Berthas Cummins Build: Update 8/9/11 Drivetrain Assembly

[bigblock72]

I showed the head ready to go back on the block but I did have some hesitation and ended up putting the head on, hand threading the studs in, and then removing the studs and the head again. My hesitation was the cylinder walls. I had meant to clean them up but I forgot to do so before I put the head back on when I got it back as it had been a couple of weeks between the head removal and getting it back and ready to install. Once I got the cylinders cleaned up and revealed the cross hatching, it made me feel a bit better about it but I know that the engine will need to come out for a freshening up. Ill get a feel for how soon once it is driving for a bit.

I had another scare once I did finally get the head on and buttoned down. I installed a new Cummins thermostat but it came with a different style O-ring and only one at that. There is both an inner and outer O-ring and it only came with the inner and it didnt fit the ID of the hole in the head like the original one did. I figured maybe they changed the style and used this style on some of the years and that it would still work. Wrong. I filled the cooling system with antifreeze and sure enough, I had a slight leak. Cue gut wrench feeling.

At this point, I just installed the thermostat and O-ring thinking it would be just fine and that although it looked completely wrong and as if it wasnt going to come close to sealing, someone designed it that probably knew better than I did? Wrong again. That is either the wrong part number(I want to say it even came in the Cummins Head Gasket Kit) or something isnt right there. I actually ended up looking up pictures at my local Oreillys to match the original O-rings. Those bolts on the thermostat housing a a bitch too! Id rather do that 10 times than have to remove the head again for a head gasket that I thought I somehow messed up.

September 2017 - Speaking of water, I also sourced a new water temp sensor. I got tied up in using the stock Dodge wire connector so I went on a goose chase trying to find one that would fit. I relocated the sensor location to the next NPT port forward of the most rearward port of the head because my clearance at the rear wasnt enough to get the plug on the end of the sensor. I would have just relocated the original sensor but it was not the same size as the next forward port. You can see the sensor at the far right of the head and then the next forward port is where I relocated the new sensor to.

Ive got two concerns with the new temp sensor at this point:
1.) Will the reading be similar to the original temp sensor port?
2.) Will this sensor read accurately and send the correct signal to my temp gauge?

Truck looks nice. I really like the way the wiring is turning out.

The temp sender needs to match the temp gauge. If you're using the original gauges then get an original sender, they are 1/2" npt and should go right in place of what you have pictured. If you can find an original sender that would be better as the new ones read hot but can be calibrated to read pretty close with an inline resistor.

 

[badriver19]

There were quite a few loose ends to tie up with both the drivetrain swap along with the overall truck itself. Ill cover the tip of the iceberg on them in these last few catch up posts.

October 2018 - Since changing out the transfer case output housing from the Dodge unit to the Chevy unit, I was able to hook up my speedo cable. I have no idea where I will be with speedometer accuracy, but I figured I would find a speedo reading, an RPM reading, and a GPS speed and find the correct ratio box once she is driving. I was also going to change out my speedometer cable because it was just barely too short until, after doing some research on speedo ratio boxes and adapters, that I remembered that my dad had 90 degree box for his 69 Vette that he hadnt gotten around to installing and it just so happened that it was exactly what I needed.

October 2018 - As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had been dreading the wiring for quite a while. It was the biggest obstacle that was preventing me from making some ground on this build for the longest time. I installed the AAW fuse panel and the under dash kit for it back in 2016 or 17 and hadnt touched it since. I think that getting the custom fuse panel to tie the basic truck wiring to the engine and drivetrain wiring was a huge help to this though as it gave me some clarity on what needed to be completed, where wires needed to be routed, and what their function was. The only wiring left to do is the rear light harness and it should take about as long as the front light harness which wasnt but a couple of hours.

I do also have the grid heaters to wire up. I have everything for them, but at this point, they are not crucial to driving the truck so they arent the highest on the list at the moment.

The first time these headlights have been lit up on her.....

I knew the time would come to have to try to get the body aligned on this frame that this body was not originally on. In preparation for that, rebuilt the door hinges so I wouldnt have to do it once the fenders were mounted.

Thats about enough of those!

Once I got the doors back on, I test fit the fenders and noticed I had quite a bit of a tapered gap between the door and the fender. After some asking around, I guess it is standard to shim the body mounts to get the gaps to work out right. Not being a body guy and never gapping body lines before, I think that these turned out acceptable to me. I ended up shimming the front cab mount up about 1/4"-3/8" to get the gap uniform.

Anther item that was lingering for far too long was the clutch hydraulic reservoir mounting. I was just going to try to fab something simple in the barn to mount it but ended up throwing something together on the waterjet. Still simple, but much cleaner than I would have been able to fab up.

 

[badriver19]

December 2018 - Front sheetmetal is installed for good! And actually, I tightened down all of the body mounts while I was at it. Fenders, inner fenders, cowl, and the grille are all bolted up, aligned as best I could get them and mounted for good. I guess I will just have to get lucky that the hood aligns well with everything mounted. It feels good that most everything is mounted and bolted down. For the longest time, I would putt around the property afraid parts would just be falling off and scattered throughout the property. :dustin:

I couldnt use the original hood latch support because its real estate is now occupied by the intercooler and I didnt want the grille to be the only support for the hood latch so I made a bracket to run under the intercooler and bolt to the bottom of the core support. I cut the original bracket to follow along side of the intercooler. The new support bracket has threaded holes in it to bolt throught the original bracket and into the new support bracket. The hood latch and the inner grille can now still bolt up just like factory and will have more than enough support.

New 1/4" bracket in place

Bolts through the original bracket and into the threaded holes of the new bracket

Bottom view where it bolts to the bottom of the core support

So after starting and running the engine a few times lately, I noticed something that I dont remember noticing before. The throttle linkage/pedal was sticking just slightly. Ive read that some have had some "bucking" issues with the throttle linkage when missing the bottom return spring. There was a clear mounting location on the linkage for the lower return spring but I couldnt hardly even make up at spot to hook the other end of the spring on towards the front of the injection pump just to get by. This was probably good because it forced me to come up with a much more permanent solution to the issue. The only place I could come up with to test it was to hook it onto one of the bolt heads of the pump. This gave me a proximity of where to put the new mounting hole for the other end of the spring.

Based on some searches, this is the lower spring mount from 94-96 pumps. It attaches to a stud/pin on the linkage(which mine is missing) and then to a bracket with a similar stud/pin that bolts to I would assume either a pump mounting bolt or another point on the bottom/front of the injection pump.

This is the lower throttle linkage return spring style that the 97 & 98 pumps used. Apparently this style is hard to find and very expensive. Although I havent looked too hard, I have found both styles to be pretty hard to find.

This is the solution that I came up with. I really just needed a small hole somewhere around where that bolt head was that I test mounted the spring to. I cut a simple bracket on the waterjet and problem solved. My spring isnt quite as heavy looking as the factory springs, but if it becomes an issue or seems to still stick, Ill replace it with a heavier one.

I cut several different variations of it in case the original design didnt quite work but it turned out just fine on the first one.

The distance is just enough to keep tension on the spring for a consistent pedal feel hopefully....

 

[badriver19]

Truck looks nice. I really like the way the wiring is turning out.

The temp sender needs to match the temp gauge. If you're using the original gauges then get an original sender, they are 1/2" npt and should go right in place of what you have pictured. If you can find an original sender that would be better as the new ones read hot but can be calibrated to read pretty close with an inline resistor.

Thanks bigblock. I was not looking forward to the wiring at all. After I made up this panel to get the engine working with the truck and the truck working with the engine, it made it much clearer what needed to be done and where wires and terminals need to go.

I am using the original gauges for now. I would like to keep using them if I can get them all to do what I need them to do. I may throw a small 3 gauge pod with actual vital numbers down below the dash for peace of mind until I know where everything is reading. I actually just ordered an original replica of the temp sender from a company that makes them for this very reason. I am hoping it will work out. Ill post about it once I get it in and reading.

Thanks for the info!

 

[badriver19]

December 2018 - With the headlight wiring update and them running through the relays in my custom electrical panel, it was definitely installed and in the truck for a bit(since about Semptember apparently), but I couldnt nail down a good way to mount it because of the contour of the inner fender until I finally bit the bullet and just threw some wild dimensions and guesses into CAD, cut the bracket, bent up the tabs, tapped the holes in the those tabs, and threw it in. I pretty much nailed it on the first try as well. I threw some paint on it and got it installed.

Ive learned that sometimes it just takes the activity of actually jumping in and doing something without knowing how or what youre doing to get it done and more often than not, it will turn out just fine. Ive gotten myself caught up in overthinking too many parts of the build when all it would take is jumping in head first and going after it to come up with a solution that works just as well, if not better, than if I had over analyzed the situation. Over thinking really is a sickness Im convinced......

While Im on the topic of mounting the wiring panel, Ill throw in the power distribution block........

And the battery connections all wrapped up.

I do still need to figure out what in the system needs protection. My custom panel has a 120A circuit breaker at the main power for the panel. I dont have anything on the charge cable for the alternator to the battery(which I would imagine would be the most important source to protect) or any other cables feeding power to anything else. Ill do some research and try to figure out what power sources Ill need to protect from overloading. Most of the cables are 2 gauge or heavier and Im not sure they even make fusible links big enough for them. I really dont completely understand what to match them to to begin with though. Ive ready a rule of thumb to use is to go two sizes smaller for the fusible link than the cable you are wanting to protect but as I mentioned, Im pretty sure that Ive read that no one makes them bigger than 8 gauge and even they are fairly uncommon? Are Maxi fuses ok to use in place of fusible links? Do I have any other options?

 

[78K30]

Last truck I worked on I used MEGA fuses for the alternator charging and power supply to everything. Not saying it's right but so far no issues and much easier to replace than fusible link wire.

I also hear you on the "diving right in and making it happen" philosophy. Lot of times I've got caught up overthinking things and end up jumping in with no plan and seeing what works out

 

[Truckman4life]

I like these. They are AMG fuses and come in ratings from 100-300 amps. We used to use them for fusing winches on our utility trucks. Or there is ANL fuses which are similar but have a larger range from 50-750 amps and I think a wider mounting stud pattern than AMG.

 

[78K30]

I like these. They are AMG fuses and come in ratings from 100-300 amps. We used to use them for fusing winches on our utility trucks. Or there is ANL fuses which are similar but have a larger range from 50-750 amps and I think a wider mounting stud pattern than AMG.
View attachment 296928

I must've had a faulty memory in my previous post, those are exactly what I used

 

[Truckman4life]

I must've had a faulty memory in my previous post, those are exactly what I used

Yeah took me a bit of searching cuz I couldn't remember the name for them. My amazing parts guy in Moab always hooked me up on stuff like that.

 

[Bowtiek10]

I do still need to figure out what in the system needs protection. My custom panel has a 120A circuit breaker at the main power for the panel. I dont have anything on the charge cable for the alternator to the battery(which I would imagine would be the most important source to protect) or any other cables feeding power to anything else. Ill do some research and try to figure out what power sources Ill need to protect from overloading. Most of the cables are 2 gauge or heavier and Im not sure they even make fusible links big enough for them. I really dont completely understand what to match them to to begin with though. Ive ready a rule of thumb to use is to go two sizes smaller for the fusible link than the cable you are wanting to protect but as I mentioned, Im pretty sure that Ive read that no one makes them bigger than 8 gauge and even they are fairly uncommon? Are Maxi fuses ok to use in place of fusible links? Do I have any other options?[/QUOTE]

Badass build!

My painless performance kit for my 85 has an 80amp (I think) maxi fuse from the alternator positive lead that eliminates fusible links. If you run maxi fuses go online and buy a few just in case, as parts houses don't have them readily available in case you short bad enough to blow it. My wiring kit is also about 4-5 years old now. I know that since then they have started to run AMG style fuses like above. Why they made that change I don't know, but I think in either case if you match fuse amperage to wire gauge you should be fine to replace a fusible link that way.