you may need to machine out the retention boss that holds the little bronze support bearing for the extreme inner shaft. in some 00-02 designs that's in the way, but in others there is no CAD system at all, and it already has a solid axle. for those reasons we listed it to 99 only as a direct fit kit, but I've done several pull trucks 00+ that worked just fine.

Oh, good to know. That's definitely on the list for a future upgrade. Would it be good to switch to manual locking hubs at that point as well?

I got the crack welded up on the weekend. A couple spots have a little more weld build up than they should, but I sure had to work in some awkward positions when trying to get in under the steering box. Had to hold a flashlight with one hand, get some sort of kung-fu grip in the mig gun and pull the trigger with my thumb. Anyway. hopefully it will look ok once it's ground down. I'll throw some paint on it and get the steering box and brace bolted back up.

They want $1200 CAD ($900 US) for it.

Flux core is fine unless you want a really pretty weld. No need to grind a bevel if you have enough heat for good penetration. .035 and good heat=GTG


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, I heeded the advice of SammConn and yourself and grabbed some .035 MIG wire. Should do the trick!

When I was picking up a new bottle of C-25 for my MIG yesterday, the local Miller dealer showed me a "demo" Diversion 165. The thing didn't even have dust on it, and they said when they received it as a demo unit, they couldn't even tell that it had been turned on. Anyway, as a "weekend welder", I've been interested in TIG for a long time, but price was always a factor. This 165 is AC/DC, comes with regulator, torch, foot pedal etc, plus the regular 3-yr warranty and they only want 2/3's the price of a new one for it!

Should I pull the trigger on it? It's not quite the welder that Syncrowave is by any means, but I'm also not quite the welder you would be KensAuto :)

Got the steering box and sway bar unbolted and out of the way today so that I can access the crack that was on the frame by the steering box.

You can see it in this picture, it's not as bad as I'd thought. It goes from just the bottom of the frame rail to about half way up the side of the rail. Just in the picture where the wall of the frame rail curves in, is pretty much where the crack stops. I've already drilled a hold in the end of the crack on the bottom of the rail. I should be able to drill the other end now as well and then weld it up, well once I get my new bottle of C-25 for the MIG welder anyway.

The steering stabilizer I put on seemed to have made a difference, and will hopefully prevent a re-crack once I weld it!

Also, can the FASS go directly from it's output to the input of the injection pump? ie. do I need to use the filter that is on the engine block as well, and if I do would it cause me a slight pressure loss?

Haha nope not for a dumb BIL gun, but was offered it in partial trade for a chain saw, so was just curious.

For the older new truck the GM square body's were made up to 91. Only the basic 1500-2500 got the new body's. Suburbans and K30's kept the old style and the 91s normally had a 4L80e with a stand alone tranny pcm.

Very interesting, I didn't know that, thanks for the heads up!

So I've decided I will stick with my original plan, and only fix what needs fixing for now, so that I have this big truck to use for hauling if I happen to find a project that needs to be moved on a trailer. (really hoping to find an 81-87 chevy 4x4!!)

So with that in mind, I will fix, basically the only two rust spots on the truck. Which are the driver side rocker, and a small hole in the floor surrounding the e-brake cable, as shown here:



And here's the rocker:




I also have a few small leaks coming from under the truck. One appears to be dripping on the skid plate that is under the transfer case, the other appears to be from between the transmission and engine bell housing, and the third almost as far up as the radiator, which I from what I can tell, appears to be power steering fluid.

Here's t-case:



And here's where the drip was still hanging between engine and trans.




I had wiped the drips off before I took the pictures to see if the drips would show up in the same spot. The previous owner not only had a lawncare business, but also and undercoating business. This is how the underside of the truck managed to stay in such solid shape, the downside is that the whole underneath of the truck is covered with a mix of sticky undercoating and dirt. Oh well, good job for the pressure washer someday!

My dream for this engine would be to put it in a 81-87 Chevy 4x4 or K5 blazer (maybe make it into a 383!) with a 5spd transmission and some tough axles and tires and keep it forever. Only thing is, that vintage of truck is getting hard to find in my neck of the woods, at least in a condition that would be worth restoring. Rust being the biggest challenge.

Yeah sorry, should have mentioned, it's not a hunting rifle, though I may get out on a trip in Alberta some year, but otherwise isn't for hunting. I would use it for target shooting and for PRS style shooting, although where I am we certainly don't have any courses like the GAP Grind or anything like that! We'd be doing mostly known distance shooting at static and moving targets etc. My action it kind of cool, as it has a rear clip slot for pushing a clip of ammo in (which won't be much good with a scope on there though).

I'm also looking for a decent scope. I've used Nightforce and Sightron before and both were excellent, but NF is surely too expensive this time around. The Vortex any good? How about the Bushnells?

that's pretty strange there. did you find the idler gear for the oil pump (or is that is on the table?) have you pulled the oil pan off to see if your culprit is down in the pan? looks like all the case bolts and KDP are in place..

there a chance the bearing/shaft of the idler just gave way and sheared off?? doesn't sound like anything I have ever heard of.. but who knows at this point. hahah

The idler was still where it was supposed to be, but since the housing was broke, it was sort of sitting half cocked, and only sort of meshed in the pump and crank gears. Odd for sure. The forensics will begin soon, stay tuned!

The oil pump spins freely, but not too freely?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

No, if I remember correctly, I can't turn it by hand, but I'll check again tonight.

So I finally got around to begin the tear down of my spare engine. I noticed once I tried to rotate it to remove the torque converter that I couldn't get the crankshaft to turn. The power steering pump is completely removed, so I thought I'd pull of the timing gear cover to have a look.

This is what I found:







So what do you make of this? Not sure how this would have broken. Nothing else appears to have been wrecked. The original owner thought the power steering pump was seized, but this might have been the reason it was parked and wouldn't start, as the power steering pump isn't seized. I haven't yet check to see how much oil is in it, perhaps the oil pump seized and snapped it.

I was thinking of just painting it all white eventually, even the concrete, but we'll see what happens.

I got my spare cummins home finally, going to clean it up and see what it needs, and give it at least a partial rebuild.



I also got my plywood up today!!

Quote from: stlaser on February 18, 2016, 08:52:28 PM

Good read, when's the sequel due out?

You want a sequel?

I know I'd be interested in one! Loving it so far Don. I love how it's not just a collection of facts, but your own thoughts and feelings about things, and your personal experiences, both from a military perspective and as a family man.

Let us know which chapter you like best.

Chapter 5...isn't that the one where I compare a helicopter to a woman? The ladies like that one...

I seem to recall reading a section saying that the heater must have, at one point, inherited some of her (the chinooks) crankiness, and would work when it was 65, but not when it was actually cold!

And then something about frozen gunners haha

Got the panel hooked up this weekend, and got one plug mounted beside the panel so I will have power in there until I get plugs and lights installed.

Also built a shelf to hang on the wall, and started on a simple workbench as well.

Here's the bench, it's 8 feet long, and 2 feet deep. Will put a bottom shelf on one half, and my 20G air compressor will fit under the other half.



Here's the shelf. I will get plastic bins to go in the spots along the bottom. Either side has holes for adjustable shelves, and obviously the center is pegboard. Just need to get some stain on the top and mount it.

looks good!  Consider an attic folding stair to the top if you don't already have one.

Yes I'm definitely going to put some sort of access hatch for when the ceiling is done. Not sure if I'll end up with much storage if I end up blowing in insulation, but I suppose I could always put some plywood on the rafter and have a couple storage spots.

Does anyone here have any experience with Central Georgia Generator? I am looking at their generator heads. Seems a lot of DIY'ers use them...

http://cgg1.com/products.htm

Yeah I wondered that too, but the 3/4" is only for the low voltage wires, I can't imagine there'll be more than 3 or them, or even 2 really. And since I'm only 5 feet from the house, the wifi from the house even reach out there. But I'll see how it works before I bury it.

The roof is now shingled! Which is great since we're supposed to get a little snow on Friday. Doors and windows soon.

I had originally decided against drywall just because it doesn't take many dings to wreck. On the other hand, I've been in lots of burning houses, and plywood doesn't take long to disappear in a fire.I had also thought of putting steel on the sides of the garage up 4 feet high. My back wall is already concrete up to 4 feet, so that should be pretty fire resistant back there.