1st GEN 2nd Gen Owner

[Chris Miller]

My Dad (BSMiller) was very active I see on here until my mom got very sick. She died in March 2018. I was with my dad thirty miles from his house (by my house) when his truck started running very rough in June of 2018. I told him to have it towed, he insisted on driving it home. He found one of the push rods disconnected from the rocker. He tried many things to get it to run right and stop smoking with no avail short of doing a rebuild. By May of 2019 he had the truck in the street infront of the driveway working on it when he couldn't get it running. later that day he had a stroke.

Once I got him home from the hospital I started working on the truck. It died in the driveway because of a cut in the plastic line to his fuel pressure gauge, and it sucked in air. Got the truck running (Rough) did a compression check and #2 only had 200 PSIG. He had a later 1st gen engine with a Intercooler we decided to rebuild. Unfortunately he got impatient with me and he and his caregiver took apart the top end of the engine so I did not get to see (Nor did anyone lock the VE pump at TDC...) So I will be posting other questions here.

I took the block & Head to Ellsworth Truck-Auto Machining earlier this year (2022) and am done putting the long block together. I just got done setting valve lash (At TDC & 180 from TDC (One full spin of the crank, 180 deg rotation of the cam)

Things have been very busy for me since my dad's stroke, but I am making it a point to get this done before my dad is gone (he is going down hill now..)

I am an owner of a 2006 mega cab manual Cummins truck (which I have to rebuild due to a dead cylinder from a plugged injector..), VW diesels, and now my dad's 1st Gen. I look forward to posting to the forum and to the Gallery of my dad's truck and mine.

 

[Topzide]

@Chris Miller, I'm sorry to hear about your loss and then about you Dad. I hope that you will get it running before time runs out! Will keep your family in my thoughts! Good luck with the projects!!!!!!!!

 

[Timd32]

Welcome to the TDR. Sounds like a cool project. I've never had one of these that far apart, but have had mine for apart for a few years now. Hang in there, also keeping your family in our thoughts.

 

[Chris Miller]

Great News!!! After watching enough Vice Grip Garage and the amazing work Derek Bieri has done with cars and trucks that have been sitting, I though I would give Sea Foam a try with the Original motor in my Dad's 1990 Pickup. Guess what, it seems it barely misses at Idle and pulls a lot harder now so I think the rings are getting unstuck from the bad cylnder... I even took my dad in a ride in his pickup. He was amazed at how much better it ran, and it doesn't smoke anymore... Guess the intercooled motor is going into my 83 squarebody diesel suburban... (curious how long the 700 R4 will last behind something that makes real torque..)

 

[AnonEd]

I know somebody who put a Cummins in front of a TH400 (in a square-body crew 4x4), that had been behind his blown big-block. He said "don't worry, the TH400 has been built," but it had a different gearbox next time I saw it. I'm guessing 700R4 longevity depends on what fuse lets go first...tire traction, a U-joint or the transmission.