TA_C10: Stage 1

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

And then this happened..... All my weekend plans were screwed.... I removed the trans to install my torque converter and found the rear main was leaking. I'm glad I ran the engine a couple times before I installed everything or I would have never caught this until after.... But. I was really hoping to just use all the existing items that came with engine, seals, water pump, timing chain, oil pump, etc..... In 3-5 years I plan to do some cool upgrades(stage 2) so I was hoping to get lucky but of course, now that I have this thing apart, I'm replacing all this stuff....

I priced everything at AZ just to see a price difference, and RockAuto was $200 cheaper for everything I ordered, AND they are better parts! The more I use RockAuto the more I like them. Just have to pay/wait for shipping.

For every "LS swap everything" guy that screams about how great the 'no-leak' LS swap candidates are vs. the old 'leaky sbc', I hear a real world admission that what do you know.... LS motors can leak as well.

Bummer it happened. But, better now vs. w/the body installed.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Update - Exhaust halfway done

Friday I was able to weld up the pipes from headers back to muffler flanges. I am using v-band clamps. I got 2 clamps from Summit(their brand) and then bought 4 more clamps on amazon. The amazon ones are fine, but the summit brand clamps are much larger and well thought out design. They are more expensive of course. But I think these amazon clamps are going to be just fine. I used the summit quality clamps on the headers. Cheaper clamps at the rear of long pipe.

Are you just doing single bursts for the weld & then moving along after each previous spot cools? Kind of looks like that. Appears clean & seems like you got decent penetration.

[MDPotter]

What are you welding your exhaust with? I was planning on using my MIG with the C25 mix (same as for steel) with stainless wire. From what I've read, it won't be the prettiest weld, but it's exhaust so I'm not going for a perfect weld.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

For every "LS swap everything" guy that screams about how great the 'no-leak' LS swap candidates are vs. the old 'leaky sbc', I hear a real world admission that what do you know.... LS motors can leak as well.

Bummer it happened. But, better now vs. w/the body installed.

Thanks man. And anyone who says that ain't all there

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Are you just doing single bursts for the weld & then moving along after each previous spot cools? Kind of looks like that. Appears clean & seems like you got decent penetration.

I went through a couple different scenarios welding the pipe. Pipe to Pipe I welded it together like single burst tacking sheet metal. For pipe to flange however, I was able to hit high on previous weld and drag the puddle. And I was dragging the puddle equivalent to 2-3 spot welds. Great penetration this way through the thicker flange but not burning through the thinner pipe.

Originally Posted by MDPotter

What are you welding your exhaust with? I was planning on using my MIG with the C25 mix (same as for steel) with stainless wire. From what I've read, it won't be the prettiest weld, but it's exhaust so I'm not going for a perfect weld.

I ended up using my mig with mild steel .025 wire. I plan to paint the welds with high temp paint. I was buying mild steel pipe but the SS was same price.....

[TA_C10]

Parts list from RockAuto for reference:



.

[TA_C10]

I bought this rethread kit. It's thread cleaners, not taps. It will fix threads but doesn't cut new ones. Love this thing.








I can figure out pitches of bolt holes easily with this, as for instance my transmission mount.

Trans to x-member threads are 10 x 1.5 thread pitch if anyone wants to know that.






I took my trans apart to check it. The guys I got motor from seemed kinda shady but so far, aside from the rear main seal leak(which this motor has 140,000 on it so this isn't his fault i'm sure) has been pretty decent. Motor runs good, I have seen much of the internals of the engine and it seems in solid condition. Now that I have seen the inside of the trans, I am confident it is what he says it is. He told me he takes these 4l60e trans and upgrades their components to basically a 4L65E standard. It's clean inside. And I can tell it's been greased where you would take the valve body apart and replace components so here's to a glass half full this guy is honest

[TA_C10]

Update - Gas Tank Straps


SCOTI you kept me up at night man. I couldn't find any data out there on the interwebs on whether or not the mounting flange on these LMC 21 gallon tanks was strong enough to hold itself between the rails with just bolts so I busted out the straps and called it a day

So these straps are fine. They are galvanized metal. I also bought the black strips that protect the straps from scratching the tank which is a good idea now that I see what's going on. BUT. The straps are folded on the end and overlap back down the ends to double them up for strength but they used a cheap method of spot welding them together and they all pretty much popped apart on me. So I drilled a hole in the first layer and used the mig to spot weld them myself back together. All good. You can see in one of my pics how one of them popped and is bowed out before I fixed it. On the other pic you can see how I spot welded them myself.

Also, I previously welded nuts to the back of a couple strips of galvanized sheet I cut to make top frame brackets to bolt the tank to. I didn't like the J-Hooks that LMC sends to use. Those J-Hooks would tear through my freshly painted frame. So I used my brackets I made earlier(see earlier posts in my thread on how I made them) and instead of J-Hooks I used long grade 5 bolts instead. Worked like a charm and I control how tight these straps get








And here is how I had them mounted before the straps. And these are good pics of the flanges on the tank. Probably not strong enough like SCOTI brought up...








.

[TA_C10]

More pics on my thread chasers. Cleaning my flywheel bolt holes here.

Dirty threads:
now
Clean threads:







I use a little oil to clean them with.







Come out clean as a whistle.

.

[TA_C10]

Cornerstone thanks for letting me know my pics didn't show. I fixed my last three posts so the pictures should be working now....

.

[SCOTI]

Well, I was hoping you found a better answer & didn't need the additional support but better to be over-supported vs under IMHO. FWIW, the straps don't hurt the look significantly. They can always be blacked out as well if their visual appearance bothers the owner. Mine are fabbed from stainless but I am still undecided if they'll stay that way or get coated in black.

The trans internals do look clean.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Well, I was hoping you found a better answer & didn't need the additional support but better to be over-supported vs under IMHO. FWIW, the straps don't hurt the look significantly. They can always be blacked out as well if their visual appearance bothers the owner. Mine are fabbed from stainless but I am still undecided if they'll stay that way or get coated in black.

The trans internals do look clean.

I am thinking the tank is going to be hanging pretty low and you will see it from behind the truck. So I may end up painting the whole tank black to keep it from being noticed. I may wait until the truck is together before I make that decision, although now would be the easiest access to paint it.... Thanks for your help on this. I agree, the straps are not bad and I used the same brackets I made before as the straps use those same holes so it wasn't an issue at all.

[TA_C10]

Well not much fun stuff going on over here. Just stripping the oil pan, front and rear covers, and replacing all the norm. New front and rear main seals, new cover seals, new oil pump, pickup tube, timing set, and water pump.... Stripping and painting things. Lots of cleaning. Oh and I managed to break my oil pan but I ended up finding one the very next day for cheap on FB Marketplace local guy. So cleaning that and getting it painted up.






Now here is some info you may enjoy/find useful. I ended up finding out the hard way that the timing set comes with a new camshaft sprocket and that sprocket/gear is pressed on therefore needed a puller to remove it. And this puller is special, the regular 3 jaw pullers don't work on it. So I ended up heading down to AZ even though all the threads on this forum were saying not to as they don't carry the correct puller. And they are correct, they don't have the puller everyone says to use. However, I was determined and I rented several different pullers after looking at their rental sheet and I noticed one that looked like it might work and sure enough, it was perfect.


It's the heavy duty pitman arm puller. And this thing was perfect. Worked like it was made for the job. So if you are reading this and you need to do the same, well your welcome

[TA_C10]

And my timing gear had really sharp casting holes so I deburred/countersink those holes so they wouldn't have issue. May not have been necessary but at the time I thought it best.......


Hard to see in this pic but its sharp here. 2nd pic is after I took a die grinder to them. And I have countersink bits but didn't think to use them...

[TA_C10]

Got all the new seals installed, all the new parts in. I tightened the single bolt too tight on the oil pump(pickup tube to pump) and stripped the threads. So I ended up just drilling out the hole to the next size and re-tapping it next size up. Got a new bolt and lock washer from ACE hardware and done.


Pan is painted and installed.





I pulled all the plugs to turn the engine to TDC when I changed my timing set and found several plugs with soot(dirty intake and valves probably) and also the tips were loose so I cleaned them up and tightened the tips.






Engine back in the frame. Cleaned up, painted, and reinstalled the crank pulley.

[cornerstone]

You are one busy dude. Lots and LOTS of work will pay off soon. I keep hoping to open your thread and see a new paint job.... I'll just have to wait patiently I guess.

[1971Stepside]

I'm with Cornerstone here...bring on the paint!

[nlped]

Just an observation, but if that’s a truck pan and you’re lowered, that pan may be in jeopardy as it’ll be lower than the front crossmember.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

You are one busy dude. Lots and LOTS of work will pay off soon. I keep hoping to open your thread and see a new paint job.... I'll just have to wait patiently I guess.

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I'm with Cornerstone here...bring on the paint!

I feel like recently this is all I do when I get home from work.... I am very motivated to finish this truck. Kinda have to be really in my situation... And yeah, this set back slowed my progress getting to paint but it's coming really soon, stay tuned!

Originally Posted by nlped

Just an observation, but if that’s a truck pan and you’re lowered, that pan may be in jeopardy as it’ll be lower than the front crossmember.

Yeah it's a truck pan. It sits perfectly level with the crossmember. I don't like it that much so we will see... Stage 2 will bring engine upgrades and that's going to be one of them.

[TA_C10]

Update - Torque Converter Prep

Started getting my TC ready for install. Just following the instructions, research on the internet, and then an email or two with Circle D all I have to do is make sure there is between 1/8" - 3/16" of clearance between the two mating surfaces of the TC and flywheel. There were some other measurements online I found that you can use to help prepare you before you install like the distance between the bellhousing flange and the mounting surface of the TC. This measurement helps you determine if you got the TC fully seating onto the trans shaft. You know, the infamous 3 clicks


I love seeing my name on the TC. But I guess I don't really want to post that picture with some of the unfortunate lurkers on this site... So all your getting is the install/testing/build code pic















So then I installed the new OEM style flywheel. Blue loctite on the threads. 3 rounds of torque specs, 15lb, 35lb, then 74lb to finish.














Then I dry installed everything to the block. Popped off the bell housing plug. And checked for clearance. I ended up having to use the large washer/spacer that came with my TC kit to get the correct spacing/clearance. I used the drill bit method. Came out just right next size up from eighth inch at 9/64".

[TA_C10]

Oh yeah, and got water pump cleaned, painted, installed.

[cebra]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Oh yeah, and got water pump cleaned, painted, installed.

So pretty.

[TA_C10]

This heat is killer guys. Can't stay outside long so not much getting done. Past couple days I've just been cleaning up the garage best I can. I also started working to clean up the coil packs. They were pretty ugly.

[TA_C10]

I also started working on looming my wire harness. Got about 3/4 way done and ran out of materials. I can do these things in the A/C

[TA_C10]

Update - Remote Transmission Cooler

I got this idea from 68 short step. It's an aluminum finned remote trans cooler with NPT threads. It's 2 chambers, split down the middle with an aluminum plate on the inside. Several others say these units will cool a 4l60e or 4l80e trans with moderate power no problem. Even though my new radiator has trans cooler provisions, I thought this setup was much cleaner and easier to maintain.

I used the same SS braided line that I had left over from my fuel lines. However I bought black fittings for this application. I read that back when A/N line was produced for aircraft, the red/blue was used identify fuel lines. So I did the same, and so I am using the black fittings for hydraulic lines. I plan to also use same SS lines with black fittings to connect my power steering pump to the steering gear also. I just have to make sure it will handle the high pressure line....

So, without further ado, pics for your viewing pleasure.

[1971Stepside]

I think I should have ran mine to the frame rail like that instead of all the way up front under the radiator. I thought it needed some air movement. Would have saved me a lot in braided hose.