Target carrier (5 Viewers)

[J Mack]

Well I’m learning another expensive lesson on this build..

When I reinstalled the third A/C pump I added some PAG oil with some very bright yellow dye to help identify any leaks and now it appears I have quite a few hoses leaking, the issue is the fittings/hoses that Restomod sends with their kit is standard barrier Parker hose with unknown brand of fittings. The only shop that crimps standard barrier A/C hose uses Dayton hose and fittings and will not crimp customer supplied hose and fittings (something about every manufactures hose and fittings being slightly different and liability) . My local Parker store only deals with reduced barrier Parker hose and fittings and they are not setup to crimp standard barrier A/C hose so they used their standard hydraulic hose crimp dies to crimp my A/C lines and this is proving to be a mistake.

I’ve replaced my fourth A/C line today in the 1400 miles I’ve driven since the engine rebuild and it’s not looking good that I’ll make another 1400 miles on the remaining hoses.

 

[J Mack]

On a positive note I got the diff oil changed out with some grape scented gear oil so I’m calling that a victory!

 

[scrapdaddy]

Jim,

Would you have to replace the bulkhead also? I used one from Old Air, but I bet it's the same as yours. I ask because I found an oil leak at the bulkhead connect, not sure if it's the hose or not. Seems to be blowing cold still.

 

[ginericLC]

When I get back from Cruise Moab we will have to do some wheeling. Until then I'm stuck doing projects to get ready.

 

[xtiaan2000]

H ave you heard any more about that Cumins crate engine that is supposed to be comingout soon?

 

[J Mack]

Jim,



Would you have to replace the bulkhead also? I used one from Old Air, but I bet it's the same as yours. I ask because I found an oil leak at the bulkhead connect, not sure if it's the hose or not. Seems to be blowing cold still.

Ron,

Yes one of my bulkhead lines was leaking, this is the style I’m using.

I switched the heater hoses out to AN style right in the beginning and they have been trouble free, the yellow PAG oil is showing exactly were all my lines are seeping from, like you I always felt like I was seeing oil around some of the lines but the A/C was working so I just dismissed it.

Yes you can buy the replacement bulkhead fitting and they are much better quality than the supplied Restomod fittings.

www.atc.ca/pdf/atc/Fitting_Crimper.pdf

Look at page 398, part number 4446S for your low pressure and part number 4445S for the high side.

When I get back from Cruise Moab we will have to do some wheeling. Until then I'm stuck doing projects to get ready.

Looking forward to it.

H ave you heard any more about that Cumins crate engine that is supposed to be comingout soon?

The best review of the new Cummins engine was on this episode of Dirt every Day, they had a few issues but it looks like a better re-power than the 4Bt if all you wanted was a reliable diesel engine and didn’t care about the nostalgia of the Cummins BT engines.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Bummer on the AC lines. That's something I'll have to work out myself soon enough though.

Lesson there is that the crimper has to match the fittings you purchase?

 

[J Mack]

In a perfect world yes you wouldn’t mix brands of hose and fittings and use the correct crimp dies for the brand you use.

According to both the local shops I talked to every brand of hose, fittings and crimp dies are slightly different and although it can work they almost always have issues trying to use differing brands.


When you buy an aftermarket A/C system they supply hose and fittings that may or may not be able to be crimped properly if you live in a rural area like I do, lesson learned if buying an aftermarket A/C system is ask the manufacture what brand hose and fittings they use before you buy the system and find a shop willing to crimp, if not ask for a discount on the kit and buy hose and fittings locally, you’ll save time and money in the long run.

 

[scrapdaddy]

I don't know about that new Cummins, over 300 pounds lighter. That sounds like "light duty" to me and look what happened to the oil pan. I wonder if it's shorter in height. Hard to beat a 4BT. I sure wouldn't want to be one of the first guys to find out where it's weak spots are.

Thanks for posting that clip.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

If you drop a truck on an oil pan, regardless of what the oil pan is made of, you're at best going to split the oil pan, and at worst, cave the oil pan in far enough that it interferes with the engine rotating assembly. For all we know, the composite pan that broke on that trail saved the engine from even more catastrophic disaster. More than anything else it talks about Fred's lack of focus when wheeling, because it takes a big mistake to drop your oil pan on a rock like that.

I don't think it's a "light duty" engine. The B series engines *were* engines designed for industrial/medium duty/heavy duty truck applications that Cummins somehow convinced Dodge to put into a light duty pickup. This new 4 cylinder is exactly what we need to move forward in the world of diesel engine swaps.

/hijack

 

[J Mack]

Small update, I’m getting little bits of random time to work on some of the punch list items, one of the items was check for boost leaks. Like everything on this pig a 20 minute job takes me two days, I made an adaptor with some an old 90° 3” silicone boot and some PVC fittings to clamp on the front of the old turbo to pressure up the system, unfortunately the new super 30 has a larger ring and is much closer to the A/C compressor so this adaptor wouldn’t work. The new adaptor was made from the guts of a 2” test plug and the rubber from a 3” expansion pipe plug machined down to fit inside a 3” tube ( 3” pipe has an ID of 3.068” and my 3” tube has an ID of 2.870”), now I can just remove my air cleaner and slip this plug into the 3” outlet and pressure test quickly.

Found a small leak at one of the couplings when I was testing and after I tightened it up it holds boost so now I can move on to the rest of the list.

 

[boots4]

Were you getting any gauge flutter with you boost leak?

 

[scrapdaddy]

Jim,

You sure come up with some stuff! Always thinking.

 

[J Mack]

Were you getting any gauge flutter with you boost leak?

No flutter, I was holding strong around 30 PSI but could hear a slight whistle, after I tightened the offending clamp a bit more boost shot up to 35+ with no other changes, I’m going to turn fuel and boost down a bit as soon as I find time in an effort to not twist this pour pig in a knot every time I stomp to gas.

Jim,

You sure come up with some stuff! Always thinking.

Thanks Ron!

 

[TuffMudder]

Wow, hate to hear all of the 4bt problems. Is your pig still down or did you get it running again? I ended up having mine machined and rebuilt as part of the initial build but your troubles have me a bit worried.

 

[J Mack]

Wow, hate to hear all of the 4bt problems. Is your pig still down or did you get it running again?

Most of my engine issues were self-induced (driving like a Dick) with a combo of too much boost @ too much RPM for the combination of parts I had at the time. All good now I have about 3000 miles on the new engine and still struggling with the A/C before I’m ready to head to the Pig Party.

 

[TuffMudder]

Most of my engine issues were self-induced (driving like a Dick) with a combo of too much boost @ too much RPM for the combination of parts I had at the time. All good now I have about 3000 miles on the new engine and still struggling with the A/C before I’m ready to head to the Pig Party.

Wow, great news. Did you end up buying a second like you mentioned or fixing what you had?

Btw, I looked at that r2.8. Looks pretty interesting, though I'm sure it will be price prohibitive. I think i'd only go that route if it were 20-25% markup over a reman'd 4bt instead of the twice as much i'm sure it will be when the price is finally announced. It's got to be quiter and lower on the Richter scale

 

[J Mack]

Wow, great news. Did you end up buying a second like you mentioned or fixing what you had?

I drug my feet on buying the second 4BT and passed a few good deals on local P-Pump engines, when the time came that I had to poop or get off the pot if I was going to make the pig party I couldn’t find anything for sale that I could get my hands on in a reasonable time frame (seller said four to six weeks to ship to me) so I opted to rebuild the original engine.

I’m trying a different compression ratio on this engine and so far it’s love/hate trying to get a happy tune. Time will tell but so far I think the stock compression might be better suited for a single turbo off-road vehicle.

Btw, I looked at that r2.8. Looks pretty interesting, though I'm sure it will be price prohibitive. I think i'd only go that route if it were 20-25% markup over a reman'd 4bt instead of the twice as much i'm sure it will be when the price is finally announced. It's got to be quiter and lower on the Richter scale

HA, that little engine is the subject of much heated debate, the Toyota purest lose their mind if you talk about pulling out a Toyota engine to put the little Cummins in, 4BT guys lose their mind if you talk about switching the two and the Chevy engine guys just giggle like little school girls and will badger you if you’re seriously considering spending more money to put a lower HP engine VS going to the junkyard and buying a low mile LS.



Cummins has stated that they developed the 2.8 engine package to give options in the repower market dominated by the Chevy crate engines, the LS crate engine has a street price of ~ $7000.00/$9000.00 so I would assume the 2.8 will come in at around that price point. Considering a 4BT street price @ $3500/$4500 with unknown miles, rebuild cost in my case was $7000.00 this last go-around, aftermarket parts to make it cool +/- $8000.00 on mine. The price point on the new Cummins doesn’t look that bad.

The 2.8 is vertically shorter and 350 lbs. lighter than the 4BT and that is a huge advantage when retrofitting an engine in a vehicle without the need for major suspension mods, the 2.8 by all accounts will be a smother more reliable engine than the 4BT but so is the Mercedes diesel and several others that guys pass over to buy a 4BT’s so I can’t comment if that’s going to be a huge selling point.

I commend Cummins for offering an option to car enthusiast looking to build something unique and reliable and the more big manufactures that jump on this bandwagon the stronger our hobby will get for our future generations. There is always going to be a Harley VS Honda argument and reliability vs cool factor will always be at the core, companies like Harley will use their name to attempt make a more reliable version of their cool product, companies like Honda will attempt to make their reliable product cool but both always just miss the mark. For me personally I like the 4BT and I embrace all the quirky issues that come with daily driving a smoky rattle trap (that’s what makes the 4BT cool and the 2.8 Cummins falls way short in the cool category), I built this pig to put a smile on my face and that’s exactly what it does every time I drive it.

 

[TuffMudder]

I’m trying a different compression ratio on this engine and so far it’s love/hate trying to get a happy tune. Time will tell but so far I think the stock compression might be better suited for a single turbo off-road vehicle.

That makes sense. I went into this swap determined I wouldn't go behind a Turbo and intercooler on my 4bt. It's reliability torque are what I like most about it

Cummins has stated that they developed the 2.8 engine package to give options in the repower market dominated by the Chevy crate engines, the LS crate engine has a street price of ~ $7000.00/$9000.00 so I would assume the 2.8 will come in at around that price point. Considering a 4BT street price @ $3500/$4500 with unknown miles, rebuild cost in my case was $7000.00 this last go-around, aftermarket parts to make it cool +/- $8000.00 on mine. The price point on the new Cummins doesn’t look that bad.

That's a good point. Now that I think about it, as it sits today, i have 7-8k in my 4bt.

I commend Cummins for offering an option to car enthusiast looking to build something unique and reliable and the more big manufactures that jump on this bandwagon the stronger our hobby will get for our future generations.

This, more than anything else, is what excited me about the r2.8 announcement for your exact reasoning

the 2.8 by all accounts will be a smother more reliable engine than the 4BT but so is the Mercedes diesel and several others that guys pass over to buy a 4BT’s so I can’t comment if that’s going to be a huge selling point.

Now those are almost fightin' words. Smoother, obviously, but all Cummins enthusiast know the 4- and 6bt are the two most reliable engines ever put on the road!

 

[J Mack]

but all Cummins enthusiast know the 4- and 6bt are the two most reliable engines ever put on the road!

True when compared to engines of their time but we are living in the 21st century now and all the major engine manufactures have raised the bar for not only reliability but efficiency too, I believe if the old BT series engines were up to the task Cummins would still be marketing them in the US with the tier 4 required modifications. I just bought a 2017 RAM with the ISB6.7 Cummins and it just barley resembles the old BT series and it’s my understanding they are phasing them out in favor for this new platform.