Had to do some laundry..

[hex0rz]

So I like I said before, I made a good list up of some things I need to get done on the truck. I got alot to get done soon and I need to make sure she will be up for the task.

I'm about 3/4's the way done and then it finally dawns on me that I should post up some pics.

I started off re-doing my rear drum brakes. Took the drums off and got new drums, shoes and hardware. Had to wait 3 days for the drums to come in. Break best is the brand name. Comes from China. I was not pleased about seeing that damned sticker! :banghead: I sure hope they last. I will definitely be keeping my receipts!

So I got the drums all buttoned up and got the tires rotated. Greased the front end and finishing up on doing the oil change. I could not finish it cause I figure I might as well keep the fresh oil out until I finish the rest of my stuff.

I got a new line put on the turbo return line. 7/8 of an inch at 3" cost me a $1.30. Had to wait a day for the guys to order the hose, too. Only place that carried them was a Cummins authorized service shop.

She won't be leaking anymore!

I had to do my crank seal, cause when I replaced the seal, the inner rubber of the seal somehow got curled over on the bottom and melted away from the friction. Thereby leaking a while after doing the job. I suppose it gave me the excuse to pull the radiator and flush it and do my coolant. I had planned on it anyways, just did not want to do all the extra work!

Here is the crank seal removed. You can without a doubt thats all that was leaking. I thought at first I screwed up my sealant job when I did my KDP fix. I tried to keep the cover on and just replace the seal, but once I tried to re-install the seal, it proved more difficult than I had thought. In the end, I boogered the seal up. A $45 mistake!!!!

So I broke down, took everything out and took it apart and put the new seal in the right way.

Here it is, in all its dirtyness! I took some purple power and hit it and MAN, what a difference that stuff makes!

Because I had bought the wear-ring before I did this job, assuming that was what the problem was, I decided I would go ahead and install it for extra security. I suppose when it wears out in due time, I can replace it. Allowing me to keep the original crank surface wear to a minimum.

Now, when I was in the process of finishing up doing my coolant flush today, I took an observation. Comparing my health of my coolant system to Mikes, is a night and day difference!

I'm just over 200k miles now, and I believe he said his was around 180k miles. I have had this truck just over a year now and I can tell that compared to Mikes, this poor truck was just not receiving the care it needed!

Makes me wonder if I should be worried now...

^Thermostat housing where the upper radiator hose connects to.

^A peek inside the radiator!

^A closer look in the radiator!

I'm fully disgusted at how bad of condition the coolant system is in. I think the next large project thats gonna go underway will be to pull the dash and replace the core(s). I notice it does not put out the heat like I think it should. Compared to other vehicles I have, it does not get nearly as hot...

Anyways, I still have to finish my oil change, clean all the parts that came out, put them in and finish the flush. I got the radiator and block, but I did not get the heater core and lines flushed as I was not able to run the engine, yet.

I still gotta pull the calipers on the front brakes and hone out the bores and put in new seals. Then, flush the brake lines and put new brake fluid in.

Then, I have one more big to do after all this. I still gotta pull the vacuum pump and put a new seal kit in from Goulds and then put new power steering fluid in.

Well, I gotta tell ya, I still got my work cut out for me, but I think tomorrow will allow me to make a huge dent in the progress. But after all this is said and done, I will be sitting pretty good on my maintenance schedule for a while!

[hd99fxr3]

Keep at it and it will be done and over with. Get one of the flushes in a bottle and follow the directions. it'll clean most of that crap out.

[hex0rz]

Alright, so I finished up my brakes today. What a PITA it has been for me. I took the calipers off and tried to replace the seals. Got a seal kit from O'reillys for the calipers. So I had to run over to the fire station and use the air hose just to remove the pistons from the caliper. Lucky enough to be able to use it, cause I do not have an air compressor.MAN! Those things come out violently! So then I had to work on the bores to make sure they were all good. When I was at O'reillys, I picked up a hone kit. Turned out to be too small. Took it back and got a bigger one. Got back and started to hone out the bore and the stones broke! GAAAH! Took it back, got replacement stones and then had to fix the hone up with the new stones.Started smoothing the piston and bore out. Everything was sliding in and out nicely. Put the piston seals in and then put the piston in. 1/4 the way in, the piston stops. Okay, I think. Wtf? Thought about it, that seal has to be holding it back. So, I did what I only do when I have no idea what to do. HIT IT WITH A HAMMA! I made sure to hit it with pb blaster as I was pounding it in. Took a little effort, but it went in. Hope it did not screw anything up! Then I put the dust boots on.Got the calipers back on, and then proceeded to bleed the lines. Here is what I can't figure out: I bled the system with new fluid and got to the point that all the lines have new fluid in them. I used about 1/2 gallon to flush the lines, but in doing so, I was also trying to get the air bubbles out. I was at this for a good hour or so bleeding the lines.It seems no matter what I do though, the rear lines keep giving me bubbles! The fronts give me no trouble. I would have thought that with as much brake fluid I flushed through trying to purge the bubbles, they would be gone by now. I never once let the resevoir go below the "ADD" line.Anyone got any idea? Mind you, I put all new parts in the rear, including the wheel cylinders.

[hd99fxr3]

Alright, so I finished up my brakes today. What a PITA it has been for me. I took the calipers off and tried to replace the seals. Got a seal kit from O'reillys for the calipers. So I had to run over to the fire station and use the air hose just to remove the pistons from the caliper. Lucky enough to be able to use it, cause I do not have an air compressor. MAN! Those things come out violently! So then I had to work on the bores to make sure they were all good. When I was at O'reillys, I picked up a hone kit. Turned out to be too small. Took it back and got a bigger one. Got back and started to hone out the bore and the stones broke! GAAAH! Took it back, got replacement stones and then had to fix the hone up with the new stones. Started smoothing the piston and bore out. Everything was sliding in and out nicely. Put the piston seals in and then put the piston in. 1/4 the way in, the piston stops. Okay, I think. Wtf? Thought about it, that seal has to be holding it back. So, I did what I only do when I have no idea what to do. HIT IT WITH A HAMMA! I made sure to hit it with pb blaster as I was pounding it in. Took a little effort, but it went in. Hope it did not screw anything up! Then I put the dust boots on. Got the calipers back on, and then proceeded to bleed the lines. Here is what I can't figure out: I bled the system with new fluid and got to the point that all the lines have new fluid in them. I used about 1/2 gallon to flush the lines, but in doing so, I was also trying to get the air bubbles out. I was at this for a good hour or so bleeding the lines. It seems no matter what I do though, the rear lines keep giving me bubbles! The fronts give me no trouble. I would have thought that with as much brake fluid I flushed through trying to purge the bubbles, they would be gone by now. I never once let the resevoir go below the "ADD" line. Anyone got any idea? Mind you, I put all new parts in the rear, including the wheel cylinders.

Start from the caliper that is farthest from the MC (use brake line length to determine), then the next farthest so on and so forth. Or buy a power bleeder they work great.

[hex0rz]

Start from the caliper that is farthest from the MC (use brake line length to determine), then the next farthest so on and so forth. Or buy a power bleeder they work great.

I started at RR then went LR. After went FR and then FL. Went back to the RR and bled for like 10 minutes and still had bubbles come out. I dunno how much a power bleeder is, but I dunno if I can buy anything for a while now. I about spent a check worth of my wifes money, lol. Spendy week it has been!

--- Update to the previous post...

I went to town on all the dirt and grime today, with the purple power! Great stuff! YEA!

Got everything back in from re-doing the crank seal. I PRAY that it does not leak! I will go insane if it leaks again! I got some prestone radiator flush and put 2 bottles in. I totally overlooked the fact of not putting the thermostate in. Although, it seemed to get pretty hot. I will put the thermostat in tomorrow and run it with the cleaning fluid. Then I will empty it all out and put in new coolant. I dunno how well its going to clean my system out though...

I dunno about it. It probably won't do much at all actually. The main ingredient is sodium citrate. It looks like a soap pretty much. I'm gonna try and look into getting some of the gunk or permatex radiator cleaner. I read a little about how they are alot better at cleaning the system out.

I went fishing for a brake bleeder kit today. Found one at NAPA for $97 on sale. Its a mityvac hand vacuum bleeder with a gauge. It will do the job, but I don't think I need it. It is one spendy unit. I have not used it yet and I've been brainstorming how to do it without it.

If I have to resort to using the brake bleeder kit, the FSM says I have to have a valve open on the combination thing so it will bleed properly.

I was thinking about doing a "reverse" bleed and have the fluid sucked in from a jar of fluid and it fills in the master cylinder resevoir instead. Sounds like its better to do it that way than normal. Sounds like it will remove the bubbles better than regular bleeding.

I'm still confused about whether or not the ABS is interfering with my bleeding. I drove the truck today and I had a very spongy brake pedal. Definitely needs more work!

[Mopar1973Man]

:doh:Actually you goofed on the brakes. The piston should of been cleaned and not bore honed. Then the piston should of fell to the bottom of the bore without the seals in place. Normally I do have to use a C clamp to push the assembled pistons back in. But the dissembled callipers should allow the piston to fall to the bottom. Honing is only required if the bore is rusted.Now as for the coolant system that was caused from acid or basic coolant erroding the block and other metals. What your looking at is the oxides of those metals. Just because the coolant is still clean and the freeze point is good doesn't mean the pH level is good. As for the cooling system I would ask a local radiator shop on how to clean that up. (Boiling, acid wash, etc.)

[hex0rz]

Actually you goofed on the brakes.

The piston should of been cleaned and not bore honed. Then the piston should of fell to the bottom of the bore without the seals in place. Normally I do have to use a C clamp to push the assembled pistons back in. But the dissembled callipers should allow the piston to fall to the bottom. Honing is only required if the bore is rusted.

Now as for the coolant system that was caused from acid or basic coolant erroding the block and other metals. What your looking at is the oxides of those metals. Just because the coolant is still clean and the freeze point is good doesn't mean the pH level is good. As for the cooling system I would ask a local radiator shop on how to clean that up. (Boiling, acid wash, etc.)

I had to clean the bore of the caliper. It was rusty. The pistons fell in without resistance afterwards without the seal in. I should have thought of using a c-clamp instead of a hammer, lol. Although, my c-clamp has long been broke.

With the amount of corrosion I have, do you think everything is okay? That worries me now. I don't want my water jackets, etc. to be compromised. I mentioned the GUNK or Permatex radiator cleaner, as I have read they have an acid wash method to them...

--- Update to the previous post...

Okay, so I'm kind of backed into a corner now. Gunk and permatex are apparently not carried anymore. As the eco-friendly stuff has replaced it. So I'm only limited to what I have been using now. Which is pretty much a soap... :banghead:

If I want the really deep clean, I have to get it done at the radiator shop. Which is closed today!

I'm wondering, Mike, you mentioned that its the metals from the block and stuff. Does that mean all of it has collected in the radiator or is it like that throughout the whole cooling system? Just wondering if the whole truck will need to be taken in so the block and whatnot needs to be cleaned or if I just take the radiator in...

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm not too worried about the coolant passages as much as like the heater core, oil cooler, head gasket, etc. These are THIN items and take very little to ruin. So that why I suggest talking to a radiator shop about the coolant flush so not to make things worse... :smart:As for the callipers that points out what I've always said about full break down of the caliper and cleaning to remove the debris. Over time water and debris build up in the bottom start rusting. 197K miles and still got factory callipers and rotors...

[hex0rz]

I'm not too worried about the coolant passages as much as like the heater core, oil cooler, head gasket, etc. These are THIN items and take very little to ruin. So that why I suggest talking to a radiator shop about the coolant flush so not to make things worse... As for the callipers that points out what I've always said about full break down of the caliper and cleaning to remove the debris. Over time water and debris build up in the bottom start rusting. 197K miles and still got factory callipers and rotors...

Where is the oil cooler located on our truck? I did not think we had one... How can I see if the headgasket is going out? I found a local radiator shop that works on radiators and actually does cleaning and stuff but I called a guy in Spokane thinking there would be someone there that could do more than whats offered in my small town. He pointed me back to the guy here locally, but he also said it can't be done on our radiators. As they are plastic and aluminum. So, I'm gonna break down and get a new radiator today and get a heater core. My heater core will produce an occassional sweet smell, which tells me its on its way out as well. I'll have to do the heater core later though. My coolant came out as a milky green color. So its not brown or orange or anything like that. The guy I was talking to told me that means I have calcium, lime buildup, IIRC. Yep, I got no choice on the radiator. I either do it now, or I risk worse things! Damned if I do and damned if I don't. My brake fluid was disgusting! I will take some more pics when I get a chance. I sure would love to put my boot up the previous owners' arses for neglecting the truck so badly!!!!

[Mopar1973Man]

After 30K miles and 1 year!

150K miles and once a year brake fluid changes.