What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[Will L.]

Glad you caught it.

 

[Husker6.5]

last week, pulled into the drive, noticed a large oil leak. it was the oem cooler line that decided it had enough. added oil and still had 3 quarts left in the crankcase. Leroy's on vacation, just my luck. used plugs to block off but was getting zero pressure once warm. parked it.
changed the OPS with an AC Delco and made a relay for it.
when he returned i drove to his house in the Jetta. got the braided lines and new cooler. used less than a gallon of diesel and saved shipping. put them in last sunday: no leaks and 30 psi at hot idle.
i was sweating bullets hoping i didn't damage the engine or turbo. so glad i didn't have a longer drive planned for that day.

Must be nice to have Leroy just a short drive away!

 

[deejaaa]

me too. after install, hot idle is 30 psi.
yes. he's a nice guy to visit with and he's always busy.

 

[MrMarty51]

Changed oil and filter.
In 3,000miles the engine used less than a half a pint of oil.
I`d say that is pretty good for an engine with 250,000 miles on it. If in fact it is the original engine. When I changed the timing sprocket/chain set, the chain just did not seem to be stretched enough for having that many miles on it, makes Me think this truck has had an engine replaced some time in its life.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah if the chain isn’t stretched much sounds like it was refreshed or replaced.
Still factory cdr/ turbo? 1/2 pint isn’t bad.

 

[MrMarty51]

Yeah if the chain isn’t stretched much sounds like it was refreshed or replaced.
Still factory cdr/ turbo? 1/2 pint isn’t bad.

When I replaced the
t c set on My 93 K1500 with the 350 V8, slack side of the chain would almost touch the tight side. that engine had 200,000 miles on it at that time.

 

[Will L.]

The chain stretch on a diesel compared to gasser: on a sbc single roller chain is ok up to 9.5:1 compression. Above it recommended to go to double roller. Most people even at 8:1 will still invest in double roller on rebuilds and sacrifice the slight amount of added drag and power loss in exchange for longer chain life.
So if 8:1 is single wide link but 10:1 is a double link, at what point does double link become too low?
Yes there is a factor of power generated that causes the formula to slide up and down the scale, but..rule of thumb would says 12:1 is ok for chain (double roller), but beyond that gears only in gassers. Granted rare, but at that the boys back in the day quickly learned to copy diesel timing systems to deal with the compression related issues.

According to every builder of diesel engine except the 6.2/ 6.5. timing chain doesn’t cut the mustard. The ds4 is only on the 6.5 so it can’t be directly compared. But anyone on here know the lifespan of a db2 on a 6.9/7.3 compared to a 6.2/6.5?

We all know cam bearing life and oil pressure loss there on the 6.2/6.5 platform is a little shy compared to the ford counterpart. Granted the ford oil pump and system is setup very different. But I have long wondered about the chain slap sending the added shock wave into the cam and thus the bearings suffer. All the damaged cam bearings I have seen over the years is always #1 or #3 bearing which in gasser hot rod analysis says go from chain to gear drive if everything is straight and true. Hmmm.

Yes the chains have a large accepted tolerance spec from GM. Oil pressure is ok at 8psi cold idle- but are you happier there or 20ish? Injectors can be out of balance 10% by spec, but most of us know what being under 2% does for it.

And that chain stretched at 200,000 miles in your small block- the 6.2/6.5 hits that stretch in half the time usually.

Yeah, way convinced your diesel was refreshed at some point. The timing gears I got from Leroy for my optimizer btw, I didn’t get because I plan on hot rodding. I plan on longer cam bearing life and longer ip life. With the added bonus of keeping timing correct and no future chain replacement needed.

 

[Jaryd]

Looks like I need a lift pump.

The boost Guage on the right is for fuel pressure. When I left my house tonight it was reading 7lbs. On the way home I noticed it was in a slight vacuum so I took it easy.

 

[ak diesel driver]

Did you check out my raptor install? I made it fit in the stock location. And could easily go back to stock.

 

[Jaryd]

Did you check out my raptor install? I made it fit in the stock location. And could easily go back to stock.

I’ll check it out.

I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’m going to do some reading in the forum because I probably ain’t going back with a stock lift pump.

The whole fuel system is stock. While I’m doing the lift pump I’m going to get a better filter setup to.

 

[MrMarty51]

The chain stretch on a diesel compared to gasser: on a sbc single roller chain is ok up to 9.5:1 compression. Above it recommended to go to double roller. Most people even at 8:1 will still invest in double roller on rebuilds and sacrifice the slight amount of added drag and power loss in exchange for longer chain life.
So if 8:1 is single wide link but 10:1 is a double link, at what point does double link become too low?
Yes there is a factor of power generated that causes the formula to slide up and down the scale, but..rule of thumb would says 12:1 is ok for chain (double roller), but beyond that gears only in gassers. Granted rare, but at that the boys back in the day quickly learned to copy diesel timing systems to deal with the compression related issues.

According to every builder of diesel engine except the 6.2/ 6.5. timing chain doesn’t cut the mustard. The ds4 is only on the 6.5 so it can’t be directly compared. But anyone on here know the lifespan of a db2 on a 6.9/7.3 compared to a 6.2/6.5?

We all know cam bearing life and oil pressure loss there on the 6.2/6.5 platform is a little shy compared to the ford counterpart. Granted the ford oil pump and system is setup very different. But I have long wondered about the chain slap sending the added shock wave into the cam and thus the bearings suffer. All the damaged cam bearings I have seen over the years is always #1 or #3 bearing which in gasser hot rod analysis says go from chain to gear drive if everything is straight and true. Hmmm.

Yes the chains have a large accepted tolerance spec from GM. Oil pressure is ok at 8psi cold idle- but are you happier there or 20ish? Injectors can be out of balance 10% by spec, but most of us know what being under 2% does for it.

And that chain stretched at 200,000 miles in your small block- the 6.2/6.5 hits that stretch in half the time usually.

Yeah, way convinced your diesel was refreshed at some point. The timing gears I got from Leroy for my optimizer btw, I didn’t get because I plan on hot rodding. I plan on longer cam bearing life and longer ip life. With the added bonus of keeping timing correct and no future chain replacement needed.

Thank You for the information Will. Much appreciated.

 

[Paveltolz]

Saturday, took the Burb out and about in the hills with a friend visiting from Calif. Slight decent...


Yesterday, I was backing the Burb into the garage to work on the barn doors (one needs alignment as it needs to be lifted to close) and got about 1/8" too close to one side and scraped the driver's side fender flare.

I got the door to close much better but, the bushings from LMC are a tad too large so, it will have to wait for an alternative solution.
Today I got the scratches sanded out of the flare, primed, painted and clear coated.

Currently sitting in the sun to, I duno, cure or harden or something.

 

[Will L.]

What are you taking pics with that has that display? Kinda cool.

 

[Paveltolz]

I use the Theodolite Camera app. Last I checked, it was only available for Apple products. I have it on my iPad as well. Invaluable tool for when I was working.

 

[Big T]

Paint and Go Paveltolz. I should hire you.

The Burb looks great and glad to see you using it.

 

[Big T]

These pictures provide answers to two questions; one personal, one much more macro. While on vacation, we dropped the 4Runner off at Walmart in Missoula for an oil change. They said it would be an hour, so we walked over to Sportsman’s Warehouse to get our Montana fishing licenses, a fly line, fly box and some flies. Came back to Walmart an hour later and the 4Runner is still in the bay with the hood up and no one working on it. So we continue shopping in Walmart, come back and the 4Runner is still there with the hood up and no one working on it. Sit down in the waiting area and unbeknownst to us, they move the 4Runner out of the bay and into the parking lot. I inquire about its status and the guy at the register could not find any paperwork. He finally talks to the tech who says that he could not remove a bolt from the skid plate and suggests that it’s stripped. Hmmm, I installed that skid plate which is a Toyota TRD version. I check the bolts on the skid plate and they’re all tight, so the issue is not a stripped bolt or the frame threads.

I gave up and went back in the store and bought oil and filter. Then I went to Harbor Freight and bought a ratchet set and filter wrench. After much more shopping at HD and Costco (we’re outfitting a 3rd home) we get home and I tear into the oil change job. Here’s the pics of the inside of the skid plate. The front two bolts have spacers and they are held to the spacers by washers. So when the bolts are fully backed out of the frame threads, they just spin and never fully come out of the skid plate, by design to keep the spacers in place. Had the idiot removed the rear bolts, the whole skid plate drops down. Duh!

Answer to the personal question of why I do this work myself: I just wasted 2 hours waiting for this idiot to fail. I then did the oil change myself in 30 minutes. My time is valuable, especially while on vacation.

Now the the macro question as to why there is income inequality in America: You just can’t fix stupid!

 

[snarl95]

He might have started with a front one and once it started spinning assumed it was stripped. He probably doesn't know how that particular skid plate comes off.

 

[Will L.]

@Big T and @snarl95
I agree with both of you. You cant fix stupid, and he probably just didn’t know. He should know his job, but to be fair- he is a “mechanic” or “technician” at walmart WALMART.

I don’t get upset at fast food places when my order is wrong or I don’t get service with a smile, nor do I expect to say “Wow, this is really good!”
For that I spend 3 times the cash at a “real” restaurant.

Walmart, pepboys, minute lube is fast food tor your truck. I’m bot gonna say they shouldn’t exist, or that the quality should improve. Even manual labor is a get what you pay for scenario.

Crappy knowledge of a variety of automobiles and the lack of figure it out experience, followed up by a low paid supervision middle management boss he answers to and goes to for “help” which shows the horrible pay and support that that guy/gal couldn’t figure it out. Top them of in the (probably same person) service writer taking rediculous time to explain it to you in a timely manner.

What was the price of the oil change- half that of a high quality shop with advanced mechanics to always do it right and quickly. When I owned the truck equipment shop we tried to avoid general mechanical work. But we had multiple accounts that decided we were worth it. Back when quicky shops were charging 13.99 for full lube, rotation, and oil change in the 90’s- we were charging our clients $100. I didn’t have rookies working for me. When you employ a guy that stops building a $30,000 engine for an oil change, it’ll cost you. But even if skid plate bolts really are stripped, and you need an oilpan gasket, you’ll get it back still on time with no leaks and nothing added to the bill.

And yep that “mechanic” at Walmart- will do all his own oil changes his entire life. Not by choice but by economic necessity. If he couldn’t figure out that, he won’t figure out the other obstacles in life. Nothing against or wrong with living paycheck to paycheck in my eyes. But dude’s choosing to be a mechanic and couldn’t figure that out? No. If he is an IT guy, or plumber, ok. But mechanic- c’mon man!

 

[Big T]

He might have started with a front one and once it started spinning assumed it was stripped. He probably doesn't know how that particular skid plate comes off.

This is precisely what happened. But how could spinning on removal indicate that it was stripped? Even worse, when I checked all the bolts were torqued back into place, so it was impossible that the one bolt was stripped. Had he attempted to remove the rear bolts after the fronts were spinning and not coming out, the whole skid plate drops.

 

[Big T]

@Big T and @snarl95
I agree with both of you. You cant fix stupid, and he probably just didn’t know. He should know his job, but to be fair- he is a “mechanic” or “technician” at walmart WALMART.

I don’t get upset at fast food places when my order is wrong or I don’t get service with a smile, nor do I expect to say “Wow, this is really good!”
For that I spend 3 times the cash at a “real” restaurant.

Walmart, pepboys, minute lube is fast food tor your truck. I’m bot gonna say they shouldn’t exist, or that the quality should improve. Even manual labor is a get what you pay for scenario.

Crappy knowledge of a variety of automobiles and the lack of figure it out experience, followed up by a low paid supervision middle management boss he answers to and goes to for “help” which shows the horrible pay and support that that guy/gal couldn’t figure it out. Top them of in the (probably same person) service writer taking rediculous time to explain it to you in a timely manner.

What was the price of the oil change- half that of a high quality shop with advanced mechanics to always do it right and quickly. When I owned the truck equipment shop we tried to avoid general mechanical work. But we had multiple accounts that decided we were worth it. Back when quicky shops were charging 13.99 for full lube, rotation, and oil change in the 90’s- we were charging our clients $100. I didn’t have rookies working for me. When you employ a guy that stops building a $30,000 engine for an oil change, it’ll cost you. But even if skid plate bolts really are stripped, and you need an oilpan gasket, you’ll get it back still on time with no leaks and nothing added to the bill.

And yep that “mechanic” at Walmart- will do all his own oil changes his entire life. Not by choice but by economic necessity. If he couldn’t figure out that, he won’t figure out the other obstacles in life. Nothing against or wrong with living paycheck to paycheck in my eyes. But dude’s choosing to be a mechanic and couldn’t figure that out? No. If he is an IT guy, or plumber, ok. But mechanic- c’mon man!

Will L. you nailed it. No true mechanic worth his salt would stoop to do oil changes. Just not worth his/her time. Ironically, I do because it costs me more in time turning it over to an idiot, than doing it myself. I guess that I have graduated from Walmart level mechanic. Hey, I needed to stock this Montana home with a set of tools anyway.