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Exhaust leak fixed, starting to sound more normal. Have not figured out while the brand new OEM power steering pump is whining yet. New to me AFM/VAF is in the mail so maybe I can run it long enough to get the thermostat to open and get the engine full of coolant soon too!

 
Well after only a month of trouble shooting I finally got the truck to idle normally for 30 minutes! Let me recap everything I did to try and troubleshoot the crazy idle I was dealing with.

I had a misfire on cylinder # 5 and thought I had a missing wire running from the ECU to the injector, but after @offr0adlim0 came over and helped me with my volt meter, it just had not done a stellar job putting new pins on the wire, so once we put new pins on the wires and put them back in the connector, the misfire was gone.

Next, we tried tracking down the cause of the surge. First I pulled the throttle body and adjusted the TPS, because I did not do that correctly when I put it back on the throttle body after I cleaned it in my ultra sonic cleaner. I also changed out the IAC with a spare I had from a spare throttle body I bought from a part out. That did not make a difference and the surge continued.

Next we tried unplugging the o2 sensors to try and trick the AFM/VAF into running rich but the surge continued. Then we started unplugging sensors one at a time, but that did not make a difference.

I bought a smoke machine and did a smoke test and could not find a single puff of smoke coming out anywhere. I even turned off the lights, closed the garage door and used a flashlight and still no trace of smoke.

I decided that maybe the problem was the VAF/AFM so I bought several used ones from various sources around the board, and while it reduced the RPMs of the surge from 3,000 to 2,100 RPMs, the surge continued.

While digging around I noticed that had had not put the nuts on the studs that hold the power steering pump on to the block, which was the cause of the power steering squeal. Man, I felt so stupid. I thought that maybe since there was a gap that it could be the unmetered air causing the engine surge, but after securing the pump properly, the surge continued, but the squeal went away!

The only thing I could think of to do next was to pull the wiring harness back out of the engine bay and check all of my pins and connectors since I replaced all the connectors and a good portion of the pins. But in desperation, Posted the video of the truck surging, and in true MUD fashion, @Fj80oregon popped in and asked if I had checked the coolant temp sensor. I would have never thought to check that, especially since I bought an brand new OEM coolant temp sensor from my local dealer, but unplugging the sensor stopped the surging in its tracks, and the engine idled for 30 minutes for the first time since I installed the new short block and machined the head!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this point! I hope get behind the wheel and drive it for the first time this weekend after I wrap up a few things that need to happen before I can drive it.

@Malleus
@Fj80oregon
@swamp-thing
@Broski
@TheBussman
@offr0adlim0
@wngrog
 
hisandhers80s said:
Well after only a month of trouble shooting I finally got the truck to idle normally for 30 minutes! Let me recap everything I did to try and troubleshoot the crazy idle I was dealing with.

I had a misfire on cylinder # 5 and thought I had a missing wire running from the ECU to the injector, but after @offr0adlim0 came over and helped me with my volt meter, it just had not done a stellar job putting new pins on the wire, so once we put new pins on the wires and put them back in the connector, the misfire was gone.

Next, we tried tracking down the cause of the surge. First I pulled the throttle body and adjusted the TPS, because I did not do that correctly when I put it back on the throttle body after I cleaned it in my ultra sonic cleaner. I also changed out the IAC with a spare I had from a spare throttle body I bought from a part out. That did not make a difference and the surge continued.

Next we tried unplugging the o2 sensors to try and trick the AFM/VAF into running rich but the surge continued. Then we started unplugging sensors one at a time, but that did not make a difference.

I bought a smoke machine and did a smoke test and could not find a single puff of smoke coming out anywhere. I even turned off the lights, closed the garage door and used a flashlight and still no trace of smoke.

I decided that maybe the problem was the VAF/AFM so I bought several used ones from various sources around the board, and while it reduced the RPMs of the surge from 3,000 to 2,100 RPMs, the surge continued.

While digging around I noticed that had had not put the nuts on the studs that hold the power steering pump on to the block, which was the cause of the power steering squeal. Man, I felt so stupid. I thought that maybe since there was a gap that it could be the unmetered air causing the engine surge, but after securing the pump properly, the surge continued, but the squeal went away!

The only thing I could think of to do next was to pull the wiring harness back out of the engine bay and check all of my pins and connectors since I replaced all the connectors and a good portion of the pins. But in desperation, Posted the video of the truck surging, and in true MUD fashion, @Fj80oregon popped in and asked if I had checked the coolant temp sensor. I would have never thought to check that, especially since I bought an brand new OEM coolant temp sensor from my local dealer, but unplugging the sensor stopped the surging in its tracks, and the engine idled for 30 minutes for the first time since I installed the new short block and machined the head!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this point! I hope get behind the wheel and drive it for the first time this weekend after I wrap up a few things that need to happen before I can drive it.

@Malleus
@Fj80oregon
@swamp-thing
@Broski
@TheBussman
@offr0adlim0
@wngrog
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glad to hear it now you can put some load on it to help break those rings in. How many ohms on that sensor? think the wiring to it is ok?
 
I plan on testing the sensor in the morning first thing with the ohm meter and will compare it to the FSM and the new one I just purchased
 
Well I was able to driver it around the neighborhood once but I have a clanking sound coming from the rear somewhere and I have not been able to pin point it. It does not make the noise while in reverse, or when coasting but only when pressing the throttle.

 
I have start by saying that I am a double moron, if that’s really a thing, but that’s how I feel at the moment. So I can breathe a huge sigh of relief, that my ARB air locker and the associated air lines in the rear differential are fully in tact, so I just pulled it back out for peace of mind at this point. When removing the rear drive shaft from the rear differential, I had two bolts loose. I did not think much of it at the time, but while removing the nuts on the rear differential, my wrench hit the drive shaft and made the exact sound I was hearing while driving. I decided at this point, I wanted to pull the diff out to check the air lines on the ARB for peace of mind. Then, after I had the rear differential out, I checked the other end of the drive shaft where it attaches to the transfer case and all 4 nuts were loose. So, at this point, I am pretty certain, the noise I was hearing was the rear drive shaft not bolted in properly. GEEZ! Anyone else think this might be the cause of a clanking sound that sounds like a wrench hitting a steel pipe?

Now I have to get a new gasket before I can put it all back together. And test my theory…

Oh I also got the quads installed and the Delta bumper on. The quads are not working so I have more troubleshooting to do there.

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hisandhers80s said:
I have start by saying that I am a double moron, if that’s really a thing, but that’s how I feel at the moment. So I can breathe a huge sigh of relief, that my ARB air locker and the associated air lines in the rear differential are fully in tact, so I just pulled it back out for peace of mind at this point. When removing the rear drive shaft from the rear differential, I had two bolts loose. I did not think much of it at the time, but while removing the nuts on the rear differential, my wrench hit the drive shaft and made the exact sound I was hearing while driving. I decided at this point, I wanted to pull the diff out to check the air lines on the ARB for peace of mind. Then, after I had the rear differential out, I checked the other end of the drive shaft where it attaches to the transfer case and all 4 nuts were loose. So, at this point, I am pretty certain, the noise I was hearing was the rear drive shaft not bolted in properly. GEEZ! Anyone else think this might be the cause of a clanking sound that sounds like a wrench hitting a steel pipe?

Now I have to get a new gasket before I can put it all back together. And test my theory…

Oh I also got the quads installed and the Delta bumper on. The quads are not working so I have more troubleshooting to do there.

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s*** happens man, especially after a full rebuild. I wouldn't beat yourself up too much about it.

I did the same thing after my FTE swap. Mine just didnt make any noise and I doubled checked before the first highway test run
 
hisandhers80s said:
I have start by saying that I am a double moron, if that’s really a thing, but that’s how I feel at the moment. So I can breathe a huge sigh of relief, that my ARB air locker and the associated air lines in the rear differential are fully in tact, so I just pulled it back out for peace of mind at this point. When removing the rear drive shaft from the rear differential, I had two bolts loose. I did not think much of it at the time, but while removing the nuts on the rear differential, my wrench hit the drive shaft and made the exact sound I was hearing while driving. I decided at this point, I wanted to pull the diff out to check the air lines on the ARB for peace of mind. Then, after I had the rear differential out, I checked the other end of the drive shaft where it attaches to the transfer case and all 4 nuts were loose. So, at this point, I am pretty certain, the noise I was hearing was the rear drive shaft not bolted in properly. GEEZ! Anyone else think this might be the cause of a clanking sound that sounds like a wrench hitting a steel pipe?

Now I have to get a new gasket before I can put it all back together. And test my theory…

Oh I also got the quads installed and the Delta bumper on. The quads are not working so I have more troubleshooting to do there.

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View attachment 4163341
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Yeah do not feel bad. Sometimes you can have too many hands in the cookie jar (helping out) and something can get over looked.
 
So I have been fighting this noise that sounds like a clank against one of the drive shafts that at first I thought was the rear differential with the ARB air locker chewing up my air line. When I start to take out the drive shafts both ends are barely finger tight, but I was still worried, so I took the rear differential out and confirmed the air line was still intact. I put it all back together and got the drive shafts both ends tight and the noise is still there.

Next, I try and isolate the noise by taking out the front drive shafts but the noise was still there. Next, put the front back in and took out the rear shaft. When shifting the transfer case to low, I hear the same clanking sound I have been hearing but the truck is off and not moving. When I test drive the truck this time, the noise is gone. But since I had the same clanking noise when I shifted the transfer case into low, it is now making me think I screwed something up when I rebuilt the transfer case with the low range gears and converted it to part-time. I also saw a small drip coming from the front output shaft area of the transfer case when I was putting the front drive shafts back in.

The thought that I might have to pull the transfer case again is just devastating. I guess I am just going to seep on it for a night or two and figure out what to do next.
 
After sleeping on it, I think I am going to take the transfer case out and send it to Valley Hybrids to have them check it over and fix anything I may have screwed up. This whole situation puts me in a bind because I just accepted a job that is going to require me to move from Mississippi to Texas by the beginning of August. I was really hoping to not have to tow the truck to TX, but be able to drive it! Plus, I need to focus on packing the house and getting it ready to go on the market. Not ideal timing to say the least!
 
I'm sure that you watched Gorge's vids by Timmy the Toolman on the T-case rebuild, but maybe watch again in steps as you follow along with yours? I did this with my Audi RS6 when I had to pull the motor...was a 6 hour vid and I took stills on my phone for important points along the way.

And hoping that it's something simple, my son just put a trans in his old Explorer and had a very similar sound to yours as soon as we pulled it halfway down the driveway...turns out he hooked the parking pawl spring on the wrong side, so it was floating without tension and bouncing on the pawl notches. I know that our T-cases do not have these, but just pointing out that it could be something very simple once you get back in there.

Timing is a bummer, but hopefully the new job opportunities are worth the efforts! Keep your chin high, you've come soooo far at this point!
 
Well, a local friend is going to let me borrow his backup T-case to put in while I figure out the issue. Also, I did the entire rebuild with my iPad sitting on the bench beside me and Georg's videos playing, doing it step by step, but it is entirely possible I missed a step. At least the borrowed T-case will let me proceed with the move and sort the T-case later.
 
Since I was not able to tell if the crazy noise I was having was coming from the transfer case I rebuilt or the drive shaft, I was able to borrow a friends spare transfer case to put in to see if I can continue to narrow down the source of the noise. Tonight I was able to get the old t-case out from under the truck. Tomorrow I will get the borrowed t-case in and see if there is any difference in noise when I take it for a spin.



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Well I swapped out the transfer case with a friends space t-case and the problem continues. I have essentially narrowed it down to the rear drive shaft. The reason I swapped the t-case to begin with was I was getting the noise happen when I was moving the t-case from high to low range. The noise did go away with the rear shaft removed. I also had a leak around the front output shaft of the t-case I rebuilt with the 3.1:1 low range and part-time conversion. I have tried flipping the rear shaft around to see if the noise went away, but it still persists. I am going to try one more thing today and set the rear shaft 90 degrees from its current configuration to see if that makes a difference. If no changes after that, I will be calling Tom Woods on Monday to get a rear DC shaft on order.

On a not surprising note, swapping a t-case under the truck has been one of my least favorite and most time consuming projects so far at 11 hours worth of work over the last two days.

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Did you check to see if the DS is in phase ?
 
Well, if you to go with the Tom Woods, I've been very happy with mine! I had the dreaded spline clunk, and took care of that right away.

Hopefully you get it sorted soon!
 
CrabCake said:
Well, if you to go with the Tom Woods, I've been very happy with mine! I had the dreaded spline clunk, and took care of that right away.

Hopefully you get it sorted soon!
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I am running the Tom Woods front drive shaft but I will be doing the rear DS as I have that spline clunk too.
 
I run them front and rear my rear is a .120 heavy wall long spline with 1350 U-joints
Well worth it if you like to wheel 😉
 
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