Bullet

Then inspect flywheel teeth for damage and check oil and coolant for contamination of one by the other. If all good then see if she fires up. If she does then describe everything you notice about the smoke in greater detail.

It sounds like you have 2 separate issues. First thing you gotta do is get your starter operational and then you can move on to the smoke problem. Regarding the starter...I would recommend what @IBMobilesaid about turning motor over by hand to make sure motor is not impeded in any way...cuz I've never heard of a starter shaft breaking without some other kind of motor problem. Also to make sure that you didn't just put a brand new starter on a busted up flywheel. Then check your oil for coolant contamination and your coolant for oil contamination (head gasket). If all ok then crank on it to start. If it doesn't start follow proper priming instructions in last paragraph and try again. Then come back and do a better job of describing all aspects of the white smoke. Most popular causes of white smoke are busted injectors(s) or injection pump or busted head gasket...but there are other causes. To properly prime by cracking injectors, loosen those same 3 injector caps you did by 1-1.25 turns. Then lay on the starter rather than bumping until fuel leakage is seen at the loosened caps. Then retighten caps, spin over until start and allow to idle for a few minutes.

Wow...and having a Cummins strapped is some serious weight too. It's like having 2 V8's on it at one time. How much would that suck if your Cummins landed on your foot...you'd hospitalized for Coronavirus for sure!

Looking good! The lime green accents don't look half bad either...

You guys have got it all figured out! He buys stuff for you under the guise of a gift to pacify his wife and then you return the favor under the same guise to pacify your wife. End result is both of you get new truck stuff without directly paying for it while both wives remain happy since neither of you are directly spending money on your trucks...only buying gifts for friends. Ingenious!

You hit all the things I would've mentioned...I'd say you're ready for cross country. On the Fuel Boss...good choice, I always carry a spare belt with me but probably will never need it.

No problem...I was suggesting that if your goal is to keep up with a Mustang or ricers your gonna need more power than a tune, a 62 and some 100hp sticks can make. You weigh twice as much or more than they do (estimating you are 6500 lbs minimum but probably more). Your tires/rims probably weigh 3 times as much as theirs. And when you look at it from a power/weight ratio most have a significant advantage over you. Allowing for driveline losses and from where the horsepower is calculated from...for a car weighing 3400lbs with 325hp at the crank you would need approximately 528hp at the wheels to match (assuming you weigh no more than 6500lbs). All ricers weigh less than 3400lbs and most Mustangs have more than 325hp. I'm guessing that you'll be around 425hp at the wheels with a 62, 100hp sticks and a quad. That's enough to compete with most 4 bangers but you're gonna have trouble with most V6's and all V8's. You're gonna need about a 100hp more if you want to play competitively with most V6's and another 200hp to play with some V8's.

I didn't know that...mine is still the original VP and I didn't remember seeing it the one or 2 times I've had that view of it. It might still be there just don't remember seeing it. Also can't remember how many beers I had on those days...

360-400 is definitely higher than stock but I was thinking more of like 550+ when I refer to high horsepower and rpms above 3500-3800. I can't tell if your VP is original by looking but the yellow "VOID" sticker seems like a dead giveaway that it has been replaced previously. Altering/removing/breaking the seal of the sticker would be an indicator to the company where it was purchased that the pump has been tampered with (tapped) which will automatically void any warranty they offered on it. It does look like the bulge is a little asymmetrical in that pic and the rubber is definitely degrading like you mentioned. Yep that's what I was told when I purchased my Fuel Boss too. Surely somebody out there has tried to overcome that. And I'm not sure about Fluidampr's compatibility with other brand mechanical fuel pumps.

From what I remember the fluiddamper is great for motors where harmonics are increased due to higher horsepowers and/or higher rpm's. I have no experience with them personally...just passing on what info I remember hearing. Otherwise stock balancer is just fine for stock apps. I still have my original on from 02 and my horsepower and rpm levels have been higher than stock for years and haven't noticed anything negative. Mine is still looking good after 205k miles.

I agree 100%...I do everything myself too. I'm no mechanical expert but I can guarantee that no mechanical expert would care about the repair as much as I would. It's more satisfying to do it yourself anyways...and a hell of alot cheaper too!

No hug for you...got something better...

That's the way I have always diagnosed it is to inspect the rubber bead. If cracking, bulging and/or missing any rubber...bad. If not perfectly symmetrical while spinning...bad. It almost looks like yours has a 1st gen balancer on it...they were built with a bulged rubber ring. And the bulge on your balancer looks almost perfectly symmetrical. Any bulging on our balancers that are bad is usually asymmetrical...higher in some places and lower in others. The rubber itself is looking pretty suspect though. I'd have to see more of it to tell for sure but it looks like you could use a new one.

It appears that the 'clown work' by your local mechanic was employed on all aspects of the repair work. My guess is that he broke it during removal and/or reinstall and had to mend it clown style. If he didn't tell you about it then there was probably a reason why he didn't. The scary thing is the amount of energy it would take to break it was applied to your truck somehow until it gave way. Anything is possible so it could have broke from normal operation...but the evidence I'm seeing points in the direction of the clown mechanic.

No worries Dave...not offended at all and my evening hasn't suffered any. I read it as sarcastic so I merely just hit the ball back over the net. I apologize if I misread your words and/or offended you. Personally I enjoy a little friendly fire every so often so definitely no hard feelings here. I hope we can remain forum friends...I have always appreciated your posts and opinions here.

It's funny that you say you don't want to start an argument then misquote me and then give examples that have nothing to do with what I said. My ex-girlfriend used to do that too...thanks for reminding me of her. I don't remember discussing vacuum pumps or engine blocks. I spoke specifically of the mechanical fuel pump vs the electric. You can can conflate my remarks if you would like but if at the same time you are going to argue that the electric pumps are just as reliable and long lasting as the mechanical pumps then I imagine I won't be the only one having a laugh at your expense. Mechanicals have been around plenty long enough to determine their longevity compared to electrics so the evidence is pretty obvious to most. A minimal amount of reading on the subject will make it obvious to you as well. Many threads out there about multiple warranty replacements on electric pumps. Where's all the threads about mechanical pumps going bad...where's any...where's one? You are lucky to not have had an issue yet...I hope you didn't just jinx yourself.

Doesn't sound too hard. How you said is pretty much how I'd go about it. Except I think it would be much easier if you just mounted the turn signals onto the body panels instead. You'd get pretty much the same effect and would be alot easier to hide the wiring and no bracket needed to mount.

I have done alot of reading on the subject of cams before cuz I was also considering it previously. The best answers I could come up with were to save the money and put it towards something else with a greater return on investment...ie turbos, injectors, electronics, etc. The stock cam is very good. In your situation where you need a new cam price would be the determining factor for me on whether to try it. But the price of new springs and pushrods would have to be considered in addition to the cam. The reason why you would need new stronger springs with the bigger cam is that the stock springs may bind on a higher cam lobe and also to avoid any float off of the highest point of the lobe...also helpful if running high boost (60+) or high rpms (above 3500). And since you went with stronger springs, now you need stronger pushrods to avoid bending them under the higher spring pressure. If you stayed with a stock cam and are only pushing 40 psi and are not revving past 3500 rpm then stock springs and pushrods are plenty fine. I still have the stock cam, pushrods and springs, push 60 psi and rev out to 3500ish fairly often, and am somewhere in the 500+hp range and never had an issue. If I were in your situation I would put in a solid used stock cam, your stock springs and pushrods and use that money to go buy me some 7x.010 injectors and a SXE 62 turbo. The smile factor will be much higher going that route and it will tow like a beast compared to what you got now.

Congrats...its been a long time since I've seen 20 mpg.

Looking good...I'm not a painter but I don't mind doing the dirty work to save a few bucks either.

Well with all the other stuff you've been doing lately I'm sure that would be a walk in the park for you. I'll just wait to see what you end up doing on that...

I think they were a great choice...especially since you blacked em out. Get some caps on em and they'll look even better.

It's hard to imagine someone stumbling across this truck at the dealership and thinking "That's beautiful...I gotta have it". But then again hallucinogenic drugs were popular then so... Blacked out H2's are looking good!

Better get you some bigger sticks before you do that...I'd be disappointed to hear of a Civic with a coffee can muffler spanking you.

So all of this messing with the tank is basically only because the Airdog is located on the frame rail behind where the original supply pipe ends? Nice looking truck btw @dieseldon