More install instructions
Believer,
I just did mine yesterday. Here's a link (I hope) to a thread from back in August where HEMIDart included some more detail. This helped me a lot:
https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22748
BTW: my truck is an early '98 with the 215 pump. I don't think this makes any difference, however.
Here's what I can add. I went through the plug on the side. I had to cut the sealing wire, which requires a committment to "violating" the pump. On the other hand, I have a plate and the AFC kit, so... However, since the springs are right there, I felt it was probably easier then coming down through the cam plate hole.
I found that removing the shut off solenoid did not give me the clearance I needed to remove the plug. There is an arm held on by 2 10mm bolts that hold a stop screw that the shut-off lever will hit against. I loosened the rear one and removed the forward one (don't lose the spacer) and rotated it up.
I still couldn't get the plug out 'cause it hit the bolt that holds the shut-off lever on it's shaft. I needed to remove that. I was real leery about doing that because I wasn't sure I could put it back on in exactly the right place. It turns out it has a woodruff (?) key. The bolt is 8mm. The arm slides right off. Just don't loose that little key. With the AFC housing off and these two levers out of the way, access is pretty good.
Another thing mentioned by HEMIDart but not in Piers's instructions, there are 4 springs. The 3 inner ones are replaced by Piers's 2. So the inner-most, smallest one does not have an equivalent in Piers's kit.
I tried to paint the keeper nut like the instructions show, but the paint didn't stick (even wiped the keeper down with carb cleaner).
I measured from the slot to the top of the stud and from the raised surface of the keeper to the top of the stud to get 2 measurements. This helped a great deal. Be aware your caliper can show big reading swings depending on how off-parallel you are to the stud when measuring. 2 different measurements helped.
I used not only the pencil magnet but a dental pick as well. The springs are nearly horizontal when working through the plug and that made it a little trickier getting them out. The pick helped since it's hooked. A small stiff wire with a hook on the end would work. You're not likely to loose a spring in the governor housing, except for maybe the smallest one, but you could loose a shim or a spring seat. Just take your time.
I found that pulling springs out from the biggest to the smallest worked best. Watch for shims. Only those on the biggest spring, if any, are retained. None of the big shims came out on mine. Only the one on the next-to-the-smallest spring came out. Once the springs are out the magnet works good to pull the seats and shims (if not stuck to the spring) out.
Work in reverse to put the new ones in (seat first, then smallest to biggest springs).
My retainer nut did not screw back to exactly the same position to get to the original measurements. So measure several times before removing it and trust them when putting it back on.
Have a really good light right down the hole when working. A tube-shaped flourescent work light is ideal. Also, A mirror on a stick helps to look in the hole to verify things.
The first set took me about a half-hour or 45 minutes since I was nervous and very careful. The second set took me about 15 mintues or less.
I must have done it right because my test drive went perfect. Idled just like it did before. Rev'ed right to 3500 easily.
Take your time, take a deep breath, and go for it.
-Jay