Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Cool. I couldn't remember what the setup in the rear was for. Something like that would be nice for my C-50. It's not like you have to pull the valve cover on a Cummins very often.

i was a little worried about bleeding injectors with it there, but i can easily get all of them actually. i was also worried that they only give you one mounting bolt on the front and one on the back, but the boots are as much mounting it as the bolts are! it's really solid in there.

there's a lot of ppl skeptical about the water to air. from ppl running engine coolant thru the cooler to poor water cooling that lets it heat soak, etc. i guess we'll see hopefully soon enough. i specifically sized the radiator to be slightly bigger than the core of the charge cooler, in theory the system should be able to ditch more heat than it can take in. plus at some point it'll also have an aluminum reservoir in the bed that would shed even more heat.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Do you have the part numbers? Thanks

sure thing!

https://www.frozenboost.com/air_wate...ers-p-218.html

Water to Air Intercooler, 16"x12.25"x4.5", O/S I/O (Type 18)

you can get different size cores with lots of different inlet/outlet directions.

[6DoF]

this is the water chiller i used

https://www.frozenboost.com/water-to...er-p-1026.html

Water to Air Intercooler Radiator - 26x7x3.5 (Type 101)

[regan wilson]

Thanks I'll save that information.

[6DoF]

door parts finally came!! it's officially "dry'd in"

not sure if it's just the re-pop parts or what, but these doors are a pain in the junk to assemble. completely different problems left to right.

[6DoF]

IT RUNS AGAIN!!

exhaust is fully wrapped and re-installed, and my turbo drain -10an hose showed up a day early!

fired that thing off last night and everything seams good. both turbo's spin and were getting oil at least exhaust sounds pretty decent, only one new leak at a fuel line that might have just been a loose fitting.

idle is really high with the new huge injectors though, and just turning down the idle screw wasn't enough to get a stable low idle. now it's time i figured out the P7100 tuning and started turning screws.

[Rickysnickers]

Um, video of it running or it didn't happen

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Um, video of it running or it didn't happen

yeah yeah yeah ...

took a crappy vid last night, idles really high and over smokey. let me play with the screws and springs n see if i can't get it back clean to take an exhaust note vid. i feel like i might have gotten the new gov springs too tight.

[6DoF]

did a lot more staring at things over the weekend and trying stuff, then trying again til i finally got what i liked. new shut-down cable is in! it's actually a locking cable, but could just be a basic choke cable it if i wanted now. no springs, just pull on, push off, lock if ya want. probably lock-on to make sure it maintains full fuel ability.

re-did the throttle cable to delete the 2nd gen TPS and extra unnecessary linkages. just need a new throttle return spring and mount to really make that prime.

got the radiator installed and fully piped! i'm not a huge fan of the upper hose, but not the end of the world either. if there's ever an issue i already found steam ports made to cut into silicone hoses.

took the pump AFC apart to hopefully start to dial in the fueling a bit and smoke out the shop way less ... crap, i should charge the batteries after all the starting ... key now is going to be getting things ready at the bare min to drive it. gauges, wiring, fix air leaks in bag lines, etc. then i can start work on the bed and other cosmetics knowing worst case she's viable.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Um, video of it running or it didn't happen

boom

https://i.imgur.com/TANeZKe.mp4

[daveshilling]

Happy for ya! Love this milestone

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 6dof

boom

https://i.imgur.com/tanezke.mp4

nice!!!!!!

[6DoF]

started to get the 3D put together for a bed structure with hatch. thinking 1x1 framework with 3/4" ply over it, and lift-off style hinges

[regan wilson]

Congrats on getting it running. It all looks great. That computer 3d stuff is cheating though! lol

[6DoF]

well ... going backwards a bit ...

so after doing the rear main seal on my 93 3x and finally realizing that seal is crazy and has to be installed 100% oil free and dry or it leaks ... i knew i did the '55 wrong early on. it also made a 2+ sqft puddle on the floor from just a few test fires. last night i dive in and pull the trans, found out this requires pulling the down pipe, the hot pipe and s475, and the intercooler to get the 12v to tip back far enough.

get the clutch and flywheel off only to realize there's no oil in the bell housing adapter. looking around it's just pouring down from the oil pan seal! now i have to pull the entire front suspension and crossmember, or pull the engine to replace that. so this weekend, the 12v is coming back out.

[6DoF]

ya ever spend an entire weekend doing something over ... get to the end of the weekend and realize you are only just back to where you thought you started?

turns out, the pan rail was deformed at the bolt holes and about 20% of the RTV i used never touched the block side. cleaned 99.8% the glue off, hammered the pan rail back into shape, and used a greased paper gasket this time. also did a new rear main while it was out hanging there. so far, so good.

[dsraven]

well, at least you persevered and won over.
anytime I do a gasket on an oil pan, valve covers or any other sheet metal style cover, I always clean it well then lay it gasket side down against the flat steel workbench top. I shine a light behind it and look fr the gaps. I straighten as required. also, where the bolts go through, they usually deform because there isn't usually a back up plate under the bolt so the point pressure of the bolt makes a divet in the sheet metal. I use the round end of a ball pein hammer held against that spot, from the gasket side, the hit that hammer head with another hammer to push that divet back out again. usually on the edge of the workbench as a "dolly".
silicone gaskets usually require a bunch of work to seperate the parts so defoprmation of stamped steel pans is pretty common. if I can find a "formed silicone" gasket I will use them over anything. if I need to use a tube of silicone I only use "the right stuff" because the regular stuff, however good it is, doesn't stack up to it. it dries pretty quick also.

[6DoF]

the formed silicone gaskets are nice, that would be solid. the bolt holes are partially why i used RTV to just fill in as needed ... i just didn't get enough on there. next time i'll put way more effort into setting up that seal surface the first time, haha.

i've never actually use "the right stuff" ... i'll have to look into that.

[dsraven]

it is expensive but waaay better than the RTV stuff. trust me, as a heavy duty mechanic you don't want any come backs because that second time around repair not only costs you (or the shop where you work) money, it also costs the equipment owner money in down time, equipment rental if required and the operator loses his time too. for a trucker, it means a lost load or possibly losing favor with the company he works for if he is an owner operator. we had a trade school teacher who drilled this into our heads-do it right the first time and you only have to do it once. if you think of the bolts holding parts together as simply the things that hold the parts together rather than the things that make or break the seal and you think of the two mating surfaces as surfaces that need to fit tightly and match, like a metal on metal seal, then it changes how you look at gasket surfaces. instead of relying on a "good gasket" and sucking the bolts up tight you will start to look at the 2 parts for defects first. lay one part on the other and check for gaps, with no gasket in between. fix any high or low spots, then install the parts with a good gasket and tighten all the bolts finger tght, doing one then the other across from it and so forth, when they are all finger tight then add a little more to each in the same manner until the third go around when they can be tightened to spec. especially on a gasket that is a lot of work if a redo is required.
just the way I do it. I have very few warranty returns so it must work, lol.

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

i've never actually use "the right stuff" ... i'll have to look into that.

I've used it for intake manifolds and it works well!

[dsraven]

this is the stuff. it comes in a toothpaste style tube, a pressurized can or the caulking gun style. just buy a package big enough for the work at hand because it will harden up quickly in the tube

https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...et-maker-5-oz/

I clean all the gasket surfaces with brake cleaner and dry them. also blow out all the bolt holes (do this fist) because if there is oil, old silicone or liquid on the hole this can cause a hydraulic situation under the bolt when it is installed and fluid can be pushed back out around the threads and cause an adhesion issue with the sealer. it can also cause issues with torquing and, worst case scenario, I have seen it crack castings. then install the sealer, doing a small circle around each bolt hole as you go, and lastly the cover. sometimes installing a stud in a couple of the bolt holes will help line up the parts and if doing, say, an oil pan while it is upside down there are installation helper studs that will hold the gasket in place and then will hold the cover in place while you check all the edges and corners etc and install a couple of bolts. when all the bolts are in and the parts are lightly mated then the studs can be removed. they work awesome even if the repair isn't upside down.

[dsraven]

in general, before I found the right stuff and had to use the best high temp RTV I could find, I wouldn't add oil or run the engine, etc, until the RTV had sat overnight so it could get a good cure time without any oil present. pretty tough to do that at in a commercial environment so I would end up only using RTV if a real gasket wasn't available and even then only use it sparingly in corners etc. a light film of aviation form a gasket is what I used to "glue" the gasket onto one surface and I wouldn't let the RTV contact the silicone because that never seems to work out. I know lots of commercial places use RTV for gaskets and say they have no problems. diff covers etc. but I can say I have repaired lots of those "no problems" because the customer doesn't go back for another potential leak and waste of their time.

[6DoF]

why does it seam like i can't officially check something off my list until i've posed it

- Rear axle breather ... DONE
- Throttle return spring / bracket ... DONE
- 2x -8an Engine breather hoses, mount catch can ... DONE
- Last exhaust blanket installed ... DONE

and since there's nothing on the floor after 24h ... Leaks FIXED

[6DoF]

more small check marks, still fighting a leak in the front drivers air lines/bag.

always feels so much smaller when on it's wheels, i get used to it up on stands where it's still shorter than my other truck.

[dsraven]

better put sasters on that big pipe, haha