rancherman

ya got me wondering now! What's it about?

Some progress last couple days! So, typical abused farm truck. Box is rattled to pieces Rear bumper is smashed (was rear ended whilst pulling my gooseneck trailer. I was lucky the post didn't hit the cab) Next came the bumper removal, receiver hitch removal, cut the wiring free, disconnected the filler neck from rubber hoses, then finally the 8 bolts holding her down. Box is now dangling from a rope hoist/block tackle in the shed. Even with the wet crap in the box, I'd say it weighs 450? eazy peazy. Scary part! PO who rigged this truck with their rendition of a hitch.. look close, yep! right side is torn off the frame. Only thing holding it from tearing the other side is the hole in the floor of the bed, where the ball sticks up through. This is 5X2X 3/16ths channel, with a stiffener welded underneath.. ummm, fail! here she is, nekkid and almost ready for measuring!

kinda like an Angies list?

One tip here: when you go to break loose the bolts holding the exhaust housing to the center section.. you'll probably 'feel' it get tight again as soon as it breaks loose.. It'll be the rust inside balling up in the threads. Don't keep going, Start flooding it with penetrating oil and 'excercise' the bolt. Back and forth.. a little more each time. I spent 10 minutes on one bolt just a few days ago... but I WON! Patience is a virtue, grasshopper!

Simple as a rope! Actually, I had to use every trick in my knowledge base to get that thing separated.. I'd recommend to anyone several days on getting it apart. Some things just can't be rushed. There is one trick I just learned, and really don't know if it's a good one: Candle wax. Supposedly, you melt a candle on the hot surface of a rusted joint... and the molten wax seeps into the joint, and when it cools, supposedly expands.. which may push the stuck pieces apart... This was on an ag tractor.. and was prone to all the weather... even with a hood, the rain would run down along side the exhaust pipe, and keep the turbo soggy. Getting the oil rings to snap back into the bores was easier than I imagined too. I did a radial and axial measurement.. Before I put the bearings in, it was just 'outside' the maximum allowable.. Now, it measures right in the middle of the 'good zone'. I'm rebuilding the whole engine, and figured now was a good time to freshen up the turbo.

ebay.

Dang! The Doppler map I posted is updating! I was hoping it would show the snow bands from last night.. Chalk 2014 up as another 9 month winter for Nebraska. Officially 3 months again... June, July, August are the only months W/O snow. LOL, just watch! It'll probably be the baddest/hottest Indian Summer on record now Mopartechician: Those edible beans in the windrow, they gonna start sprouting now?? There's a few fields around here that are! Lots of finger chewing going on

It's not even officially 'Fall'... for another 2 weeks, and Winter is right on my back door. Western Nebraska is getting snow (mopartechnician should be happy) and I'm supposed to get frost tomorrow night.. ARRRGGGG.. I'm north of Oneill

my experience with any brand of engine is the same... as they get older and older, more part # superseding happens... meanwhile before you know it, parts guys haven't a clue.. unless you luck out and happen to get a parts guy who has been sitting there for 20 plus years, and can grab the part without even looking it up. Thanks for the new #'s!

ahh.. back together! at least the center part. waiting on new bolts and plates to finish the job. Apparently, there was either left hand nut or right hand for the compressor wheel. Of course, mine needs the right hand. The kit came with left...

I kinda forgot about my Dakota.. isn't there a secondary 'full time' support that carries the tire.. and the cable is just for 'reeling it in'?? I haven't had a spare UNDER any of my Rams.. They usually ride in the box.

good to hear man! Ya know, I was thinking back about some of the hard landings I've been through over the years.. Check your battery holdowns! Those dudes can be the most overworked device... especially when corroded halfway through. Having a battery hanging/shorting out against something causing a fire isn't cool.. I've had gassers smack pretty hard which jarred battery cable loose... which killed the motor..

Dang Bill! I was hoping for REAL North Dakota 'wildlife'... ..... "Hot Oil Patch gals gone wild"... We had a moose wander down here 4 years ago..right down main street. Game and parks said they get a 'fever' that screws up their internal compass.

So, Tom, Goerend no longer builds trans... but they still build the parts that made em famous?

well, you could go and find a rust free gasser... with a shelled out 5.9 (ahem... I have a 'few') so keep an eye out, they're 'out there' and swap your diesel into. I have a 94, that was used on a golf course, to spread fertilizer. Amazingly, the body, or anything that was painted is still in good shape... that's where it ends! Up until I saw your pics.. I've never seen an engine block like mine! your exhaust manifold looks exactly like my 360 gas motor! it's flaking away so bad some of the numbers cast into it have disappeared.. when you start the engine, with hood open, it spits chunks of rust flake as it heats up! gotta wear goggles around this thing... I won't even mention my frame rails (alongside the fuel tank).

Remember the Crown Vic interceptors? you only needed to 'back into them' after being pulled over... and the officer then had other 'problems' (knocked unconscious?) allowing a prudent get-away...

ok! 2 weeks later, and I got the dagnab thing pulled apart! getting the turbo off the manfold (already removed from cylinder head) wasn't too bad.. still needed heat. Getting the compressor housing off was good too.. Twisting off half of the turbine housing bolts was apparently easy too! No wonder the local Massey service guy told me they don't screw around with rebuilding the turbo... too many man hours to invest, only to have a really screwed up turbo in the end! For 45 bucks, I'll give it a shot! These pics are of the 'hard part'... the center housing is presently residing in a bucket of mineral spirits. Funny thing.... youtube videos showing turbo rebuilding using brand new turbos.... (sure, they just 'fall' apart!) Let me tell ya friends.... this wasn't the case! Taking the compressor side off was easy.. no heat or rust to make life fun. BUT!... This is as far as I could get. Usually, the turbine shroud comes out with the shaft and turbine... I left the shaft behind here... The shroud was really tight/rusted/packed with carbon... take yer pick! I heated up the outside of the housing with a soft medium flame... and gave a quick tap with a ball peen hammer (between each bolt hole) I'm showing the point of impact and angle of the hammer with my screwdriver in the pic a lttle tap on the end of the turbine shaft popped it out. This is after some wire brushing.. geez, before all of this, I couldn't even see the parting line between the shroud and the turbine housing.. It was rusted over, making it appear as one continuous unit. ready for final scrubbing and I'll fish the center housing out of the spirits. should have it back together tonight. As far as the 'left behind' bolts in the housing.. I did the old trick: clean up the busted end of the bolt. weld a little bubble on the end of bolt. Put a same-sized flat washer over the busted bolt. weld this whole thing over. weld a nut to the washer. ALLOW TO COOL!! then, heat up the housing on both sides of the bolt.... and start wiggling the bolt out back and forth to get the Kroil (rust buster) worked into the threads...

yep. been there! my ol dodge Dakota gave birth to it's spare.. I was bouncing across the hayfield, hit a series of badger holes. I was running about 30 mph, and it cannonballed... after it bounced and polevaulted the back end of the little pickup! Bent the crap out of the rear bumper. (up) rusted out cable..

Probably no 'right or wrong' in this instance. But, I look at it as common sense type engineering principles. On horizontal crankshafts, the rod and main bearing are also horizontal. Plus the fact there is only ~ 3-5 thousandths clearance in the crank and bearing surface. The cohesive bond on the oil, between the journal and bearing is strong. Meaning there should always be a 'wedge' of oil 'chasing' the 'tight' spot. Our engines, when @ rest, the crank is on the bottom of the main journals. The gap is wide at the top, which is also where the oil comes from. (those galleries will also have oil just sitting there, even w/o pressure Our oil galleries do not empty out upon shut down... vacuum and the bond of oil in a small passageway keeps it in place. Rods will probably all be 'down' against the rod journals, and the 'gap' below the journal will also be filled with oil. Now, In the case of the thrust bearing, which is totally vertical, there is almost zero 'wedging'... except for the tiny little indentation which may hold a miniscule amount of oil. When the clutch is jammed to start the engine, it's placing equal amounts of pressure forward on the crank. This little ring of bearing surface has been squeezed pretty tight, and what's left of the film is pretty thin. With little or no 'reserve' to help 'chase' the tight spot. The 'tight spot' in this case is the entire circumference of this surface. The little film is much thinner than what is available to supply lube in the rod or main bearings (remember the 'gap'?) The only time this bearing will ever see 'new pressurized' oil will be long after the engine is running, oil pressure is up, and FOOT IS OFF THE CLUTCH. I say this, because the oil will definitely go out the front side thrust bearing.. it'll be the easiest path. So, when it's all added up, and the facts are crunched, I doubt most owners will ever see any benefit from not holding the clutch while cranking... but I guarantee you, for guys such as me, (the ones that rebuild engines for their 2-3 lifespans) the inevitable has taken place: the thrust area on the crank itself is taking a beating.. Most of the time, a regrinding will clean it up.. I have no idea what kind of surface treatment Cummins uses on their cranks.. and if regrinding is a long term fix or short term disaster! This crank degradation will not leave anyone on the side of the road! It may however cost a little more when the engine is rebuilt: Either more machining costs to re-do the crank itself, or in worse case scenario a new crank will be needed. This is the class of consumer I fall into! Shoot, 10 years from now, my 12v engine may be powering a tractor, stationary pump.. who knows? Ok, ONWARD HO! If our trannies were filled with 90-140 gear oil, I'd say YOU BET! there is gonna be more of a load upon our starters for sure. Especially when it's below 0 F. The almost Mazzola weight oil that's spec'd for these trans is not even a fly in the ointment. But I don't see any changes in the way those little 'wedges' is going to change based on a little rotational loading of the crankshaft. All of the accessory drives are immediately loading the crank... in fact, there is quite a loading just to 'drive' the cam! But again, the crank's defense is that little wedge. So, to answer your question on who is right, who is wrong.. I'm going to say 'both'. Is there benefits to not using the clutch? yup.. LONNNNGGG term! 'will it benefit me'? probably not. It'll be the guy digging these out of the iron pile for rebuilding who'll thank you. And lastly, 'level of concern'.. to most: on a rating of 1-10, probably a 1. For me, it's a 7-8. Only because I'm the ultimate recycler! Guys will argue to the death on why running synthetic oil is the ONLY way to fly with these engines.. but in real life, most guys will put on 2-300k miles AT MOST before the next owner will be appreciative/get the benefit from it...

I guess I haven't been under a extended cab with short® box.. where exactly does the front of the tank come on these? Air bags have a low limit? gotta be running a certain speed to activate? My neighbor was chasing some bulls across a pasture in a 90's ford pickup.. and he hit some badger mounds and 'poof'... lets just say the chase was over!

all diesel 'here' comes up the same pipeline. no grade differential, or coloring. It's as clear as water. Now, when the transport trucks haul it away, it's THEN treated with certain company additives, or the red dye. (that crap is the most insane dye ever put in a jug!!) My friend spilled some undiluted dye on his forearm, and for the next 4 days, his white t shirts were pink.. It was coming out his sweat glands! ...especially under the arms, He claimed he was peeing pink too! (no way of confirming this!) I had to take his word on it. It's all ULSD now. no more 'ag' type fuel with just a little more S.. at least here in Nebraska. Above ground storage is terrible on keeping fuel 'fresh'. which is what most farmers have to store their fuel. I am guilty too.

I've always tried to fill tanks up for long term storage. This will limit the amount of head space above the fuel, and the amount of 'breathing' it will do when temps go up and down. Wintertime is probably easier to keep fuel in good condition.. lower humidity. If you have zero plans on running the truck this winter.. I'd just fill it with summer fuel (your big tank anyway) It'll be fine next spring, you may want to fill the actual truck tank with winterized.. 'just in case' you need the truck (just don't forget what's in the big tank!!)

I've been payin the bills now for north of 30 years.. It's pretty safe to say our dollar has decreased by 67% in those years. I don't look at it as 'Man, stuff sure has gotten expensive" in 30 years.. I look at it as " look how many dollars it takes to buy 'this' or 'that'... which is the same as saying; The dollar has lost it's value. It takes 3X the paper to buy the same goods than 30 years ago. But on the other hand, the amount of gold (by weight) purchasing power really hasn't changed much. 100 yrs ago, a cow was worth 1 ounce of gold... about the same today. a ford model t was what 500 bucks? so about 15-18 ounces of gold.. 15 ounces today would get you a nice starter car, with AC and no hand crank starter!! Where she stops.. nobody knows!

Let er rip! LOL (protect your upholstery, rugs etc) Most of the time, my squeaks would disappear for about a year before needing more

you may have rubbed the bottom of the tank hard enough to bust off the draw straw/ or whatever you are using... I've had em much steeper than yours, and didn't die. I hope it's just low fuel! Looking at the pic, you probably had most of the trucks weight on the tank for a little bit.. before the front wheels landed!