Well I've made it home for the summer and it's time to start tearing this thing apart. I will begin tomorrow, but yesterday I took it to the dyno. Laid down 503 / 1215. I was very pleased with the numbers, but the knocking is getting worse to it's time to take it apart.

 

I'm leaning towards vp.... I know it was tested, but its computer could be causing the intermittent miss. I don't know what hard parts could cause intermittent problems. Maybe Nick will let me borrow his for a few hours....

 

Got it on the stand. This should make it very easy to work on.

 

Hopefully pistons out tomorrow and lots of cleaning. I'm still working on getting the head taken care of. Hopefully Tuesday I will have the place and a quote. I just need to make sure they can cut for O rings and sink the valves in further.

 

 

 

 

wow, the eng. stand is impressive!  thanks for showing ur project!   i rebuild my tractor eng. [piston sleeves where pitted, wet sleeves] & loved it!  i still think i should have been an eng. mech..................

If you wanna borrow my vp44 we can do that.

wow, the eng. stand is impressive!  thanks for showing ur project!   i rebuild my tractor eng. [piston sleeves where pitted, wet sleeves] & loved it!  i still think i should have been an eng. mech..................

Thank you! I rebuild an international 1466 diesel that was wet sleeved as well. When it was assembled the O rings on the bottom of the liners were coated with oil instead of a non-petro product and it smeared them up the side of the liner. So I bought it pouring antifreeze into the pan.

 

If you wanna borrow my vp44 we can do that.

Thanks man. I'll reassemble with my vp, and it it's still doing its unusual noises I'll give you a call. 

Well I pulled the pistons and they look good. All of the piston cooling jets are in place, and the wrist pins are tight. The only thing I didn't like was the amount of carbon between the first and second compression wring. I mean there's a lot there! Nothing was getting past the second ring though, so no shocker the compression was great.

I think it's the VP making the truck knock like it is.... Unless you guys have any other ideas I'm officially out.

 

Pistons.

 

Block.

 

I also polished the intake plenum cover. It looks better than the picture shows... couldn't get a picture to show up right.

Well I pulled the pistons and they look good. All of the piston cooling jets are in place, and the wrist pins are tight. The only thing I didn't like was the amount of carbon between the first and second compression wring. I mean there's a lot there! Nothing was getting past the second ring though, so no shocker the compression was great.

I think it's the VP making the truck knock like it is.... Unless you guys have any other ideas I'm officially out.

 

Pistons.

 

 

 

 

WOW!! like six little piggies in a pen!   thank 4 showing!

whats the rotation method for pistons?  Middle rotated to outside?  

whats the rotation method for pistons?  Middle rotated to outside?  

 

No rotation... Each piston goes back to its original hole. Kind of like rotating injector shims. Just doesn't work.

Wouldn't rotating them give you better tread life?    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kidding of course.  

Wouldn't rotating them give you better tread life?    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kidding of course.  

 

  Nick... Such a card...

run something through each cooler jet to ensure they are free from debris!!!

Will do! 

I hope you find the source of your knocking. Long way around to the VP though.

Alright update time! I got a "worst case" quote for the head today. Including O rings and assuming everything is bad it's $1,500 bucks.

I am going to drop in rod bearings, main bearings, hone the cylinders, and a new set of rings. (Assuming my pistons are ok. I'll have to measure ring slop)

 

Now I'm looking at FULL gasket kits and am wondering what you guys have experience with.... I found a Mahle set that includes everything, but is Mahle high quality?? Any input is appreciated!

I would call your local Cummins for gaskets.

From reading online, genuine Cummins parts seem to be the most trouble free. A little more expensive but it's a safe bet. When I eventually pull the head on mine, I'll use a Cummins head gasket. I've debated mahle, fel pro, victor reinz and haven't had any real trouble/experience with any of their gaskets so far. Valve cover gasket from VR stopped one leak I had. My fel pro oil pan gasket leaks, but those are known to. Every other gasket on my truck is genuine cummins. I would recommend a 3rd gen intake manifold gasket, they are rubber encased metal where the 2nd gens are a treated paper.

You are only going to do this once... I hope... use the best.

i got cummins genuine gasket kit top end and bottom end, not cheap but worth it. has some extra parts for marine engines

Do you remember the price??  

 

Anyone know where to source a good hone? Thanks in advance

Ok so i have to ask what did you use to record the way your truck sounded before the teardown? I have an issue with a miss and originally thought that it was an ECM issue but after playing around with a DRBIII I dought its an ECM issue. So it's either injectors or VP...