TFaoro

I guess that's part of the problem with buying a used pickup... I don't know exactly what the PO did with it. As for me I can tell you I change the oil every 5,000 miles, and I always use napa oil filters. A couple pages back there was a metal piece that I posted pictures of. That could have been it, or it might not have been it's hard to tell. Pics do make it hard. I don't know how to get them any better though! All of the other bearings look perfect. They may have a few very tiny scratches that are barely visible to the eye, but only the thrust bearing was torn up like it is.

Already on order and will be here next week. BAD news. I pulled the crank today and found the thrust bearing was torn up pretty bad. Looks like a big piece of contamination?? Pictures show it all. So thanks to that I now have the block completely stripped and it's headed to the machine shop. It will be bored 20 thousandths over, honed, then line honed, a new cam bearing pressed in, and of course cleaned. The crank got torn up as well, so it will be going in to get turned / polished. This day has really sucked. On the plus side I spoke with a family friend who owned his own trucking business for 20+ years and has rebuilt countless big Cummins motors and he thinks the bearing was getting really close to galling and spinning. I think tearing it apart may have been good luck.... Either way I am ending up with a pretty much "New" motor. Top of the thrust bearing Bottom of the thrust bearing Good bearing I'll try to post up pics of the crank tomorrow if I remember.

Got the HVAC box out... holy cow that was a pain. I'd rather tear the motor out again than do that. Thank you moparman for the video! Saved my life finding the studs to remove the box. There is definitely something wrong with the fan because it's not easy to spin. I expected that though, so a new one is already on the way! I'll update with some pics when I have a chance. EDIT: Spoke with the guy who is going to mic the bores for me. He's coming tomorrow afternoon, and if the block is a go he'll go ahead and hone the cylinders for me. Then I'll order the rebuild kit monday along with studs, the cam, and pick the head up friday. Hoping next weekend I'll get it in one piece!!

Does your pickup have the stock lift pump?? Please fill out your signature so I can help more

I think it depends. If you do a lot of pulling you should go with the 190. If it's just a DD that doesn't get worked hard very often go with the 200

Yes sir I found it yesterday! IWhat a pita! Organicfarmer you aren't alone!! Although it is a secondary job for me not my primary

Tore into the HVAC system tonight.... Talk about a nightmare!! O well. I'll have it out tomorrow, and I have ordered a blower motor, AC evaporator, and heater core. That should get rid of the heat issues and small AC leak. I will be buying the split-loom and loom holders tomorrow to clean up the wiring. I talked to the machinist today, and he is going to have the head ready for me anytime next week. I'll probably pick it up friday. Last I should be having a guy here soon to mic the bores to see if it needs bored out. I don't think so because you can't see where the pistons would have scuffed the bore but we'll see. From there I'll order the rebuild kit for the rest of the motor. As long as there isn't any farming to do I might be able to have the engine together by the end of next weekend.

It's a good upgrade for the price, but there are definitely better out there.

Let me know how it works out! Well i found scuffing on my pistons so I'm going to go with a full rebuild kit. What are your guys's thoughts on the aftermarket kits?? Are they just as high of quality as the cummins and you're just paying for the name, or is there a real difference? I'll be going with the cummins seals, but the pistons and such I don't think there is much of a difference.

No idea what the shard was. I believe it was posted earlier in this thread. Knock issue is still unknown. I'm suspecting the VP as the root cause because all of the internals look perfect!

Alright I dropped off the head today... 140 miles up and 140 miles back. Way too much driving!! So here's some info I got on the head: In 2001.5 Cummins decided to change the valve seats to inserts because the built in ones were cracking. On the new design, the insert was not made of a good material that could take high temperatures and retain its size. From what I was told the seat shrinks after it cools down, then will drop if it shrunk enough. The shop owner even showed me a head he just rebuilt that had an exhaust seat drop. The intake valve seats are fine because they don't see the high temperatures the exhaust do. Now he said he could cut the head for larger seats and larger valves to help add more power, but I don't have the money for that. It was going to be $2,000+ So with that info, I am for sure having the seats taken out and new ones made from a different material pressed in. I forgot to ask what they were made of, but the owner said he has never seen a seat drop with this new style even when the EGTs are 1600+. I forgot to mention this place is located right next to ATS performance; I can only assume ATS uses them for their builds. I called my local Cummins shop to see their pricing. The lower gasket set was $215 and the upper gasket set was $245. That's the cheapest I have found so that's where gaskets are coming from. Rings were 53 a cylinder if I remember correctly, which matches most other places so again I'll probably buy from there. As for bearings I am checking with the vendors who support this site. I feel they have earned my business by helping this place stay online!

Just my phone. It seems to have a pretty good microphone on it. Try the blue chip hotwire trick to rule out the ECM (MAKE SURE YOU UNHOOK YOUR WIRETAP!!!). From there probably injectors or VP. Mine did the same thing with 3 sets of injectors so I'm leaning towards the VP. Randy here's the prices I'm coming up with for genuine Cummins gaskets... Not 1,000?? 245+300 puts it around 550??? http://puredieselpower.com/dodge-products/98.5-02-dodge-5.9l-24-valve-cummins-diesel-lower-engine-gasket-kit.html http://puredieselpower.com/dodge-products/98.5-02-dodge-5.9l-24-valve-cummins-diesel-head-gasket-set.html

Do you remember the price?? Anyone know where to source a good hone? Thanks in advance

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!

Will do!

What is already done to your truck?? Make sure you have the supporting mods to handle the additional power. That said, if you don't already have one a wiretap programmer might be a good bump in power before you decide to throw injectors in it.

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.

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

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.

It may knock but it sure will look pretty! Haha I was talking with my dad today and we ruled out the ECM - I did the hot-wire trick on it and it sounded the exact same. Engine should be on the stand by the end of the night. I'll try to remember pics!

I hope to get it up on the stand tomorrow and pop the pistons out. Pics of the engine mount below. Here's the shard that was in the pan. One side is shiny like it was scraped off, the other is dull colored. Engine mount: I used 6 motor mount holes - 3 pieces of channel and a chunk of plate. I had it all laying around so it was free, but it was a PITA to make! The flat plate will mount to the engine stand with 8 1/2in bolts. I finished up the turbo's elbow tonight. Here's the turbo and elbow together. I have the intake plate left to do, and maybe the intake horn if I'm feeling crazy. Close up.

Remove the big burrs and deep pockets with something mechanical.(I used an air grinder) Then get sandpaper an keep sanding it with higher and higher grits all the way up to 2,000 grit, then wet sand it. From there give it a good polish. I'd say around 6 or 7 hours of work. I think I went 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000, 2000 wet, then polish. Just remove all of the scratches from the previous grit each time.

Please let me know how it goes! I'd love to figure this thing out!! Got the turbo finished up today. Thing looks like a mirror!! Pictures just don't do it justice Started on the elbow. Original: Not even half done.

Small update... Been busy with work. I plan on making the mounts for the motor tomorrow so that I can get the engine up and pistons popped out. I went and bought the supplies to get the fenders painted, but if it doesn't stop raining I'll never be able to paint! Got the engine lift picked up. This thing is a BEAST! Got some more turbo sanding done and a bit of polishing. You can see where I polished it on the right side looks like a mirror!

Fuel pressure? Miles on VP? Is it one cylinder or many?