Old Ugly, New Clutch

[GHarman]

Well, That time is here. Last year I bought a South Bend Con-O Clutch for my rig. Couldn't get it done because of other issues. This Month looks like it might happen. Just ordered a rear main seal kit from Dan at Quad 4X4. My friend is getting his vehicle squared away so he can come up to my shop and give me a hand Oo. . ( He missed out on fishing several times 'cause his vehicles wont climb the mountain without problems cropping up ) Hope this works out. I need this truck for a while and among other things, it seems that everything wants/needs maintainence at once#@$%!. Also picked up a transmisson jack and an engine hoist at Harbor Freight for a real reasonable price so we don't have to benchpress the gear boxes. I would not be able to do this myself unless I had unlimited time, The first snows are due here in about 4-5 weeks and I dont have the Subaru ready as a backup vehicle, hunting seasons, fishing and lots of Honey Do's . I am beside myself, there has got to be more of me somewhere . GregH

 

[dpuckett]

The clutch isnt a bad job. I'd seperate the T-case and transmission, naturally. Just be sure to line stuff back up, and you should be fine. Check the adaptor between the transmission and t-case. They are no fun when the strip at 80mph on I-25. You coast to a stop and dont go no more. If you have the cash, it may not hurt to get a new one anyway.



Daniel

 

[GHarman]

Thanks Daniel, I'll get one, for sure. Greg

 

[GHarman]

Daniel, Ordered one today from Quad 4X4 ( part # QU10528 ), 29 spline coupler. Called Christopher Dodge earlier and they had a "coupler" in town but couldn't tell me if it was a 29 or 23 spline. The trip down to look wasn't worth the savings on a cheaper part.

Received the rear main seal kit today. Got to checkout the video. The installation tool looks straight forward. BTW, asked a local mechanic ( storefront ) how much he would charge to do this job and he said about $600-$700. So far I am up more than this in parts alone. Got the compressor wired in and have a temporary air hookup for impact tools. Hopefully, next week we're gonna perform the surgery. GregH

 

[dpuckett]

I'd pay Quad4x4 double just to avoid dealing with Christpoher's Dodge. I was going to buy a 2nd Gen from them several years ago (I was almost 21), and they had it in the back corner of the lot, but somehow they couldnt find any keys to move the other vehicles so I could take the CTD on a test drive. I had cash in hand (ok, money in the bank), and they just blew me off. Oh well, I'm better off with my 1stGen, anyway.



DP

 

[GHarman]

Transfer case and transmission are on the floor! What a grunt. The transmission jack did not allow us to roll the two gearboxes out from under the truck. We had to roll them off the jack and then slide them out from under the truck. I am very thankfull for my friends help. I could not have done this myself. He did most of the grunt work, I supervised. All the gearbox mounts are rotted and fell apart upon removal of the bolts. Will replace motor mounts also. We have not removed the bellhousing as yet. Tomorrow, after I locate some t-case, transmission and engine mounts.

Daniel, not worried about 80MPH on I-25 ( I normally drive @ 68 MPH, best fuel mileage). Its the climb up to Loch Lomond that would cause problems ifn that transfer collar broke. The trail is a mix of big rocks, washouts, and 25-40% grade, then it levels out for a little with a creek crossing and mud holes and then more rocks before you get to the lower lake. If you have objects on yer dash expect them to hit you in the chest as you bounce over rocks and climb. Its a workout climbing this hill. I busted a U-bolt on a FERD rear axle, spring stack on one trip. GregH

 

[GHarman]

Clutch is out

Got the bellhousing off and removed the clutch and flywheel. Got to the clutch just in time. The original flywheel is still in good shape. I may hang on to it for a while. Installed the rear main seal. Messed it up. Have to pull it and install another one. Yeah, I watched the video, last week. My fault. To many things going on for this old man. Learning curves are getting longer and more expensive:{. Lots of cleanup to do. Have to buildup the 3/8" steel plate that the transmission sets on at the locations of the mounts. Severe corrosion has eaten away about 1/16" of material in round donuts where the backing plates on the rubber mounts were tight to this plate. May just grind out the rust and do a buildup with titanium Devcon and grind it flush. This plate is a weight bearing and torque resisting adaptor. I have considered welding a built up area and grinding it flush? If I was to do that, It would be better to fab a new unit from scratch. I hope "Old Ugly" will give me a big HUG when this is done! GregH

 

[DValentine]

Greg, I don't see why the Devcon wouldn't work. I see where you are going with the question of welding.

 

[GHarman]

DValentine, Decided to make a new transmission mount from scratch. Bought a 14" length of 5"X3/8" Hot rolled flat stock. Got the rolling grain parallel to the long axis. Gonna scribe it out and mill the holes. May torch it if we have some wet weather. Dont need the offset bend, different application. Hope to work on this on Tuesday. Just received $300. 00 worth of new parts. Cant wait to get this back together again and on the road. Maybe next year I will have enough cash to do the breathing air upgrades. Still need more materials. GregH

 

[GHarman]

Plans fell apart for today. Decided to get dirty and made the mount. Tried to download a picture but it wont work. Could be the operator:-laf. GregH

#ad


Here is a link. Thanks Steve St. Laurent.



I found out upon installation that the ear on the side closer to the transmission bolt hole would have to be trimmed so I used factory mount as a pattern.

 

[GHarman]

Progress?

Pulled the new seal today. It was in crooked and to deep. I drilled two holes, one at 3 oclock and another at 9 oclock. My friend arrived in time to take over. Position work is very difficult to painful for me. He installed the screws into the seal. Pulled hard, screws stripped out! Redrilled some new holes at various quadrants. On the last hole drilled, the bit broke. Installed some screws into the drilled holes. The seal finally came out and we both forgot to locate the drill bit piece. Got the flywheel on and about ready to torque it and I asked him, "where is the drill bit piece"?. We both panicked. Spent an hour looking for this piece. I finally SWAGed that it was in the oil pan? I suggested we keep going. My friend is honest and has a very high degree if integrity, said NO, "we find the piece of drill". After removing the bell housing adaptor plate and the rear main seal retainer plate. My Bud fished a magnet around in the oil pan. "THANK YOU JESUS"Oo. . It was stuck to the magnet. Now we have to replace the gasket on the seal retainer and the pan gasket! The domino effect. Might as well do the engine mounts, have to disconnect them to clear the oil pan over the axle. Looks like another week! At least I have good help. Couldn't ask for a better hand. Oo. GregH

 

[DValentine]

Wow, sounds like my kind of luck. Hope things go better for you shortly. I too need to replace some of the rubber mounts.



Dave

 

[GHarman]

Back to the rear main seal

Got the engine lifted far enough to pull the pan and inspect the engine mounts. They look good! We wont replace the mounts. After pulling the pan we both commented on the cleanliness of the interior of the engine and the pan. Absolutely no sludge ! Been using Amsoil 15W 40 Marine Diesel oil in this engine since it had only a few thousand miles on it. At 183,000+ now. Had to cut a new sump flange gasket and clean all the grunge off the outside of the pan as well as the gasket residue and the pan bolts. My Bud cleaned the gasket grunge off the bottom of the block and we installed the pan with a new gasket. Pan bolts installed with red threadlocker. Same as the original. We also put some black silicone RTV on the pan gasket and the sump gasket. Lowered the engine back onto the mounts and that was the extent of the day. Back to where we started. No one got hurt. Oo. Thank You Lord. GregH

BTW, You should have seen that Jib on the Harbor Freight 2 ton Engine hoist bow!!!:--)

 

[dpuckett]

Sounds like your bud needs to open his own shop. I, among others, would pay top dollar to get stuff done right and well the first time. The reason I do my own work is to avoid paying someone to do something I am going to have to redo after I dish out $60/hr (and inflated times, to boot- 3hrs to R&R a VE?(unless you're a school bus mechanic) Come on. ) for shoddy/ halfassed work.



DP

 

[GHarman]

My friend does all his work onsite. Hauls his tools around in an old jeep 2WD pickup ( sometimes in the trunk of a car) and charges by the hour that he actually works on your project. He is very honest and fair and his hourly rate is below what I would call "union scale". A shop with his Shingle would be a real help to his health, especially in the winter months. He is not a young man!

We have discussed his future as a mechanic and he definitely wants to get indoors but how or when that will happen? Who Knows. Right now he is a real helper for someone in need and he gets to work inside. GregH

 

[GHarman]

on my own today

My Bud couldnt make it, so I decided to give it a try with the rear main seal and retainer. Took me 3 hours ( thats why I dont work any more ) to get it installed. Had to crawl out from under the truck 4 or 5 times to stop my back from locking up and getting a stretch after a while of sitting on my butt on the floor and the legs going numb. Used a miners headlamp and gathered my junk on a cookie tray. Installed the retainer gasket onto the block with black silicone RTV on both sides. Cleaned the seal and bearing surface with alcohol, reinstalled the plastic installation sleeve into the seal and proceded to slip it onto the crank. The seal popped on and the retainer seated into the RTV, so I aligned the holes in the gasket, red threadlockered the screws and installed them a little tweek at a time to keep the seal centered. Aligned the pan gasket with the retainer holes and red threadlockered the pan bolts. Got everything aligned and torqued the Rear Main Seal Retainer bolts to 7 Ft LBs. ( 84 in lbs). Tightened the pan bolts. Will torque them Thursday. It really felt good to be out from under the truck. Got to hand it to you all that can do this for a hobby or a living. I'll be glad when its done. My Wife had absolutely no use for the truck 'till its down for maintainence. Now its, "When are you gonna be done. We need the truck or we better rent one". Suurrrre, we are Sweetie. :-laf GregH

 

[dpuckett]

... ... My Wife had absolutely no use for the truck 'till its down for maintainence. Now its, "When are you gonna be done. We need the truck or we better rent one". Suurrrre, we are Sweetie. :-laf GregH

I nearly fell out of my chair. I cant count how many times I have heard the same thing. WHen I had my pump out for 2 weeks to send it off for rebuild, and when the transmission was out later for rebuild (by me, just had to find time and work space), she began to appreciate the truck. Maybe it was the fact of chauffering me around... .



Glad you got it going again. The rear main can be finicky at times. Also good that you gave your back a rest. Many people are too stubborn to know when to take a break (myself included).



Daniel

 

[GHarman]

Hey Daniel, Thanks for the encouragement. When I was younger, I kept on going too. Thats why I am in this present situation. Not only has my truck been "rode hard and put away wet", so have I . GregH

 

[GHarman]

Got to git er done; Subaru to the rescue!

Thursday; Could not seem to line up any help this week, So I made up some wire rope slings and with the help of the 2 ton engine hoist, a back brace and some simple hoisting and rigging techniques. I loaded the transmission and transfer case into the FERD? What! Dont fit!!!. Had to fire up the old Subaru with the leaking head gasket. Yeah it still runs, and the transfer case and transmission "fit like glub" Oo. Is there no justice in this world? A broken down Subaru hauling gear boxes to a transmission Shop for new seals for a Dodge with less mileage. Cost $95. 00 for input and output seals on both gear boxes @ 1. 5 hours, 6 gallons of gas and half gallon of antifreeze fer the Subaru. I couldnt have done that on the floor on my knees in a week! I did notice some dirt that got spilled down into the tower on the transmission. Going to use a vacum with a nozzle reducer to suck it out, pull a PTO plate and flush it with some cheap oil. Checking for any other nasty things I can see. The saga continues.

Monday; I have been able to secure the services of a good friend that I have known since he was a teen. He is now an A&P Mechanic (20+ years) for Delta Airlines. He is not cheap, but he is "Monsieure de la Precise Assembeleaure". Pardon my non-French:-laf. I hope to get everything assembled back to and including the transmission and mounts completed then. My other Bud said he could help me one day next week on some of the other details. (Got to remember the Torque on the pan bolts) Thats the plan. GregH

 

[GHarman]

PS. Fergot to mention that I found two pieces of bronze looking material on the floor nad could'nt figger out what they were. Got it! Just a curious inspection of the old flywheel at the center was another piece of bronze looking material, the pilot bushing. That sucker was in 3 pieces. This was certainly an opportune time to redo this drivetrain. I wonder, in which snow storm or mountain climb this little fly in the ointment would have manifested itself and left me stranded? Thank you Lord for your Mercies Oo. . GregH