John-T-53

Here's a good reference I found for calculating your engine RPM's without a tach. If you don't know the height of your tires, there's a calculator on the same page too....just plug in the tire size. http://www.ringpinion.com/Calc_RPM.aspx Here's a couple other threads on the subject of rear ends too: http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=16579&highlight=rear+gears http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=15477&highlight=rear+gears

I called my local Napa store and they'd never heard of speedy sleeves....anybody have a part number or other info/source where I could find one? Might they go by another name? I might take the yoke to my machinist tomorrow and see if he could set me up... I pulled off the pinion yoke tonight....used my breaker bar for the nut and a gear puller for the flange. That sucker was on there tight! The pinion shaft is quite wobbly without the yoke on there...I assume the yoke, when torqued down, preloads the bearings inside the diff case which tightens everything up like it shoud be? I also have a new seal ready when I find a sleeve to ensure a leak-free assembly (and a full night's sleep).

Truck is still on lockdown, and I'm sad I had to miss the bbq and great weather last weekend in the valley....but I'm coming along with the repair. The rods are reconditioned and I have a nice set of new bearings. The rods were bell mouthed .002". I'm working on getting a refund through Egge for the parts and labor. In addition to all that, #1 exhaust valve was loose (valve guide already worn!), so I took it out and noticed the guide installed upside down and 1/8" too low in the block. (The shop manual and tech page on this site say to install exhaust guides w/ counterbore up, 7/8" below top of block. I removed all the other exhaust valves and ordered new guides. The remaining guides are about 15/16" from the deck. I'm getting the truck towed to a local machine shop to get new guides installed and valve seats recut next week. Then, I can proceed with the bottom end reassembly. Ugh! The machinist who did this motor for me originally said it doesn't matter what direction the guides are installed. He put them all in from the bottom with the tapered end up. From what I read on here, it DOES matter, and could this be the reason why I had excessive guide wear at 3,000 miles and smoking?? I found lots of carbon in the tappet chamber! What do you think?

It sounds like the best stagger would be 180 degrees apart. I'm going to try that one and if the gaps move a bit, they'll at least have more distance to travel around the piston circumference to line up. Hank - yeah, this is the one...but fortunately I caught it just in time before it really did blow up! It's in pieces but the pieces are intact.

Yeah I checked the manual and nothing there too. This might be one of those topics where many opions abound but there's only one elusive correct answer. Job is going good. I can walk to work and walk to everything else I need, except Napa Auto Parts, which is in the next town north about 3 miles from here. We're busy with all sorts of small projects which is rare for architects and everyone else in the building industry these days, but I'm hoping I can be held onto for at least a year which will help.

Well if it rained down there like it rained up here, I don't imagine you got any work done! I had to hose tree debris and splashed up mud off my truck tonight, which is still sitting in the same spot from when it arrived in Nor-Cal a month ago. Last time I was at the Anaheim Harbor Freight, my buddy and I went in on a commie-made engine hoist for $99 with coupon (we scored with the red star special they had going). We both agreed that place smelled like a combination of gear oil, Chinese food, and moth balls. That little tranny will come right out....forget the studs and all that stuff. When you have everything disconnected, just pull it straight back and out. It may help is you have a spotter under with you, but I ain't buffed and I pulled it and installed it several times by myself. The clutch fork stays in place in the bell housing when you're pulling the tranny. I installed a new fork and bushings when I did mine. My fork was worn pretty bad, and Vintage Power Wagons sells NOS forks. They also sell NOS bushings, but their bushings aren't sold with the same application as our trucks. See this thread for more detail: http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=17942

I see it comes with a set of 1957 Chevy Bel Air wheel covers...the buyer could sell those, if included, and reduce the net price of the truck by a couple hundred.

I know my posts are getting really specific, so sorry 'bout that....but I got another specific question. I wanted to get your thoughts on how much to stagger the piston ring gaps. When I put this ol' flathead together last fall, my machinist said to stagger the rings gaps at 10, 2, and 4, 8, compression and oil, respectively. When I pulled them suckers out a couple weeks ago (after 3k miles), the gaps had moved around a bit, and some of the oil ring gaps had lined up on a couple cylinders. (and it was smokin' dammit!!!). Would it be better to stagger them 180 degrees from each other?

That's the part I forgot about, but that's good news. I'll pull 'er off and get a ride to Napa and get that dang thang sleeved right quick! Maybe I can leave the existing seal in place and it'll work!?

My pinion seal is leaking, and it leaked right after I changed the seal years ago, so a groove on there is beyond doubt. Now that I'm aware of speedy sleeves from reading up on this site, I was wondering if the correct size speedy sleeve is known for the pinion shaft for a 1/2 ton truck. Could I install the sleeve on the shaft with the differential in the vehicle? My memory is fuzzy from when I pulled that sucker off there long ago, but I recall the pinion flange being splined and coming off the shaft after the nut is removed.

My truck is still down and broken, and I'm without transporation....so maybe next year. I'll be reassembling the motor this Saturday, and breaking it in again, so keep your fingers crossed for me. Poop.

Yep that's the one! I believe the slot on mine was facing the valves, like the oil squirt hole in the rods. Looks like your engine was running on fruit cake before the rebuild! I checked the #6 crank journal again to make sure it was within specs and it's round to .0002". #1 is within .0001".

Update: Rods are at the machine shop getting checked out and reconditioned if necessary. #1 looked like it got really hot due to oil burned on the surface around the crank area. The guys there seem to think it was the bearings that failed because they weren't the steel/copper-backed type, and couldn't take the loading they were subject to. Thank God for the forged crank! Another question that came up is regarding orientation of the pistons. Does it matter which side of the block the expansion slit faces? Or, do pistons from these flatties have an offset pivot point? Hopefully the ol'gal will be back on the road by next weekend!

Way to go Hank! We need more Mopar representation like this at car shows! You should check out the San Clemente show this summer.

Reg, Know any details about the motor? How many miles, etc? That's cheaper than the second fix I'll have to do!

what kind of assembly lube didja use? The red kind that my machinist gave me. didja have the rod #s facing the valve side? not sure, but the holes were aimed towards the cam. were the bearing holes aligned with the holes in the rods? Yes were the holes cleaned out with a small stiff wire? Yes. were the clearance specs noted within tolerance? Yes. whut kind of break-in procedure didja use once the engine was assembled? As recommended, ran for 1/2 hour then changed oil. Then drove around town for about 100 miles before taking it on the highway. Changed oil again at 1,000 miles. Attached is pic of the top of the block. There was a lot of carbon buildup which was suprising. It ran great and the timing was at 2 degrees BTDC. Maybe the carb was runnin' a bit rich?

Pulled the head, oil pan, pistons and rods. This is what I found (see pics). The bearings were not spun in the bores. I measured the crank and it did not get damaged, thankfully. Just a few scuffs on the #6 journal which I will clean up with some emory. The other rod bearings show the beginnings of the same type of wear - cracking and small divots where the lead is eroding. Not sure why this happened, but looks like heat may be a factor; defective bearings not that common. The bearings as installed were 50+ year old stock. They were moderately oxidized and required a little steel wool action to get them smooth. I am wondering if my highway driving in the 3,000 rpm range may play a factor? The smoking problem was probably due to pieces of the beading flying up into the cylinder and getting caught in the rings. The rings look ok, but the piston is scuffed a bit. Should I re-ring at this point or will the rings reseat with a hone job? I'm taking the rods to a local shop to be checked out before I reinstall. Also going to check the mains next. Ugh.

I think I want to get rid of the old bolts and go with ARP studs and washers, mainly for better thread sealing, assembly alignment, and better torque readings. They also look cool. Would these be compatible with an original cast iron head? I've also read on here mixed opinions of torque values for studs vs bolts. Some have said 55-60 ft-lbs for studs vs the 65-70 ft-lbs for bolts, while others have torqued the studs to OEM specs and had no problem.

Thanks Tod, I really appreciate it. I might be calling him Monday depending on what I find out this weekend.

Toyota's problem is that they've gotten huge, (and that they're foreign). When bloating happens, problems get harder to avoid and solve, and more people want to take from the company what they think they deserve. Just like Government Motors (GM).

My pins slipped right in the pistons at room temp. The fit was not tight enough to warrant heating and cooling of the parts. I could use my thumbs to move the pins in and out....is that too loose? Hmmm...

So Tod, you must be down towards Redwood City? Are there any machine shops around here that work on old stuff? I'm new to the peninsula so I 'm starting all over again... I'm walking distance to work, so at least that's cool for me and the truck as of now...but I'll have to get another car soon so I can go to San Jose for job site visits.

The pistons in my 218 were balanced with their respective pins...when I got the parts back from the machine shop I was told not to mix up the pistons and pins.

The new .040 pistons came from Egge, and the rings were from Hastings. Everything was legit, and all parts were balanced.

I drove another 130 miles yesterday to the lovely town of Gonzales, Cal where I called AAA for a flatbed tow truck. By then we were within 100 miles of the destination so I decided to play it safe. The engine was still running but the knocking was slightly worse. It's definitely the characteristic metal-on-metal knock of a worn something in the reciprocating assembly. Also getting a lot of blow-by fumes and some smoke. Probably a wrist pin bushing like Merle had mentioned, and the rings must be shot. The oil pressure is still good, although just a hair lower, so I'm not holding onto much hope for the rod bearing. I wonder if the oil hole in a rod got clogged, depriving the wrist pin and cylinder walls of oil??? Is there a small passage up the center of the connecting rod that lubricates all of the above, or is it splashed? I will do a compression test this weekend, then take the head and pan off to see what's up. I'm really hoping the damage is localized to one cylinder. If so, with an idealistic view, I could replace the rings, pin, bushing, and rod bearing and hone the cylinder out. Maybe replace the piston too. I gotta get this baby back on the road asap...wish me luck!!! Until then I'm stuck at the bus stop with the vagrants.