Duramax diesels use an electronic controlled mechanical fan clutch. The pcm controls the on/off.
CK5
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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond
- Thread starter mrk5
- Start date
Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
I was thinking newer vehicles might have that capability, but then I realized we're back to rotating the wrong direction. A serpentine set up would be nice but I don't really want to invest in that. Plus I actually thought of a situation where the v-belts are an advantage. Nate lost his steering pump on Steel Bender and they wanted to move his truck a little ways up the trail to work in the shade. With my belt setup, I could have pull the steering pump belt and still driven the truck.
That being said; I would do a serpentine belt setup but for the cost. On top of the brackets and pulleys I would need, I would also have to get a new water pump.
I did fix my leaking reservoir problem confirming it was the lid leaking. After all of yesterdays driving, it's still clean.
What it used to look like after trail running:
And after Sunday.
I did 2 things. If you look at the lid, you can see I cut a cork-rubber gasket to seal it. The oring didn't seem to be creating much of a seal.
The other thing I did was to disconnect the "anti-splash" thing from the vent. My feeling is this has been making it leak even worse because it maintains 6psi in the reservoir. My reservoir was not intended to be used with the anti-splash device because it was made before those were offered. I added the threaded fitting to my reservoir lid to make it work.
Do you all like my overflow catcher (aka old pill bottle)? I think it's interesting to note you can see some fluid in the clear vent hose wrapped around the reservoir. I went a little overkill on the length of that hose because I didn't want to push fluid out of it and skew my leak testing results.
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The real question is....was it prescribed?
If you put Ron on the hunt for serpentine brackets I bet he could find them for a reasonable price. Yes I'd replace the water pump than risk installing a leaky one from the boneyard. Fan and clutch have to change too so they turn the right way, but that could come off the same truck the brackets come from.
There is cost involved for sure but shop right and it won't be as much as you think. Of course with your setup getting dialed in as well as it is now I'd leave it alone until something major goes down. Collect parts in the meantime to help defray buying all the stuff at once.
There is cost involved for sure but shop right and it won't be as much as you think. Of course with your setup getting dialed in as well as it is now I'd leave it alone until something major goes down. Collect parts in the meantime to help defray buying all the stuff at once.
My mom works at the hospital and she can get some for us. At the sign shop we use them for putting touch-up paint in because they are airtight.
I'm still hung up on trying to find an L29 at a reasonable price. If that happens, then I don't have to worry about coming up with all the brackets and stuff. I have that 400+ HP dream that's still in my head.
I honestly wouldn't be in a hurry to swap the engine so soon after getting this one going. The thought of being able to drive a little ways with the power steering belt off, is not worth the swap. I drove 3 miles without a belt on my '90 when the power steering pulley made an unexpected exit, so a few yards is a cake walk.
How much more power are you going to get out of an L29 if you leave it stock? Would you feel it immediately?
The 40s probably will dull the results a decent amount.
Work on it more? Or drive it and be content to go play?
I know where an 8.1 is....
How much more power are you going to get out of an L29 if you leave it stock? Would you feel it immediately?
The 40s probably will dull the results a decent amount.
Work on it more? Or drive it and be content to go play?
I know where an 8.1 is....
You just need a diesel swap. Get rid of all your tow and cooling worries. If you go mechanical then no extra cost for fuel injection and wiring and computers. Or go electronic and have it all. I just seen the other day that www.thedieselpage.com has a Duramax swap book on their site.
Yuck... No effing way.
I doubt I'll find a deal on an L29 I can afford anytime soon. If I get an L29, I'll do some upgrades to get more power out of it.I honestly wouldn't be in a hurry to swap the engine so soon after getting this one going. The thought of being able to drive a little ways with the power steering belt off, is not worth the swap. I drove 3 miles without a belt on my '90 when the power steering pulley made an unexpected exit, so a few yards is a cake walk.
How much more power are you going to get out of an L29 if you leave it stock? Would you feel it immediately?
The 40s probably will dull the results a decent amount.
Work on it more? Or drive it and be content to go play?
I know where an 8.1 is....
I just don't know anything about diesels. I hate the idea of hitting the trails with no knowledge on how to fix my truck. My buddy Nate just put a mechanical version Cummins in his 95 K3500 tow rig. I know it took him a while to find a good donor at a reasonable price, but he still paid more than I can afford to pay.
I think the thing that's likely to happen sooner is that we'll get rid of the old camper and by something newer and much lighter weight. We can easily find a camper that weights 2000lbs less and does what we want. We've actually been toying around with getting an enclosed trailer and building our own camper. We only want the camper for sleeping in and haul the gear in; we do everything else outside - our entire reason for camping in the first place.
Sounds like a good plan. Diesels definitely ain't cheap at all these days. The newer ultra lite trailers are pretty cool. So is the build your own idea.
My neighbor brought one home last year behind his F150. I thought for sure it was overloaded since the trailer was every bit of 28’ long. After some quick googlefu I was surprised how light the trailer was. I’m pretty sure he was over the limits of the truck by the time he packed all the kids, dogs and “camping” stuff in the trailer and truck though.
I'm already doing over limit stuff myself. Haha
The downside to them being so lightweight is they seem pretty cheaply made. Especially considering how much they cost. That's one of the reasons we have talked about making our own. But then we'll probably overkill and make it too heavy!
Yep hard to do a quality camper build without making it heavy. Even the big heavy camp trailers are pretty cheaply built. I prefer ones from the late 90s to early 2000s. They seem to be better quality. I have seen a couple diy built ones for decent prices on the local classifieds.
These are cool but not cheap. https://www.coloradotrailersinc.com/trailers-off-road
These are cool but not cheap. https://www.coloradotrailersinc.com/trailers-off-road
I figured out why the fan clutch was engaged all the time. I thought the tab would stay pushed against the stop, but instead it floated away which would have engaged the clutch. I'm assuming some centripetal force was in play.
So I cut a new slot. Used a cut off wheel for about half of it, then made a little saw to finish the slot.
1 blade wasn't quite thick enough so I used 2. Those are pieces of hacksaw blade. Lucky I was just cutting cast aluminum.
This may have been a "no going back" mod because I don't know if the little bit of aluminum left will hold up. In hindsight I should have cut my slot lower, but when I started I thought I could fit 2 slots in that space.
Maybe I could silicone a metal shim in the old slot to help support it.
So I cut a new slot. Used a cut off wheel for about half of it, then made a little saw to finish the slot.
1 blade wasn't quite thick enough so I used 2. Those are pieces of hacksaw blade. Lucky I was just cutting cast aluminum.
This may have been a "no going back" mod because I don't know if the little bit of aluminum left will hold up. In hindsight I should have cut my slot lower, but when I started I thought I could fit 2 slots in that space.
Maybe I could silicone a metal shim in the old slot to help support it.
This would be a nice starting point. Better price.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3194607867265318/
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3194607867265318/
Another trail day on Saturday. Very scenic and awesome weather.
Looks like I need to adjust the fan clutch in between the factory slot and the new one I cut. I should be able to achieve that with some shims. It would not run the entire time, but the only times I heard it come off were after the initial start up and the couple of times the engine temp was below 170 because we were coasting on a long downhill.
The clutch was originally coming on at about 190 and now it's about 170, then moving the coil inbetween should get it about perfect.
Then I have the electric fan set to come on at 195 now so it doesn't have to run very often, just on those times when it's sitting idle for a long period. Like being stuck in I70 traffic for an hour on the way to the trail that morning.
Looks like I need to adjust the fan clutch in between the factory slot and the new one I cut. I should be able to achieve that with some shims. It would not run the entire time, but the only times I heard it come off were after the initial start up and the couple of times the engine temp was below 170 because we were coasting on a long downhill.
The clutch was originally coming on at about 190 and now it's about 170, then moving the coil inbetween should get it about perfect.
Then I have the electric fan set to come on at 195 now so it doesn't have to run very often, just on those times when it's sitting idle for a long period. Like being stuck in I70 traffic for an hour on the way to the trail that morning.
Oh and after we were done with the trail we pulled into a pull off to air up the tires. I got back in the truck and pulled the door shut and BAM the door glass shattered. I think I had the window a 1/2" to 1" short of fully rolled down. Plus that's the only door I've never replaced the seals in because I've planned to replace it.
So I guess my time frame for replacing the door has been moved up. Along with replacing the door, I need to cut the bent slider off and re-install it. And I need to replace the fender because it interferes with the door. All that makes replacing the broken window a bigger job.
For a refresher, this happened to my sliders after slamming 4 tons down on a rock.
Door mods made at the trailhead to be able to open and close the door.
Of course the window didn't break when that happened. Just a year later.
So I guess my time frame for replacing the door has been moved up. Along with replacing the door, I need to cut the bent slider off and re-install it. And I need to replace the fender because it interferes with the door. All that makes replacing the broken window a bigger job.
For a refresher, this happened to my sliders after slamming 4 tons down on a rock.
Door mods made at the trailhead to be able to open and close the door.
Of course the window didn't break when that happened. Just a year later.
It also has to do with driver comfort. I've noticed the cab is more comfortable with the engine/trans temps around 180. When they start getting around 210, the cab is much less comfortable.
I love it, cooks burritos more efficiently.
