[dave_r]

While out for work, I also bought some M16x2 threaded rod and some nuts/washers for it, to make a simple crankshaft pulley installer. After buying it, I realized I could probably have made it cheaper (as the stuff was over $40) by using a die on some rod for threading into the crankshaft, and then welding that rod to some 1/2" threaded rod which is much cheaper to buy).

After work, I assembled the old rods w the new pistons, with some assembly lube on the wrist pins, and inserted the new bearings in them. Made sure the pistons and rods were oriented correctly (so the larger knob on the side of the rod faces the same direction as the indicator on the top of the piston [which goes toward the front of the engine when installed]).

Tomorrow I should complete checking the bearing clearances for all the pistons, as now both the crankshaft and the rods will be held in position securely, so they won't rotate and smoosh the plastigage.

 

[dave_r]

Ugh, after work, I went for installing the cam bearings while waiting for the main bearing cap bolts to come in, and botched the job. Installed 3 of them decently, the 4th I guess I didn't get the installation tool expanded/tight enough, so one edge of the bearing slipped over the end of the driver and being driven into the bore at an angle, so the bearing is damaged. So, it's order another set... :-(

Then made a tool for installing the camshaft, by threading the end of a 5/8" rod to M16-1.5, so I can screw it into end of the camshaft where the VVT solenoid goes, to better control inserting it to minimize the possibility of damaging the bearings.

Finally, faced the ends of a tube that's just the right size, to use to push the crankshaft balancer on. And cleaned up the end of the balancer so it has a nice even surface for the seal to run on.

Edit: And, yes, I was using a proper expanding camshaft bearing driver, not a generic bushing driver.

 

[dave_r]

Trying to track down cam bearings locally, all the main, big parts stores here don't have any, anywhere in their distribution chain across Canada. Pathetic.

The shop where I got my engine bored over, also happens to sell engine parts, and had them in stock, for a not-completely-crazy price ($60 for Durabond's). Got home and hammered the remaining 2 bearings in straight, and with the holes lined up w the oil passage, so they are done.

I had paid extra for DHL next day service from rockauto, but they decided to just slack off and have the parts hang out in Cincinnati all day instead of continuing on their journey, so I couldn't carry on with finishing up the bottom end.

Instead, I hit up the local junkyard, and found a nice steering wheel w SWC on it. My current wheel looks like this:

New one like this:

After installation, I did a quick check, and most of the buttons seem to work ok. Need to go for a trip to test the cruise buttons and hook up a mic to test the siri support (the Eonon Q80Pro otherwise responded to the various controls w/o needing to do anything).

I finished off the day by replacing the bushings in the UCA I replaced on the truck a couple weeks back. The ball joint seems fine and overall the arm is higher quality than the one I put on (mid range vs high end of Mevotech's line). I got a set of 4 Moog bushings from RA for what 2 would cost locally.

I started off w measuring how far the ear on the original bushing was from the arm:

Then, I cut off the ear using an angle grinder w cutoff wheel so I could use my press to push the old one out (using some pieces from my ball-joint press tool as well):

Pressed the new one in, pressing against the ear and not the center section. Once it was close, used the micrometer to know when to stop.

Repeated the process for the other side.

Completed:

Ball joint tool. This one has worked very well for me, doing ball joints, u-joints and now bushings. It was a cheap setup, with only those 3 tubes, more expensive ones have more tubes, to more closely fit parts, but so far, these have been enough for the jobs I've had to do. Probably could have done the whole job w this, but I wanted to try out using my new 20T shop press.

 

[dave_r]

After work, lubed up the new camshaft bearing spots with assembly lube, screwed in the rod I made for installing it, and then installed it in the block. I did this first, w the block upside down, so I could put more assembly lube on the cam before going into the final bearing locations.

Then applied more assembly lube to the crankshaft bearings, laid in the crank, and installed the main caps with all new bolts. Taped my iPhone to the breaker bar for doing the final angle torque for the bolts, using the Measure app, Level mode. I could just put the socket on the bolt, then tap the screen to zero it, then tighten the bolt until the iphone read the prescribed angle (I did a couple extra degree's, to allow for the bar bending slightly, in hindsight, I should have attached it as close to the head as possible, to minimize this effect, or, even better, if I had a 3d printer, made a clip to attach the phone to the head of the breaker bar).

Reread the process for installing the rings to the pistons, and then the pistons to the engine, and looked at the Sealed Power rings I have. SP does separate the rings by groove in labelled bags, which is nice, but. The 2nd compression ring as one of the interior edges cut at an angle, which is to go towards the bottom of the piston, but the top ring doesn't seem to have any feature I can use for orientation. OEM rings supposedly have dimple marks to make it easy to indicate which side up for both, but these rings don't have them. I even used my iPhones magnifier mode to more closely examine the profile of the rings where they are split, and I couldn't see a difference that would indicate a top & bottom, like the couple of examples shown on the sheet included w the rings. I think this is just stupid, masquerading as cheap, as it would be easy for SP to make a sheet for the rings, to a) be specific to these rings or at least b) have a table for ring profiles and print a code on the outside of the box with the p/n, to indicate what the rings should look like, and what their orientation should be if a specific orientation should be used.

 

[Ingersoll444]

Ive had some ring packs before where one of the rings dont have a top/bottom. They are just a squire cut ring that can go either way.

 

[dave_r]

Yeah, from googling, the top ring would most likely be referred to as a "D" type (flat on the outside, curved on the inside). It just would be nice for the packaging to clearly indicate what it's supposed to be, so you know, rather than go with "most likely", as the features are difficult to see without very good eyesight and/or magnification.

 

[dave_r]

First, to follow up yesterdays post, I missed seeing the dot on the second rings to indicate "this side up". No similar dots on the top rings. Saw it after wiping off the small amount of lube they ship with.

Installed all the pistons today, making a fairly messy assembly line for doing it, pre-lubing the cylinders and rings w conventional oil, and assembly lube on the rod bearings.

 

[dave_r]

Turned out I botched the job. The last piston I installed too more force than I expected to get it in, and it was because one of the oil wipers came out between the ring compressor and top of the cylinder, and wrecked it. So, I've got another ring set and one of those taper ring compressors coming, and I need to re-check the other cylinders, just to make sure they are ok. Expensive mistake, but fortunately my spider sense that I had done something wrong kicked in and I'm able to fix it before it became stupid-expensive.

 

[609745]

been there done that, kicked my own six to many times after, yet stay with my old standby

 

[dave_r]

With the rings super delayed by Fedex (picked up last Monday, normally would arrive by Tuesday, currently scheduled to arrive on Monday), so I spent some time today examining the trailer light wiring, didn't find anything at the rear or along the frame, other than a bunch of dirt inside the loom, still need to check out the harness around the fuse box up front.

Also finally completed being able to switch off the headlights at night. I had looked at the wiring diagram for the headlights, and there are separate, parallel circuits for the DRL's and low-beams (IDK why DRL's use 15A fuses, but low-beams use 20A, as they both go to the same bulb), and I checked with my PS100 that, when the key is on at night, both the DRL and the low-beam fuses get power, so I planned for adding a switch to both circuits from the bcm to the fuse box (to turn off both drl's and low-beams). Fortunately, I started with adding a switch to the low-beam circuit, as after testing switching that circuit, the lights went out, so I didn't need to also switch the DRL circuit. It hit me then, that where I was testing in the fusebox, downstream of both the DRL and the low-beam relays (the fuses are after them), the wires on connected together, and a single wire goes to each of the low-beams, so when either the low-beam circuit or the DRL circuit is activated, it back-feeds the other fuse.

 

[dave_r]

I think I found the problem for my trailer left turn/brake light not working. After pulling off the loom for most of the front section of the harness holding the wires, as well as the rear section (the section around the fuel tank is more difficult to do w/o pulling the bed), and hooking up a wire to the back to do resistance testing, it seems the the female connector going to the underhood fuse box panel (FBP), wasn't making good contact. I could measure 0 ohms to the rear connector probing directly onto the connector, but installing the FBP and probing the fuse itself resulted in an open connection. After depinning the connector (pro tip, remove the retaining through clip before trying to do this, otherwise you will not get it out), inserting a similar one from my parts truck into the plug, and then installing the FBP, I could then get 0 ohm to the end of the wire, and then connecting the stub to the wiring harness, 0 ohms to the back. The trucks not mobile, so testing it on a trailer will take a bit of time to do, but I think this fixes it.

I also finally received the rings by Fedex today, so once I get the truck back to being mobile, I'll go back to assembling the engine.

 

[dave_r]

One step forward, one step back. Finished up replacing the upper control arm bushings on the other side of hte truck (I replaced the whole arm on the first side). It needed it, the rubber had separated, so the inner bushing could move independently of the outer shell, like the first side, it just hadn't worn as much. Pressed in Moog bushings from rockauto ($12/each vs $35 locally).

I also reprogrammed the ecu, using the same calibration it had. IDK why, but the ecu seems to think it's programmed for a 2wd truck. It's a manual 4wd setup, I can shift into 4wd and the front axle locks, so the system works, but the ecu doesn't track whether it's in 4wd mode, or 4hi vs 4lo, and so it doesn't tell the IP to turn the 4wd light on. Only other thing I can think of to try is to check that the signal isn't getting to the pin on the ecu anymore, as I'm pretty sure when I first got the truck running, the light did go on/off. Otherwise, the full service manual just has "replace the ecu" (I can throw in the one from the parts truck and reprogram it to see if that fixes the problem).

Anyway, got the truck back on it's feet, key in the ignition, turn, engine spins over fast, but doesn't fire. From testing, it seems I'm not getting fuel to the fuel rail, I need to figure out why I'm only getting 8-9V at tthe fuel pump fuse. I'll pull off the fuse box panel, see if directly applying power to the fuel pump circuit will get fuel to the rail...

 

[dave_r]

I'll also try checking the theft deterrent system, maybe something went wonky so it's disabled fuel delivery.

 

[Ingersoll444]

Your really getting after it on this project!! That old girl sure is throwing you a lot of curve balls isnt she?

 

[609745]

is there a chip in the key dave? being it's 2012 it's highly possible that the immobilizer needs to be reprogrammed to allow pump operation

 

[dave_r]

Yes, there's more stuff that needs fixing than I'd hoped.

And I did read that the theft deterrent system can disable the fuel pump, I need to try resetting that system as well. It should also prevent the truck from starting (it did when I first got the truck).

 

[609745]

when they go out, like after the battery has been disconnected one gets a start stall start stall over and over,

 

[dave_r]

Yay. It turned out to be something utterly stupid.

While working on the trailer light problem, I deloomed a bunch of the harness running to the back of the truck, and to do that, I had to unbolt the ground wires near the driver's door under the truck, which is a main ground point, including for the fuel pump. I had got the truck bed unbolted and mostly disconnected, in order to direclty probe the fuel pump, before I remembered I had done that. Rubbed off the connectors a bit, then bolted them down, and like magic, the truck fired right up.

 

[609745]

sounds like things we all have done at some time, the senior moments .

 

[dave_r]

Made progress today.

With the truck being mobile again, backed it up to the trailer and tested if the left trailer turn/brake light worked. It still didn't. Tested the trailer plug pin again, no signal, then tested the plug that goes into it, also no signal there (and I had tested it before, and there was continuity w the pin in the fuse box before), and then tested for continuity and it was gone to the pin. More testing, and found that something was wrong in the last short bit of wire at that connector (I had cut/spliced it there for testing). I replaced the end with the end from my parts truck, tested it, and it worked, then hooked everything together and the light finally worked.

With that done, I switched back to the engine. I pulled out all the pistons, none of the rings were twisted like the problem one, but several were pretty difficult to move by hand in the bores, and I think the oil rings weren't quite right in those. Changed all the rings to ones from the new set, just in case I had damaged any of the other ones from "tapping" them in too hard, and reinstalled them using a taper ring compressor this time.

I bought this one locally (the blue job, the original ring compressor I used before is next to it):

I adjusted it's size using a piston with the old rings, and it took a couple tries to adjust it just right (too tight, you can't push it through, too loose, the rings catch). Once adjusted, it did a great job of getting the pistons in, just pushing by hand.

The only problems I had with it were:
-if I started the piston at an angle in the compressor (but it's just pull everything off the block, and push the piston back out)
-the second ring, if the ring was pushed to one side so the gap was sticking out, it would push that ring up instead of in, and then I had to push it back out, center the ring, and then push the piston in

I'm also not sure why, but for a couple of the pistons, when installing the oil wiper rings, they jammed on something on the center piece, so they couldn't slide all the way into the ring slot when pushing on them by hand. But removing everything, then reinstalling, they would be fine. I think the split on the center piece was overlapping or jamming together, and that prevented the wiper rings from being able to install properly, but I'm not certain of this. R&R'ing them fixed it for me, and I made sure they all would slide easily before installing the pistons into the cylinders.

Then torqued the rods down, first to 15 ft/lbs then 85 degrees (they were just finger-tight the first time I installed the pistons). Using the Measure app on my iPhone worked better this time, as I taped it so one end was right at the head of the breaker bar I used, which had a flat section, so it was held more securely parallel to the plane of rotation.