89 GMC Cummins conversion

[COS399]

Superduty_59 - Thanks. No, it wasn't that bad to wire up. Dieselwrencher has a 24V with a VE pump.

I got my front differential put back together last night and tonight I will replace the brake master cylinder . On Friday she has a date at the alignment shop. Still working on the stereo, but I have to get the truck out of the garage to be able to use my table saw and build my sub box or boxes.

[COS399]

Well, I got the alignment done and the new tires put on. I did not have my laptop when I went to the alignment shop and haven't reprogrammed the transmission controller with the new tire size until tonight. What a difference it made. I have put about 200 miles on it with the controller still thinking it had 30" tires instead of 35" tires. The fuel mileage seems horrible and it takes a lot of pedal to get it moving. Now that I have reprogrammed the tire size it takes off like it used to with the smaller tires. I will be filling it up tomorrow to find out how bad the fuel economy actually was.

The alignment shop informed me that I need to decrease the angle between the steering gear box and the steering knuckle as well as replace the tie rods that connect them both together. The caster or camber also needs to be adjusted but I need to buy some more parts for that as well. I am not sure of what brands I should use and which ones to stay clear of. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

As for the subwoofer box, it is still on the back burner.

[MTCK]

Unless you are going to go get all flexed out on the trails, I'd get the D60 kingpin block and stud kit. At the same time put in the steering brace that they sell.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringcorrection.htm

[COS399]

Well the F*rd 6.0 starter has already gone south. I have only put about 300 miles on the truck and started it up about 100 times. Yesterday I drove it down the road and shut it off and when I went to start it up it wouldn't do anything. I had to travel 120 miles , one way, just to go get another starter and pay $172 for the starter plus the fuel to drive up and back.

It was a good thing I wasn't far from the house because you have to grind a relief in the mounting flange of the new starter to get it to fit. It's funny because when I was installing the first one I thought that I should probably buy a second starter and grind the relief in it and then store it in the toolbox just in case something like this happens. Maybe Ken will make it right and then I will have my spare starter.

[Dieselwrencher]

Good luck getting a replacement fo free man. My 95 goes through 1 6 uh oh starter a year. I baught a life time warranty one from Napa and I literally have put 4 starters on the truck in 3 years. Biggest down fall of the destroked adapter IMO!

[COS399]

I talked to Ken, at Autoworld Conversions, this morning and he said to drop the starter off and he would give me another one fo free. Ryan I sure hope your wrong about having to switch them out that often. If that's the case I may have to keep two spares in the toolbox and consider going back with a 6 speed M/T.

[84chevyguyid]

Now you guys are making me nervous. What exactly goes bad on them? Burning out? The drive? I ground the rib down on the block on my motor so the stock starter fits it, thats what Destroked told me to do.

[COS399]

Originally Posted by 84chevyguyid

Now you guys are making me nervous. What exactly goes bad on them? Burning out? The drive? I ground the rib down on the block on my motor so the stock starter fits it, thats what Destroked told me to do.

I went back through the directions that came with my conversion kit and I did cut the rib down as much if not just a tad more than what was written. I did not want to go further and possibly compromise the block for the starter bolt. I sent you a PM with dates for the dune trip.

[COS399]

A friend of mine was going to Great Falls today so I had him drop off my defective starter at AutoWorld Conversions and Ken switched it out with a new one.

Also, on the NAPA starter there was a note to not over tighten the main wire nut to prevent damaging the solenoid. I guess we will see what happens. The starter in my 12 valve has been in there for about 12 years and has never left me stranded.

[Dieselwrencher]

The solenoids seems to crap out fairly soon on them. I've had 3 starters stay engaged after you crank the engine. Not cool. I keep a spare solenoid in mine in case I get in a bind where no parts store is open at least I might be able to get it going. Worst case I can pop start mine though.

[84chevyguyid]

Is this on the 6.0 motors or the 5.9 conversion ones?

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 84chevyguyid

Is this on the 6.0 motors or the 5.9 conversion ones?

If you use a Destroked adapter plate, they are designed to use a 6.0 PSD starter. So even if you use a chevy, or ford trans, you have to use the 6.0 starter on a Destroked adapter plate.

[ryanroo]

I had a WHOLE year go by once when my jeep gave me some guff. even worse, i was about 99% sure i knew what the problem was. it was a $125 new ECM and five minutes to fix. at no time in that year was i financially unable to buy the part, i just never did. then one day, i make one phone call and three days later it was purring like a kitten just like nothing ever happened. I am really glad i didnt sell it during that time. my biggest advantage was that it was parked at the shop where i work and i didn't ever see it.

some times they test you a little.

[COS399]

Ryan I'm sure we all have these kind of stories.

Well I just came back from installing the new starter with negative results. I pulled it back out and bench tested them both and they both seem to work fine. I put Kens new one back in just in time before it started raining. I couldn't get it to crank so I left it sitting in the parking lot at the office. The bad thing is that is suppose to rain pretty heavy here for the next few days. I guess when the rain quits I will start to dig back into it. Stay tuned everyone.

[Dieselwrencher]

Did you use a solenoid to trigger the starter, or what else is in your circuit now?

[brimc]

If you "bench test" and they seem fine, have you tried jumping the sol while its on the engine? Also does it engage or "click" and no spin or just nothing at all? It sounds like it may be an issue in your starter circuit, not the starter itself.
We all need the rain but I hope it lets off long enough for you to figure it out.

[COS399]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Did you use a solenoid to trigger the starter, or what else is in your circuit now?

No solenoid to trigger the starter. I have a wire going up to the electrical block on the firewall which feeds the whole truck except for the amp. The amp is wired to the battery with an 80 amp fuse in line. IIRC the alternator goes down there as well.

Originally Posted by brimc

If you "bench test" and they seem fine, have you tried jumping the sol while its on the engine? Also does it engage or "click" and no spin or just nothing at all? It sounds like it may be an issue in your starter circuit, not the starter itself.
We all need the rain but I hope it lets off long enough for you to figure it out.

As for trying to jump it while it was on the vehicle, I did try this and it sounded like maybe the solenoid kicked the gear out sometimes but no spin. Also, when the key was on and I tried jumping across, there would be a spark and nothing. When I removed the screwdriver you could hear the lift pump cycle.

Still raining so I probably won't get to it until next week.

[COS399]

The rain stopped long enough for me to mess with the truck but still no luck. I put the 2nd starter (Napa one) back in and all it does is click a little bit as if the batteries are nearly depleted. When I hooked a remote starter switch from the positive side of the battery to the small trigger contact and activated the switch, the solenoid would kick the gear out but it would not turn the starter motor. When I used a set of jumper cables to ground the starter and hook the positive side to the large lug, where voltage comes in to the starter, I could get it to crank over slowly. I took another set of jumper cables to go from one vehicle to the other but it didn't make it crank over any faster than before.

I brought home both batteries to charge, both starters, and I will probably need to add a ground from the battery straight to the starter, look at possibly replacing the new cables that we built when we were putting the truck back together. Give me some time and I will figure it out.

[Dieselwrencher]

Good luck with it!

[COS399]

I stopped by Autoworld, on my way back from the sand dunes in Idaho, and Ken still had my original starter so I brought it home with me after it also bench tested okay. I got a starter shim that Ken sells for these starters just in case and a longer Cap Head allen bolt that will allow me to run a ground wire from the battery straight to the starter. I may not need the shim but you never know. Dawna was also kind enough to print me up a schematic in case I ever decided to go back and wire in an OBDII plug.

After AutoWorld it was over to NAPA to pick up the new starter ground wire as well as a positive cable for a 7.3 diesel just in case the one we built somehow got damaged. Tomorrow I will load test the batteries and make sure they are still up to the task.

Mike - (84Chevyguyid) thanks for coming out to the dunes and introducing yourself and some of your family to my family.

Here is a pic of my kid on his new toy. The good news is that it will be the last ATV that I have to buy him.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very cool! Did you guys have fun?

[COS399]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very cool! Did you guys have fun?

We had a blast! There was excitement out on the dunes as well as watching some of the big motorhomes getting stuck within feet of the concrete pads where they were going to set up camp. One of the guys had super singles on the back of his Class A and that seemed to be the ticket to moving around on the sand.

After dinner tonight it looked like another storm was building up so I loaded up all my goodies from Great Falls and went to work on my truck. It turns out that the positive wire going to the starter was the culprit. We had soldered a lug on to the end of the factory Dodge starter wire and then I put heat shrink to prevent moisture from getting to it. Well the heat shrink was the only thing keeping it together but I guess the good thing is that it kept it from coming apart and shorting out against the frame or some other metal component.

So, I guess it's not for sale at the moment. Now I have to figure out why my stereo won't put out any sound.

[84chevyguyid]

Yup we did have fun. Was nice to meet your family too James! Glad to hear you made it home ok. You would think since I live only 40 miles from the dunes that it wouldnt be so difficult to get over and meet up with James but my schedule was kinda hectic. I am in the middle of hay, was able to skip out on the wife's family reunion because of that, and mention to anybody you are going to the dunes and everybody wants to go but after they get off work at 6(30ish), then you only have a couple hours before its dark. I think we got to visit about 30 minutes or so the one night so Sunday, my daughter and I went back over and hung out for the afternoon. Got some BS'ing done, some riding done, ate some sand, did a little racing, all in all a great day! Sadie, my daughter crashed on her 4 wheeler and it ended up on top of her. She got her bell rung but is doing good other than being stiff and sore.
So James, when you figure out a date for a return trip to the dunes, be sure to let me know! And ya gotta bring one of those chevy/cummins trucks the next time!
What is the purpose of the starter shim? Did the cable overheat and melt the solder out of the terminal?

[COS399]

A 870 mile trip would be a good road trip for the GMC. As for the shim I'm not really sure how it would have helped because it doesn't increase the starter gear to ring gear mesh distance like conventional shims. Ken had them made because he did a conversion once that needed a shim to make the starter work. The cable appears like it didn't have enough solder in it when we made it.

[COS399]

Finally had some time to try and figure out why my stereo wasn't working. Turns out that I forgot to hook up the amplifier power wire during all the cable changes and starter issues. Doesn't help that I covered it with black split wire loom and everything else in the engine compartment is black. I probably would have checked it sooner but the power control wire was giving it enough power to illuminate the small LED that indicates it is on. lol