Builds Finally got my own...Meet BeBe

[dirtEJohnson]

Total labor time I would estimate at 10 hours. Honestly would have taken longer and did more cleaning/painting, but the 60 was sitting on a rack at work so was confined to working on it "off hours". So, I did things over the course of a week. Lessons learned would include:

more heat=less beat
more new parts=ease of installation
source a rear spring pin spacer and eliminate a lot of useless nonsense
caster shims will be appreciated, even if you don't think it necessary
greaseable=major ride quality improvement
don't forget to check the alignment and re-torque everything at least once after a nice flexy break-in
if you are rebuilding the spring packs make sure and have plenty of clamps handy, it makes things go together easy. Don't be shy about lubing contact points between the leaves. I used a silicone paste that has proven to be durable and more water resistant than regular grease.

Overall, I feel the additional labor was worth the cost savings over a full kit. I ended up with parts from MAF, JTO, CCOT, CO, and SOR but saved a good bit by shopping around. Lots of forum searching and past experience of others was the best, first step in putting together a nice riding and nice functioning alternative for cheapos such as myself. I applaud you for doing the same.

ya i know, still need to trim u-bolts and spring pins too.

Hope it all goes well sir!

 

[gregnash]

@dirtEJohnson thanks for the info! Looks like you did quite a bit of work, luckily (hopefully) mine were already rebuilt before I bought them so that saves me time. Hoping that this will be more like a single day job for me and my buddy. Is there a way that you can tell front from rear easily??

@reevesci don't think I am going to monsterline her after all. Thinking of doing a single stage industrial enamel. But still working on the body repairs so the paint comes later.

 

[dirtEJohnson]

As I recall, the front spring pins are basically centered where the rears are offset an inch or so. Plus, the rear has one more leaf in the pack.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks for the info! I thought I remembered reading something about the rears having an extra leaf but then was wondering if it was only on the 62 and not the 60. I will have to take a look when I get a minute.

Also while doing this alignment will be done as I plan to replace the TREs (had a new set sitting on the shelf for about a year).

 

[gregnash]

Ok well just ran into a major issue with Bebe. Went to take my nephew up to a little high alpine lake and there are a few rather steep sections. There is one that is loose and steep just before we get to the top.

Today Bebe couldn't make it up the hill at all and her tank was boiling over (gas coming out of the filler).

So question is, time for a compression check?

 

[Slow Left]

Greg, are you sure this isn't a case of the good ol' plugged charcoal canister conspiracy?

Sounds like pressure building in the gas tank...

...what is your line of thinking cause and effect between pressurized gas tank and cylinder compression?

 

[gregnash]

@Slow Left thank i actually think they are two separate issues.
The gas tank thing I am sure is probably the charcoal canister. I need to go through it and possibly do the swap with the GM Vatozone air filter.

The power thing is different. This is something new that has just recently started happening this year. I noticed earlier in the year that she was having a problem, nothing major but bogging a bit more than normal going up the hills. Then in April when one of the local alpine lakes was getting ready to open for the season I took a drive up to do some scouting. One section is real steep and loose, she never had a problem with that section until that day. Had to do multiple runs at it.

On the 4th weekend getting out to our campsite she just seemed to be having a little more trouble than normal pulling the hills. The. When we were out there she just seemed a bit off. When we got back all was fine, when we were camping we were at a lower elevation than home (by maybe a few hundred feet so not much).

Then today took my nephew to go fishing at the above mentioned lake and she bogged on the same section. This time actually stalling out multiple times before I called it because I did not want to get stuck up some stupid fire road. She ran fine everywhere else but just seems to have lost a bit of power.

 

[Slow Left]

You might check for misfire at a cylinder. With the engine running, remove each spark plug lead to each cylinder (one at a time). If you hear no change in idle sound, then that cylinder is probably misfiring...and continue diagnosis from there...

The only thing I could think of that relates the pressure in the tank with the loss of power might be a reduction of fuel delivery...but I can't quite work out exactly how that would happen...

 

[mk4leo]

So you're having power issues when the truck is at an incline?

 

[Slow Left]

Well, considering these 2Fs aren't too bad on torque (they can put out about as much low end torque as the Toyota diesels can), they've got that nice kind of 'pull you through it' feeling when climbing stuff in the right gear...so any deviation from that feeling would for sure be noticeable.

It could be a fuel starvation issue, but the Aisin carb doesn't seem to have a reputation of cutting out...in other words, it seems to be design well enough to continue to supply fuel to the main jets at steep angles.

Unless the float in the fuel bowl isn't filling up to the proper level.

I'd run the misfire test first since it is easy to do...and see what that tells you.

 

[Slow Left]

Oh, and before I forget, on the spring bushings...I'm wondering if you gave those bushings a squirt of PB blaster once or twice a day for a week or two...if the PB blaster would work it's way between the bushing and the metal and make it easier to remove the bushings.

I haven't tried it, but plan on trying it before I go to swap springs/bushings (need new springs, but can't afford the lift kit...and the cost of just replacing the bushings is almost as much as doing new spring kit when you consider hardware consumable costs...). Anyway, just a thought...anything to help make it easier to get those bushings out. I'm also considering freezing the bushings (instead of heating them), hoping that the frozen polymer will shatter off, but not sure if the metal wouldn't too.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks for the info guys... Yeah the baffling part, like I said, is that I have made it up that section without much issue for two almost three years now. So when she started to bog down real bad that is when I started to worry. Not really sure what to consider it but will try the misfire test that you are talking about @Slow Left.

As for the suspension, yeah I have already started spraying everything down to make it easier. My bushings in some places are so bad that they are almost completely gone, so don't believe I will have that big of an issue with it.

 

[Slow Left]

My bushings in some places are so bad that they are almost completely gone, so don't believe I will have that big of an issue with it.

Ha, Ha! ...same here...

I got a kick out of a post another MUDer posted up in another thread where his rig has the nickname 'Squeaker'...probably has same issues with the bushings...

Yeah, the misfire test is simple (it won't give you compression numbers, but it will provide insight to whether or not you are dealing with an ignition problem and have lost power to a cylinder).

Other thing is, given the position of the main jets at the base of the carb (facing the front of the rig), on a steep incline, any junk that was resting happily on the floor of the fuel bowl, might now get sucked into a jet...giving a condition of temporary fuel starvation.

If the misfire test does not indicate ignition problem, and the compression tests good, then you can remove the two plugs on the fuel bowl and spray heaps of carb cleaner into one and try to flush out the dirt through the other...

 

[gregnash]

Yeah saw that post too, made me chuckle!

New exhaust will have to be in the number soon here as the old one is rusted in multiple spots and, like I posted earlier, was busted at the muffler due to rust while welding in patch panel. I need a good long weekend to overhaul a couple things; pull valve cover and check/adjust valves, check manifolds for leaks, replace head gasket if needed, etc.

Bebe has started smoking on start-up in the last year or so more than she did when I first brought her home which leads me to lean a bit more towards the HG issue.

And the garbage in the fuel bowl could very well be true. During our holiday camping trip I had to use low grade from a small mountain town, which she does not like low grade fuel in the first place on mid or higher. Only reason I did not put mid in her was that it was about $0.40/gallon more expensive so that was a bit much for me. She was dieseling just about every time I shut her down with that crap and now that I have run about a tank of mid grade through her she is back to her normal self (no dieseling whatsoever). Figuring that if I have to replace the HG then I would rebuild the carb at that time anyways.

 

[Random Dan]

If you want to clean the fuel bowl you can just remove the two 14mm head plugs on the front and let the fuel drain out into a cup or something and then spray carb cleaner in one side and it'll wash it all out the other. If you have a clear cup you can then look to see what kind of gunk was in there.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks @Random Dan. I will try that and see. I am sure that there is some garbage in there from that and the fact that I am sure that the carb bowl has never been cleaned.

 

[gregnash]

Well did @Random Dan's test and did not get anything weird that would indicate that one of the cylinders is not firing properly. Been super busy last few weeks with stuff going on every weekend just about with my dad buying a family cabin up at the lake, camping trips and what not. Of course, my welder buddy texts me and says "Don't worry dude I haven't forgotten about you we will get to that other side." my response was, "It's summer and everyone is super busy so I completely understand. We will plan in Aug sometime."

Put in the order for the new Skyjacker M95 series shocks and Energy Suspension bushings and they came in yesterday. Of course yesterday is also the day that I find out that my buddy that was going to help me with the springs apparently got into a wreck on his streetbike outside of Red Bluff and destroyed his bike. No real word on WHAT happened but he is ok, no broken bones or anything like that just really REALLY banged up. Once I can get a weekend to dedicate to working on BeBe I will start with the rear springs on my own and go from there. At least I have my bike if she is down for longer than expected. Oh and I have been soaking all the bolts in PB Blaster for about a week now already.

 

[klinetime574]

Good stuff Greg, hope you get some wrenching time in soon on the cruiser. We all need a little therapy sometimes. Sorry to hear about your friend, I wish him a speedy recovery.

On a side note where did you get those windshield shades? Everything I can find locally is too big for my windshield. IIRC it is roughly 58" x 23"

 

[gregnash]

Thanks, yeah someone was definitely watching out for him. Talking to his fiancé she said that he was riding a new bike that he was not used to and probably pushing it a bit too fast. He lost control and went into a guard rail, funny thing is she tells me "...so the dumbass is sitting there with Bones and Gary waiting for the ambulance, doesn't think to say anything like he feels he is going to black out, but blacks out and then busts his head on the ground." LOL! Apparently hit the guard rail with his back and totaled the bike, no broken anything or permanent damage but he rides in full armor (not his first crash) so I am sure that helped A LOT. Of course, I have been trying to get the wife to let me build up an old Café Racer and then this happens... Yeah no dice!! she tells me last night.

As for the shades, think you are referring to @dirtEJohnson's truck. Mine was a large sunshade I purchased from Costco (multi-pack) and it fits just fine.

 

[Output Shaft]

If the engine is bogging on the hills but not on the flats (when you push it) then I'm thinking it's a carburetor or fuel pump issue.