Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (5 Viewers)

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The only way you are really going to know with any level of certainty is to pull the rod caps, push up the rod and remove both bearing halves. You will be able to tell pretty quick when you find the bad one, they are usually obvious . If it is really foo bar you can move the end cap up and down without taking them off . It does not take to much wear for them to knock and if you went from zero to hero like your describing I would be thinking full failure when you pull an end cap. I would also expect the crank to be damaged as every rotation since it went bang probably means bad things are happening to the journals.

Make sure you don't mix up your end caps and I strongly recommence center popping them 1 to 4 dots when you take them off. When you get bearing get rod bolts as well as it is bad karma to re-use them.

Good luck
 
I have bad hearing. Noises are sometimes elusive and are not what you think. I pulled my oil pan a few months back expecting a knocking rod and all was well. Ended up being a bad belt tensioner pulley bearing. I'm not suggesting that's your problem, just that it's hard to diagnose till it actually blows......I highly suggest one of these to help you find the source of the noise before you start tearing stuff apart: Amazon product ASIN B004KEHGZY
Put your hands on every single rod and shake it around. If you have a knocking rod you will feel it being loose. A spun rod bearing/knocking rod will change sound as you rev and let off not under load and may not make noise when you have a load. If you have 1X spun rod bearing you can likely polish it out on the crank with emery cloth and a boot lace(google for instructions, or ask me) measure the journal and get a new bearing. You can drive for a long time with a knocking rod before it blows. If you unbolt your rods be aware that when you bolt them back up you need a good correct torque wrench or you may stretch and break the rod bolts, and no you can't just go buy new ones easily. PM me about this if it happens to you and I'll tell you what I did to fix this problem.

Piston slap can happen from broken rings. It's more of a tick than a knock sound. It can be a slower tick only happening on 1 of 4 strokes vs. a rod knock at double that tempo. You can run a long time with broken rings. Broken rings happen from high temperatures. Rings swell and don't have the end gap to take it and crack/break.....At least thats what I was told by someone I believe to be more knowledgable about diesels than I am here on the forum(apologies for not remembering the name at this moment). We've talked about my in-frame rebuild before. It's not that expensive or time consuming. A diesel engine compression tester is sold at harbor freight. I think I pad less than $30 for mine.

Not sure what to tell you about a dropped/swallowed precup other than a new out of china head for a 3B is about $600ish and may get here in less than one month from Ali express. Perhaps DHL in 2 weeks if lucky. You can grind smooth a "diveted up piston" but you really need make sure the edge isn't smashed diveting it and pinching the ring. If it is you can fix this with a dremel tool and go awhile longer. It's really important to get any chunks of iron/steel out of the top of the aluminum piston as it will at some point come loose from the piston it's embedded in next time it gets too hot. It's not rocket science. It's a tough diesel engine, not a formula one motor spinning near 15K rpm. I found 3B pistons on Ebay for $140 a set. Full price is around $450+. @OGBeno as much of a perfectionist as his work is responded to me once that "people in pakistan rebuild 3Bs on the side of the road with sticks and rocks"... YOU CAN DO IT

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
robmobile73 said:
I have bad hearing. Noises are sometimes elusive and are not what you think. I pulled my oil pan a few months back expecting a knocking rod and all was well. Ended up being a bad belt tensioner pulley bearing. I'm not suggesting that's your problem, just that it's hard to diagnose till it actually blows......I highly suggest one of these to help you find the source of the noise before you start tearing stuff apart: Amazon product ASIN B004KEHGZY
Put your hands on every single rod and shake it around. If you have a knocking rod you will feel it being loose. A spun rod bearing/knocking rod will change sound as you rev and let off not under load and may not make noise when you have a load. If you have 1X spun rod bearing you can likely polish it out on the crank with emery cloth and a boot lace(google for instructions, or ask me) measure the journal and get a new bearing. You can drive for a long time with a knocking rod before it blows. If you unbolt your rods be aware that when you bolt them back up you need a good correct torque wrench or you may stretch and break the rod bolts, and no you can't just go buy new ones easily. PM me about this if it happens to you and I'll tell you what I did to fix this problem.

Piston slap can happen from broken rings. It's more of a tick than a knock sound. It can be a slower tick only happening on 1 of 4 strokes vs. a rod knock at double that tempo. You can run a long time with broken rings. Broken rings happen from high temperatures. Rings swell and don't have the end gap to take it and crack/break.....At least thats what I was told by someone I believe to be more knowledgable about diesels than I am here on the forum(apologies for not remembering the name at this moment). We've talked about my in-frame rebuild before. It's not that expensive or time consuming.

Not sure what to tell you about a dropped/swallowed precup other than a new out of china head for a 3B is about $600ish and may get here in less than one month from Ali express. Perhaps DHL in 2 weeks if lucky. You can grind smooth a "diveted up piston" but you really need make sure the edge isn't smashed diveting it and pinching the ring. If it is you can fix this with a dremel tool and go awhile longer. It's really important to get any chunks of iron/steel out of the top of the aluminum piston as it will at some point come loose from the piston it's embedded in next time it gets too hot. It's not rocket science. It's a tough diesel engine, not a formula one motor spinning near 15K rpm. I found 3B pistons on Ebay for $140 a set. Full price is around $450+. @OGBeno as much of a perfectionist as his work is responded to me once that "people in pakistan rebuild 3Bs on the side of the road with sticks and rocks"... YOU CAN DO IT

Good luck!
Click to expand...
If you end up needing to do a DIY inframe rebuild, I have the flex hones you need and the telescoping guage set to measure the bore diameter for spec.
 
08B6C6DF-13A8-4873-B7D8-674B0BABA8CE.jpeg

Also this crack on the crank is that normal??? Assuming not

CFA6A5AC-7325-462D-B484-0DB5A04AFC87.jpeg
 
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Yep. What boost were you running when this happened?
 
Time to re-power with anything other than a 3B.
 
cruiserdan said:
Time to re-power with anything other than a 3B.
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I wish… seriously don’t have the funds for this right now, especially being my daily. Really couldn’t financially take this blow, but I did and now I gotta deal with it. There is a guy who lives in my city who may still have a 24v 3B. As much as I would HATE to put this power plant back in such a massive vehicle… it might be the only option I have as of right now to keep this thing rolling, maybe just in time to pull off the trip to Montana. Wishful thinking but maybeeeee.
Roastchestnuts said:
That hurts for sure. my biggest fear with old vehicles. Keep us in the loop on what you do. Wow I hate this for you. maybe you could put somthing interesting in there though! its a forced good opportunity in that respect.
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Yea sucks :/ if there were more available or if I had a contact over in Japan I’d buy a 14B instantly and swap it in. Direct injection, more modern, more power, and take turbos well. This 3B might be my only hope or else it’ll be sitting for 6 months until I come back for winter break. Gotta figure out something before school starts.
TonyP said:
I don't think 10 psi wouldn't snap a crank like that unless it was over-revved.

Bummer situation.

There are a couple 1HD-Ts for sale in the classifieds. Might be a bit too pricey for a dude in college though.
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I wouldn’t think so either… I really think 1 year ago today almost when I was driving it through the Mojave desert and all throughout Utah without a proper cooling system, the water temps were at 230f fairly consistently, I kept thinking every day I’m out here is another year of my engines life taken away. Although I always thought it would be the head that would crack not the bottom end.


The Red Rocket has given me 2 great years with it. Seriously so many great memories made. I’ve put so many miles on it since I bought it, definitely up there in the top 1% in the world with most miles put on a 3B in this day and age, if not being #1. Just a possibility of what happens when you truly daily drive these old rigs.
 
Disconnecting everything in order to pull the engine ASAP, guy with the 24v 3B hasn’t responded yet, will have to wait and see if that will be a plausible route. What causes a crankshaft to fail that much while I was just cruising at 10 psi/100kph?
5BF6758F-479C-42E9-8C6B-B8254C23FD69.jpeg
 
Duuude. That sucks! I honestly didn't expect that.

I know a guy who might have a running red block 13B-T if you want me to inquire. He's in Colorado, so there'd be some shipping if he'll sell it. It would be about as close to a straight swap as you'll find. Don't know of any 3B's laying around, but I'm sure there are a few out there.
 
gilmorneau said:
Duuude. That sucks! I honestly didn't expect that.

I know a guy who might have a running red block 13B-T if you want me to inquire. He's in Colorado, so there'd be some shipping if he'll sell it. It would be about as close to a straight swap as you'll find. Don't know of any 3B's laying around, but I'm sure there are a few out there.
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Thank you!!! If you could ask id greatly appreciate it.
svsisu said:
This isn't exactly what you need, but maybe he has more 3B parts

forum.ih8mud.com

For Sale - Orlando, FL, BJ60 3B injection pump, starter motor, 3B block, 3B pistons, and 3B cylinder head.

All were in good working order when decommissioned. Block and Cylinder head 500 Starter motor 50 Injection pump 350 I had these as spares for my truck but sold due to birth of my 1st child, needed to consolidate my projects. These parts would be great spares on the cheap for anyone that has a 3B.
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
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I’ll check it out. If anyone reading this threads has any leads on any B series engine 3B and up please let me know
 
theglobb said:
What causes a crankshaft to fail that much while I was just cruising at 10 psi/100kph?
Click to expand...
It has probably been cracked for some time and it finally reached the total failure point. You will be able to tell more once you remove the crankshaft and examine the broken ends.
My guess is you will see areas of the surface that have a "fresher" look.
 
cruiserdan said:
It has probably been cracked for some time and it finally reached the total failure point. You will be able to tell more once you remove the crankshaft and examine the broken ends.
My guess is you will see areas of the surface that have a "fresher" look.
Click to expand...
^^^^^ this was my thought as well
 
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