USMCShooter
BrokeandSmiling
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2020
- Messages
- 27
This is a very long post, but if anyone can learn from my frustrations and mistakes, I’m willing to share my trials and mistakes along the way.
I loaned my ’05, G56 4X4 with 230,000 miles on it to a buddy of mine back in July to use to move his household goods. Awesome guy, retired Military like myself and I was happy to be able to help him out. My first concern should have been the statement, “Well it’s been a while since I’ve driven a clutch, but I’ll take her out and drive her to get familiar before I hook up to the trailer”…he was raised on a farm, and I figured the truck was pretty much bullet proof…Lord knows I’ve beat on it and used it for a truck…I explained watching the EGT’s while towing on the EDGE Insight and downshifting if they climbed out.
The truck: '05, G56, 4WD....I bought it in 2012 from a fellow Marine that I worked with at 78,000 miles on the odometer. He’d installed a Super B special Turbo, BD Intercooler, Airdog 150, bigger injectors (thought they were 150’s but didn’t remember the brand), AFE Bladerunner intake, dual SB clutch, ladder bars, 3500 rear suspension with a Smarty box (set on 9) at 60K.
I traded him some cash and my ’01 Sport with some mild mods and started driving it. The Special was a lot slower to spool and while it ran like a scalded dog, it smoked mightily! I got some UDC custom tuning done and it worked well….but, the tuner said the sticks acted a lot bigger than 150’s to the tuning…back and forth with files for a couple of months and I finally had a street tune that kept EGT’s in check, brought the smoke down to a haze and didn’t fry the rear tires when I stood on it in 3rd gear….still had to watch EGT’s when towing anything over about 5K.
Back to the beginning of my trials: Thankfully my buddy was only an hour away when he called me and said “Hey, this thing’s knocking”…my initial impression was maybe it had an injector overfueling….I drove over to the rest area where he pulled off….nope….Rod Knock….WTH? He was merging into traffic pulling a 40-foot enclosed car hauler jammed with household stuff…15k worth….stepped into it and EGT’s went out, downshifted…stood on it…merged…and it was definitely knocking….
I had it Towed it to a buddy’s shop for troubleshooting. He thought it might have been clutch/trans since it didn’t knock at idle…found the dampers and springs all laying in the bottom of the bellhousing….he hadn’t started it since the trans came out so I started it…no knock at idle….as soon as you touched the throttle, it knocked like a leprechaun with splitting mall inside the engine…I had my buddy pull the engine…#6 had about 3/16 up/down play...I loaded it up and took it to the house and got it on a stand....spun bearing BAD on #6…the bearings were welded to each other….number 5 had slipped….top ring on #6 was in 3 pieces…
Of course this was July, COVID was in full swing…I started shopping long blocks…talked to five different engine providers and they all wanted $7-$9K for a stock long block w/a hamilton cam…only one of them would guarantee they wouldn’t build it with .020+ under crank…one of them actually told me they routinely use .030 under!
I’ve been building street and race car/truck/motorcycle engines my entire adult life…but I’ve never built a cummins. I’ve worked a total of about 4 years in Race Machine Shops, part-time (nights/weekends) in CA and NC while I was Active Duty Marine Corps. I’m very confident in my ability with gas engines…I have several engines I’ve built still running sub-8 quarters and my personal 1965, Pro-Charged 327 that makes 580hp at 7300rpm and has seen 8000rpm’s more times than most street rotary’s….but I’ve never built a cummins….
After much encouragement from buddies of mine that have built them, one of which is still running one of my gas race engines in his pro-mod, I relented and started researching parts, bought the cummins manuals, researched forums, talked to manufacturers, and called down the road to Hardway….and started ordering parts.
Wagler StreetFighter Rods, ARP Head/Main Studs, Block bored .020, squared and align-honed, head reworked with original valves, Hamilton Springs, new Cummins retainers and locks, Mahle .020 pistons, Hamilton 178 cam/tappets/pushrods/springs, Cummins oil/water pumps, cummins oil cooler, new cummins rocker assemblies, fleece coolant bypass, S&S 10mm stroker pump, S&S 80% injectors/new Bosch cross tubes, Tater-Built 63/65 with Pusher S475, Fluidamper, Mahle Gasket Kits, Clevite/Mahle H-Series Bearings. Std/std crank with welded and pinned gear from Freedom Racing.
My intent with this engine was to over build….1000hp capable, running at about 650 so I don’t break clutch/trans/rearend parts….longevity and great manners is what I want….without ever having to look at EGT’s again while pulling my 5’er. While some of the parts were still within serviceable limits, I don’t plan on doing this again for a looooong time….and I wanted it right….so everything is new with the exception of the valves, the crankshaft and the cam gear/retainer.
I clearanced the engine with dial bore gauge and micrometer to cummins factory specs…all clearances are within .001, mostly within .0005. I balanced the pistons/rods to within .1 Gram. I called and talked to Mahle as the piston box stated .005 PTW clearance and they affirmed that was the recommended spec. All rings were verified to within .0005. Everything assembled using Driven Racing Assembly Lube…good stuff!
The build went flawlessly….or so I thought….you don’t know what you don’t know on your first build. I will say now, I took pictures of every step on disassembly of the engine….I wrote every specification on the build sheet…what the cummins specs were and what they clearanced to….including cam gear lash….and didn’t list or recognize that I didn't' include cam end play…..more on that as you read on….in the pics I took during disassembly, it appears the factory cam was pressed flush with the nose of the cam….I had the block and head back in 3 weeks...2.5 months later, I finally had received all the parts to commence the build, and about 10 days to have it together and dropped off at my buddy's shop for install.
With his regular busy schedule on stuff that makes his living, It took my buddy about 3 weeks to get the engine installed….he called and said he had it in, but it would be another week or so before he could get it ready to fire, so I took a couple days vacation and went down and installed the Pusher kit, finished hooking up, serviced the engine and it was ready to fire.
I hooked up a direct-reading oil Px gauge and since I’d primed it, I had 15psi on the starter with the gauge…zero on the dash….the engine fired within 10 revolutions and I had 70psi cold Oil Px….Hamilton requires 5 minutes at 1200-1500 RPM’s….my first impression was it was sooooo SMOOOOOOTH! We had some coolant leaks, but not bad enough that it wouldn’t make it that 5 minutes….but what’s that NOISE!
A soft clonking noise…not hammering, seemingly passive….frequency changed with RPM’s….not light enough for valvetrain, but not heavy enough for bottom end main/rod? What is that!?
The Oil Cooler gasket was leaking at the top, behind the oil filter….disassembled the passenger side of the engine, top turbo off….alternator out etc…several hours…replaced cooler gasket, re-assembled, re-filled coolant, and fired it back up…that coolant leak was fixed….the other was in the rear….loose line on fleece bypass?
Top turbo and all piping back off….passenger wheel and wheel well out…the location of the fleece block SUCKS! I had to cut a 1-inch wrench off to clear firewall…I got about ¾ of a turn on the B-nut on the line on the block….reassemble….re-fire…still leaking….and that damned soft clonking noise!
Disassemble, drain….then remove driver’s tire and fenderwell to reach other Fleece bolt… remove block…O-ring in good shape….call Fleece…”could have been wrong size o-ring installed”….overnighted an O-ring. Installed, reassembled, refilled, fired….still leaking….I expected more resistance from the o-ring on install, but It just plopped right in the freeze plug hole….I pulled it back off AGAIN…I cleaned it thoroughly…scuffed a little with 3m pad and put ultra-grey on it…and reinstalled….reassembled truck…let it sit overnight and refilled the next day…fired it up…no coolant leak…but now an oil leak!? And bad! And that damned noise!
I’ve never had the back of one of these apart, so had no idea what could be leaking back there, but couldn’t figure out why my flywheel wasn’t coated with oil with as much as was coming out at the splitline between block and trans?
Even at reduced labor rates, I couldn’t afford to pay my buddy to troubleshoot, so I towed it back to my driveway at my house. Another buddy of mine that I’ve built a lot of stuff with and I commenced trying to locate the leak….it was coming out the top of the bellhousing between the block, puddling and then running down the sides? WTH? So, I got to looking at forums, cummins manual etc….the cummins manual is good, but it lists about 10 different configurations for these years and is confusing as hell if you don’t know what you’re looking at. I finally found a picture on here of the “flywheel extension” plate and saw that the common rails don’t have an expansion plug at the back of the camshaft, but are sealed with an o-ring….aha! My buddy said he installed new O-ring during the install.
Pulled the xfer case and trans…pulled the clutch, Px Plate and flywheel…removed the plate…full of oil between it and block, but, the o-ring on the back of the cam was out of the groove and pinched. I called my buddy that did the install and we agreed on a future job or two to cover the labor cost of me having to remove the trans again….no worries….
I got a new O-ring, reinstalled the plate and flywheel….fired the truck….no leak for 10 minutes at 1500 rpm…then small drip…about 10 per minute….dammit….and that damned soft clonking noise!!! WHAT IS THAT!!!???
I pulled the flywheel and plate again….O-ring was in place! Wth!? No visible voids or leaks in it, but the little galley in the plate where it meets the block (the reason my flywheel wasn’t covered in oil is that the flywheel extension plate fits around the main seal housing pretty tightly and quarantines it from the block), was wet….wth!?
Two small expansion plugs in the back of the block…machine shop peened them in…I saw them when I built the engine….figured them for oil galley plugs….I did some research, sure enough….most performance machine shops tap them and screw tapered plugs in….I cleaned them up and put some epoxy around the edges and let it sit over night….the next day I re-installed the plate, starter and flywheel and fired the truck….no leaks for 20 minutes at 1100-1500rpms…then a steady drip…about 4 per minute…slower…but unacceptable…and that damned NOISE!! Was a rod hitting the block stiffener!? Sound like almost a rubbing, clonk! Like something hitting something as it passes by it, getting progressively louder as the engine warms up…but never gets loud like a rod or main…absolutely maddening.
I pulled the plate and there’s a small drop of oil coming from one of the galley plugs…ok you *&^%$(*! I ordered a tap and some plugs….18mm in case anyone is wondering….I started chipping the epoxy out by hand with a small wood chisel….I bumped one of the plugs with the punch…with my palm bumping it…and it moved! I pulled the plugs…they had sealant on them and were staked in….probably because they were a loose install….I called the Machine Shop and raised hell with the guy that did the machine work….I’m well over 60 hours into this leak now…and that damned NOISE!?
I had to go out of town for work for 5 weeks up North to the City of Brotherly Love…(sorry guys, I won’t be visiting again any time soon). I came home for Thanksgiving and after talking to a few friends and poring over forums, decided to drop the pan and inspect the block stiffener….which, getting the pan off of an installed engine is absolutely no fun…pull the top turbo AGAIN (I’m getting pretty good at this by now *&^$@*).....pick the front of the engine up with a hoist…unbolt pan….finagle off of engine (you really have to hold your mouth right to get it to clear the oil pickup tube)….nothing visible….so I remove the pickup tube and block stiffener…nothing visible….wth!? I checked all the rod side clearances again….all perfect….inspected all the cam lobes from beneath….all perfect…..piston skirts…good….oil squirters….good….crank end play…perfect…wth!? So, I decided to start pulling caps one at a time….All…perfect! Torqueing fasteners to 120+lb ft. on your back is an interesting proposition btw….
Put the pan back on…..I’m truly at a loss…..called and talked to more experienced people…talked to Hamilton again…the valves clearanced with plenty of room…but, could a piston be slightly touching a valve maybe? Bad injector? So I pulled the head….nothing….everything perfect….after the galley plug fiasco, I decided to take it to another machine shop and have it checked out….everything perfect….Back up North for a few more weeks then some hunting over the holidays to put meat in the freezer since I was up North for my entire Bow Season.
I got the tap in the mail last week and started tapping one of the galley plug holes…I happened to look up at the back of the cam…is that farther back than it was when I built the engine? I put my finger up there and pushed…and it MOVED! Like, more than I thought it should….so I pulled the cummins book…limits are .005-.020…yeah, it moved farther than .020 by a bunch in my mind….I consulted my build sheet for what it was when I built it….no end play recorded…gear lash was there…but no end play!? Did I miss that!? Not usually one you take on V8's.
So I pulled the front cover and looked at the gears…they still looked good…grabbed the webs on the cam gear and pushed…clonk….pulled…clonk…push/pull quickly…clonk, clonk, clonk….THAT’S THE *&^^$%#&$^ SOUND!!!! I looked at it…gear flush with the snout of the cam….pulled the pics of the factory one prior to disassembly…appears flush….WHY didn’t I check cam end play!!!!!!!???? I called the guys at Hardway…they had a cam assembly sitting on a shelf…sure enough…should have nearly 1/8 of the cam nose protruding through the gear!
I ordered a gear and retainer immediately for 2 day shipping….I got the dial indicator setup out and set it up on the block…..wow, .105 end play! I had picked up the head Wendesday, so Friday night I got some ½ inch dowels and cut them down and commenced trying to stick them in the lifters to hold them up so I could get the cam out….nope! That damned Driven Diesel Break In Oil is SLICK! I spent two hours with a 5/16 dowel and paper towels sopping the oil out of the lifters down in the holes…then with brake cleaner on the towel/dowel to dry them….tapped the dowels in and held them up with clothes pins and prayed one didn’t fall….I pulled the cam….no damage except the edge of the fuel pump lobe where it had contacted the block, which I polished off with a sanding drum on a dowel….the gear and retainer came in Saturday so I pressed the gear off the cam….it was still in pretty good shape, and the retainer was just polished…no wear after 230,000….but I had new in my hand….so I pressed them on….all the way this time…..installed into block….MUCH better! End play is now .005….Lash at .004, engine still turns like butter….I installed the head, injectors, fuel system and valve train yesterday. I set the lash on the rockers.
Tonight I should have the plugs in hand to finish tapping the oil gallery holes….install turbo’s, hook everything up, and light it again without the trans in it…..I’ve got my fingers crossed that I have zero leaks….I’m extremely confident I found the clonking noise….hopefully this weekend I’ll have a trailer behind this thing for a 400-mile break in run…then drive it for a week or so…then to Hardway and Ryan Milliken for a tune…..I’ll update when I get it back together….
I’ve known for years, you don’t know what you don’t know….but my single mistake was not checking cam end play….and it’s cost me in mental frustration….a LOT of time and additional money…..
I loaned my ’05, G56 4X4 with 230,000 miles on it to a buddy of mine back in July to use to move his household goods. Awesome guy, retired Military like myself and I was happy to be able to help him out. My first concern should have been the statement, “Well it’s been a while since I’ve driven a clutch, but I’ll take her out and drive her to get familiar before I hook up to the trailer”…he was raised on a farm, and I figured the truck was pretty much bullet proof…Lord knows I’ve beat on it and used it for a truck…I explained watching the EGT’s while towing on the EDGE Insight and downshifting if they climbed out.
The truck: '05, G56, 4WD....I bought it in 2012 from a fellow Marine that I worked with at 78,000 miles on the odometer. He’d installed a Super B special Turbo, BD Intercooler, Airdog 150, bigger injectors (thought they were 150’s but didn’t remember the brand), AFE Bladerunner intake, dual SB clutch, ladder bars, 3500 rear suspension with a Smarty box (set on 9) at 60K.
I traded him some cash and my ’01 Sport with some mild mods and started driving it. The Special was a lot slower to spool and while it ran like a scalded dog, it smoked mightily! I got some UDC custom tuning done and it worked well….but, the tuner said the sticks acted a lot bigger than 150’s to the tuning…back and forth with files for a couple of months and I finally had a street tune that kept EGT’s in check, brought the smoke down to a haze and didn’t fry the rear tires when I stood on it in 3rd gear….still had to watch EGT’s when towing anything over about 5K.
Back to the beginning of my trials: Thankfully my buddy was only an hour away when he called me and said “Hey, this thing’s knocking”…my initial impression was maybe it had an injector overfueling….I drove over to the rest area where he pulled off….nope….Rod Knock….WTH? He was merging into traffic pulling a 40-foot enclosed car hauler jammed with household stuff…15k worth….stepped into it and EGT’s went out, downshifted…stood on it…merged…and it was definitely knocking….
I had it Towed it to a buddy’s shop for troubleshooting. He thought it might have been clutch/trans since it didn’t knock at idle…found the dampers and springs all laying in the bottom of the bellhousing….he hadn’t started it since the trans came out so I started it…no knock at idle….as soon as you touched the throttle, it knocked like a leprechaun with splitting mall inside the engine…I had my buddy pull the engine…#6 had about 3/16 up/down play...I loaded it up and took it to the house and got it on a stand....spun bearing BAD on #6…the bearings were welded to each other….number 5 had slipped….top ring on #6 was in 3 pieces…
Of course this was July, COVID was in full swing…I started shopping long blocks…talked to five different engine providers and they all wanted $7-$9K for a stock long block w/a hamilton cam…only one of them would guarantee they wouldn’t build it with .020+ under crank…one of them actually told me they routinely use .030 under!
I’ve been building street and race car/truck/motorcycle engines my entire adult life…but I’ve never built a cummins. I’ve worked a total of about 4 years in Race Machine Shops, part-time (nights/weekends) in CA and NC while I was Active Duty Marine Corps. I’m very confident in my ability with gas engines…I have several engines I’ve built still running sub-8 quarters and my personal 1965, Pro-Charged 327 that makes 580hp at 7300rpm and has seen 8000rpm’s more times than most street rotary’s….but I’ve never built a cummins….
After much encouragement from buddies of mine that have built them, one of which is still running one of my gas race engines in his pro-mod, I relented and started researching parts, bought the cummins manuals, researched forums, talked to manufacturers, and called down the road to Hardway….and started ordering parts.
Wagler StreetFighter Rods, ARP Head/Main Studs, Block bored .020, squared and align-honed, head reworked with original valves, Hamilton Springs, new Cummins retainers and locks, Mahle .020 pistons, Hamilton 178 cam/tappets/pushrods/springs, Cummins oil/water pumps, cummins oil cooler, new cummins rocker assemblies, fleece coolant bypass, S&S 10mm stroker pump, S&S 80% injectors/new Bosch cross tubes, Tater-Built 63/65 with Pusher S475, Fluidamper, Mahle Gasket Kits, Clevite/Mahle H-Series Bearings. Std/std crank with welded and pinned gear from Freedom Racing.
My intent with this engine was to over build….1000hp capable, running at about 650 so I don’t break clutch/trans/rearend parts….longevity and great manners is what I want….without ever having to look at EGT’s again while pulling my 5’er. While some of the parts were still within serviceable limits, I don’t plan on doing this again for a looooong time….and I wanted it right….so everything is new with the exception of the valves, the crankshaft and the cam gear/retainer.
I clearanced the engine with dial bore gauge and micrometer to cummins factory specs…all clearances are within .001, mostly within .0005. I balanced the pistons/rods to within .1 Gram. I called and talked to Mahle as the piston box stated .005 PTW clearance and they affirmed that was the recommended spec. All rings were verified to within .0005. Everything assembled using Driven Racing Assembly Lube…good stuff!
The build went flawlessly….or so I thought….you don’t know what you don’t know on your first build. I will say now, I took pictures of every step on disassembly of the engine….I wrote every specification on the build sheet…what the cummins specs were and what they clearanced to….including cam gear lash….and didn’t list or recognize that I didn't' include cam end play…..more on that as you read on….in the pics I took during disassembly, it appears the factory cam was pressed flush with the nose of the cam….I had the block and head back in 3 weeks...2.5 months later, I finally had received all the parts to commence the build, and about 10 days to have it together and dropped off at my buddy's shop for install.
With his regular busy schedule on stuff that makes his living, It took my buddy about 3 weeks to get the engine installed….he called and said he had it in, but it would be another week or so before he could get it ready to fire, so I took a couple days vacation and went down and installed the Pusher kit, finished hooking up, serviced the engine and it was ready to fire.
I hooked up a direct-reading oil Px gauge and since I’d primed it, I had 15psi on the starter with the gauge…zero on the dash….the engine fired within 10 revolutions and I had 70psi cold Oil Px….Hamilton requires 5 minutes at 1200-1500 RPM’s….my first impression was it was sooooo SMOOOOOOTH! We had some coolant leaks, but not bad enough that it wouldn’t make it that 5 minutes….but what’s that NOISE!
A soft clonking noise…not hammering, seemingly passive….frequency changed with RPM’s….not light enough for valvetrain, but not heavy enough for bottom end main/rod? What is that!?
The Oil Cooler gasket was leaking at the top, behind the oil filter….disassembled the passenger side of the engine, top turbo off….alternator out etc…several hours…replaced cooler gasket, re-assembled, re-filled coolant, and fired it back up…that coolant leak was fixed….the other was in the rear….loose line on fleece bypass?
Top turbo and all piping back off….passenger wheel and wheel well out…the location of the fleece block SUCKS! I had to cut a 1-inch wrench off to clear firewall…I got about ¾ of a turn on the B-nut on the line on the block….reassemble….re-fire…still leaking….and that damned soft clonking noise!
Disassemble, drain….then remove driver’s tire and fenderwell to reach other Fleece bolt… remove block…O-ring in good shape….call Fleece…”could have been wrong size o-ring installed”….overnighted an O-ring. Installed, reassembled, refilled, fired….still leaking….I expected more resistance from the o-ring on install, but It just plopped right in the freeze plug hole….I pulled it back off AGAIN…I cleaned it thoroughly…scuffed a little with 3m pad and put ultra-grey on it…and reinstalled….reassembled truck…let it sit overnight and refilled the next day…fired it up…no coolant leak…but now an oil leak!? And bad! And that damned noise!
I’ve never had the back of one of these apart, so had no idea what could be leaking back there, but couldn’t figure out why my flywheel wasn’t coated with oil with as much as was coming out at the splitline between block and trans?
Even at reduced labor rates, I couldn’t afford to pay my buddy to troubleshoot, so I towed it back to my driveway at my house. Another buddy of mine that I’ve built a lot of stuff with and I commenced trying to locate the leak….it was coming out the top of the bellhousing between the block, puddling and then running down the sides? WTH? So, I got to looking at forums, cummins manual etc….the cummins manual is good, but it lists about 10 different configurations for these years and is confusing as hell if you don’t know what you’re looking at. I finally found a picture on here of the “flywheel extension” plate and saw that the common rails don’t have an expansion plug at the back of the camshaft, but are sealed with an o-ring….aha! My buddy said he installed new O-ring during the install.
Pulled the xfer case and trans…pulled the clutch, Px Plate and flywheel…removed the plate…full of oil between it and block, but, the o-ring on the back of the cam was out of the groove and pinched. I called my buddy that did the install and we agreed on a future job or two to cover the labor cost of me having to remove the trans again….no worries….
I got a new O-ring, reinstalled the plate and flywheel….fired the truck….no leak for 10 minutes at 1500 rpm…then small drip…about 10 per minute….dammit….and that damned soft clonking noise!!! WHAT IS THAT!!!???
I pulled the flywheel and plate again….O-ring was in place! Wth!? No visible voids or leaks in it, but the little galley in the plate where it meets the block (the reason my flywheel wasn’t covered in oil is that the flywheel extension plate fits around the main seal housing pretty tightly and quarantines it from the block), was wet….wth!?
Two small expansion plugs in the back of the block…machine shop peened them in…I saw them when I built the engine….figured them for oil galley plugs….I did some research, sure enough….most performance machine shops tap them and screw tapered plugs in….I cleaned them up and put some epoxy around the edges and let it sit over night….the next day I re-installed the plate, starter and flywheel and fired the truck….no leaks for 20 minutes at 1100-1500rpms…then a steady drip…about 4 per minute…slower…but unacceptable…and that damned NOISE!! Was a rod hitting the block stiffener!? Sound like almost a rubbing, clonk! Like something hitting something as it passes by it, getting progressively louder as the engine warms up…but never gets loud like a rod or main…absolutely maddening.
I pulled the plate and there’s a small drop of oil coming from one of the galley plugs…ok you *&^%$(*! I ordered a tap and some plugs….18mm in case anyone is wondering….I started chipping the epoxy out by hand with a small wood chisel….I bumped one of the plugs with the punch…with my palm bumping it…and it moved! I pulled the plugs…they had sealant on them and were staked in….probably because they were a loose install….I called the Machine Shop and raised hell with the guy that did the machine work….I’m well over 60 hours into this leak now…and that damned NOISE!?
I had to go out of town for work for 5 weeks up North to the City of Brotherly Love…(sorry guys, I won’t be visiting again any time soon). I came home for Thanksgiving and after talking to a few friends and poring over forums, decided to drop the pan and inspect the block stiffener….which, getting the pan off of an installed engine is absolutely no fun…pull the top turbo AGAIN (I’m getting pretty good at this by now *&^$@*).....pick the front of the engine up with a hoist…unbolt pan….finagle off of engine (you really have to hold your mouth right to get it to clear the oil pickup tube)….nothing visible….so I remove the pickup tube and block stiffener…nothing visible….wth!? I checked all the rod side clearances again….all perfect….inspected all the cam lobes from beneath….all perfect…..piston skirts…good….oil squirters….good….crank end play…perfect…wth!? So, I decided to start pulling caps one at a time….All…perfect! Torqueing fasteners to 120+lb ft. on your back is an interesting proposition btw….
Put the pan back on…..I’m truly at a loss…..called and talked to more experienced people…talked to Hamilton again…the valves clearanced with plenty of room…but, could a piston be slightly touching a valve maybe? Bad injector? So I pulled the head….nothing….everything perfect….after the galley plug fiasco, I decided to take it to another machine shop and have it checked out….everything perfect….Back up North for a few more weeks then some hunting over the holidays to put meat in the freezer since I was up North for my entire Bow Season.
I got the tap in the mail last week and started tapping one of the galley plug holes…I happened to look up at the back of the cam…is that farther back than it was when I built the engine? I put my finger up there and pushed…and it MOVED! Like, more than I thought it should….so I pulled the cummins book…limits are .005-.020…yeah, it moved farther than .020 by a bunch in my mind….I consulted my build sheet for what it was when I built it….no end play recorded…gear lash was there…but no end play!? Did I miss that!? Not usually one you take on V8's.
So I pulled the front cover and looked at the gears…they still looked good…grabbed the webs on the cam gear and pushed…clonk….pulled…clonk…push/pull quickly…clonk, clonk, clonk….THAT’S THE *&^^$%#&$^ SOUND!!!! I looked at it…gear flush with the snout of the cam….pulled the pics of the factory one prior to disassembly…appears flush….WHY didn’t I check cam end play!!!!!!!???? I called the guys at Hardway…they had a cam assembly sitting on a shelf…sure enough…should have nearly 1/8 of the cam nose protruding through the gear!
I ordered a gear and retainer immediately for 2 day shipping….I got the dial indicator setup out and set it up on the block…..wow, .105 end play! I had picked up the head Wendesday, so Friday night I got some ½ inch dowels and cut them down and commenced trying to stick them in the lifters to hold them up so I could get the cam out….nope! That damned Driven Diesel Break In Oil is SLICK! I spent two hours with a 5/16 dowel and paper towels sopping the oil out of the lifters down in the holes…then with brake cleaner on the towel/dowel to dry them….tapped the dowels in and held them up with clothes pins and prayed one didn’t fall….I pulled the cam….no damage except the edge of the fuel pump lobe where it had contacted the block, which I polished off with a sanding drum on a dowel….the gear and retainer came in Saturday so I pressed the gear off the cam….it was still in pretty good shape, and the retainer was just polished…no wear after 230,000….but I had new in my hand….so I pressed them on….all the way this time…..installed into block….MUCH better! End play is now .005….Lash at .004, engine still turns like butter….I installed the head, injectors, fuel system and valve train yesterday. I set the lash on the rockers.
Tonight I should have the plugs in hand to finish tapping the oil gallery holes….install turbo’s, hook everything up, and light it again without the trans in it…..I’ve got my fingers crossed that I have zero leaks….I’m extremely confident I found the clonking noise….hopefully this weekend I’ll have a trailer behind this thing for a 400-mile break in run…then drive it for a week or so…then to Hardway and Ryan Milliken for a tune…..I’ll update when I get it back together….
I’ve known for years, you don’t know what you don’t know….but my single mistake was not checking cam end play….and it’s cost me in mental frustration….a LOT of time and additional money…..
