The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[mosesburb]

Well, I guess I have gotten a bit behind here. It sure hasn't been slow around here, but I haven't posted any progress pics in ages (obviously).

In looking through my pic files I found a nice repair that I had done prior to the grand trip that I had not posted. From the time I bought the Sub, the forward chunk of headliner had been missing. I purchased a complete headliner from a Sub many years ago, but the forward chunk was pretty destroyed. I have patiently searched locally since then for a good forward chunk, but never did find one. Most suffered the same fate as mine did because the forward panel was much larger than the "middle" panels, but not supported as well. This created a situation where they would bow and buckle and come out of the bows and then fall down or break apart and then fall down. Well, I got tired of having no headliner above me so I devised a plan "B".

Before I got started, i pulled the other panels out and added some sound deadener to the inside of the roof panel, reset the original styrofoam insulation (hard to beat the insualting properties of styrofoam) and added some insulation above the front seating area.

This is what the forward chunk of headliner that I bought with the complete headliner looked like. A little too jacked up to deal with:

That pencil line across it is mine. It is the length of one of the middle headliner panels (not the forward or rearmost panels, but the panels in the middle). I then cut the panel on that line to create a template for that little piece with the rounded shape at the front. I then installed a "middle" panel and cut a hole for the dome lamp etscutcheon:

Then I took a bow and cut it down a little (because the width of the headliner is less at the front): The green string represents the difference in width.

Then I laid out the template for the front piece on another "middle panel" and trimmed it out. Then that became my new front piece. There is a little waviness to it from its memory of its previous life as a "middle" panel, but I think it turned out pretty good:

I now have a headliner that is complete and a whole bunch stouter than the original design. The sound deadener and insulation seems to have made a nice difference in interior noise.

 

[mosesburb]

One of the things I learned on our journey is that the diffs could use some armament. I tried a RuffStuff Specialties cover first. I could only start nine bolts. I contacted them and they immediately sent me another one. I asked them to verify the holes before they shipped it. They claimed they test fit it, but this one I could only start eight bolts in. I contacted Kert from DIY4X and asked how many times he has issues with bolts not starting. He was very honest and said that they do occasionally have a problem with two holes. He said it was almost always the same holes, so I decided to try his cover. It went on with no issues whatsoever. Bolted straight on and done. Before I bolted it on I scribed a line around the bottom of the cover and got after it with a Sawzall. This is what fell off:

This is what I was left with:

 

[mosesburb]

Another thing I learned on our trip was that I was getting tired of the green dash. When I bought the Sub, I planned to do a color change to green, but the longer I owned it, the older I got and the more expensive paint became, I had pretty much abandoned all thoughts of completing a color change to green.

I decided at some point that it needed to turn orange again, so before the summer cooled off, I tore the dash apart and got after it. This orange paint is almost completely translucent, so the factory put it over white paint to make it work, so I did the same:

Then add some orange paint:

This is what I ended up with. I did not want to paint the A-pillars orange, so I shot those flat black, just like the area between the dash pad and the windshield:

That sure took some getting used to. Having driven it with the green dash for so long, it was a bit of an odd experience having this bright orange in front of me. I am used to it now and have really grown to like it too, but it was really odd at first...

 

[82355]

The orange looks better than green anyway.

Martin

 

[y5mgisi]

Looks much beter!

 

[CUCV2]

Really putting the finishing touches to it now. Looks great!

 

[mosesburb]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I didn't think it was too uncivilized before, but it sure is nicer now having addressed some issues here and there.

 

[mosesburb]

So I was installing an auxilliary heater and I had the passenger inner fenderwell out of the truck. One night I was checking something out on another one of my trucks and I turned around and glanced through the opening with my flashlight and saw something that made me want to turn around and walk away.

I initially, incorrectly, assumed it was a valve cover leak. It was wishful thinking, but I REALLY wanted to repair a valve cover gasket. It wasn't a valve cover. Now I'm no stranger to a seeping head gasket. I stopped using Fel Pro head gaskets in the early 90's because of seepage. So I called a buddy of mine at Low Budget Diesel Performance and he confirmed my suspicion and also my fear that the head had to come off. Boo. Well, here we go. After some serious disassembly, this is what I was left with:

Straight-up 80's tech right there. Graphite composite in a steel shim gasket. You can almost smell the Aqua-Net hair spray. I got eveything cleaned up and had the head checked out. It passed pressure test easily and it passes vac test well enough for an old motor. It did require a mill to the surface though. They took .25mm off and got it back to me. I needed a way to work on the head now. I could have borrowed a pair of head stands, but the angle of the yokes would not have worked well for the goofy-shaped intake side of the Cummins head. I wandered out to my iron pile and found some pieces of channel. I also found some pieces of old bed frame. Perfect. A little pipe insulation and some 3M Super 88 tape and we're off to the races:

So I wasn't thrilled with the vac test performance. It wasn't bad enough to need a valve job, but it could use some help, so I decided to do some old school lapping. I didn't use the old suction cup deal, but instead used a drill chucked on the stem and some good old fashioned clover lapping compound. After cleaning the valves and lapping them in, a very obvious difference could be seen. So I had the head disassembled, may as well throw some new valve stem seals and 60lb valve springs at it in case an exhaust brake falls in my lap some day:

Yeah, I thought it was a good idea too. So with all of this and all of that, this is what I ended up with: (it's heavier than it looks)

Here is some new millenium technology. One Cummins factory head gasket.

So, all that needs to happen now is slip that head back onto its perch. I borrowed my neighbor and we got the head about in the right place and soo realized putting it back together is going to be way more difficult that taking it apart. When it came apart, there was no concern for the head gasket. Well, with the price of this new head gasket, I was not willing to use too much brute force and ignorance during assembly. What is the issue you may ask?? You take it apart, you put it together. Sounds simple enough. The problem resides in the pushrods for cylinder number six. Yep, those things are so long they have to come out with the head because they hit the cowl. Seriously. Coming apart the head can be tilted and manipulated, but working over a high-dollar replacement gasket, that plan is no good. I ended up doing a little in-field modification:

So any of you guys using this thread as a guide or worse using it as a play-by-play, take note(!!), you will run into this same problem if you have to pull the head off of your motor in-frame. Also, two holes are not enough--it requires four. The two in the firewall and two in the cowl. Yep, pull your wipers, you're going in!! Those push rods are really long. Really long.

So while I was in there, I noticed some seepage from the weep hole (I am ready to start weeping by about now....) What's another hundred and change to the Cummins store??

So with that, I was able to start going back together. I was offered help by my boy which I gladly accepted. Unfortunately, he decided he could pick his job. He took the driver side bracketry reassembly and left the exhaust manifold/turbo install for me. It was cool though. He did his side and I did mine. Photographic proof:

So this gets me a motor that will retain it coolant. I can now get back onto my auxilliary heater install.

 

[lectric80]

That's awesome work there, and looks like a great helper as well!

 

[jt512]

Sucks about the HG and I feel for you having to do it in frame, even though my 12v only had 71k on it I went ahead and did a gasket, springs and studs while it was out, I really cheated and used forklift too......Cummins heads are no joke

 

[Eat Soot]

Man that sucks! It doesn't look fun. I'm crossing my fingers on this, I put 50 miles on mine last weekend for the shake down run. I will be going over it this weekend and will check the head for leaks. Nice write up and heads up on the push rods!

 

[mosesburb]

That's awesome work there, and looks like a great helper as well!

Thanks!! Yeah, he did good. I didn't even bother running QC on his work. He said he tightened everything and I was good with that. Kinda nice having some help.

Sucks about the HG and I feel for you having to do it in frame, even though my 12v only had 71k on it I went ahead and did a gasket, springs and studs while it was out, I really cheated and used forklift too......Cummins heads are no joke

Yeah, that's no joke. My neighbor really saved my bacon on the cylinder head install. He had an idea to use a piece of tubing and a tie down strap to allow us to get the head in the right geographic location without having to use brute force and then back the strap off and slowly lower it into position. Worked slicker than hell and offered no risk to the gasket.

Man that sucks! It doesn't look fun. I'm crossing my fingers on this, I put 50 miles on mine last weekend for the shake down run. I will be going over it this weekend and will check the head for leaks. Nice write up and heads up on the push rods!

Thanks. Yeah, it was about as much fun as it looked like. Total gross weight really isn't so bad. It is just super goofy-awkward. There is no easy way to do anything with it. I really hope I never have to do it again.

 

[mosesburb]

So while I had the cooling system down I noticed some junk in the bottom of the bucket.

I did not take the time to identify it, I just used it as an excuse to install the coolant filter that I have been putting off installing since I built the truck. I figured it couldn't hurt any. I used ball valves on the inlet and outlet so I can change the filter without effectively draining the entire cooling system.

I mounted it pre-heater valve, so it is in a bypass configuration when the heater valve is open and it is full-flow when the heater valve is closed.

 

[82355]

No matter how clean your system is, you always get crap like that in the bottom of the bucket. That is relatively clean actually.

Martin

 

[mosesburb]

No matter how clean your system is, you always get crap like that in the bottom of the bucket. That is relatively clean actually.

Martin

Yeah, but a coolant filter has been in the plans from the git-go, so I just used this as an excuse to finally install it. I despise cooling system issues and this just makes my life a little easier in the maintenance department.

 

[y5mgisi]

I did enjoy reading your storry. I really like the hole in the cowl part...

 

[mosesburb]

I did enjoy reading your storry. I really like the hole in the cowl part...

Thanks. I'm glad YOU liked the holes in the cowl, because I sure didn't. Man, that brought the suck. Oof.

 

[y5mgisi]

I just cant help but wonder what i would have done in that situation.

 

[mosesburb]

I just cant help but wonder what i would have done in that situation.

Uh, the same thing I did--invent a few new words, then drill holes in your firewall and cowl.

 

[y5mgisi]

What i really mean is, i wonder if that would have crossed my mind, or if i wouldn't have thought of it and ended up pulling the motor or some how tilting it.