Mid-Tenn Chapter Roundtable

[Piston Slapper]

Worked on the "Beast Killer" yesterday. Some Titanium doo dads, some thick ol hand bruising springs, a Big squirt pump, 6 shower heads and a cam. It was a good day in diesel land

 

[racerob]

sounds interesting on the beast, cotton, i'm interested in that jig too if you run across it, i need to do something here soon, may just have to cough up for the time to pull that front cover and replace the seal too. andy, just be patient on the truck, and i may need to bend your ear on the polisher sometime, i'm gonna need to replace mine soon. rob.

 

[HeavyHauler]

So what exactly is a KDP "jig" and what is the advantage in using it over just covering the dowel pin with an egg-shaped washer?

 

[AndyMan]

Hans,



The jig lets you "tab" the dowel without taking the front cover off. IIRC it positions a new hole in the side of the front cover which you tap and then put in a long set screw. Pretty slick if you can find it.



Rob,



I've got a Dewalt DW849 Rotary polisher for the rough stuff and the Porter Cable 7424 for light/finish work. They both have their place, and I recommend both tools. Lemme know what questions you've got.



Andy

 

[HeavyHauler]

Hans,



The jig lets you "tab" the dowel without taking the front cover off. IIRC it positions a new hole in the side of the front cover which you tap and then put in a long set screw. Pretty slick if you can find it.

Hmmm... doesn't sound like something that I would personally want to do (drilling and tapping the front cover), but to each his own. I guess I've pulled my front cover off so many times that it's just like buttoning my shirt now. :-laf



Thanks for the info!



Hey - after reading your explanation again, does the front cover get the new hole for the set screw or is it in the side of the actual gear housing?

 

[AndyMan]

You got me dude. I'm actually questioning whether it's the front of the front cover, or the side of the cover at the gear housing / gear housing itself. All I really know is that it's a jig to put in a set screw that keeps the pin from falling out. :-laf

 

[BigPapa]

The hole is actually in the aluminum timing gear case, not the cover. Here's a link to instructions and some pics:



http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/Dowel_Pin/bolt.htm



I tabbed mine.



Scott

 

[HeavyHauler]

Good grief - that seems like more trouble than removing the front cover to me. Plus you've gotta locate someone that has that apparatus.



Also, if your dowel pin has already moved significantly, you might not be able to get the set screw to cover the dowel pin and then you wouldn't have any way of driving it back in unless you removed the front cover. Then you've got a big useless hole in the side of your gear housing. :-laf



Ok, that was a rant - I've had 2 pots of coffee already this morning. I'm starting a new club - "TDR Members Against the KDP Jig".



I'm nuts - just overlook me.



Thanks for the link, Scott. That's one more TDR mystery laid to rest for me.

 

[CottonJ]

Good grief - that seems like more trouble than removing the front cover to me. Plus you've gotta locate someone that has that apparatus.



Also, if your dowel pin has already moved significantly, you might not be able to get the set screw to cover the dowel pin and then you wouldn't have any way of driving it back in unless you removed the front cover. Then you've got a big useless hole in the side of your gear housing. :-laf



Ok, that was a rant - I've had 2 pots of coffee already this morning. I'm starting a new club - "TDR Members Against the KDP Jig".



I'm nuts - just overlook me.



Thanks for the link, Scott. That's one more TDR mystery laid to rest for me.

I'm a newbie to the Cummins. I had two gas powered 3500 DRWs before my CTD, but now I've seen the light. The reason I decided on the jig is because it's easier (at least it looks that way to me). The jig is 30 or 40 bucks if you buy it new, so it's not a big expense.

Yes, if the pin is out too much it can't be tapped back in through the hole... . you are right on that.



Thanks,

Jeff

 

[BigPapa]

Hey Hans, you might want to lay off the coffee a little.



Cotton, good to see you again at Joes the other night. How was your boost on the way home?



I thought seriously about the jig, but I needed a crank seal, too. It wasn't that difficult, plus you can snug up the case bolts while your in there. I don't know that they aren't as bad, or worse, than the pin. You need any help just holler.



Scott

 

[CottonJ]

Hey Hans, you might want to lay off the coffee a little.



Cotton, good to see you again at Joes the other night. How was your boost on the way home?



I thought seriously about the jig, but I needed a crank seal, too. It wasn't that difficult, plus you can snug up the case bolts while your in there. I don't know that they aren't as bad, or worse, than the pin. You need any help just holler.



Scott

Sounds good, maybe I'll just go ahead and pull the cover. My truck has 180k on it, so I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to check everything out under there.

Good to see you guys too. The boost is nice! I'm hitting 37PSI now. I think I need to add a muffler or something to that 4 inch straight exhaust though... . man that thing is loud. It sounds real good just tooling around, but when you stomp on the go pedal it is LOUD.



-Jeff

 

[Piston Slapper]

Cotton, Yeah being as we heard you go a mile down the street and knew when you meet the cop and let off and then pulled out of the church parking lot and headed back. It's getting'r done that is for sure.

 

[Got Smoke?]

2 days no comments?!?



Well I'll add something to the mix. Anna and I put a bid in on a house less than 10 miles down the road from mom & dad Monday evening. Found out last night it got accepted! Oo.

#ad




Now that that was going good my slave cylinder took a dump on me today on the way back to the shop from lunch. #@$%! Just in time when I'm about to have to pay a house inspector & appraiser. :{ There goes the big OT check from last week. Was gonna pay off the $200 I owe left on the truck this Friday..... not now! :-laf



I'm quite surprised that my slave cylinder failed though, I replaced it 2 or 3 months after putting my DD in. The whole setup has been in for about 2. 5 years. Oh well guess it's just another part of driving a DD clutch everyday.

 

[JMBryant]

Maybe I can stir up some talk with this question!! I have access to a 95 3500 2wd with the solid front axle. Would it be big deal to make this rig 4wd?? I have compared it to our 98 and I think the axle would bolt right in. I thinK I could use one of those cable deals to lock in the front instead of the regular vacumn couldnt I?? Then find a transmission and transfer and get driveshafts in and shortened. I guess finding a wrecked 1 ton would be my best bet to get all of the goods. I guess what I am really asking is for someone to tell me it would be cheaper to buy a 4wd!! What do you guys think???

 

[Got Smoke?]

Maybe I can stir up some talk with this question!! I have access to a 95 3500 2wd with the solid front axle. Would it be big deal to make this rig 4wd?? I have compared it to our 98 and I think the axle would bolt right in. I thinK I could use one of those cable deals to lock in the front instead of the regular vacumn couldnt I?? Then find a transmission and transfer and get driveshafts in and shortened. I guess finding a wrecked 1 ton would be my best bet to get all of the goods. I guess what I am really asking is for someone to tell me it would be cheaper to buy a 4wd!! What do you guys think???

It'd be a lot less headache to buy a 4x4 to start with. You'd need to be pretty dang good to get all the front end stuff right for the alignment. You could pass that 2wd ton off to me

 

[HeavyHauler]

... Well I'll add something to the mix. Anna and I put a bid in on a house less than 10 miles down the road from mom & dad Monday evening. Found out last night it got accepted! Oo... .

Definitely a nice-looking place, Mark. Congratulations! It looks like it has a really nice front yard - how many acres are with it? Any of the land behind it included?



At any rate, I'm looking forward to the inaugural TDR meeting at your new place.

 

[Got Smoke?]

Definitely a nice-looking place, Mark. Congratulations! It looks like it has a really nice front yard - how many acres are with it? Any of the land behind it included?



At any rate, I'm looking forward to the inaugural TDR meeting at your new place.

No unfortunately what you see is almost all you get. Its not even a 1/2 acre but its darn close. Price was too good to pass up though, and still be that close to the farm. The guys joked on the KYDTR that there's enough room in the yard for a broken truck on a trailer probably gonna keep the chevy at our place and the trailer at mom and dad's. I'll get around to inviting everybody out, but we have somethings we want to get done first. :-laf

 

[HeavyHauler]

Speaking of meetings - is there any chance anything will be organized before the end of the year? Or will the next meeting be in Dickson in January/February again?

 

[Dieselnutz]

I here there might be another pull in Dickson on a Saturday night! Anyone out that way heard anything?

 

[acook]

Andy,



Check your private messages.



Anthony