in the back yard.

Got back and parked her in a familiar position that started all this almost three years ago.

I started pulling stuff off that was in the way.

I found my coolant leak, so I removed it.

I hadn't just removed the engine with the tranny still hooked up to the rig yet but it came out without much persuasion. I was happy with myself because I thought it'd take me longer but I got the engine out in 4 hours. I used the tire support with it still hooked up to the engine hoist until I borrowed an engine stand. Then I started taking stuff off of it to crack it open.

My steering fluid reservoir cap started leaking again so I'll want to make some adjustments so it stops making such a mess. I think I'll hit the engine bay with some degreaser and clean it up a bit before I put the engine back in.

I pulled off the flywheel and adapter so I could get to the main rear seal. I'm not sure it's leaking but since I'm there I'm going to replace it. Most if not all the juicyness is coming from the block breather which is the tube on the left side of the block. Due to blow-by on the pistons it would push out oil vapor through the tube.

After I got the exhaust manifold and turbo removed I was able to get a better view of my coolant leak. It was definitely getting worse.

I also was able to see that the front wasn't the only place it was leaking. There was a leak on the back as well.

Another finding was that the flywheel has contacted the adapter some more. This leads me to believe my main bearing/bushings are out of spec allowing too much horizontal movement on my crankshaft.

 

[boots4]

Update cont.

Before I dove in I talked to a friend (engine rebuilder) and decided on a plan. I thought about having him just do the rebuild but for two reasons I decided to do some of it myself. One was $$ of course and the other is that since I like working on stuff and seeing how it works I wanted to get my elbows greasy and get in there myself. He's going to do a head job and will help me hone the cylinders but I'll put it all back together. Since I have the factory service manual I'll have the info I'll need.

He had an engine stand that I could borrow so I got the engine pretty much stripped to pull the head. I had some more time that next day before the stand showed up so I pulled the steering pump to do a reseal job. Pulling it off was two bolts and then I took it back to my rude work bench and tore it apart. That's the kit I bought a couple months ago from autozone.

When popping out the shaft I noticed the bushing was shedding some of it's lining so I replaced that with the one that came in the kit. There are two o-rings that go in the the grooves and the ones I pulled out were hard and broke so I'm glad I'm doing this. They couldn't have sealed for too much longer.

Pump parts and vane all looked good so back in they went.

Clamped down the cap so I could get the retainer ring back in.

My pump had this little magnet. It was covered with metal flakes so I cleaned it off and put it back where I found it.

There were two sets of o-rings of different thickness to seal the housing to the pump body where the studs and the outlet fitting go. Mine took the thinner o-rings and then I put the housing on. I used a gear puller to get the gear off and just used a socket, bolt and washer to get it installed. I didn't clamp very hard in the vice so I wouldn't screw up the gear and it went on without an issue. Instead of a pulley, my pump is run off this gear where the pump inserts into the housing on the front of the engine.

While I had the system apart I wanted to mod the fitting and pressure relief valve. Per West Texas Offroad I choose to drill out the fitting by 1/8th over original and I measured it to be close to 1/8th (~.121) so I used a 7/32 drill bit to open it up. Since I'm running hydroboost, power steering, and ram assist on the same system I figured more flow would be better. I then removed the washer in the pressure relief assembly and put it back together.

More to come, be back in a short bit.

 

[boots4]

Update cont.

Before I bolted the steering pump back up I wanted to see if my TDC pin was broken. There is a hole on the back side of the cam gear that aligns with top dead center on cylinder 1. This is helpful when adjusting timing and I thought mine was busted (very common). Here is the hole in the gear and the big hole on the left is where the steering pump bolts in.

This is the pin and it's that little nub on the tip that gets broken off when the pin is not pulled back after finding TDC. Mine was actually still good so I put it back in and then bolted up the steering pump.

Got the engine stand and attached the engine. I'd never taken diesel injectors out but actually found mine to be pretty easy which from what it sounds like I got lucky. I removed the retaining nut and then was able to carefully wiggle them out with a pair of pliers. I released the load on the valve springs per the manual and then loosened the head bolts and gently used my hoist to pop the head off. The head is 80lbs.

The moment of truth... what was the internal condition of this engine?

I ran my fingernail on the cylinder walls and found no snags, the cross hatching can still be seen although vertical lines can also be seen. This is cylinder 4 (left) and 3 (right).

And cylinder 2 (left) and 1 (right).

You can see here by cylinder 1 this is where the head gasket wasn't sealing anymore and leaking externally. I did not clean of the deck yet to see how it looks underneath the gasket material.

The head with the gasket still on it. 4 (right) and 3 (left).

2 (right) and 1 (left)

Here is what was stamped on the pistons. All the pistons and bearings were standard size so there is a lot of room left in this engine for future rebuilds, of course as long as I catch it before any real damage is done.

I removed the connecting rod bolts and tapped the pistons out of the cylinders. There was some build up of carbon around the top where the rings don't ride, but not too much.

The pistons and connecting rods. The wear on the bearings. From left to right is 1 to 4.

Bolted my oil pan back on, covered up the parts, stored the pistons inside the truck and dropped off the head to the rebuilder.

Once we hone it we'll get parts ordered and go from there. It was a busy couple days but for the most part went smoothly. I'll be studying from the service manual this week while I get quiet times at work so I can be ready to go in case we move fast next week (hopefully parts are local). I was having crazy ideas of building a manifold now for the new turbo and getting that installed but realistically I better just focus on getting it back together and tested before Moab. I need to remember that I still have a family inside the house.

 

[kabota19]

boots
if you find that the bores are out of spec too much you can have them machined and then sleeved, I am surprised that the 4BT is not sleeved from the factory, it seems like most industrial diesels are sleeved which makes for a very fast and easy rebuild.
Brandon

 

[Tapage]

as usual.. great ilustrative thread .. thanks Mike ..