Nice work,
Gates makes 1/2 silicone heater hose might have a time finding it in black, mine is blue from parker hose... the 1/2 silicone will stretch up to 5/8 with a little work..
Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota
- Thread starter RWBeringer4x4
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Nice work,
Gates makes 1/2 silicone heater hose might have a time finding it in black, mine is blue from parker hose... the 1/2 silicone will stretch up to 5/8 with a little work..
Really like the build, you mentioned you were worried about welding the thin metal, the trick is .023 wire and a little heat, then tack as you go do a 1/4 bead then move making the heat quick and not getting it to hot. I tack everything 2 inches apart and then fill slowly I use compressed air to cool it and keep it from warping... practice on some scrap sheet metal, good luck
Rick, it looks like you are making some significant progress! Looks nice and I know you'll be happy with the choices you've made, even the painful ($$$$$$) ones. 
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
- Thread starter
- #1,264
I have a spool of .023 wire - but I'm new to welding. It's more the forming of the metal into the shape I need (with no tools or experience) that might be a challenge. I've also read that you should really run a whip designed for .023 wire. All I have is a .030 whip. Not sure this would cause binding.
Rick, it looks like you are making some significant progress! Looks nice and I know you'll be happy with the choices you've made, even the painful ($$$$$$) ones.
Merry Christmas!
@reddingcruiser - It feels great to finally be moving some of this stuff forward. The tear down process was long and painful - way worse condition than I expected. It's not a powerhouse V8 like the stuff you build but for mild off-road, camping, mountain bike hauling, and around town, I decided to save my pennies and hopefully squeeze out a couple extra MPG's with a low-power engine.
In the long run, it was cheaper to buy a new 350 than rebuild the 283. All in all, it's only painful when I consider what I've spent since the beginning, but in reality, it has just become a part of my budget. It's frustrating work at times (especially finding the time to work on it) but all in all it is a fun project and I'm still really enjoying it.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
- Thread starter
- #1,265
It's more an issue with the thickness of the shackle plate, than the bolt itself. It's actually a nylock nut, which I cut in half. It has held for the last thousand or so miles and was still tight when I checked it. Everything fit OK with the stock shackles, it's these beefy, overthick ones that I needed to grind down at the top. When the time comes to re-do the suspension (or a lift kit) I will probably build some custom shackle plates from thinner material (closer to stock) to try and further alleviate the clearance issue. For now, the spacers should suffice.
- Thread starter
- #1,266
Alright - finally made some serious progress on the transfer case. To recap on that project, things got stalled when I ran into issues trying to hone new gear bushings for my output gears.
After destroying three $20 bushings I finally gave up and shipped the whole gear set out to Gerog @ Valley Hybrids. He ran into the same issue, and discovered my (second) input shaft had a slight taper in it making honing new bearings to fit impossible. Long story short, I wound up with a new input shaft. Georg honed the new bushings and shipped everything back to me ready to go.
While Georg had my gears, I drilled out the broken short bolt in the speedo housing:
And, while the weather was still nice I spent about 8 hours scrubbing and cleaning, then painted most of the transfercase components (along with some other stuff):
After that there was the long and documented detour into rebuilding the heating system...
After destroying three $20 bushings I finally gave up and shipped the whole gear set out to Gerog @ Valley Hybrids. He ran into the same issue, and discovered my (second) input shaft had a slight taper in it making honing new bearings to fit impossible. Long story short, I wound up with a new input shaft. Georg honed the new bushings and shipped everything back to me ready to go.
While Georg had my gears, I drilled out the broken short bolt in the speedo housing:
And, while the weather was still nice I spent about 8 hours scrubbing and cleaning, then painted most of the transfercase components (along with some other stuff):
After that there was the long and documented detour into rebuilding the heating system...
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- Thread starter
- #1,267
After that, the weather got too cold to paint, so I'm back to the transfer case.
I started with the idler gear:
Everything got cleaned and lubed. The bearing spacer went in the center, with new needle bearings on either side:
I stuck the new thrust washers in the case, then installed the gear set. Then, the new idler shaft got knocked in:
When all was bolted up, I checked clearances. The max tolerance is about .016in, mine measured about .009.
I started with the idler gear:
Everything got cleaned and lubed. The bearing spacer went in the center, with new needle bearings on either side:
I stuck the new thrust washers in the case, then installed the gear set. Then, the new idler shaft got knocked in:
When all was bolted up, I checked clearances. The max tolerance is about .016in, mine measured about .009.
- Thread starter
- #1,268
Next up was the input shaft. Mostly press work:
High speed gear side - complete with gear, washer, and bearing:
Then I slid on the clutch sleeve. Both sleeves showed significant wear. I took the less worn of the two, and flipped it around to have the high-speed side run on the un-worm material:
Next, the low speed gear got loaded into the case, then, the low-speed side washer and bearing all got pressed together:
I used sections of 1 7/8” exhaust pipe to press on the centers of the bearings.
Then I knocked the rear race in flush (final depth gets set by the speedo housing).
High speed gear side - complete with gear, washer, and bearing:
Then I slid on the clutch sleeve. Both sleeves showed significant wear. I took the less worn of the two, and flipped it around to have the high-speed side run on the un-worm material:
Next, the low speed gear got loaded into the case, then, the low-speed side washer and bearing all got pressed together:
I used sections of 1 7/8” exhaust pipe to press on the centers of the bearings.
Then I knocked the rear race in flush (final depth gets set by the speedo housing).
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- Thread starter
- #1,269
Next up came the shift fork assembly with new o-ring:
Detent ball:
Spring
Retainer and cotter Pin:
Keeper:
Detent ball:
Spring
Retainer and cotter Pin:
Keeper:
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- Thread starter
- #1,270
Next up came the nose cone:
New bearing pressed onto the shaft:
Then I drove the bearing into the nose cone:
Reinstalled the snap ring:
And pressed in the front output bearing race:
New bearing pressed onto the shaft:
Then I drove the bearing into the nose cone:
Reinstalled the snap ring:
And pressed in the front output bearing race:
- Thread starter
- #1,271
Next up I trimmed the ID of the nose cone gasket to fit (it was a bit too tight)
Coated liberally with anaerobic gasket maker:
Installed the front drive clutch sleeve:
Installed with the nose cone saver:
Then I knocked in the nose cone seal:
Coated liberally with anaerobic gasket maker:
Installed the front drive clutch sleeve:
Installed with the nose cone saver:
Then I knocked in the nose cone seal:
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- Thread starter
- #1,272
Then I assembled the front shift pod:
New felt and O-ring installed and lubed:
A brief aside - I am not thrilled with the durability of VHT aluminum paint. definitely not super durable.
Slid in the shift-shaft:
Then installed the fork, and installed the keeper bolt:
Lastly, I sealed it up with the plug washer and a fresh copper washer:
New felt and O-ring installed and lubed:
A brief aside - I am not thrilled with the durability of VHT aluminum paint. definitely not super durable.
Slid in the shift-shaft:
Then installed the fork, and installed the keeper bolt:
Lastly, I sealed it up with the plug washer and a fresh copper washer:
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- Thread starter
- #1,273
Next up was the detent ball:
Spring:
Sealing washer and bolt:
Boot re-installed with the small drain hole pointed down:
And lastly, coated the gasket in sealer and installed the shift pod:
Spring:
Sealing washer and bolt:
Boot re-installed with the small drain hole pointed down:
And lastly, coated the gasket in sealer and installed the shift pod:
- Thread starter
- #1,274
Last up on the nose cone was the new companion flange. The original flange has a weird wear pattern on it, so I opted to have Georg send along a new one.
This last part was a bit of a conundrum. When I pulled the case apart, this small shim was behind the thick washer and (unstaked) staked nut. I can’t find any mention of this in the service manual, but I threw it back in anyway:
Then I used my old radiator mount to torque everything down to 90ft/lbs.
This last part was a bit of a conundrum. When I pulled the case apart, this small shim was behind the thick washer and (unstaked) staked nut. I can’t find any mention of this in the service manual, but I threw it back in anyway:
Then I used my old radiator mount to torque everything down to 90ft/lbs.
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- Thread starter
- #1,276
Next, I moved on to the speedometer housing. I hadn’t had a leak issue, so I decided not to do the dual-seal mod.
There hadn’t been a shim installed on my case originally. However, I was now working with new bearings, a new output shaft, and gears from another case, so before I covered the gasket in RTV, I decided to check the preload.
Cut gasket ID around fit (again, it was slightly small)
Installed speedo housing, torqued bolts to 10ft/lbs to set the depth of the rear race and bearing preload:
Used a bigger torque wrench to temporarily install the drum:
Checked preload - I always use a couple angles and take several measurements. In this case, pre-load was less than a pound. So everything had to come apart. Good thing I bought shims “just in case.”
One shim later (they all seemed to be the same size in the set I received) the preload was ~5 ft/lbs with the case in neutral and front drive disengaged. The FSM specs say 2.6-9 ft/lbs for new bearings, so I’m right in the middle!
There hadn’t been a shim installed on my case originally. However, I was now working with new bearings, a new output shaft, and gears from another case, so before I covered the gasket in RTV, I decided to check the preload.
Cut gasket ID around fit (again, it was slightly small)
Installed speedo housing, torqued bolts to 10ft/lbs to set the depth of the rear race and bearing preload:
Used a bigger torque wrench to temporarily install the drum:
Checked preload - I always use a couple angles and take several measurements. In this case, pre-load was less than a pound. So everything had to come apart. Good thing I bought shims “just in case.”
One shim later (they all seemed to be the same size in the set I received) the preload was ~5 ft/lbs with the case in neutral and front drive disengaged. The FSM specs say 2.6-9 ft/lbs for new bearings, so I’m right in the middle!
- Thread starter
- #1,277
With proper preload established, I pulled the housing off one last time, and drove in the new seal.
From there, I coated the gasket in RTV, re-torqued the speedo housing to spec, and re-checked preload. it was still around 5 ft/lbs with no discernible play in the output shaft.
Next, I turned my attention to the speedometer housing. This created a great deal of confusion. There are two styles of speedo housing and the kit includes seals for both. I spent a WHILE trying to figure out where all the extra o-rings would go!
My particular housing uses a tiny oil seal instead of o-rings. Pulling the old one was tough. After fiddling with dental picks without much luck, I finally stuck a decking screw into the housing, with the edge of the head under the seal, and smacked it on my bench vice - that got it!
To drive in the new one, I found a washer that indexed the hole closely (10 or 12mm I believe) and rode the outer edge of the seal, then used a bolt as a seal driver:
I knocked in the seal, and replaced the o-ring on the outside.
From there, I coated the gasket in RTV, re-torqued the speedo housing to spec, and re-checked preload. it was still around 5 ft/lbs with no discernible play in the output shaft.
Next, I turned my attention to the speedometer housing. This created a great deal of confusion. There are two styles of speedo housing and the kit includes seals for both. I spent a WHILE trying to figure out where all the extra o-rings would go!
My particular housing uses a tiny oil seal instead of o-rings. Pulling the old one was tough. After fiddling with dental picks without much luck, I finally stuck a decking screw into the housing, with the edge of the head under the seal, and smacked it on my bench vice - that got it!
To drive in the new one, I found a washer that indexed the hole closely (10 or 12mm I believe) and rode the outer edge of the seal, then used a bolt as a seal driver:
I knocked in the seal, and replaced the o-ring on the outside.
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- Thread starter
- #1,278
After that, I put the gear through the sleeve, installed the sleeve into the speedo housing, and confirmed I’d properly engaged the drive gear. I actually got to do this twice after rotating the drive and driven gears without the brake drum to hold the drive gear I place walked the drive gear down the shaft and disengaged it from the driven gear...
Last up was the lid:
Drove in a new shift-shaft seal and reinstalled the breather:
Next I installed the little shifter arm. I had a little bit too much paint in the shaft hole, so I had to push the arm on with a vice.
Reinstalled the lid studs:
And the studs that will eventually mount the old-style AA propeller mount.
Last up was the lid:
Drove in a new shift-shaft seal and reinstalled the breather:
Next I installed the little shifter arm. I had a little bit too much paint in the shaft hole, so I had to push the arm on with a vice.
Reinstalled the lid studs:
And the studs that will eventually mount the old-style AA propeller mount.
- Thread starter
- #1,279
Then I drove in the transfercase-to-transmission seal - spring facing toward the transmission. I used copious grease to hold the spring in place and was careful to drive it in straight - a little tricky driving this side of the seal!
Which pretty much brings us to where I am now - ready to mate it back to the transmission!
I have not yet assembled the parking brake, or installed the top or side seals. Based on the location of the parking brake cable, I think that might need to wait until it’s back under the truck. I also need to find or cut down a bolt to replace the short bolt that was broken off in the parking brake...
Which pretty much brings us to where I am now - ready to mate it back to the transmission!
I have not yet assembled the parking brake, or installed the top or side seals. Based on the location of the parking brake cable, I think that might need to wait until it’s back under the truck. I also need to find or cut down a bolt to replace the short bolt that was broken off in the parking brake...
You didn't paint the inside of the p - brake backing plate!!!!