Rat repair.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

That's amazing. We lived in Woodinville and I worked in Kirkland for almost two years back in the 90's. Our vehicles were wet all the time. Everything sort of melts into the ground up there. To have a truck in original condition in that part of the world is a minor miracle.

Well Vic, this was originally an Eastern Wa truck until i bought it about 1994 and brought over to the west side, I even got to drive this truck during high school off and on, it didn't have an ounce of rust on it then or when i bought it, an engine rebuild and lift kit 95 thru 96, altho the engine ran fine.

Unfortunately the Eastern Wa sun and heat did a number on the gutter seal and all the rubber and i didn't realize how bad it leaked for a long while as it all ran under the floor mat and under the door sill plates, I got a wake up call one rainy morning when i hopped in the truck and pulled out of my driveway only to have about a 1/2 cup of water that built up on the bottom lip of the dash land on my lap, then i got super frustrated not being successful at finding the leak sources, and there was more than one, kinda gave up and let the truck sit for a number of years in the elements as a back up work truck..

So enter the information age about around 2000, slowly but surly i graduate from a computer smaller than a 286 and dial up bulletin boards, 56k modem, 286, Pentium, Pentium 2,slow speed internet via phone, and on to today with cable internet and quad core processors ect, i start to find there is a lot of good stuff out there to help with my cause of repairing my poor truck and i slowly start educating myself on restoration.

Then one morning about 6 years ago i looked out the window and there sits my poor neglected truck in the back corner of my yard, and its covered in this weird fuzzy green and black spotty looking stuff, i looked at Meg and said, man my poor truck looks like a swamp rat and the name stuck. So now due to my neglect and lack of a garage to fit it in, plus my desire not to let this truck rust to death has brought me here. Sorry for rambling on, had a long day at work and just unwinding with a Shock Top.

[swamp rat]

Bummer... The tranny shop says they cant send anybody out to pick me up today because i wasn't able to call them at 8am... My neighbor is gone to work, taxi will cost an arm and a leg... If i call at 8am tomorrow they will send somebody out, but i just realized i have an appointment tomorrow at 11am, sigh.

[Dean'smeanmachine]

[Mustard72]

Cool history

[swamp rat]

Haven't been on here much the last 2 weeks, been dealing with a couple issues, one being my wife and i got into a bit of a spat, but things are looking up, the other i got moved to a different plant in my job , supposed to be temporary but it still wasn't welcome, the commute takes an extra hour out of my day, but at least I'm still working right! Anyway haven't felt much like doing anything for a bit.

Anyway, i picked up the rat 2 days ago, naturally it was raining then so back under the cover it went, rained again yesterday too, hoping to get it out and drive it a bit tomorrow.

The drive home seemed fine as far as the tranny go's, they did however have to replace the case as some of the inner ribs/lugs that are used to hold the internals were wearing down allowing a clutch pack to rotate back and forth a little, least that's what they said, its been probably 30 years since i had one apart. The pic's are of the old case, the little nibs are supposed to be aw wide as the rest of the area..

I'm not sure if its just because i have no floor mat or insulation/sound deadening on the floor at the moment but the drive to the shop i was hearing a high pitched noise that sounded like it was coming from the transfer case, I mentioned it to the tranny shop when i dropped it off, it happens from 55 to 60 mph, they took the Transfer case apart and inspected everything when they resealed it and said everything looked fine, but it still made the noise on the way home, but it was a little quieter. still don't know what to make of it but i want to go back and talk to them about it.

[Vic1947]

Good that you caught it when you did. Sometimes those kinds of problems have a domino effect and the next thing you know, you've got parts scattered all over the pavement.

[swamp rat]

Well, my problems aren't 100% solved yet, if anybody can help I'd appreciate it, here's the thread..

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=637392

[Molberg]

Glad your back on the road. What type of oil are you running in your transfer case? I've heard various oils can cause different amounts of noise from them. (Meaning synthetic vs conventional). A friends dad ran synthetic in his case and complained it was louder... Viscosity difference?

[Molberg]

If it does the chirping in neutral as well... What are the chances your flex plate cover is rubbing the flexplate/torque converter somewhere?

[swamp rat]

Finally did some preliminary checking of drive line angles.

Rear shaft is approx 3 deg on the forward end and 1.5 deg on the back.

Front shaft is about 10 deg on the the forward end, It was too cramped to get a good check on the
Rear but it has that C/V type joint. ( I forgot the real name ) Edit: Double Cardian ?

What is a proper caster angle for the front axle?

[swamp rat]

I pulled the front drive shaft today and the Double Cardian joint is due for a rebuild. Had to stop at the hardware store for some 5/16 24 nuts to put on the T-case yoke as the bolts are too long to remove without pulling the yoke.

Still looking for the castor spec to see if I might need some tapered shims. Might just make an appt with a front end place and be done with it.

Per the noise I hope its just the front drive shaft. Will hopefully find out tomorrow.

Molberg I think that t-case was filled with atf but I didn't ask.

[ryanroo]

front caster will be great in the 5-8 range i bet. i dont know the spec as per the book, but that is a good place to shoot on a d44.

[swamp rat]

Well as it sits now with my crude measuring system of a protractor and some large scales measuring to the center of each ball joint i come up with 4 degrees positive caster. If I was to use angled shims to increase the caster then i would also increase the drive line angle which is allready about 10 deg.

Thinking about it, i added Offroad designes shackles which are about .5 longer than stock, that would increase caster a little, not sure how much the 4" lift springs affect the angle but i would hope the company engineers the same angle into the spring

Going to have to take my drive shaft to a local drive shaft place for a rebuild of that Cardian joint, i don't think i should try that one as i think that center pivot is warn out, i can do U-Joints no problem. Maybe cheaper to find an aftermarket replacement?

Any idea who makes this speedo calibration unit? I don't think its stock. ??

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Any idea who makes this speedo calibration unit? I don't think its stock. ??

No clue. Maybe check with these guys, if you haven't already.
http://www.tacomaspeedometer.net/

Driveline angles! Hoping I don't have to go through that. Hurts my head.
A buddy who's doing the same V8 Volvo swap is fighting his. Nice that he is a step ahead of me. LOL
Good luck with yours!

[swamp rat]

Well, front drive shaft off i went for a test drive, the noise is still present in 2 High, 4 High and 4 Low, all seem to be in the same RPM range of about 2100 to 2500 RPM.

Gues my next move will be to disconnect the speedo cable, but that will have to wait. gotta run for now.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

No clue. Maybe check with these guys, if you haven't already.
http://www.tacomaspeedometer.net/

Driveline angles! Hoping I don't have to go through that. Hurts my head.
A buddy who's doing the same V8 Volvo swap is fighting his. Nice that he is a step ahead of me. LOL
Good luck with yours!

Nope haven't checked with them yet but it may be a good idea to be re calibrated in the future, that calibration unit was on the truck when i got it from my step dad and it had smaller tires on it than it does now.

Working this weekend again and have to go shopping first thing for dress cloths as i have a wedding to go to soon. Guess i out grew the other stuff.....

How was the metal meet?

[swamp rat]

Update time, its been a slow 2 weeks for working on the truck, worked the last 2 weekends in a row plus some OT thru the week.

Front drive shaft is at the driveline repair place, they said if the center pin is within spec then it will be about $80 to rebuild it and throw a coat of black paint on it. Rear driveshaft is removed but the u joints are super smooth so it will get cleaned up and reinstalled.

Did more testing on the noise, took both driveshafts off and blocked the wheels, revved up the engine and it still made the noise in that RPM range, i grabbed my stethoscope and started probing around under the truck with the T-case in gear at idle (all 3 gears to be exact) nothing sounded bad at all. So i decide to pop the hood and listened around more around the top of the tranny and front of the engine nothing, then i revved the engine.... what the heck? the noise now sounded like it was at the top front of the engine.. Found it! A while back i was dealing with an alternator belt squeal, well i guess in my frustration dealing with that i must have tightened the belt too tight, the bearing in the alternator had let go..

How this sound made its way to the area around the transfer case and floor of my cab i can only attribute to not having carpet and insulation in the cab at the moment and the kicker, i also have the boot unscrewed from the floor. The darned truck has become a ventriloquist. Almost back on track now but i feel a little foolish thinking it was the T-case now.. :p

[CUSTOM/10]

Well I consider that to be a good find !!! That's a whole lot easier to to fix than pulling the transfer case !!!!!

Gary

[Dean'smeanmachine]

the speedo calibration units not stock? cool because i have the same one on my sm465

[CUSTOM/10]

I've owned 4 69-72 4x4 trucks and all had the speedo calibration on them. I believe it depends on what gear ratio the truck has in it. 4x4's read from the transfer case, 2wd read from the trany and they are corrected by using different internal gear, 4x4's are corrected externally by different gears in this little box !

Gary

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

Well I consider that to be a good find !!! That's a whole lot easier to to fix than pulling the transfer case !!!!!

Gary

I agree with you! Still feel a little foolish thinking it was the T-case tho.. I converted to an internally regulated alternator some time back, couldn't recall what vehicle it came off of so i spent an hour at NAPA looking thru a book finding the correct orientation. comming out of Portland and will be here around Tuesday.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Dean'smeanmachine

the speedo calibration units not stock? cool because i have the same one on my sm465

I am not sure Dean, i have looked at a few builds that didn't have them on the T-case, but being as you and Custom/10 had them now leads me to believe could be mistaken.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

I've owned 4 69-72 4x4 trucks and all had the speedo calibration on them. I believe it depends on what gear ratio the truck has in it. 4x4's read from the transfer case, 2wd read from the tranny and they are corrected by using different internal gear, 4x4's are corrected externally by different gears in this little box !

Gary

Thanks for the info Gary!

If i recall correctly its a Borg Warner unit, (edit: Stewart Warner) i also took it off during the trouble shooting. I'm gonna Google it up here shortly and see if there are repair kits for it, mine leaks/does not seal to the T-case well.

[swamp rat]

Rear drive shaft is painted and drying, took notice that it has some arrows stamped on it, one on the end of the tube by the slip shaft, the other on the slip yoke, the arrows are at 90 deg to each other but the U joints are aligned up properly...... I figured the arrows should be in line with each other but i guess not...... I have not had the drive shaft apart myself but don't know about prior to 1994.

Time to get ready to go to a wedding now.. Not mine tho.

[Ozzy2013]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Update time, its been a slow 2 weeks for working on the truck, worked the last 2 weekends in a row plus some OT thru the week.

Front drive shaft is at the driveline repair place, they said if the center pin is within spec then it will be about $80 to rebuild it and throw a coat of black paint on it. Rear driveshaft is removed but the u joints are super smooth so it will get cleaned up and reinstalled.

Did more testing on the noise, took both driveshafts off and blocked the wheels, revved up the engine and it still made the noise in that RPM range, i grabbed my stethoscope and started probing around under the truck with the T-case in gear at idle (all 3 gears to be exact) nothing sounded bad at all. So i decide to pop the hood and listened around more around the top of the tranny and front of the engine nothing, then i revved the engine.... what the heck? the noise now sounded like it was at the top front of the engine.. Found it! A while back i was dealing with an alternator belt squeal, well i guess in my frustration dealing with that i must have tightened the belt too tight, the bearing in the alternator had let go..

How this sound made its way to the area around the transfer case and floor of my cab i can only attribute to not having carpet and insulation in the cab at the moment and the kicker, i also have the boot unscrewed from the floor. The darned truck has become a ventriloquist. Almost back on track now but i feel a little foolish thinking it was the T-case now.. :p

Been there done that sometimes its hard to track down a noise.