Engine and tranny are now mounted, and the engine is half ready for test firing. And this thread is falling further behind. 
But these pictures make me happy...
But these pictures make me happy...
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.
The Great Smaug
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
Notes from today:
The drivetrain is pushed forward. The motor mount adjustments are maxed out in the forward direction, and the tranny mount is about 1/2" further forward than stock.
The W-crossmember uses a pair bolts closer to the middle of the beam compared to the flat cross member bolts (shown below for comparison)
My frame has both sets of bolt holes already, so I just had to clean the rust flakes out of the holes on the passenger side. On the driver side, thanks to my slight offset, the cross member is shifted forward so it hits the forward hole instead of the center holes. This slight crookedness is less than the available range of the transmission mount adjustment, so I'm happy. I will need to drill out the 4th hole, so it's not as perfect as the Blazer swap. But I want that 1/2" of extra space so the shifter housings don't hit. This arrangement is a little tighter than last time. Someone using a 205 shifter would happily drop it right in the stock location.
The drivetrain is pushed forward. The motor mount adjustments are maxed out in the forward direction, and the tranny mount is about 1/2" further forward than stock.
The W-crossmember uses a pair bolts closer to the middle of the beam compared to the flat cross member bolts (shown below for comparison)
My frame has both sets of bolt holes already, so I just had to clean the rust flakes out of the holes on the passenger side. On the driver side, thanks to my slight offset, the cross member is shifted forward so it hits the forward hole instead of the center holes. This slight crookedness is less than the available range of the transmission mount adjustment, so I'm happy. I will need to drill out the 4th hole, so it's not as perfect as the Blazer swap. But I want that 1/2" of extra space so the shifter housings don't hit. This arrangement is a little tighter than last time. Someone using a 205 shifter would happily drop it right in the stock location.
Also, the NV3500 shifter has a shorter throw than the NV4500. And the NV4500 had a shorter throw than the old SM465. As measured by my calibrated shifting arm. 
Moving the engine did not go well. I broke a bolt off while removing it from the engine stand. And it already had two other broken bolts. 
Using torch heat I extracted the one that protruded, and I tried my left-handed drill bit on the other two. I successfully drilled and tapped the bottom left bolt. I wandered off-course on the right side, and wound up with a hole only half way aligned with the original bore. I didn't think I could drill out enough to encompass the larger opening without weakening the casting. So I put it together with 5 bolts, and the bottom left is oversized.
The poor oil filter has had a hard life. It sat around and rusted, so I had to clean up the sealing surface. Then I burned it with fire. Then I gave it a nice dent when hoisting the engine. Methinks it won't be on there very long.
Next up was the flywheel & pressure plate. I pulled out my flywheel bolts & lock washers and put it all together. But it didn't feel right. I took it back apart and used some of the "assemblee goo" to show that it was indeed hitting the flywheel bolts. Yeah, I used too much, and I wish it wasn't so close to the friction disk. Not much I can do about that now.
But when I removed the lock washers it all fit perfectly. I found it interesting that in the 10 minutes I spent figuring this out, the red locktite on the flywheel bolts had turned into a sticky white paste. Didn't resemble the stuff I put on there at all.
Bell housing alignment on the hoist was smooth.
Lifting it slowly into place. I used lots of straps and built a hoisting beam. My reason for doing so involves loose sand, tipsy hoist, losing control, collateral damage, and the engine landing on its oil pan.
Tipping it around the chamfer in the oil pan.
Yay!
I fought with this mount for half an hour or so before I realized I had installed it backwards.
This shot shows the problem better...the offsets in the two metal tabs should match the shape of the engine mount. So the upward tab should be on the bottom and the downward tab should be on the top, reducing the angle. It fits much better if you do it that way.
Final resting place. Happy to be moving on to bigger and better things. And hopefully safer ones, too.
Using torch heat I extracted the one that protruded, and I tried my left-handed drill bit on the other two. I successfully drilled and tapped the bottom left bolt. I wandered off-course on the right side, and wound up with a hole only half way aligned with the original bore. I didn't think I could drill out enough to encompass the larger opening without weakening the casting. So I put it together with 5 bolts, and the bottom left is oversized.The poor oil filter has had a hard life. It sat around and rusted, so I had to clean up the sealing surface. Then I burned it with fire. Then I gave it a nice dent when hoisting the engine. Methinks it won't be on there very long.
Next up was the flywheel & pressure plate. I pulled out my flywheel bolts & lock washers and put it all together. But it didn't feel right. I took it back apart and used some of the "assemblee goo" to show that it was indeed hitting the flywheel bolts. Yeah, I used too much, and I wish it wasn't so close to the friction disk. Not much I can do about that now.
But when I removed the lock washers it all fit perfectly. I found it interesting that in the 10 minutes I spent figuring this out, the red locktite on the flywheel bolts had turned into a sticky white paste. Didn't resemble the stuff I put on there at all.
Bell housing alignment on the hoist was smooth.
Lifting it slowly into place. I used lots of straps and built a hoisting beam. My reason for doing so involves loose sand, tipsy hoist, losing control, collateral damage, and the engine landing on its oil pan.
Tipping it around the chamfer in the oil pan.
Yay!
I fought with this mount for half an hour or so before I realized I had installed it backwards.
This shot shows the problem better...the offsets in the two metal tabs should match the shape of the engine mount. So the upward tab should be on the bottom and the downward tab should be on the top, reducing the angle. It fits much better if you do it that way.
Final resting place. Happy to be moving on to bigger and better things. And hopefully safer ones, too.
As for engine, P/S is attached, I'm half done with fuel lines (seem to have misplaced my 1/4" return line 
). Glow plug wiring is done. Oil cooler is mounted. I need to mount the radiator, fuel pump, belts, starter, and the new 2/0 battery cables. I've soldered 5 of the ends so far, and I'm not happy with how much solder is wicking up into the cable. It's stiff for a full inch above the connector. But yay for learning new things. 
Working around the turbine is more of a trick than I had thought. And I'm gonna hafta torch the pinion snubber mount out of the frame in order to clear the new exhaust pipe. The manifold dumps directly into it. This kit sure feels like it was prototyped on the wider GMT400 chassis. It's more crowded than a square body should be.
). Glow plug wiring is done. Oil cooler is mounted. I need to mount the radiator, fuel pump, belts, starter, and the new 2/0 battery cables. I've soldered 5 of the ends so far, and I'm not happy with how much solder is wicking up into the cable. It's stiff for a full inch above the connector. But yay for learning new things. Working around the turbine is more of a trick than I had thought. And I'm gonna hafta torch the pinion snubber mount out of the frame in order to clear the new exhaust pipe. The manifold dumps directly into it. This kit sure feels like it was prototyped on the wider GMT400 chassis. It's more crowded than a square body should be.
Slow progress. We're really close to firing, but I did not get there tonight.
Cooling system/belts/fan/oil lines are all done. I've come to like the liquid insulation. I hadn't used it before, but it appears to be sealing up the connections nicely.
The wire for the low coolant sensor is normally tied to the fan shroud. I don't like this arrangement because it gets in the way and flops around. I had a fan eat one of them once. So this time I routed it down across the cross-member. Problem solved, and there are even a few extra inches of wire.
The starter sits between the two exhaust pipes, so the cable was covered in hot rod sheathing. And then that was wrapped in aluminized fiberglass. I wasn't super happy with the velcro holding the aluminum stuff together, so I used some aluminum tape to protect it. Just in case.
Removing the pinion snubber wasn't optional.
Much more roomy with it gone. The 3" exhaust outlet dumps right into the frame rail. Aside from hitting that brake line it's a pretty good compromise. Gets the exhaust away from the starter.
But installing the starter brought back the interference. The stock orientation of the solenoid wire leaves it penetrating the exhaust pipe, and I'm only 80% sure that the pipe won't be directly melting the solenoid cap. I have a stock heat shield, and it'll be better than nothing. Still thinking about a good long-term solution.
So all the boring little things are done. I need to finish the starter installation, torque one motor mount, and reinstall my electric lift pump (closer to the tank this time). Then it should run. My aftermarket throttle cable appears to be 1/4" too short. So it's holding the pump just above where cold idle should be. This could be interesting.
After that, I need to fix my boogered NP208 output shaft and it should be ready for a test drive.
Cooling system/belts/fan/oil lines are all done. I've come to like the liquid insulation. I hadn't used it before, but it appears to be sealing up the connections nicely.
The wire for the low coolant sensor is normally tied to the fan shroud. I don't like this arrangement because it gets in the way and flops around. I had a fan eat one of them once. So this time I routed it down across the cross-member. Problem solved, and there are even a few extra inches of wire.
The starter sits between the two exhaust pipes, so the cable was covered in hot rod sheathing. And then that was wrapped in aluminized fiberglass. I wasn't super happy with the velcro holding the aluminum stuff together, so I used some aluminum tape to protect it. Just in case.
Removing the pinion snubber wasn't optional.
Much more roomy with it gone. The 3" exhaust outlet dumps right into the frame rail. Aside from hitting that brake line it's a pretty good compromise. Gets the exhaust away from the starter.
But installing the starter brought back the interference. The stock orientation of the solenoid wire leaves it penetrating the exhaust pipe, and I'm only 80% sure that the pipe won't be directly melting the solenoid cap. I have a stock heat shield, and it'll be better than nothing. Still thinking about a good long-term solution.
So all the boring little things are done. I need to finish the starter installation, torque one motor mount, and reinstall my electric lift pump (closer to the tank this time). Then it should run. My aftermarket throttle cable appears to be 1/4" too short. So it's holding the pump just above where cold idle should be. This could be interesting.
After that, I need to fix my boogered NP208 output shaft and it should be ready for a test drive.
Major progress. I’m digging the NV3500.
David
David
Me too. With the full bench seat the shifter seems further back than the NV4500. But I think the actual difference is pretty small. I'm leaning toward buying two generic shifting boots & chucking the NP208 bezel. I also like the minimalistic look that it has now, with the tiny boot covering the shifting tower. If the carpet were closed around it all nice and pretty, I think it would work pretty well. The NP208 shifter is fine, I just think it needs to lose the large plastic shroud. The hole in the floor nearly touches the bezel bracket. I would have had to cut the bracket if the drivetrain wasn't shoved forward that tiny bit.
In contrast, the Blazer has at least 1/2" extra clearance here, plus the 1/2" in the drivetrain.
But I'm gonna get some miles on the burb before I worry about aesthetics. It's more than good enough for this stage.
I'm also gonna hafta verify my shifter clearance before I'm done. It has about 3/8" of room on all sides, and I've had vehicles that would deflect more than that under engine torque.
It should be good with the new poly mounts. But it's a risk I have no interest in taking given the plastic shift tower on the NV3500.
It should be good with the new poly mounts. But it's a risk I have no interest in taking given the plastic shift tower on the NV3500.
3 more small steps. I successfully restored the threads on the NP208 front output shaft. So that is safely completed and I don't need to tear it all down again. Whew.
I plumbed up the new electric lift pump. At which point I rediscovered that this truck is fully capable of siphoning a shower's worth of diesel everywhere. I found this out when I first tore into it, but had thought it wasn't a problem anymore. Joke's on me. I am glad that diesel isn't as irritating as gasoline, though. I fired up the pump for a couple minutes to purge the air out. Plenty of pressure at the fuel filter, so the air should have moved back to the tank.
And I threw the NP208 up in its place for good measure. Discovered that the 6-bolt pattern isn't symmetrical (gasket needs to be clocked correctly). I used RTV last time, so I didn't have this problem.
I plumbed up the new electric lift pump. At which point I rediscovered that this truck is fully capable of siphoning a shower's worth of diesel everywhere. I found this out when I first tore into it, but had thought it wasn't a problem anymore. Joke's on me.
I am glad that diesel isn't as irritating as gasoline, though. I fired up the pump for a couple minutes to purge the air out. Plenty of pressure at the fuel filter, so the air should have moved back to the tank.And I threw the NP208 up in its place for good measure. Discovered that the 6-bolt pattern isn't symmetrical (gasket needs to be clocked correctly). I used RTV last time, so I didn't have this problem.
So baby steps include:
Torque engine mount.
Finish routing/protecting starter wires.
NP208 bolts
Reinstall Driveshafts.
Should be a short evening's work, right? I keep telling myself that. One of these days it'll actually be true.
Any day now...
Torque engine mount.
Finish routing/protecting starter wires.
NP208 bolts
Reinstall Driveshafts.
Should be a short evening's work, right? I keep telling myself that. One of these days it'll actually be true.
Any day now...
Same here. The turtle race continues.
I cannot believe neither of us have turned the key this month. This is both sad and hilarious at the same time!
I'm heading into back-to-back long-weekend camping trips. So this is your chance to get ahead again.
I’m seriously hopeful for some vroom vroom noises from the truck this weekend. Not just my mouth.
Probably not. This thing just became a minor parts donor for the Stepside.
I mean....CAMPING!!!!
Small update. Wired up fuel pump and both batteries. Rewired the starter battery so both batteries stay connected to the charging port when the main lines are disconnected.
After last week's shorting issue, I rerouted the small wires away from the starter motor. This eliminated some failure points and some of the congestion surrounding the starter. They now attach to a separate wiring block on the firewall. This ties into the secondary battery now. Though with the 1/0 welding cables tying them together, I don't think the batteries will be as lopsided as they used to be.
Secondary battery. At this point it's just running glow plugs and chassis electrical. But that's gonna change in time.
And finally, the oil pressure sender I received is oversized. It will not fit on my block without some plumbing mods.
And the new starter stripped the signal stud today.
One piece at a time...
After last week's shorting issue, I rerouted the small wires away from the starter motor. This eliminated some failure points and some of the congestion surrounding the starter. They now attach to a separate wiring block on the firewall. This ties into the secondary battery now. Though with the 1/0 welding cables tying them together, I don't think the batteries will be as lopsided as they used to be.
Secondary battery. At this point it's just running glow plugs and chassis electrical. But that's gonna change in time.
And finally, the oil pressure sender I received is oversized. It will not fit on my block without some plumbing mods.
And the new starter stripped the signal stud today.
One piece at a time...
The engine bay wiring is sound but messy. Almost messy enough to start stripping out circuits, but I need to stay focused. At least, as focused as this build ever has been.
With the EGR, EPR, WIF, Cruise Control, AC, TCC lockup, and fuel filter heater all deleted, this engine is using less than half of its wiring harness.
It runs. No major changes, I just finally crossed the finish line. For this phase, at least.
