mattb73lt

Nice work on the roof and door sill!!

I did not have a good week with this engine last week. After getting the crank cleaned up they way I wanted it I was convinced the shop I went to did not do any polishing to it. Close inspection revealed that the journals appeared to be in the same condition as when I dropped it off. I was able to get Rocky to come to the shop last Wednesday to look it over with me. We remeasured every journal in four spots and all were within .0008" to .0003" of the undercut it had been given during its last rebuild and well within tolerances for heavy polishing. The week prior I contacted a guy I worked for in high school and sent him pictures of areas I had concern with. He was of the same opinion as Rocky, that it hadn't been polished. Rocky wasn't happy with any of this either and this was from a shop he'd recommended. He told me he felt bad about sending me there and wasn't comfortable putting this crank into the engine. I had my reservations of this particular shop and voiced them to Rocky before anything left my shop. About the time I contacted my old boss I was shopping for another place to go to. I received several recommendations. I did talk to Tom from Mahoney & Son in NH that week, too. He strongly recommended the shop they go to in Malden, MA. So last Thursday I loaded up the B42 with both crankshafts and hit the road early to make my way through Boston to Malden. Friday, I went to the shop in Hamden and removed the two sets of heads and parts I had there and brought them to Malden as well. The conversation at that shop was not pleasant, but I was professional and adamant that I was through doing business there. As I was leaving the owner did hand me back $1K in cash for the work he didn't complete. Luckily, he hadn't assembled the new parts into the heads before I removed them. So some set backs and time lost at this shop, but I want the work I'm paying for done right. I don't want to have to do this again. I should've gone with my gut instinct and stayed away from this shop. It is getting so hard to find a reputable shop nowadays in my area. The new shop is a Cummins and Perkins Certified shop and the owner took me on a tour when I arrived. It's also about a two hour ride from me. Driving the B42 through Boston on I90 was a trip and a half. The WAZE app on my phone was my navigator there and extremely helpful. On the way back I stopped in Framingham to have lunch with my brother. That rarely happens due to our jobs and the last time we did, I was still a Trooper.. He's a civil engineer for JF White Construction and has done a lot of bridge, tunnel and rail work in his career around Boston. He was the project engineer on the Bunker Hill cable-stay bridge during it's construction. I had to break his balls that I was lucky to cross it in the Mack without it crashing down. Still moving forward after this hiccup.

It looks great!!

I'm not super clean, but I was taught to rebuild engines as clean as possible. Some shops I've been to, like the one I just used, leave a lot to be desired and it's a reflection of what their product will be. Even with this shop, which is the last one in my area that can handle parts this big, I had some issues. These parts definitely needed extra elbow grease to make them usable again. As long as the machine work is good and accurate, I don't mind doing the dirty work. There was no way I was going to assemble this crank into the block without some extra cleaning. I'm also not going to pay someone for something I can do. Here's how it came back after some work and being hot tanked and what it's like now, showing the same spot in both pics.

Just used my engine hoist and a two short straps to get it on there. And it is damn heavy!!

All cleaned up. .30 cal and 5.56mm bore brushes plus some Viet Nam era rifle bore cleaner got the oil passages shiny bright. The Dremel has the exterior looking as new. I think it’s ready.

I got this one from my Dad's shop when I closed it up. It sat for a long time, but I find it indispensable now and it gets a ton of use. And Larry I'm with you on the Glyptal. Not sure if it's really worth the effort of applying it with its return. I had several people recommend it and with the condition of the block, I figured it was worth it. The Dremel got another workout cleaning up the crankshaft to a condition that was acceptable for assembly. The crankshaft just fit between two dead centers on the lathe with only about three inches to spare. It made turning it easy for the cleanup. You can see in the last photo the flanks of the counterweights needed some serious cleaning.

Well, that was tedious. Out of all the shop equipment I have, I found the best tool to clean the interior of the block was my Dremel tool. I have a long flexible extension for it and with various wire wheels it made quick work of the rust and ash left on the surfaces. The wheels don't hold up well, but they're not made for such heavy cleaning. They do get into all the nooks and crannies and left it very clean. Coated it with the Glyptal as mentioned. I was able to coat most everthing but the passages for the pushrods. It should help seal and prevent any future rust. Tomorrow I'll touch it up and clean where I got a little sloppy. I also cleaned the upper water jacket to sleeve areas, but they'll remain bare for heat transfer.

That’s kinda what I was thinking about it.

Lots to do to prepare for the assembly push and probably about three weeks out from that. Final parts should be rolling in this week, heads are two weeks out, organizing and cleaning everything, will all take time. Trying to have everything set so when the planets align it goes as smoothly as possible. I started cleaning the block, today. Even though it was boiled twice, theres still a lot to clean up. It was a little frosty with rust from sitting but it cleans right up with a wire brush. Not a huge believer in it, but I'm going to coat the inside of the block with Glyptal and the shop manual does call for. If nothing else, it'll be clean and shouldn't rust. The engine rotisserie is really a huge help 78A87F25-C13F-4118-BA59-3CBD7BB8C66C.heic 83F761C1-8844-48AA-8CEC-FD94F35A0369.heic

One was a better candidate for rebuilding than the other. The one I bought for parts was the keeper. But, both are still usable.

Picked up the blocks and cranks from the machine shop, today. Lots to do to get ready for the reassembly push. The heads should be ready in about two weeks. Starting to move forward on the engine, finally!!

This weeks machining efforts. Four new pivot pins and two new bushings for the lift mechanism on the bed. A whole bunch of new metal is going into the upper and lower lift frame to make sure it functions and lasts. Some of the 4X4" tubing literally fell apart. Need to pick up more steel and machine two more bushings to fix it right. Glad this is getting done now, ahead the engine coming back, so it'll be ready to assemble when the truck is back running.

That's awesome!!!! The first move under it's own power is always epic! Congratulations!! Just noticed your oil filter way up on the frame, that's gotta make servicing way easy.

That's really starting to come together!! The seats came out beautifully.

Still creeping along on this rebuild, but there is movement. The block was coming out the decking machine when I stopped in to the shop to drop off some parts today. More stuff on order. Heads are apart and will receive new guides, valves and springs. He took .008" off it to clean it up. I think the original block would've been well beyond limits after decking. Just too much erosion on it to clean it up. Other work going on with the deck, with all the cylinders out for overhaul, metal collected up to repair the frames to raise and lower the body. The lathe and Bridgeport are getting a good workout turning metal to replace bushings on those frames, too. Other metal located to replace the 20 crossmembers that support the wood deck. So, while it feels like things aren't moving, there's a lot going on.

When I saw the exhaust that was my first thought that it had been sme form of refueling truck.

Really nice work and great detail!!

I'm off. CRD92 is the front carrier. CRD93 might work. Just saw some prices, ouch!

Damn, that is short! Would there not be a later model top load carrier the would fit that axle? Like the rear carrier out of a set of tandem axles. I think that's a CRD92.

I think you're closer to 1500#'s or maybe a little more. When I swapped from a EN402 to a END673 all I had was a car lift rated at (supposedly) 3,000#'s. I did it by myself, no help. Wouldn't recommend it. I bent the lift and got it in without killing myself. The Cummins NH220 I've been messing with is 2,700#'s, quoted in the book I have for it. It's heavy and I don't mess around anymore. I borrow a 5,000# lift from a friend, now. If you have to move or lift it, make sure you have the right capacity equipment. Be safe don't hurt yourself or someone else.

Is that a top loader axle? I was thinking of you swapped to a RAD508 (or similar axle) front loader and the went to a CRD117 carrier, it would give you a much wider selection of ratios to choose from. I run CRD117's in both my trucks with a 4.62 ratio and a TRTL720. One has 22.5 rubber and the other 24.5 rubber. Granted, I only had limited test run time on the truck with the 24.5's, but I was turning 1650 RPM's and was going 73 MPH in 5th Hi-split. Just some food for thought.

Not sure, yet. I let him know the parts had arrived, today. I think we're probably 2-3 weeks out to start assembly. I'll reach out to you as we get closer to an actual date.

Christmas in January!!! The PAI liner kits and gaskets arrived today!!! Moving forward again, finally.

Yeah, no doubt!! It's last use killed it.