72 IH + ‘85 Alaskan = Questionable Judgment...
- Thread starter Nailhead
- Start date
Nailhead
Well-known member
Thank you!
150 miles.
Yes, it was a huge decision: I left a place in Longmont, CO that I really liked, and there was a lot to like about Longmont in general (good radio, beer, grocery shopping, tap water, weather, etc), but the numbers of people crowding every experience got REALLY old. I don’t like people, I’m very choosy about the ones I’m around, and eight years was enough. I’ve also gone from $1700/month rent to zero.
Here’s from the drive I took after the move was done:
I went down a seldom-used road I used to drive and run on, got out, and in turns reveled and rejoiced that there was no one there, nor was there likely to be. No one. That’s not gonna get old any time soon.
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Nailhead
Well-known member
There’s zero public access in that part of the Laramie Range, unfortunately. Gotta go to the north 15 miles or so, and then it opens up a bit.
Nailhead
Well-known member
When I got back from Red Canyon, I replaced the flattened split-locks on the axle shaft bolts:
and torqued them down to the specified 45 ft/lbs.
Then I mended the shock mount that broke:
This was a little more complicated than I’d thought initially, because I needed to make sure the mount was at the correct angle to maintain a range of shock travel equal to the the other side, so I used a bottle jack and a tape measure:
Done:
Hopefully, that holds for a while.
These were the low-hanging fruit. The big problem still loomed: where was alll the oil under (and on) the hood coming from?
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and torqued them down to the specified 45 ft/lbs.
Then I mended the shock mount that broke:
This was a little more complicated than I’d thought initially, because I needed to make sure the mount was at the correct angle to maintain a range of shock travel equal to the the other side, so I used a bottle jack and a tape measure:
Done:
Hopefully, that holds for a while.
These were the low-hanging fruit. The big problem still loomed: where was alll the oil under (and on) the hood coming from?
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Nailhead
Well-known member
Next, Harry and I brainstormed this oil issue. I wanted to take a trip to Canyonlands, so I really wanted to get this solved.
First, I changed out the 20W-50 for 10W-40 oil because IH heads have oil drainback issues and I thought that thicker oil was building up in the head & leaking from the valve cover. No change.
Then I replaced the valve cover gasket, and in the course of doing so found the valve cover was somewhat bent. Harry straightened it out. No change.
I then rigged up a hose from the dipstick tube to a plastic bottle in the cab in order to get a clearer idea of the source of the oil:
Sure enough, I struck oil (and a bunch of noxious fumes):
So, just for S&G’s, I suggested we check the compression.
I stopped when I got to this one, three or four in:
Not good, so I looked in the spark plug hole & saw metal flakes on the piston crown. A compression reading of 20 psi, and that was it; game over. The mystery was solved, and Canyonlands was going to have to wait until next year.
With the modest size of this engine, I decided to look for a 392 instead of a rebuild.
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First, I changed out the 20W-50 for 10W-40 oil because IH heads have oil drainback issues and I thought that thicker oil was building up in the head & leaking from the valve cover. No change.
Then I replaced the valve cover gasket, and in the course of doing so found the valve cover was somewhat bent. Harry straightened it out. No change.
I then rigged up a hose from the dipstick tube to a plastic bottle in the cab in order to get a clearer idea of the source of the oil:
Sure enough, I struck oil (and a bunch of noxious fumes):
So, just for S&G’s, I suggested we check the compression.
I stopped when I got to this one, three or four in:
Not good, so I looked in the spark plug hole & saw metal flakes on the piston crown. A compression reading of 20 psi, and that was it; game over. The mystery was solved, and Canyonlands was going to have to wait until next year.
With the modest size of this engine, I decided to look for a 392 instead of a rebuild.
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Nailhead
Well-known member
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
I think your right.
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
OK I will be "That Guy".
Why not stick a GM LS Engine in it?
Plenty of power, cheap to buy good used, lot's of performance for cheap money IF you want to bump up the power, repair parts available everywhere and mechanics everywhere who know those engines IF you need repair on the road.
Why not stick a GM LS Engine in it?
Plenty of power, cheap to buy good used, lot's of performance for cheap money IF you want to bump up the power, repair parts available everywhere and mechanics everywhere who know those engines IF you need repair on the road.
Nailhead
Well-known member
Nailhead
Well-known member
Because then I’d have fabricate engine mounts, source an adaptor plate or different transmission, replace both axles because the lowest gearing for the rear is 4.30:1 IF you can find it, and conceivably add a transfer case to that list, if the transmission is not compatible with a divorced one. Add to that the possibility I’d have to buy a new radiator because the fittings are mis-located and the CERTAINTY I’d have to buy yet another EFI system, and there is zero appeal to this idea.
On the surface, an LS or 12-valve or DT360 swap look irresistible. Think it through like a game of chess and the shine is very likely to dull when a realistic picture of the effort & $$$ involved reveals itself.
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Nailhead
Well-known member
So the search for an IH SV392 began.
I called Coonrod’s IH Parts in Grant, CO, pretty much the go-to for used IH parts: nothing.
I called S&J Engines because I’d seen IH long blocks on their website a few years back: out of IH engines because a lack of rebuild parts availability.
I posted an impassioned plea on Facebook: no luck.
I called about an online listing found on Google: sold two years ago.
I called about one listed online by a large midwestern truck parts supplier: it turned out to be a 345.
I called IH Parts America who had one they didn’t sound real enthusiastic about, and they directed me to Moore’s Auto Salvage in Rapid City where I talked to Russ, a long-time IH guy who thought a 345 would be a better fit for what I needed because of its ability to rev a little higher. This was not the first time I’d heard of the powers of the 345: an IH savant buddy of mine in Tennessee had made the same recommendation to me, and Harry has told me how he used to tow a 20K-lb gooseneck trailer with a Scout Terra running a 345. Good enough for me, I’ll redirect.
I then posted up on FB looking for a 345, and a guy in Houston responded, said he had a good runner for sale AND a buddy who was willing to drop it off here on the way to South Dakota. ‘Nuff said, I’ll take it.
It did not have me at “hello”:
But unload it we did,
And gladly paid Rob for the engine and a bit on top for his troubles.
So after several months of dead ends I finally had an engine, ugly as it was.
Really ugly.
I wasn’t feeling as elated as I thought I would.
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I called Coonrod’s IH Parts in Grant, CO, pretty much the go-to for used IH parts: nothing.
I called S&J Engines because I’d seen IH long blocks on their website a few years back: out of IH engines because a lack of rebuild parts availability.
I posted an impassioned plea on Facebook: no luck.
I called about an online listing found on Google: sold two years ago.
I called about one listed online by a large midwestern truck parts supplier: it turned out to be a 345.
I called IH Parts America who had one they didn’t sound real enthusiastic about, and they directed me to Moore’s Auto Salvage in Rapid City where I talked to Russ, a long-time IH guy who thought a 345 would be a better fit for what I needed because of its ability to rev a little higher. This was not the first time I’d heard of the powers of the 345: an IH savant buddy of mine in Tennessee had made the same recommendation to me, and Harry has told me how he used to tow a 20K-lb gooseneck trailer with a Scout Terra running a 345. Good enough for me, I’ll redirect.
I then posted up on FB looking for a 345, and a guy in Houston responded, said he had a good runner for sale AND a buddy who was willing to drop it off here on the way to South Dakota. ‘Nuff said, I’ll take it.
It did not have me at “hello”:
But unload it we did,
And gladly paid Rob for the engine and a bit on top for his troubles.
So after several months of dead ends I finally had an engine, ugly as it was.
Really ugly.
I wasn’t feeling as elated as I thought I would.
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