dowl pin party in Sacramento?

[Heetseeker_1]

If any of you guys in the valley are interested in starting early and doing a few trucks, i'm in. I haven't done my pin yet and i'm getting all of the parts together for it now. I have a great place for it, though it is kind of out in the country a bit. Anyone who has done this is more than welcome to come and join in too!



Steve.

 

[HVAC]

KDP

You might not have spotted this, but we have the jig here in the bay area. Also, Brandon has the jig too. We're pretty well covered here in NorCal as far as availability of the tool goes.



Let me know if I can help.

 

[Heetseeker_1]

is the jig necessary?

I was looking at doing this and there are some members who just tab the pin and some that use the jig. What's the difference if the pin is stopped? Is one method better? Kind of confused on the need for the jig method I have to admit. Any info would be great.



thanks, Steve.

 

[illflem]

Both methods work equally well. The jig is just faster, cheaper and easier than tabbing. The tab method involves replacing seals but also allows you to tighten any loose bolts under the cover. With so many jigs available in CA it would be my choice. What ever you do don't delay, the chances of the pin cutting loose just get greater with your miles.

 

[Heetseeker_1]

no cover removal???

So, if I use the jig I don't have to remove the front cover? Are there any pics of the jig out there and how easy is it to use?



Thanks. Just trying to get it straight before I dive into this...



Steve.

 

[illflem]

Here you go, cover has only been removed to show what is going on. Click on pictures to enlarge http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/Dowel_Pin/bolt.htm These instuctions are old, most jigs now come with a fan wrench and pulley holder.

 

[Heetseeker_1]

awesome

That link was perfect! I now know what is involved and it shouldn't be a problem at all doing that fix. I just need to schedule a time with the KDP jig holder and do it.



Thanks for all the help





Steve.

 

[HVAC]

More On The Jig

While I was back at Muncie I had an opportunity to chat with John. He showed us something new he'd made to aid the KDP procedure. It was quite simple really, a steel weight that would drop into the filler tube. The idea is if you start to get too much air pressure within the engine, the weight would lift and control the over pressure condition.



We found that too much pressure is potentially a problem. We had blocked the draft tube and were

introducing air pressure into the oil filler tube.

We managed to blow out the gasket on the plate that covers the tappets, on TWO TRUCKS! So be sure and go sparingly with the air pressure. What we did after that was to leave the draft tube open and continue to introduce air into the oil filler. There was no way we could over pressure the crankcase with the draft tube open. And it still blew the chips out during the drilling process. FYI Awesome tool BTW

 

[illflem]

Gasket blowout is reason I have always recommended introducing the compressed air though the dipstick tube and leaving the blowby unblocked. Plus you don't have to crawl under the truck. Plenty of pressure builds to blow out the chips with no danger of over pressure. The NW jigs include a fitting to do this. The pressure relief weight seems like an excellent idea.