New Guy, '97 12 valve, Many, Many Adventures To Go!

[ftballman125]

Single stranded wire isn't supposed to be subject to vibrations or motion and can fatigue over time, from what I've read. I'd go with the appropriate gauge multi-stranded wire (which your extension cord should have). I'd recommend reading a bit more into it though, as I'm certainly no expert.

 

[GJStringert]

Cool. I'll definitely have to research that some more. That's why I'm posting this as I'm building it, I've never built a camper so all the input I can get is helpful! Thanks.

 

[mib1392]

+1 on not using solid copper.
The vibration leads to cracks. Best case is your cables just stop working. Worst case is a high resistance in the cable with heat and fire. In Europe, using single-stranded copper in automotives is illegal. So is running 230V AC and 12V DC in the same channels/locations. I've seen the last one here in the US though (FWC).

 

[wildhorse1]

really like what you are doing with this truck. I had a 98 Dodge 2500 CTD 4x4 when I moved to Colorado it was great on the divide, traded it for a 2003 Quad Cab CTD 4x4 Long Bed.
You make me miss Colorado with all of your pictures. Keep up the good work!

 

[GJStringert]

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Updates!

Haha that title is extremely similar to a post I made about a year ago. School and work got ahold of me and I have been away for a while, but worry not! I'm still doing my best to love on the big rig. Unfortunately she's not exactly loving me back, in fact I think the engine expired yesterday afternoon (prompting my first post in like 4 months), more on this later though. Let's start on a good note, shall we?

A while ago I started another thread asking about DT Profab parts. I cannot express how impressed I am with them. I ended up having to wait a bit to get my new steering linkage from them ( I knew this when I ordered, they were posted on the website as "backorder", no harm done), and the wait was worth it, their parts are very, VERY well built. I said this before, but I really wish I'd have known about them the first go around with this build, save me the headache and wallet-ache down the road. Over the last few months, ever since the death wobble incident on the highway, I have completely redone the suspension and steering on this truck, front to back. The only things I haven't replaced are the power steering pump and gear box, and they're getting replaced with the upcoming engine rebuild. No more screwing around…

Here's the new spec sheet:

FRONT:
DT radius arms, steering box brace, track bar and bracket, and HD crossover steering.
Thuren 7" 3rd gen coils
12" travel Bilstein 5100s
14" Poly Performance straps

REAR:
12" Travel Bilsteins
Alcan Spring custom spring packs

Real nice folks over there at Alcan (they're in Grand Junction, CO). They built me a custom set of leaves so I could get rid of the block that used to be in the back of the truck (I'm sure some of you know how bad blocks are behind a diesel, especially 4" blocks, ESPECIALLY behind a stick shift). They build me a set of "progressive" rate springs, 8 leaves thick, with 4" of lift built in, and an additional 800lbs over stock (that was the loose figure I came up with to account for the added weight of the flatbed and the tools I usually carry). Alcan is usually known for tailoring to the 1st gen guys, but take it from me, they make a quality custom springs, and they're really nice folks.

Enough babble, here's some pictures!











Those rear springs required a 6* shim because they absolutely trashed my pinion angle at first haha! My fault, didn't really take the shackle flip into account ahead of time.

And here's how the truck was dressed up for the last month:



True story: I was afraid I would be pulled over for driving with these on, but one night about a week ago I was stopped at a light next to a campus police officer at my university, and I was afraid he'd just give me a ticket or at least pull me over and tell me to turn them off, but he actually ended up rolling his window down and giving me a thumbs up and wishing me a merry Christmas haha! Nothing like spreading some holiday cheer!

Now, into the bad. Last night I was driving up the hill to my father's house and I had the engine wrapped kind of high (not redline, probably 2300 RPM), and out of nowhere the truck started smoking like a chimney. Logic kind of went out the window and i just pulled over and shut down the truck. I popped the hood, fire extinguisher in hand, but at first glance everything was absolutely fine. I was dumbfounded, I thought I was going crazy for a sec, then did the "assessment". The truck was barfing oil all over the front axle (ALL OVER my shiny new DT parts…), so badly that I couldn't find where it was coming from. [Probably] against my better judgement, I started the truck back up to see if I could pinpoint an oil leak, but I wasn't really coming up with anything. What I did see is the crankcase is getting pressurized, like a major blow-by issue. It's definitely not a KDP issue or a thrown rod or something, the engine still runs perfectly, except now it runs on 15w-40 instead of diesel. So, this is the theory I have come up with: I either blew a head gasket or a piston-oil ring, and the crankcase pressure blew an already-crippled power steering pump seal, and leaked the oil all over the axle. Sound realistic? Anybody else have something like this happen on a 12 valve? I'm leaning more towards head gasket, because the smoke is blue (burning oil), and the coolant is black in the radiator.

Anyway, as much as I was loathing doing this so soon (I've only put 20K miles on the truck since I bought it), I think I can safely say the old 12 valve needs a rebuild (270,350 on the odo). Fortunately, I've been planning a rebuild for the last 3 months (with the intention of doing it in June or July), so I have a pretty good plan:

"typical rebuild": honing, new bearings and seals, decked head, etc.
ARP studs
New head gasket (obviously)
valve springs
governor springs
fuel plate (what's ironic is I bought the fuel plate and governor springs about a week ago, was going to install them yesterday night).

I'm trying to get the engine "ready" for huge power upgrades down the road, like several years from now, but for now, still keep it reliable and simple. I'm hoping with the gov springs and fuel plate I can bring the power to about 300 or so (it already has a boost elbow and some pump tuning). That, and a fresh engine with all new internals and fluids, and front accessories, should put me in the clear for at least a few more years, right?

Sorry for the mega-length post, but now a "small oil leak" on a 270K mile motor became a dire issue I need resolved, and I'm trying to do this the right way so I don't have to pull this engine twice. What do you guys think? 12 valve gurus chime in if you've got input!

Otherwise folks as always thanks for checking in and have a great New Year!

Graham

 

[SDDiver5]

I cant help you much but your truck looks sick! Had any recent adventures?

Would you rebuild the engine yourself or have someone do it?

 

[GJStringert]

Thanks SDDiver! We've been on many a day-outing over the last several months but nothing expedition-esqe, at least not really worth posting. Just haven't quite been able to make time.

My original plan was to rebuild the engine this summer. I wanted to make it until about June or so then park the rig and pull everything and freshen it up, literally the engine and tranny are the only things I haven't touched yet on this truck. Honestly a head gasket can be done in the truck, but I'm at a point where there are just so many oil leaks and so many little nitty gritty problems that Ive decided now would be a good time to do that rebuild. So to answer your question, as much as I wish I were doing the rebuild, I just don't have time for it. I will be pulling the engine myself and sending that for rebuild while I degrease and clean up the engine bay and take care of some other little things ( like some wiring issues and just general clean up). Then once I get it back all clean and fresh, I'll paint it up real nice, maybe put a slightly bigger exhaust on, then I may as well roll the odo back to zero, because by then I think it'll be safe to say I'd have a brand new truck!

 

[redthies]

Hi Graham, bummer about the 12 valve. I ended up selling mine mostly due to being unable to find/fix all the leaks. I replaced every gasket at least once, and some 2-3 times and I could never keep it leak free for very long. Having to park a leaking truck in clients driveways (while building them $5 million dollar homes) was no longer an option. Pulling the engine out and doing the whole she-bang is the right thing to do.

I had A1 head studs, an ATS 3 piece exhaust manifold, 60 lb valve springs, BD exhaust brake, #10 fuel plate, 3k gsk, Southbend single disk clutch, Isspro gauges and a few other odds and ends done to mine. It was awesome for both power and reliability. Have you got gauges yet? I have a bunch of unopened Isspro stuff to fit your truck that I may be able to part with.

 

[GJStringert]

I appreciate the offer Redthies, but I'm good in the gauge department! Got isspro turbo and pyro on the pillar already.

 

[GJStringert]

I'm heartbroken to say that I actually thought really hard about selling this truck after the engine issues. Im already so deep into it, now it needs a heart transplant. That said, it is 18 years old with an all original engine with 270k on it. I don't know how it was treated before I bought it, but the heater core going out may be indicative of a crippled or neglected cooling system, among other things. So even though I am initially discusted by the price of it, I know everything will be done right this time. Plated rear freeze plug, verify tabbed KDP, new oil and water pumps, new power steering pump, head studded, fuel plated, boost elbowed good old 12 valve... At least that's what I keep having to tell myself!

 

[redthies]

If you've done everything else already, it truly will be like having a new old truck, just without the new truck payment. I thought long and hard before selling mine, but the wife and business take priority over my "tinker toys". I did however buy a lifted 100 series Land Cruiser to play with :sombrero:!

 

[GJStringert]

Rebuild is Under Way

Anybody know how to edit the title of a thread? I just realized the title of this still says "new guy"...

Yesterday we pulled the entire drivetrain out of the truck. I told the engine builder I'd have him my block by the 9th, we're right on schedule! I'm going to be honest, I don't know how this truck was running as well as it was for the last year and a half. The radiator was all kinds of clogged (perhaps my own fault, never even got around to flushing it after the heater core incident last year), power steering worked when it wanted to, and WOW, the tranny was running on a prayer. Flywheel is cracked in several places, and has that purple-ish over-heating color change in several spots, and the clutch probably had 1000 miles left on it. I mean, wow, this thing needed help...

The pictures tell the story! I worked on pulling the radiator and all the front stuff off, then when my friends were off work it took the 3 of us about 6 hours to drop everything, so maybe 7-8 hours total. I picked up about 4" of lift in the front with my bumper and winch off, and the engine out. It's been said before, these Cummins are HEAVY with a vengeance.



















And note my awesome prerunner rake I have now. My 35" tires are almost under the cab.



So I need to have this thing worked over, it's in a lot worse shape than I ever thought it would be. The transmission is what blew me away, I'd have thought I'd be able to "feel" if anything were going out, and yah, it's pretty sloppy and has some bearing whine, but the clutch and flywheel are so much worse than I thought they'd be. The good news is it's all out right on schedule and it'll all be nice and fresh when I get it back. Now, I wait...

 

[SDDiver5]

Its worth it to spend the money and have it all done the right way. Growing up my dad always said "Do it right the first time and you wont have to do it again". It sucks but its worth it!

 

[Seabass]

That's just a fine lookin ole' truck. I love everything you've done. I hope it gives you many more years of service.

 

[GJStringert]

Appreciate the responses guys.

Seabass I can't remember if I've posted in your thread before, but you have a pretty wicked rig! When I was growing up, my dad had an early F-350, believe it was a 1992, before the 7.3 was a "Powerstroke", and just an International. He had a Banks Turbo on it and I think he said it made 350 HP or so, which, for the time, was immense. I've noticed I have a soft spot for pretty much any truck of the 1990-1999 vintage, I think it's because it's nostalgic haha! Now that I have my '97 I'm feeling pretty good!



I took my engine/tranny/transfer case to my builder last night. The engine I had in my truck, I'm finding out, is pretty rare: it was built in late 1997, and was a 53 casting (for those of you familiar with the 53 block 24 valve Cummins and their related issues), but it was a 53 cast 12 valve "Encore" block, similar to a STORM block, with the 2 different turbo oil drain bungs. While rare, it's still a 53 block, and after a lot of talking with my builder, we decided to scrap the 53 in favor of an earlier 12 valve block, without the water jacket cracking issues. It'd be a nightmare to build my 53 block and have it crack later down the road. Here's the proposed build:

-Rebuilt 1997 Cummins 12 valve industrial engine (I believe it was out of an industrial air pump or something, 14mm main bolts instead of 12mm, and some other minor differences. It was actually cast by International Harvester, which is kind of unique)
-ARP 425 headstuds
-Marine pistons and injectors (roughly 60hp over stock)
-ATS Aurora 3000 Turbo (~2mm larger than factory), 3-piece manifold
-KDP/Plated Rear Freeze Plug
-Rebuilt P-pump: #10 plate, 4K gov springs, little timing advance, stock delivery valves

There's some stuff I'm forgetting, but this is the stuff that comes to mind. I told him my goal horsepower is around 350-375, I'm not looking to make a hot rod but if you've driven a factory-spec 12 valve you know they can hardly outrun themselves. He sort of laughed when I told him that because he said, with the parts going into it, and the proper pump tuning, he could get me as high as 500 HP. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I had to tell him to keep it relatively mild. I'm trying to keep some fuel economy here too haha!

The transmission is getting worked over big time: new single plate clutch, all new syncros (3 and 4 were absolutely gone in my tranny), fixed 5th gear nut, re-sealed, and a fresh coat of paint.

I left my transfer case attached, and hadn't planned on having that rebuilt or anything, but it leaked like absolutely crazy (where the 2 case halves met up), so he offered to run through it and reseal it for me. May as well, it'd be dumb to push 375 HP through an old non-rebuilt case and blow it to pieces.

There are 3 things I'm up in the air about:

-Radiator: I think I'm going to replace this. It is evident that there were some leaks in my old one because of the green staining on some of the core lines, in various places, and the ungodly amount of stop leak that was packed in it. This thing is beyond flushable, leaning towards buying a new one.
-Exhaust: the exhaust that's on now is a 'decent' 4" that looks like it was built by a shop or something, it's definitely not a brand name kit or anything, but it's falling apart faster than I can fix it, and there are 2 leaks rusted into it that are fumigating the cab. Leaning towards a simple $250 Diamond Eye 4" system with a muffler or something like that. It is packed with oil from the turbo and the oil it was burning, and I'd rather not put a fresh motor in just to have it burn out the quart that's left in the tailpipe.
-Rear driveshaft: It's a 2 piece right now and I've toyed with the idea of having a 1 piece made for it. For the time being I think I'll keep my 2 piece, the u-joints are fresh, the carrier is in good shape and it'd save me $500 or so, at least for now.

OK that's my dissertation for the day! Have a great weekend everybody!

Graham