SkinnyG's '61 Apache

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Wiring is done.

Stereo is in and working

Cooling system holds water.

I've been over-thinking the engine oil cooler for three years. Today I bent up two little mounting brackets, and once they come out of the powder coating, the cooler will be ready to hang.

I -think- all I need to do is throw in a new battery, pressure test the fuel system, pressurize the oil system, and it should run.

I'm scared spitless.

You got this.

[Braunschweiger]

You've come so far, you can do it.

[SkinnyG]

Well......

First I put half a tank of 94 in it, and jumped the fuel pump to see if there were any leaks. One baby leak which was fixed by tightening the AN fitting at the regulator.

Next I tried to pressurize the oil system of the engine by using a hand-pump-pressurized chemical sprayer. This got the gauge to move a wee bit but only by ballooning the sprayer with compressed air (probably 125psi). I figure that shows it can make pressure, so no sense tempting fate and wearing 5L of 10W30, I poured the remaining 3L in.

Then I set up VCM Scanner (HP Tuners) to log (what was) the Fuel Tank Pressure - this is where I tied in my Wide-Band. Odd that the fuel pump didn't prime..... Interesting. And VCM Scanner couldn't read the truck. Nor could VCM Editor. Nor could my OBD scan tool. Nothing could connect!!

What. The. Heck.

So after about four hours of unplugging things and testing things, and worrying that I might have shorted or fried something, I found the problem:

SOMEBODY unpinned the B+ supply from PCM blue connector Pin 20, coiled it up, labeled it "Pin 50 Unused" and put it with the others.

I don't know who that somebody is, but I suspect it's my wife's husband. What an idiot.

So it's 11pm, the dash is all back together again, the fuel pump primes like it should, and my scanners can talk to the PCM.

Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow!

[Braunschweiger]

Wow I'm glad the bug was found, cross fingers everything is fine now.

[SkinnyG]

Well......

It wouldn't crank. Not even a click.

The long and the short of it is the way I wired the Neutral Safety Switch, and the way the Neutral Safety Switch needed to be wired, were not the same. The more I looked into it, the less I knew what I did.

Starter Relay trigger+ comes from NSS in transmission, which supplies + to the relay. Relay is triggered by the PCM grounding it on one pin, when it sees a cranking signal on another pin. I didn't have that. I fixed that. This one took me a WHILE to fix.

THEN.......

It would NOT crank when you had the key on "start," but would just cough as you let go of the key and let it return to "run," but only for a fraction of a second. That one took me a smaller while to resolve. I had the starter relay source coming from an "Accessory" source, not a "Key On" source. Not sure how that happened, but I re-pinned my relay block and it would now crank.

BUT......

It would crank, fire up, and shut off after a second. This, too, took me a WHILE to resolve. Turned out the PCM wasn't seeing the Drive By Wire "Throttle Actuator Control." The Key+ source wire that comes into the TAC module was receiving no voltage. I don't know where it goes into the harness, but it wasn't Key+. I re-routed it to connect to my PCM resistor block. Now it sees the throttle!

EXCEPT....

Now it's 10:30 at night, and I'm not a complete asshole to my neighbours.

EXCITINGLY......

I did find time to setup a graph in VCM Scanner that receives my wideband input (through the fuel tank pressure sender input), and calculate its error off the commanded AFR. I'm really excited about that.

It did sound good, and had good oil pressure, and oil is getting to the turbo!

AT ANY RATE....

Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow.

[SkinnyG]

Day 4 in trying to get it to run.

Well.....

PCM continues to drop the TAC module connection. I got it to run for a significant time, but it kept disconnecting the TAC and then running like crap.

I did find that one wire is supposed to see the resistance through the brake light circuit, so I properly connected that, but it did not make a difference.

Really no progress to report.

[350TacoZilla]

Sorry to hear about the teething problems and about your wife's husband screwing up the wiring lol. Hopefully it's one where you get it figured out enough to fire up then have no more issues since you already went back through it so many times.

[SkinnyG]

Pick-N-Pull had only ONE (1) TAC module that would work for me. I bought it and plugged it in and it's immensely better!

Although I'm only 85% sure I solved it. I did have the U0107 pop up again, but only the once. There's a chance the pedal I have is drunk too.

At any rate, I have a couple other errors to chase, but I'm pretty close. Video shortly.

[SkinnyG]

Fitting Modern Wiper Arms - YouTube

[SkinnyG]

Turns out, transmission solenoid trouble codes go away when you plug them in. Just saying.

PCM still drops the TAC, but I think I have narrowed it to a connector.

Drove it to the end of the street and back today. It's..... different.

[350TacoZilla]

Question for you related to wipers but not exactly about the jeep arms. How much slop is in your rebuilt setup between the two wipers? I had thought of replacing the stock setup with small rod ends and threaded rods to tighten them up a bit but mine seemed to have ton of free play between each arm, not sure if that is just in the design or wear on the original parts.

[SkinnyG]

There is quite a bit of slop. I was hoping for a more consistent and symmetrical "look" to how they worked. I did not replace any of the pivots, as they all appeared tight enough.

I may, at some point, change the pivots to a newer spherical rod end or something.

[SkinnyG]

Carpet going in:

[SkinnyG]

Seats in, just need to fabricate the jump seat. Also went back to the Precision door seals, but spent a LONG time trimming out the three extra grip ribs on the inside (outside) part of the seal to make the doors close better.

[SkinnyG]

Got insurance, got license plates on.

Seatbelts installed.

Bed emptied of all its junk.

Pretty much ready for some street tuning.

[350TacoZilla]

Sweet! Hope all goes well for you.

[SCOTI]

Sweet. Love the victories on this journey!

[SkinnyG]

DAY 8 in trying to get it to run

I'm pretty sure it's not the TAC module. Looking into the Pedal now.

I did take it for a drive around the neighbourhood. Feels tight, purposeful, sounds awesome. MUCH better with sound deadener and carpet inside. Made it to my street before the CEL popped up again.



Also just got back from a whirlwind tour of the western States. Drove from BC through the Oregon Coast. People still don't speed in Oregon.

Toured Alcatraz

Did Disneyland and Universal Studios. Noticing that actually all o'y'all are really courteous drivers, even in LA.

Drove to the Grand Canyon - that is mind-blowing, pictures do not do it justice.

Stopped at Kindig-It Design in Salt Lake City and told Dave Kindig how much I appreciate that they SHOW how they do things, I learn so much, and find them hugely inspirational. Felt a bit like meeting Elvis; a bit surreal - he's one of my current heros.

Then two 12-hour driving days to get back home a bit early. The truck isn't going to make it to school on the first day. Hopefully not much later though.

[SkinnyG]

And that's pretty much the actual colour, in overcast daylight.

[caseyjones]

Looks great! And the trip sounds like it was epic.

[Braunschweiger]

Looks great and a great trip,
I'm jealous.

[SkinnyG]

I ordered the correct part numbered gas pedal for my donor driveline. I'll swap its chip over to the Silverado pedal I have that fits. This should fix the "dropped carrier" issue.

Mean time, school starts Tuesday, pops is in the hospital again (and not looking good, again), but he got accepted into a care home which we'll "bring him home to" when he gets out (unless The great Engine Genie In The Sky brings him home instead). Either way, September is shaping up to be B-U-S-Y.

[SkinnyG]

Pops is now in ICU, and there is very high probability that "coming home" isn't going to be to the care home.

Gas pedal arrives today.

[bigmoe]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Pops is now in ICU, and there is very high probability that "coming home" isn't going to be to the care home.

Oh geez Skinny. That sucks.

[Ronzo]

hoping all the best for your Dad man