Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (9 Viewers)

[sark]

@svsisu Love the topper!

 

[theglobb]

When did you put the other grille on? Love the topper dude!

sorry should have clarified more, the topper and grille is a different troopy lol. Confusing I know 2 red troopy’s in NC what are the odds. My topper will arrive early summer but won’t be installed for a while due to rust repairs

 

[svsisu]

@svsisu Love the topper!

Thanks, it was a little stressful cutting a good roof off for the install, but having the pop top is a great addition.

 

[svsisu]

@theglobb, great to rendevous in the woods again. I could have hung out all afternoon snacking on deer corn and PBR. I guess we jinxed the Redrocket talking about air in our fuel systems. Or maybe it was just jealous you drove the zupup to the meet up, and wanted attention?

If you get me one of those fancy road sign radiator bash plates people will really have a hard time telling our trucks apart!

 

[sark]

sorry should have clarified more, the topper and grille is a different troopy lol. Confusing I know 2 red troopy’s in NC what are the odds. My topper will arrive early summer but won’t be installed for a while due to rust repairs

Yes I noticed and edited my comment lol, thought you had done that with the benz money! But I had poor reading comprehension there.

 

[Felde]

Hi Jonathan
Good to have a goal to work for. The Troopy with a poptop will be awesome.

On the steering:
Sort it soon. It's dangerous.
The clunk could be tierod ends. Had that a few times. But that jumping right and sudden misalignment is concerning. Apparently something came very loose. If it comes off completely, you may even fly off.
Good Luck Ralf

 

[FJBen]

I would either record your steering when you are standing still and turning the wheel back and fourth or have someone hop in and turn back and fourth while you look. See if anything moves a lot or pops.

I agree with above it sounds like tie rod ends.

I wouldn’t drive anywhere fast until you see what it is. I had a popping/fast over for a small section like that. Ended up being the drag-link joint being cut 1/8” or more into Becuase of wear.

555 makes replacement ends for the whole setup for pretty cheap, I’m thinking $130ish.

 

[theglobb]

Hi Jonathan
Good to have a goal to work for. The Troopy with a poptop will be awesome.

On the steering:
Sort it soon. It's dangerous.
The clunk could be tierod ends. Had that a few times. But that jumping right and sudden misalignment is concerning. Apparently something came very loose. If it comes off completely, you may even fly off.
Good Luck Ralf

I would either record your steering when you are standing still and turning the wheel back and fourth or have someone hop in and turn back and fourth while you look. See if anything moves a lot or pops.

I agree with above it sounds like tie rod ends.

I wouldn’t drive anywhere fast until you see what it is. I had a popping/fast over for a small section like that. Ended up being the drag-link joint being cut 1/8” or more into Becuase of wear.

555 makes replacement ends for the whole setup for pretty cheap, I’m thinking $130ish.

Y'all would be correct! I was also thinking tie rod ends but was stupidly optimistic. Driver side tie rod end doesn't pop but has quite a lot of play. I'm sure 555 makes great parts and I bet I got a fluke but my driver-side tie rod end has never once been able to hold grease. Just spits and leaks all of it out as soon as you pump it in... this was 3 and a half years ago. Maybe 60k miles since then. Regardless annoying cause all of the other ones are fine other than that one obviously. Since I'm already going in there and having to get an alignment I'll replace it all but just so annoying I gotta fix it cause of a faulty part. Thanks for the suggestions and quick diag!

Driver Side

Passenger Side, it looks as if an animal chewed on it though! Wonder what that was caused by? Hmmmmmm

 

[gilmorneau]

On the steering:
Sort it soon. It's dangerous.

This ^^

Didn’t you recently go airborne off a sand dune or something?? Might be related.

 

[FJBen]

Y'all would be correct! I was also thinking tie rod ends but was stupidly optimistic. Driver side tie rod end doesn't pop but has quite a lot of play. I'm sure 555 makes great parts and I bet I got a fluke but my driver-side tie rod end has never once been able to hold grease. Just spits and leaks all of it out as soon as you pump it in... this was 3 and a half years ago. Maybe 60k miles since then. Regardless annoying cause all of the other ones are fine other than that one obviously. Since I'm already going in there and having to get an alignment I'll replace it all but just so annoying I gotta fix it cause of a faulty part. Thanks for the suggestions and quick diag!

Driver Side
View attachment 3563299

Passenger Side, it looks as if an animal chewed on it though! Wonder what that was caused by? Hmmmmmm
View attachment 3563298

Ya know I had the same issues with the relay rod one on mine. It only lasted around 30k or so. Maybe so many dirt roads that I lived on??

Anyway I had buy the whole kit of 555 again Becuase the didn’t sell just the one end. I actually didn’t check for OEM…but next time I will if they are available.


I’m going to go check the grease on mine now.

 

[Felde]

The OEM tierod ends (and also the 555s I guess) are actually adjustable (slotted screw with cotterpin). When new they are fine, but mine actually got weak soon. Apparently the factory setting is not thight enough. I had to adjust mine. They are good now since >30kkm. Thigter of course means more wear, though. The grease gun with MoS2 is a friend.

Also check the steering arms on the steering box and the knuckles and knuckle- and wheel-bearings for play.
My right wheel bearing came loose once, as the PO had failed to notch the securing washer around both nuts but only one.
Cheers Ralf

 

[theglobb]

Changed my oil tonight. 12 quarts, 2 oil filters, nice and expenisveeeee. Well I have 2 very concerning things, I hope they are connected. First off my drain plug used for the engine is a drainplug for a diff/trans with a magnet on it, it was just what I could find on belmetric with the correct thread pitch and an allen head. Regardless the magnet adhesive didn't like engine oil, or the temp or something and broke off in the engine! Have no idea when this happened and was pretty scared in general but then it came halfway out the drain plug. Sweet, crisis averted.

Secondly and now much more concerning is the residual metal "sand" particles left over in the bottom of my brand new oil pan, some of it in large clumps. in the video below you will see all these little particles, does anyone know if this is an excessive amount of metal in the oil? To me it seems so, why aren't the oil filters picking this up? 2 possible factors at play could be: I was running seafoam in the engine for the past 150 miles before draining, maybe it broke down crud all inside the engine? but still, I would think the filters would pick all that stuff up. My second guess is the magnet had broke off and was collecting all of this metal down at the bottom of the pan as it would pass by, then as the oil drained out of the plug where the magnet got stuck, it took the metal down with it. Regardless I'm kinda sketched out. This engine has only 85,000 miles on it, starts fine, doesn't make any odd noise, just scared for the future life of my engine. Hoping it's just the seafoam combined with the magnet breaking off

The OEM tierod ends (and also the 555s I guess) are actually adjustable (slotted screw with cotterpin). When new they are fine, but mine actually got weak soon. Apparently the factory setting is not thight enough. I had to adjust mine. They are good now since >30kkm. Thigter of course means more wear, though. The grease gun with MoS2 is a friend.

Also check the steering arms on the steering box and the knuckles and knuckle- and wheel-bearings for play.
My right wheel bearing came loose once, as the PO had failed to notch the securing washer around both nuts but only one.
Cheers Ralf

That's pretty cool! Always wondered what the lines cut into them were, never once heard of being able to do that. I did jack up and check all bearing and knuckle play, all of it was still in that tie rod. Thanks as always for your suggestions and wisdom.

 

[AirheadNut]

If you're concerned about the health of your engine I would highly recommend sending an oil sample in to Blackstone Laboratories at your next oil change. They will test it and send you a report with all the different wear metals and other stuff they find in the oil and give you a good indication of the amount of wear in the engine.

I've never used SeaFoam in the oil but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it made some weird looking gunk at the bottom of the sump.

 

[Felde]

I don't know the exact oilchange and running history of that engine being in the troopy, but hadn't it sat idle for quite a while in that boxtruck?
I wouldn't be surprised if, now running again and having seafoam in, it really breaks free a lot of deposits.
Bigger particles really settle on the ground of the pan, forming oil sludge. There is a reason for the oil pickup having a strainer on it. The filter catches small particles, but the bigger ones are not necessarily being pulled up from the pan at all.
I'm also not convinced it's metal. I'd rather guess it's carbon coke.
I recommend to go for a different product:
I started using a product that's added to the oil only shortly before oil change, cleans the engine during idling for 15min, keeps the residues emulgated and allows those to drain with the oilchange.
(It's a German product from LiquiMoly, but I'm sure there is similar in the US).
I have mixed emotions (and no experience) with those lab tests. What would it help if you get told any analysis figures IS, if there is no engine-specific limit TOBe to rate those against?
Good Luck Ralf

 

[sark]

Changed my oil tonight. 12 quarts, 2 oil filters, nice and expenisveeeee. Well I have 2 very concerning things, I hope they are connected. First off my drain plug used for the engine is a drainplug for a diff/trans with a magnet on it, it was just what I could find on belmetric with the correct thread pitch and an allen head. Regardless the magnet adhesive didn't like engine oil, or the temp or something and broke off in the engine! Have no idea when this happened and was pretty scared in general but then it came halfway out the drain plug. Sweet, crisis averted.

View attachment 3563738View attachment 3563737

Secondly and now much more concerning is the residual metal "sand" particles left over in the bottom of my brand new oil pan, some of it in large clumps. in the video below you will see all these little particles, does anyone know if this is an excessive amount of metal in the oil? To me it seems so, why aren't the oil filters picking this up? 2 possible factors at play could be: I was running seafoam in the engine for the past 150 miles before draining, maybe it broke down crud all inside the engine? but still, I would think the filters would pick all that stuff up. My second guess is the magnet had broke off and was collecting all of this metal down at the bottom of the pan as it would pass by, then as the oil drained out of the plug where the magnet got stuck, it took the metal down with it. Regardless I'm kinda sketched out. This engine has only 85,000 miles on it, starts fine, doesn't make any odd noise, just scared for the future life of my engine. Hoping it's just the seafoam combined with the magnet breaking off

View attachment 3563736


That's pretty cool! Always wondered what the lines cut into them were, never once heard of being able to do that. I did jack up and check all bearing and knuckle play, all of it was still in that tie rod. Thanks as always for your suggestions and wisdom.

I think you forgot to include the video for the "sand"

 

[robmobile73]

Putting any kind of solvent in your oil to "clean the inside of the engine" whether it's sea foam, motor flush, or anything else will break free baked on greasy gun from your engine and cause it to start circulating in your oil. There is risk in this because metal particals and debris that settled and stuck in the greasy gunk can be freed and start circulating. There is also the risk of developing leaks on old seals that were also sealed with baked on grease.............It's probably better to not use solvents in your oil unless you are having trouble with oil flow, and if you do put any type of solvent in your oil only let it run at idle for 5 min or so when the engine is hot just before draining and changing the oil. Driving and putting a load on your engine when you have put something in the oil that breaks down the viscosity could cause more wear and metal particles in the next oil change as well as globs of grease to break free and settle in the pan. I once worked with a guy who got an old field car running again after years of sitting. He poured a gallon of kerosene in the oil fill and let it idle for 5 min before draining it. He described it like you describe your oil change(lots of globs and metal gunk).

The only times I've ever had fairly clean oil come out of a diesel engine was the first (15 min change) and the second (500mile change) oil change after doing the in frame rebuild on my 3b(I used degreaser and a pressure washer on every engine surface I could reach before reassembly). Also the first oil change after replacing the cracked oil pan on my VW TDI with a new one. Based on my experience dropping the oil pan and cleaning it out is a good way to remove alot of sediment from your engine. Other than those 3 Oil changes above, every time I've ever drained oil from a diesel engine it was black. Never the dark brown like you get out of a gasoline engine. 20+ years of diesel ownership and almost 40 years as a driver I have only paid someone else to change my oil once.

On the magnets at harbor freight tools they sell some really strong magnets people use for "magnet fishing" If you stick one of these onto your oil pan on the outside metallic particles will stick to that spot on the inside and prevent some of them from circulating. Some people will put magnets on the outsides of their oil filter to catch the sediment which then is thrown out when you change the filter.

 

[theglobb]

I don't know the exact oilchange and running history of that engine being in the troopy, but hadn't it sat idle for quite a while in that boxtruck?
I wouldn't be surprised if, now running again and having seafoam in, it really breaks free a lot of deposits.
Bigger particles really settle on the ground of the pan, forming oil sludge. There is a reason for the oil pickup having a strainer on it. The filter catches small particles, but the bigger ones are not necessarily being pulled up from the pan at all.
I'm also not convinced it's metal. I'd rather guess it's carbon coke.
I recommend to go for a different product:
I started using a product that's added to the oil only shortly before oil change, cleans the engine during idling for 15min, keeps the residues emulgated and allows those to drain with the oilchange.
(It's a German product from LiquiMoly, but I'm sure there is similar in the US).
I have mixed emotions (and no experience) with those lab tests. What would it help if you get told any analysis figures IS, if there is no engine-specific limit TOBe to rate those against?
Good Luck Ralf

I've used the liquimoly product once before, I like that idea alot more than the longer milage break down. I'm cheap and someone gave me a bottle of seafoam for free just been sitting around doing nothing... seems like I'll stick to NOTHING in the oil from now on.

I think you forgot to include the video for the "sand"

You would be 100% correct lol

Putting any kind of solvent in your oil to "clean the inside of the engine" whether it's sea foam, motor flush, or anything else will break free baked on greasy gun from your engine and cause it to start circulating in your oil. There is risk in this because metal particals and debris that settled and stuck in the greasy gunk can be freed and start circulating. There is also the risk of developing leaks on old seals that were also sealed with baked on grease.............It's probably better to not use solvents in your oil unless you are having trouble with oil flow, and if you do put any type of solvent in your oil only let it run at idle for 5 min or so when the engine is hot just before draining and changing the oil. Driving and putting a load on your engine when you have put something in the oil that breaks down the viscosity could cause more wear and metal particles in the next oil change as well as globs of grease to break free and settle in the pan. I once worked with a guy who got an old field car running again after years of sitting. He poured a gallon of kerosene in the oil fill and let it idle for 5 min before draining it. He described it like you describe your oil change(lots of globs and metal gunk).

The only times I've ever had fairly clean oil come out of a diesel engine was the first (15 min change) and the second (500mile change) oil change after doing the in frame rebuild on my 3b(I used degreaser and a pressure washer on every engine surface I could reach before reassembly). Also the first oil change after replacing the cracked oil pan on my VW TDI with a new one. Based on my experience dropping the oil pan and cleaning it out is a good way to remove alot of sediment from your engine. Other than those 3 Oil changes above, every time I've ever drained oil from a diesel engine it was black. Never the dark brown like you get out of a gasoline engine. 20+ years of diesel ownership and almost 40 years as a driver I have only paid someone else to change my oil once.

On the magnets at harbor freight tools they sell some really strong magnets people use for "magnet fishing" If you stick one of these onto your oil pan on the outside metallic particles will stick to that spot on the inside and prevent some of them from circulating. Some people will put magnets on the outsides of their oil filter to catch the sediment which then is thrown out when you change the filter.

You and @Felde are correct, put a magnet to the stuff and its not magnetic, just carbon deposits that broke loose I guess. Thank yall for calming my nerves! I'll be sticking just to oil from here on out. Kinda just wanted to "baseline" the engine and see what kinda stuff I could get out of it. Apparently it did its job pretty well.

If you're concerned about the health of your engine I would highly recommend sending an oil sample in to Blackstone Laboratories at your next oil change. They will test it and send you a report with all the different wear metals and other stuff they find in the oil and give you a good indication of the amount of wear in the engine.

I've never used SeaFoam in the oil but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it made some weird looking gunk at the bottom of the sump.

Ordered the free test kit. I'm interested honestly and for $35, why not? The next oil change I'll send it out and see what the results are thanks for the idea.


Also unrelated to the oil scare I had but my steering has gone back to normal this morning! Kinda terrifying, doesn't pull hard and doesn't have a lot of play/feel chunky... I hate when this kinda thing happens and something just magically fixes itself. Still going to install the new tie rod ends as that driver side is worn, hope that fixes it

 

[bj70bc]

atf in you oil shortly before an oil change can do the same,
id would do some searching before doing it though

i did a seafoam treatment 150km before an oil change and my oil filter was noticeably heavier when removed and the oil was BLACK BLACK
you did it a favor id say

 

[theglobb]

TRE's arrived yesterday, was gonna get to work on them today but the weather had a different plan for me. Really didn't feel like working in the gravel, and the snow, with 25mph winds...

Also on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, this was me and all my buds 3 years ago today. Troopy has been through quite a lot since then!

 

[bj70bc]

now you need to add winter car skiing to your troopy repertoire