1972 Chevy 4wd Longhorn Project: Never Ending Changes

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks man. J P, that is a good idea. If I could have purchased the complete truck that I ended up getting the tcase and D60, I would have. The first gen dodges are finally getting affordable as a parts truck, but can still be pricey. If you start looking for one, try to get a 91.5-93. They are intercooled and have a little more power. They have a VE rotary injection pump and everyone swears the old VE engines get the best mileage. Another thing, if you find a 89-91 4x4, beware that the axles will be a D61 in front and a D71 in rear. These axles have 3.08 gears and can not be fitted with different carriers or gears. But, I believe yukon just started building a ring and pinion specific to those axles. But as far as I know, they are the only ones right now. The 89-91 autos were just 727's on steroids. The 91.5-93's had a A518 which is a non lock up with over drive trans. I believe all the manual transmissions were getrag G360's. Some people love them, and some hate them.

I do have to say, thank goodness for the dodge line of trucks. It has made parts availability for me doing swaps a lot easier due to the parts they used.

[watahyahknow]

i also heared sumtin about some pin that works itself out over time near de distributionbelt it was a common thing on those engines , think i seen it on some trucks internet tv show usually they tab it back in and lock it in place with some bolt and a little plate over it , not sure wish of those engines they where talking about though

[Dieselwrencher]

Yes sir, good point. I forgot all about that and I just did do that to this engine as well. I make my tabs for these. This is commonly referred to as the "KDP" or Killer Dowel Pin. This pin will wiggle out, drop down and fall in the gears and either come up through the front gear housing breaking it and damaging the gear train, or other times it will miss everything and end up in the pan. Here are some pics for reference.
See how this dowel pin is out of the case about 3/16" of an inch, it should be back flush with the gear housing.

[Dieselwrencher]

While we are on this subject, if anyone is doing this job and your front seal has ate in to your crankshaft, cummins offers a kit with a wear sleeve to repair it without removing the crankshaft and having it machined or repaired. Here are some pics of this.

[Dieselwrencher]

Also, the front seal should be driven out throught the outside towards the engine side when you remove it, and installed from the engine side towards the outside with the little tool provided in the seal kit. I have a nice cummins installer since I do so many of them. The tin tools can be a pita.

Seal Installed

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks. I noticed in your build thread yesterday you had done the same thing. This is what I am going to do. Seeing how I plan on not running a mechanical fan I think the larger radiator will be cheap insurance. Very nice build by the way!

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Seeing how I plan on not running a mechanical fan I think the larger radiator will be cheap insurance.

It is amazing how cool these motors can run in extreme conditions. With any amount of vehicle movement, my fan clutch will not turn on (provided the A/C is not on). The only time the fan clutch will turn on for engine temp is slow speed wheeling. It kind of surprised me when it kicked on the first time on a trail seeing as how it will almost never turn on in town even with 115* ambient air temps. I turned the electrics on and that pretty much kept the fan clutch turned off. With the A/C, the fan clutch will usually turn on for the high side pressure switch request, but not engine temp. Last week we had a cold spell with daily high temps in the high 90's to 100*. It was great because at those temps I don't need A/C so the motor ran great without that mechanical fan horsepower sponge spinning. Are you planning on running electrics on yours??

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice build by the way!

Thank you!!

[propanemudtruck]

That's one of the many benefits of diesels...

Lean Condition on Gassers - HOT
Lean Condition on Diesels - Idles along or Stalls

They build the heat when they're pouring the smoke

real trucks don't need spark plugs!

Nice work on this project DieselWrencher!

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks Propanemudtruck!

Mosesburb, I am planning on running 2 electric fans on relays. I have done a few conversions with electric fans and really like it. I have only had one real problem with electric fans, and it wasn't the fans' fault. It was a wiring issue. I'll give you an example of the 5.9's cooling features. I used my Dad's 91 F-350 2wd that I put a 5.9 in to haul my corvette to Ennis Texas this past April. We lost the electric fans in Joplin Mo. Dad had 3 fans on the truck. One on the front side of the radiator support on the trans cooler, and 2 on the back side of the radiator. The main power wire rubbed through the ground on the main 2 fans, shorting them out. We removed the power to them and hooked up the last one we had left. We drug the car down to Ennis and back to Iowa, and only had an issue with it getting hot when we got into stand still traffic in Dallas. It got up to 215* but we were there in that jamb for way longer than anyone wanted to be there. It definitely had me nervous, but it turned out pretty well. I can honestly say, if you had a big block, you would have been stuck there.

[watahyahknow]

still couldve cooled the engine by cranking the windows open and run the heater at full blast inside the cab

[Dieselwrencher]

Could have, but it was Texas.

[1985-GMC]

The truck looks great! I would love to have that engine!

[lghtng2]

thanx for posting pics on the frame conversion, will probably be doing the same myself

[Dieselwrencher]

Honestly, I think it is a lot less work than swapping a frame under your body. And it would be even less work if you didn't care about filling in all the holes and e-brake mount holes.

[dammitmitchell]

your engine grounding strap needs to lay off the steroids!
hahaha

[Dieselwrencher]

You want a good ground when it's cold out.

[lowrollin70gmc]

If you're jokin' on that ground strap, don't ask about my 0/3 running from the battery to block on my burb.

A few questions though: I'm doing almost this same thing to my 68 K20 Burb(my parts truck is a 91 dodge 3/4 4x4 5 speed NP205 D60/D70) and was wondering if the dodge front axle mounts lined up or if you had to "finesse" the springs to bolt it up? And also what size fuel lines will you be using?

Subscribing for when I do my cummins swap.

[86k20mudddigger]

the things i would do for that truck...lol
Great looking truck man

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

If you're jokin' on that ground strap, don't ask about my 0/3 running from the battery to block on my burb.

A few questions though: I'm doing almost this same thing to my 68 K20 Burb(my parts truck is a 91 dodge 3/4 4x4 5 speed NP205 D60/D70) and was wondering if the dodge front axle mounts lined up or if you had to "finesse" the springs to bolt it up? And also what size fuel lines will you be using?

Subscribing for when I do my cummins swap.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, I would have responded. The dodge axle is a little wider on the perches. I used a port-a-power and spread the leaf springs out, and I had a jack under each side of the diff. I was putting slight pressure on the axle while I was moving the port-a-power. I want to say it was 3/8"-1/2" difference I had to spread the springs to get the axle seated. It sounds bad, but it wasn't at all. On the dodge D60, it has 3 rubber brake lines. I kept it this way and built my brake lines according since my truck had no brake lines on it anyhow.

I will be using minimum of 3/8" for fuel supply and 5/16" for return. I might end up installing an Air Dog 150 on this truck by the time its all said and done. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks.

Well after I finish the 04 ford I'm doing, I'll get this back in the shop. I think I'm going to set the engine farther back in the frame, and redo my RH side of my engine crossmember to allow for more clearance on the differential housing. Another thing I forgot, on my cowl hood. Once I actually bolted hinges on this truck, the back of the scoop did hit. So I will have to trim it when I fix the front portion of it that cracked from snow and water getting in it and cracking the bond this winter.

[Dieselwrencher]

No more progress, but here's the newest piece for the truck. I will say, it looks nicer in person than in the catalogs.

[watahyahknow]

wow a new cardboard box

[Dieselwrencher]

Yeah, a really expensive card board box!

[nickp51chevy]

Cool build. With all these diesels running around it makes me kinda wanna put one in my rig.

[Dieselwrencher]

Here in a month or so, I'm thinking of building some engine crossmembers and engine mounts for a 12v cummins in 67-72 4x4's, 2x4's, and 73-91 4x4's and 2x4's. We'll see. I'm thinking of upgrading vendor status and selling them if it all works out.