What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

‘86 K30 Crew- From Sierra to Silverado, & a Cummins

max 02 said:
I did the vacuum pump seal on my daughters 24 valve… good times!
Month later I needed to change the cam sensor…. Oh that would have been nice to do at the same time as the pump seal. Then the tappet cover needed to be re sealed! Holly Fock! I use the proper puller to get the injection pump gear and it came off like a 30odd6 went off in your ear. I don’t think that steering wheel puller would have worked for me…
Click to expand...
I've never had a gear that stubborn, haha. I've used the steering wheel puller a few times now and its done me pretty well. Did you have to pull the pump to do that tappet cover on the 24 valve? I have almost zero experience on those
centexk5 said:
I’d do headstuds. Just pull one bolt at a time and replace with a stud. No need to redo the head gasket. Cheap insurance. I was running 60psi and water meth on just studs for a 100k miles with no issues.

The vac pump seal isn’t that bad to do. Hardest part is getting the dang rotor lined up when you stick it back in.
Click to expand...
Yeah, wouldn't be too bad to drop the studs in, would have to get my rocker pedestals machined, but that's much easier than doing a head gasket down the road. I've had to do the vacuum pump seal a few times with the engine in the truck, I had a terrible time with that, haha. I wouldn't delete the vacuum pump just for that, though. I just don't need it
 
You have to pull the pump to do the tappet cover. And the first time pulling a gear it sucked. Every time after that it wasn’t so bad.
 
K30guy said:
I've never had a gear that stubborn, haha. I've used the steering wheel puller a few times now and its done me pretty well. Did you have to pull the pump to do that tappet cover on the 24 valve? I have almost zero experience on those

Yeah, wouldn't be too bad to drop the studs in, would have to get my rocker pedestals machined, but that's much easier than doing a head gasket down the road. I've had to do the vacuum pump seal a few times with the engine in the truck, I had a terrible time with that, haha. I wouldn't delete the vacuum pump just for that, though. I just don't need it
Click to expand...
Yeah we pulled the pump.
 
Made an engine stand out of some 4x4 yesterday, gonna be pretty handy to be able to wheel the thing around the shop. Was a little nervous to leave it on there overnight, so I left the crane on it in case it decides to go somewhere, haha

Engine stand

Engine stand


Here's the rest of the shop, got one buddy putting a '92 12 valve/NV4500 into a 1979 F250, and another buddy is dropping a '93 12 valve/NV5600 into a 1982 Dodge Ram crew cab. Always tons to do in there, hence the relatively slow progress on my own project

Other projects

Other projects

 
Got into the guts of the engine this evening, got lots done. Took off the tappet cover and insulator, tossed the insulator away as I have a much nicer one to put back on the engine. Pulled the valve covers and the rockers, pedestals and pushrods out, and used the dowels to hold the lifters up and pulled the cam out

Dowels

Dowels


Once the cam was out, decided to go all the way and take off the gear cover. The reseal kit I have has a gasket for it, so might as well. Oil pump came out, going to replace it with a newer high volume one. Spent some time scraping off the old gasket, it was on there pretty good

Gear case off

Gear case off


Organized everything into a rubbermaid container, keeping everything in order. Going to pull the cam gear this week and package it for shipping to have it cut up, also going to have the rocker pedestals machined for studs

Cam and Valve train

Cam and Valve train


That's all for today, going to need to track down and order various gasket and seal sets that were missing from the kit I have from Mahle. As well, going to put on a new water pump and lift pump when the time comes
 
The cam gear took some persuasion, but it finally came off, packaged it up and sent it off to Colt Cams after Christmas. I reckon I'll be waiting on that one for a while, lots going on on Canada's west coast right now. I was given an He351 turbo off of a mid 2000's Dodge, I was planning on going aftermarket but this thing may do in the meantime to save some money. Seems tight and good to go

Turbo

Turbo


Went back home for the holidays and put the Dodge through it's paces, did about 2500 km on it. It's a good experience for the build, as the W350 has roughly the same drivetrain that the K30 will eventually. 1994 P pump engine, NV5600, NP205, and 3.55 gears. I know I want 3.73s for absolute sure, just for a little bit more get up and go. And sound deadening. Good lord, is that Dodge loud in there. Cold too, haha. Heater was struggling to keep up after moving from a balmy BC breeze to a bone chilling Alberta prairie wind. I'm going to start looking for a firewall insulator, and plan to pay special attention plugging extra holes in the firewall and make sure no engine component is touching the frame. Can't wait for 4 doors, haha

Daily

Daily

 
I'd like to apologize for less than exciting updates, been doing what I can here and there to do things while it's still minus stupid outside. Mostly for my own reference anyways, haha. Disassembled my rocker pedestals today, going to run them into town this week to have them machined to accept studs

Rockers

Rockers


Began work with a buddy on an updated version of my wooden engine stand, this is the real deal that we want to use to break in cams. Built the base and supporting arms the same as the wood one, but after toying with ideas on how to mount the engine, we ended up cutting the engine crossmember out of his first gen Dodge parts truck, and building some plates to mount it to the stand. There will be a bracket on the rear to keep the engine level, and we're going to build a little control board with gauges and an ignition switch at the back. A battery tray will be mounted to one side, and a small fuel tank on the other. At the front, we plan to cut up a Dodge rad support to mount a radiator and charge air cooler, and it's going to be on square tube so it can be slid in and out to mount the engine in the stand. Hopefully I'll be breaking in my new cam on this thing sooner than later :waytogo:

Break In Stand

Break In Stand

 
I broke my cam in at 1am by running it at 2000-2500rpm for 20mins. With straight pipe stacks. I was drunker than a sailor and howling at the moon as I it was the first time I fired it after finishing the p-pump conversion. Good times.
 
Hauled the 5600 out of the spot it's been collecting dust in for the last few years, decided to try and get it all buttoned up. I forgot that we had robbed some shims for it for another gearbox we had built, and the shims that were laying around didn't land me where I wanted to be. Dodge suggests .002 to .006" of end play for the main and countershaft. The mainshaft shim I had gave me .006, but every transmission builder that deals with these recommend the lesser end of the spec for longevity. That's what I built my last one to, and it's still going strong. So, if I'm unable to track any down locally, I'll have to order a shim kit from the states. And I reckon that's at least a week and a half out. So another dead end for now. Used the rest of the shop time to prep the transmission for paint. Lots of time on a wire wheel.

End play

End play


Had a bit of a quarter life crisis here, I again went and started looking into options for an automatic. Always wanted to put in a 68Rfe. Luckily, I was talked out of it, haha
 
On the way back from some shop time last night, we got a sudden onset of the storm of a decade. Or at least a few years.

Storm

Storm


With no road to follow, the ditch was hit, and it was hit hard. Way too bad outside to recover the truck, tried to put chains on and a passerby gave a few tugs with his truck, but the goat was stuck good. Left it for morning

Ditch Dodge

Ditch Dodge


Ditch Dodge Revisited

Ditch Dodge Revisited



At a brisk minus 30 this morning, I needed a rescue truck, but I wasn't so sure the 6.2 was gonna start. However, with an hour long plug in on the block heater and a 45 second starter marathon, it fired up and ran great after sitting for so long. Lots of digging and a chain install later. we got the rig out. Needed some good jolts from the GM, and I guess over the course of the process, something broke free

Leak

Leak


It looked a lot greener in real life and I thought it was coolant, and I immediately thought we overstressed the thing and cracked a head or blew a gasket. Turns out someone just had the return line on the last injector on the driver's side routed with some rubber hose and a plastic Y, effectively terminating what I assume to be the return line. Capped it back off and drove home, but I would like to run that return line to where it's supposed to go
 
As for build progress, pre storm I was able to find the proper shim for the mainshaft of the 5600, and found a nice end play for that. Still need to track down a countershaft shim, but there's a transmission builder in town that has agreed to set me up. So in the meantime, got a coat of paint on the thing

Pre-paint

Pre-paint


Post-paint

Post-paint


Other than that, my rocker pedestals are done, just need to pick them up, and I found a spring shop in Edmonton that has brand new 52" leaf springs in stock. Starting to gather parts and knowledge for that, as I think that's going to be the first thing I do once I start the tear down in the spring. Also have a line on a 14 bolt from a mid 2000's chevy, with disks, 3.73 gears and a posi. Just need to pull the trigger, haha
 
Good day today, got the transmission done and sealed up! Found the proper shims for the countershaft, and have .003" play on each one, which is the sweet spot. This transmission is unique, as it doesn't have a traditional bellhousing, and it isn't top loaded. It has very complicated shift rails all throughout, and the shafts are anchored in the bellhousing up front, and the case at the back. The body kinda lifts off like a sleeve. As such, the end play is set with shims in front under the input bearing retainer

Input Shaft

Input Shaft


Once all that was done, the gears and idles for reverse can go on

Gearing

Gearing


There was a suspect bearing race for the countershaft idler in the rear housing, but I cleaned it up, and decided to leave it. The race is a little discolored, but the bearing is in fine shape. Don't want to wait a few weeks for a new one, and I'm sure it will be good to go.

Bearing Race

Bearing Race


Finally pieced it all together! Still a few small things to do, like put on the shift tower base, and change out the pivot ball in the bellhousing. But that's easy to do down the line. One major item off the list

Finished 5600

Finished 5600

 
Truckman4life said:
Spicer big truck transmissions are that way, at least some. So is mitsubishi fuso medium duty stuff.
Click to expand...
Good call, forgot about those Spicer 7 speeds. Had to rebuild one of those long bastards at my last job. Always thought one would be neat in a pickup, too. This is a pic from the one I rebuilt several years ago that's now in my dodge. For a light truck, the gears and bearings are absolutely massive

Naked NV5600

Naked NV5600

 
Finally started moving the engine in the assembly direction, after taking more stuff apart. Focus today was to start sealing up the gaping holes that have been collecting dust and crap from sitting open in the shop. Dropped the oil pan in preparation of a clean up and re seal, pulled the housing for the rear main seal, installed a new gasket, and installed the new seal. The crank probably would have benefited from a seal with a wear sleeve, but it wasn't bad enough for me to delay and try to find a new seal. It'll be a future me problem

New Rear Main

New Rear Main


Popped all the tappets out, pulled the dowels and started cleaning the top of the head. Did a brief half paint job on the one side of the engine so I could install the tappet cover with a new gasket and sound dampener, I'll have to suspend this thing from the crane to do a full paint job without the motor mounts on.

Tappet Cover

Tappet Cover


Got a phone call yesterday from Colt Cams, they will have my new camshaft and tappets shipped out by Friday. I figured I'd be waiting on them for a while, so the call kind of lit a fire under my ass to get this engine ready for it. I'm about out of the low cost things I can do to this thing, I'll have to start spending money, haha. First things to gather will be the headstuds and 60lb valve springs, and hopefully all that can go together quickly once the cam is in
 
Another micro progress report, got the oil cooler all cleaned out and mounted back on the engine. Again painted around the cooler and not the entire block, as I plan to pull the engine mounts and paint the rest of it in one go. Hopefully soon, the wood stand is getting scary, haha. I'm realizing that it would be way easier to assemble everything and then paint it, but I've chosen the hard way, and I'm sticking with it. Kinda slowed down on the cleaning and surface prep, I realized at the rate I'm going, I'll never have the body and drivetrain nice and clean and new looking at the same time.

More Partial Paint

More Partial Paint

 
Just little bits of progress each day, but it's getting there. Picked up my machined rockers the other day, looks like they'll do the job just fine

Machined Rockers

Machined Rockers


Spent the shop time today bolting the gear case back on with a new gasket, and gave the dowel pins a good hammer back into the block. I spent way more time than I should have picking and scraping schmutz out of all the crevices on the head in preparation for paint. I realize it's likely going to burn off the exhaust side of the head on the first run up, but it'll look sharp until then, haha

Front Cover and Head Paint

Front Cover and Head Paint


Put in the next parts order too, have a set of 60lb valve springs coming in. Wasn't going to do this upgrade, but its fairly cheap insurance, and I don't know how stock springs will fare with a hefty cam. That, and headstuds should be on the way shortly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom