Project Family Chummins

[Ackattack]

I re-sealed the back of the transfer case and put it back in the truck. In order to do this you have to remove a snap ring like in the tranny. If you remember I did this awhile ago when the drivetrain was in the dodge truck and had a hell of a time without the proper snap ring pliers. Well tonight it took about 2 seconds with the right tool (BTW I went and got the craftsman pair the other night)

While I was in there, I did note that the rear bearing is kinda noisy, so I'll probably be rebuilding the TC down the road as well. Its easy enough to pull out when I get to that point I'm not worried about it right now.

[RatRod68]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

Here's my old jeep I had a few years ago. I sold it to help fund my '68. I had A LOT of fun with it on the trails in WA. I'm not sure what the wheelin is like now that I'm in KS.

Not sure about Kansas either, but I know there are some killer parks in OK and I think there are a couple parks in MO.

[Ackattack]

So after thinking about it last night, I said F-it and ordered a transfer case rebuild kit too. Then I'll be done with it. Heck, I can't really drive the truck at this point anyways cause my intercooler has a few large holes in it. Hopefully I'll drop that off at the welding shop this week.

[cAlvis165]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

So after thinking about it last night, I said F-it and ordered a transfer case rebuild kit too. Then I'll be done with it.

Sometimes you just gotta do it right the first time. Seems like you usually do, though.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by cAlvis165

Sometimes you just gotta do it right the first time. Seems like you usually do, though.

That's why these dang conversion trucks can take so long. Rebuild and replace everything and where's the money coming from?

Good call on rebuilding the tcase now. It could save you a case half or two in the future.

[jbclassix]

Ackattack, Do you think that the "base model" grill with the single headlight would have given you more room for the intercooler? I know they are not as good looking, just seeking useless knowledge.

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Ackattack, Do you think that the "base model" grill with the single headlight would have given you more room for the intercooler? I know they are not as good looking, just seeking useless knowledge.

I would guess so, but I'm not an 88-98 expert (more of a 67-72 expert...guess that's why I'm here )

Picked up the intercooler today and started putting it back in.





$75 to have this welded up to gain an extra 1/2 inch. Oh well, its just money.



It looks like these stockers will fit in there for now since they're already shaved down a little. I think a new set of aftermarket ones will fit too, but may require just a little shaving, but should still fit within the grill fine.

[jbclassix]

You mind posting some pictures of the coolant outlet of the 2nd gen radiator? Most of the cummins swaps for your body style only show the front of the truck. And 75 to mod your IC is cheaper than a new custom one!

[Ackattack]

I'm using the GMC radiator.

I do have the 2nd gen dodge radiator sitting outside the shop if you want a picture though. It didn't fit the core support like the stocker did. The only problem with the stocker is the outlet of it is literally right next to the inlet of the intercooler.

[jbclassix]

No, that's ok... I was just wondering how packaging was with the raised outlet... I am thinking hard about re-packaging mine in a 92-00 body, but being in this climate I want to use the biggest radiator I can squeeze in there.

[Ackattack]

Transfer case night:

I tore the transfer case apart and the was the first indication of the fun inside





That's the oil pump pickup

Further inside I pulled out another ball of rtv

This is the front output shaft, apparently this is where the leak was coming from and the PO tried to seal it up by putting rtv on the outside of the output shaft rather than replace the seal.



So I got it torn down and cleaned up. Here's the exploded view of an np241



I sprayed down the exterior of the case and will get that cleaned up before reassembly. I'm also going to see about getting a new pickup at least, maybe a whole new pump.
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[jbclassix]

Well you should feel relieved a little. Your t-case was last services by a Doctor... probably a plastic surgeon from California would be my guess judging by the amount of silicone you're removing.
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[Ackattack]

The transfer case is just about put back together. I have to go get the right output shaft seal and put the rearmost piece on and it will be ready to install. Then once it's installed I can easily torque the front output shaft nut.
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[Ackattack]

The transfer case is in, everything button back up, and driving!!!!

After I got that all in, I went ahead an installed the A/C condensor since summer is coming!!! I made a little bracket to support the bottom. It almost didn't need it, cause the hood latch bracket sandwiches it in so much, but didn't really like that idea. Here's what I came up with:



And here it is with the condesor, aux fan, and hood latch bracket installed.



I had to do a little triming on the lower valance and the grill to get it to all fit behind the grill but it does. I'm going to see about ordering some A/C lines here shortly. I think I'm going to have to loose the little plastic cold air thing that pushes cold air into the fender to run the lines through that area....oh well, its not like my air filter is shrouded any ways.

Everything seems to work fine, the tranny is MUCH quieter even with the hole in the floor opened up. One thing I'm going to do is try to get the transfer case shifter to work a little better. The way it is now, there is a VERY short throw between each detent. I think maybe I need to put the GM shift tab on the tranfer case to give me a longer throw compared to the short dodge one (I'm assuming GMs tab thing is long since they uses an NP241 that is very similar to the dodge's that I'm using)

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work! A/C would be handy today.

[Ackattack]

Well I took a 300 mile trip today....but not in the truck. No A/C and no steering stabilizer makes for a not fun trip, so I took the suburban. Plus, I want to drive it a little more before taking it on a long trip just to make sure its all working good.

[Ackattack]

Got a few little minor things done today.

First I got the tachometer calibrated so that it reads correctly. Kinda nice.

I blocked off the boost reference line going to the wastegate using the little needle valve that I had previously installed. I think that should give me just a little more power (maybe.....really need more fuel for more power) Anyways, I saw 20# of boost. Previously the most I had saw was about 15#. Once I add more fuel, then I should get even more boost (its a viscous cycle, I know).

Had my wife come out to the garage and slowly turn the steering wheel while I looked at the steering links. I ended up tightening down the pitman arm just a little more, that seemed to reduce the slop in the system a little. I couldn't really tell if there was more slop in the gear box, the whole truck was moving over, or the frame was flexing a little. On my test drive (up to about 50) it seemed a little better but I also was paying more attention to my guages (boost, rpm) than the steering.

Looked at the A/C lines. I called Old Air earlier today (who I got my A/C from for my 68) as they have hose and fittings. They told me the GM stuff is metric and they didn't have any metric fittings. I kinda made a game plan of what I'll need. Going to have to splice some hoses and stuff to get it all to work, but I think its doable.

I wish I had my welder back. I took it to the repair shop about 4 weeks ago cause it stopped feeding out wire (wheel wouldn't turn) and I still don't have it back. I would like to put the steering stabilizer on, but can't without it. Oh well....hurry up and wait.

Oh yeah, I also noticed the F*^% transfer case still has a few drops of tranny fluid coming out of it. Very irritating.

[jbclassix]

Where is your t-case leaking from?

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Where is your t-case leaking from?

It looks like its around the 2 piece tail shaft housing and rear output seal.
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[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

I blocked off the boost reference line going to the wastegate using the little needle valve that I had previously installed. I think that should give me just a little more power (maybe.....really need more fuel for more power) Anyways, I saw 20# of boost. Previously the most I had saw was about 15#. Once I add more fuel, then I should get even more boost (its a viscous cycle, I know).

More fuel is the easy part of the equation. I attempted to look for the engine mods, but gave up after 5 pages. I'm at work so that makes it more fun. What's all done?

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

More fuel is the easy part of the equation. I attempted to look for the engine mods, but gave up after 5 pages. I'm at work so that makes it more fun. What's all done?

Right now the engine is pretty much stock. I'll speak in cummins I have a BHAF, 4" exhaust, banks bighead wastegate (was on the dodge when I got it...dont think it does anything), and timing set to 16.5*

I have a pyro, boost, and fuel pressure guage, so I'm "ready" to turn up the fuel pump. I am making sure it runs reliably and all the other things are taken care of before I turn it up. I'm also going to get some new injectors. I'm assuming mine are the stock 210k+ injectors, so hopefully new ones will give me a little better fuel mileage.

Speaking of fuel mileage, I filled up today and calculated out my mileage at like 16.6mpg. That is with A LOT of city driving, some hot rodding around, and quite a bit of idle time, so not too shabby. Also, I paid less for a gallon of diesel than a gallon of gas. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not

[Dieselwrencher]

Yep, time to remove the AFC housing and start making some changes. Slide the stock plate half way forward and see how you like that. You really need to remove the fuel plate and grind it to get it fueling better too. Here's a picture of fuel plate profiles. I typically do 0's or 10's.

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

Right now the engine is pretty much stock. I'll speak in cummins I have a BHAF, 4" exhaust, banks bighead wastegate (was on the dodge when I got it...dont think it does anything), and timing set to 16.5*

I have a pyro, boost, and fuel pressure guage, so I'm "ready" to turn up the fuel pump. I am making sure it runs reliably and all the other things are taken care of before I turn it up. I'm also going to get some new injectors. I'm assuming mine are the stock 210k+ injectors, so hopefully new ones will give me a little better fuel mileage.

Speaking of fuel mileage, I filled up today and calculated out my mileage at like 16.6mpg. That is with A LOT of city driving, some hot rodding around, and quite a bit of idle time, so not too shabby. Also, I paid less for a gallon of diesel than a gallon of gas. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not

16.6MPG is not too shabby for in town driving, especially for that size of truck. Ryan is right, time to play with the afc and fuel plate. I'll try to dig up the steps we use and get em to you. As far as the injectors go, I'm pretty sure I can steer you in the proper direction depending on your setup.

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

16.6MPG is not too shabby for in town driving, especially for that size of truck. Ryan is right, time to play with the afc and fuel plate. I'll try to dig up the steps we use and get em to you. As far as the injectors go, I'm pretty sure I can steer you in the proper direction depending on your setup.

A/C is priority over power!
I also need to hook up my brake controler and steering stabilizer.

IIRC, I'm planning to due a #10 fuel plate, 3kGSK, AFC tuning, and injectors. Its been awhile since I've looked at my notes on that stuff

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

A/C is priority over power!
I also need to hook up my brake controler and steering stabilizer.

IIRC, I'm planning to due a #10 fuel plate, 3kGSK, AFC tuning, and injectors. Its been awhile since I've looked at my notes on that stuff

When it comes time, might as well do a 4k kit, may never use it but it is really nice to have if you ever want to use it.