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The Great Smaug

Overview Gallery Discussion
Blue85 said:
I have noticed recently that places like Autozone and NAPA have the tailgate hinges and trunions in the aisle. What diameter do you need? I have something.
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The tailgate cups are 1.5" OD, and the trunions I have are also 1.5" OD. So they no workey. On the trailer the cups are 1.5" OD and the trunions are 1.25" OD. That combination works.

I figured I could pick up new ones somewhere, but hadn't taken time to think about it yet.
 
So......today's progress was lateral at best. The 4" exhaust is hung, but the 3" still needs welding. The fuel situation still isn't resolved, though I eliminated one leak. I dumped in the 5 gallons of fuel, bringing the color much closer to green. Changed the filter and headed off to the gas station to fill the tank. It started right up and ran just long enough to drain the fuel bowl. And then died. :doah:

Hindsight being what it is, I didn't wait until the bubbles stopped, and pumped a few into the pump. I thought it would be fine, and I lost that bet. I tried cranking through it, but decided to stop before the starter melted. I guess I'll crack injector lines next, but the moral of the story is that rushing backfires from time to time.

And the brakes haven't been touched.

So today's summary is that none of yesterday's goals have been reached, and I created a new problem. It's minor, but I'm still frustrated with this week.

Bilsteins, master cylinder, and exhaust clamp are all due in tomorrow morning. :cool: 1.5 days left, tomorrow is busy, and I have a total of 9 miles on this thing. 3 out of 4 test drives have been aborted. It's still down to the wire, folks. :eek1: :popcorn:
 
The fuel filter assembly had no bleeder, and the water drain out the bottom of the filter supplied only a trickle. So I added a drain to the supply side. I have had internal questions about whether the fuel is supposed to flow out from the center of the filter or in from the outside. It's flowing from outside to inside at this point, which is how it flowed before the engine swap. So the water drain collects from the low pressure side of the filter. This cartridge flows from inside-->outside-->inside, so maybe it doesn't matter which way it goes? :dunno: :thinking:


Anyways, here's a picture of my plumbing adventure, and the color of the fuel coming out of it. It looks clean but brown. :dunno:

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It's a Stanadyne FM100 filter housing with a Napa branded filter. The double inlet & outlet holes make it extra adaptable.
 
That thought about how much I've learned came to me again today. I decided to check out some of my old handiwork. Always a dangerous idea. :rolleyes:

Here are my trailer frame stick welds from 8 years ago. Porosity, cold roll, undercut, lack of penetration...most of the things you're not supposed to have in a weld. :rolleyes: It hasn't broken yet, but these are definitely on my list of things to redo someday. And before that trailer does another long-haul trip.



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From there I moved up to steel MIG. Here are my shock mount welds from 4 years ago. There's undercut & cold roll, but it's a step up.


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A few months back I decided to tackle exhaust welding. Learned a bunch from that, too. Mostly about burning through thin stuff. :rolleyes:

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These days I consider this weld bad enough to grind down and redo. Standards are way higher now.

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And now the prettier welds are becoming common instead of rare strokes of luck.

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So who knows what 8 more years will bring? :thinking:



Alright, back to truck things. 40 hours left.

:popcorn:
 
Went back out, cracked 2 injector lines. Cranked it for 10 seconds. Closed injector lines, and it fired right up. Amazing what happens when you follow the right procedure, eh?

No change, though. It ran a little weak for 1/4 mile and then fell flat on its face, with the occasional brief surge of power. Got down to 35MPH on the way back, WOT in 4th gear. Next step is a fuel pressure gauge, as I'm confident it's not getting enough fuel. I'm just not sure where the weak spot is.

My 15psi politician gauge would actually work well, but I'd rather keep it clean. I hafta go to Autozone tomorrow anyways.

So...is my new pump failing? Or is my pickup sock plugged? Or something else? :thinking:

:popcorn:
 
GWeakland620 said:
I have a strong belief in blaming the in-tank components.
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You know that is exactly what I don't want to be messing with right now. :doah:

But that thought kept me from filling the tank, just in case. As I think about it I'm pretty sure I'd cut a hole in the floor before I'd mess with the rusty straps. I'd like to be installing the skid plate, so this is negative progress.

On this truck there's nothing in the tank but a pickup sock & the sender. It could be full of crud, or it could have fallen off. But I think those are the only possibilities.
 
In the worst case, it's easy to throw a fuel cell in the massive rear cargo area. So I don't think this issue is gonna halt the whole trip, assuming we address it head-on.

I'm more concerned with the brakes.
 
I’m just saying, I’ve been known to avoid the hard work from an issue I didn’t want to accept. I just like to see you keep pushing yourself in a positive manner.
 
GWeakland620 said:
I’m just saying, I’ve been known to avoid the hard work from an issue I didn’t want to accept. I just like to see you keep pushing yourself in a positive manner.
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Yeah, I did that with the crummy exhaust & clutch bleeding projects. Hindsight makes clear that this was stupid. The clutch wound up being extremely easy, and the exhaust has been manageable, also. I just needed motivation, which this week has provided.
 
Oh, one more variable. After pumping a very slow gallon out of the tank, there was a bunch of vacuum in the tank. So the cap isn't letting air in. I ran this last test drive with the cap loose, just to make sure it wasn't the problem. I do recall the cap doing this as long as I've owned the truck.
 
Ok, I took the last exhaust pieces to work today and welded them up, then came home early. Bilsteins & master cylinder are here. :cool:


GWeakland620 said:
I have a strong belief in blaming the in-tank components.
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Cut through the floor and found scaley rust on the sending unit. Pieces flaking off of the fuel tubing.


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But inside it looked spotless. The tubing is shiny and the float is well lubricated. No gunk anywhere.

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Does this screen look plugged? I'm even more confused now.

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Oh, and new sending unit is now coming in tomorrow morning instead of tonight. :rolleyes:

I do want to replace the crusty outside lines, but I'm not seeing any actual problems. I think I'll pick up some copper tubing and replace the rotted hard line between the tank and the pump. New pump is on order, too.

:1zhelp:
 
And yes, I specifically marked out a cut line just aft of the cross member spot welds, and then absentmindedly cut aft of the second set of welds instead of the first. :doah:
 
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