"Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Progress for the evening:

Just before a strong storm blew through - I got the block scrubbed with de-greaser, towel, and sprayed down with the garden hose, then sprayed down with wd40.

Wiped everything down, dried as well as I could with no compressed air.

Put the main bearings in - torqued the caps - measured the bearing ID.
Measured the crank diameter.

All clearances were between .0034" and .0042" Ford Spec is .0018 - .0046 (seems huge?)
- so I'm at the big end, but within spec, still standard - crank was not touched - just crack checked and cleaned.

Crank end play is also at the wide end of the spec of .008" - "service limit" is .012".
The thrust bearing on this engine is the rear most main - not one of the middle ones as I'm more familiar with.

The crank spins very nicely by hand.

Then we assembled the rods and pistons double checking that the rods and pistons were all oriented properly and triple checking that the spring clips were firmly in their grooves.... I'll check that again before I put them in the bores.

(I purchased a 428 block that had spent about 30 seconds on a dyno when one clip came out, pin walked and milled a nice slot in the cylinder)

That was enough for tonight. I took pictures but didn't get them off the camera just yet.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

OK - I'm trying not to get derailed by the carcraft cheap turbo thread.... I have work to do.

I picked up parts at Lunch - and came to the horrifying realization that the rebuild kit didn't come with head bolts, I need headbolts, and nobody has them in stock -- 55 gallon drum of suck.


INNER COOLER QUESTION:

I've filled the inner cooler with safety clean solvent, let it soak, then let it flow out and drip dry.

I've filled it with biodegradable degreaser and water - and let it soak - it's still soaking - if it's full when I get home I'll know it has no leaks and there can't be much if any oil left inside it, I'll drain it and let it dry out in the sun all weekend.

The tubes are pretty large - a few times larger than a radiator - I find it hard to believe that any pieces of turbo or other ugliness could still be trapped inside this thing.


HOWEVER - does anybody know of any kind of screen / filter / etc that can be put into an intake system to prevent any turbo ugliness from getting into the engine? Surely the bonneville guys consider midigating such engine disasters?


The power stroke intakes have "screens" in them - but they are quite coarse - on the order of 1/4" square openings - it would stop a shop rag - or a nut or bolt - but it's not going to stop turbo vane shards.


I'm also starting to doubt my hypothesis that the turbo compressor wheel caused the #8 piston damage. After soaking in solvent and cleaning with the wire wheel on the bench grinder - that piston top appears to have been attacked by pieces of RING - the indentations are too large to be the thin edges of the turbo wheel....
It's still plausible that the turbo wheel pieces came loose - and found their way to the #8 piston - settled between the ring and piston - and wreaked havoc.... breaking the ring.

It's also plausible that due to the firing order - #6 fires immediately prior to #8 - next door to each other in the block - and feeding from the SAME fuel rail galley in the cylinder head..... that #8 runs lean under high power / rpm situations???

I'm looking into installing a high pressure fuel line cross over between the head galleys - some of the tractor pulling drag racing types with fuel systems that make mine look like something from toysrus run them - to balance the pressures between heads and dampen fuel pressure pulsations....

TGIF

[dieselgeek]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

A cylinder being "lean" on a diesel actually is safer than "too much fuel"


My guess is, the motor had "stacked chips" or boxes on it, or mods that screwed up the injector timing. Knocking a diesel is easy to do, and has a habit of breaking rings and ringlands. Usually, rednecks get the idea that "If one electronics box is good, two must be better!" and then you see carnage like this.

That, or they oversped the turbo but I have never seen a turbo come apart on a diesel truck, and have the parts make it all the way into the combustion chamber. That seems a little far fetched to me.

my $.02 but I am enjoying this thread. NOT ENJOYING YOUR PAIN! but you do good job of taking the reader along for the ride.

Good luck on the rebuild, I cannot wait for the "WE GOT VROOM!!!" post.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Scott - thanks for the input.

I'm guessing then that "turbos coming apart" just isn't a common occurance and the idea of having a "post turbo screen" doesn't have merit.

Judging from the condition of the rest of the truck (not rusty but beaten) stacking of chips, overspeeding down hills, etc, are all a distinct possibility.

This truck will have a MUCH easier life now that I own it.

The parts total is rising fast:

Steering box
ac condenser and accumulator
ALL coolant hoses
water pump
thermostat and gasket
semi truck air filter to replace stock air box
$455.38

Bore block $300
Rebuild heads $450

Rebuild kit $1085 (pistons, pins, clips, glow plugs, gaskets, bearings, rings and every o-ring you can think of)

Head bolts $130ish

Oil, coolant, paint, assembly lube $60ish

Injector rebuild $800
Turbo rebuild kit $125 (including shipping to and from to have rotating assembly balanced)

Turbo compressor wheel - Freebie from a friend

Torque converter - verdict is still out - but most likely it will be $360 through the trans shop - for an "upgraded converter" - mysteriously similar to what Banks charges $900 for - even arrives in the same box with nearly identical features in every way - except the red paint. ;D

[DanStokes]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Paint it red and call it a Banks. When you send it to them for warranty in a few years tell 'em it was in the truck when you bought it! Damn, I'se smart!

Dan

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

GENIUS!

[just_james]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

I think you're getting too worried about the screen in case the turbo comes apart. By that logic, you should probably put two screens after the turbo, one for the turbo "just in case it comes apart" and one for the 1st screen "just in case it comes apart" ;)

Glad you're making progress, and TGIF!

[mustang13]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

John, every day is one day closer to ahaving smoke come out the chimney.


"55 gallon drum of suck" made my day, L.T.C.G.-"I don't care who ya are, thats funny!"

[88 Dippy]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

i work at a ford dealer as a diesel tech mainly on fleet vehicles like ambulances, boom trucks, E series chassis cabs(shutter)

i have never seen a turbo fly a part and those vehicles are driven hard and put a way wet

i think the screen would not help if the chunk was big enough it could just cut though the screen

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

88 dip -- good point - and thanks for sharing your experience - any chance your dealership has a set of head bolts or two on the shelf??? ;D


The Napa warehouse that supplies our garage at work has some great guys and they've always given us great pricing - this is the first time they've let me down on timing of parts - I'll just have to wait until Monday night to put the heads on.

I did pick up some assembly lube (federal mogul stuff), wd40, and some valvoline EP grease - so - the rest of the assembly will get more than just oil.

- Jeremy
The "55 gallon drum of suck" comment was inspired by a friend at work who's airforce reserve - apparently some army guys who are stationed in the middle east desert have patches on their uniforms that read "embrace the suck". You can't find entertainment like that just anywhere.

[Bamfster]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Ok John, all of this is fine and dandy ... but there is still no pics?...LOL

[88 Dippy]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

88 dip -- good point - and thanks for sharing your experience - any chance your dealership has a set of head bolts or two on the shelf??? ;D

will have to check but i would not know untill moneday when we open (we are closed on the weekends).

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

No worries Tom - hopefully I'll be all set with bolts by Monday evening.

After attending a swap meet this morning, I got to work on the engine in the afternoon.... HOT!

The clearances continue to be on the higher side of the range - but all pretty consistent, ALL the rod bearings vs. crank journals came in a .0035". Rod side clearances all past the feeler gauge limit test - .012" fit, .024" didn't.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest.

Unloading with the chain hoist on a pipe over 4 2x8 rafters - don't think I'll load it this way fully assembled...

cross hatch looks good

The canine shop foreman




Musical entertainment through the father's day present wireless jensen playing off the computer (hating itunes)


Assembly lubes and the new napa water pump:







The old adjustable ring compressor worked OK - but I know why race shops have the specific bore aluminum jobs:


No groove on the connecting rod bearings - I used the EP grease on the bearings, plus a coat of assembly lube.


Pistons are actually up out of the hole just a bit.... have to measure that distance and compare it to the head gasket thickness - because the heads are FLAT - no combustion chamber in the head - it's all in the top of the piston.


NOT real happy with the machine shop on the cam bearings - had to adjust the front and rear to get them in the proper position and the rear was nicked just a bit too - nothing a chain saw file couldn't fix. Here a shot showing us getting creative with PVC pipe to "adjust the position" of the rear bearing - it needed to move further back to line up better with the oil hole.


Cam in and lined up with the crank gear.


Lifters are deep inside the block - the heads overhang this whole area. Used a set of long nose pliers to install the lifters after giving them a liberal coat of EP grease + assembly lube, then used a magnet to place the alignment plate, and a long extension to torque the hold down bolt to 15 ftlb.



That's where I stopped for the day - tomorrow I will have to pull it off the stand at some point to install the rear cover and rear main seal - which has to go on before the oil pan - the rear cover is like a typical front cover - it seals to the oil pan. The rear cover seals off the back journal of the cam, and the oil return from the turbo - both of which flow straight down into the pan. the rear main seal is in a separate piece of the rear cover that bolts to the cover which then bolts to the block - all sealed with the gray goop in the caulk tube.

I plan on using alcohol or acetone to do the final clean up before putting on that sealer - I need all the prayers I can get tomorrow morning that I can install that pan and not have any leaks! :o

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

Yay pictures! On the tunes I usually have AOL radio going (though they now have a sleep mode if you don't mess with the computer for an hour >) Other times I have my satellite radio going.

Did the machine shop have the cam when they put the bearings in?

Don't forget to put some oil or grease on the seals when you put them in so they don't get burned from being dry on start up.

[milner351]

Re: "Lee's Limo" 2001 F350 crew cab 4x4 diesel

I'm rapidly starting to believe that itunes should never run on a pc - and I'd be better off letting my computer chug along for days converting the itunes files to MP3s - and using media player for everything.

Good tip on the seals Randal - I'll use more EP grease on those too.