Community Forums

Franka548 · 11-14-2016, 05:39 PM

Sounds like you are putting an awful lot of money into Jane, but in the long run you are going to have years of worry free and hopefully trouble free trips.
Frank

Wroughtnharv · 11-14-2016, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronjhall

You going to have it done for your trip next week?

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

That would be wonderful if we can swing it. Right now I'm not sure. Today while pulling the old exhaust manifold I only had four of the twelve bolts break off in the head. The good thing is I will be able to take out the broken studs on a bench instead of standing on an ear in place.

I'm still working on how I'm going to get the head out and back in.

Wroughtnharv · 11-15-2016, 08:23 PM

I'm taking lots of photos as I go, ain't it wonderful how great modernity treats us? I didn't get to touch Jane until after lunch, life is busy. Tomorrow we have the oncologist visit and if things are on schedule I will leave the best thing about me on her own for the infusion and I will head back out to pull the head.

I've got all of the stuff except the rockers to remove so I can pull the pushrods. The injectors, I might have to make a tool, almost like blacksmithing, part of the fun is making the stuff to make the stuff. And, huge and, I think I might be able to pull that head by myself. I hope I can, love showing the young guys that the old guy can do it still. Think tractor, tractor.

Franka548 · 11-16-2016, 06:40 AM

Harvey,
Those things(single Cummins head) are pretty heavy, you should try to have someone help you lift it off, especially due to the awkward position you are in to lift it off.
Frank

Wroughtnharv · 11-16-2016, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franka548

Harvey,
Those things(single Cummins head) are pretty heavy, you should try to have someone help you lift it off, especially due to the awkward position you are in to lift it off.
Frank

Nothing but a step for a stepper Frank.

The great thing is the head and everything looks awesome except for the minor leak around the water jacket where I had the residue. I'm waiting on a call from a retired head man that can surface it in his garage shop. I'm hoping I can get it done tomorrow. While he is doing that I will go to south Dallas and pick up parts at the Cummins dealer.

Wroughtnharv · 11-16-2016, 06:58 PM

Okay.

I did do it all by myself.

I cheated, used the tractor.

It was pretty easy, really. In my scrap steel pile was a piece of 1 1/2" X 3" 11 gauge rectangular tubing 8' long. I laid it across the head and then secured it to the head with some 9 gauge wire at each end. I removed one of the forks off of the tractor and then placed the remaining fork under the piece of tubing coming out the back of the coach. Gently lifted the head up with the tractor and backed it out, slick enough to make WD 40 look like glue.......

Wroughtnharv · 11-16-2016, 07:02 PM

Some of the anal types will get all smug about cow pasture motor home repair so I thought I would give them some reassurance.

Everything under a valve cover went into one container. The pushrods were removed and placed so that they can go back into the same hole.

Gawd I dreaded this. But now that I'm in the middle of it I think I'm starting to feel like a forty year old kid again.....

Gordon Dewald · 11-16-2016, 07:22 PM

You can take the man out of the country but you can't take the country out of the man.

Wroughtnharv · 11-16-2016, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

You can take the man out of the country but you can't take the country out of the man.

If you only knew

My mechanic buddy and me share a love of doing things and we both like chickens. He's one of these guys who talks real slow, sounds like he would need directions to distinguish up from down. But man is he smart. He's just plain old fashioned smart and everyone that knows him appreciates it.

I called him tonight for the name of the man who is retired that does his head work. He gave me the number and told me to call him even though it was 7:30.

At first the head man got real leery because he knew how heavy the head was and he figured it was too big for his deck. I have the head with me and measured it for him. When we first started talking he let me know that he was booked for tomorrow. Then after doing the measurements I asked him what would be a good time to bring the head over to his house. He told me noon because he was taking the grandkids fishing in the morning but he would be home by noon.

How many of y'all have a machinist that will work you in between fishing trips with grandkids?

Gordon Dewald · 11-16-2016, 08:07 PM

Yup - my dad was a mechanic for IH tractors. Used to frustrate the stuffin's out of me because I thought he was so slow. He would come in third in a race with a fence post and a rock.

Learned later that he generally finished first because he never went back to re-fix anything. Did it right the first time. Farmers would haul their tractors over a 100 miles to get him to do the work.

Hit_the_Rhod · 11-17-2016, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Yup - my dad was a mechanic for IH tractors. Used to frustrate the stuffin's out of me because I thought he was so slow. He would come in third in a race with a fence post and a rock.

Learned later that he generally finished first because he never went back to re-fix anything. Did it right the first time. Farmers would haul their tractors over a 100 miles to get him to do the work.

Gordon, thanks for the laugh! I've never heard that one before!

Franka548 · 11-17-2016, 06:01 AM

Harvey,
I would say that you made an excellent head puller with the things that you had lying around. Nice job. Sounds like you have things well under control.
Gordon,
My Dad was a mechanic also, I don't know about being slow, but he is meticulous.He taught me how to make things work when you didn't have any new parts to replace.
Frank

Wroughtnharv · 11-17-2016, 07:41 PM

We started off this morning with a text from the farmer machinist saying he couldn't do the head work because his nephew reminded him about the last time he worked on a Cummins head.

So I called my favorite machinist to see if it was something he could do. He said he would do it for me but only as a last resort because it would take about an hour and a half to set up for it.

Then I called Dave Pluebell. He used to build my motors when I drove dirt track and is one of the best in north Texas when it comes to big block Chevys. We've been friends for thirty years, one of my old friends. He said he couldn't do it but would check it out to see if it needed surfacing.

We had .004 distortion end to end. We decided it would be best to go ahead and have it surfaced. He made a call and I delivered it to Blaine Engines in Dallas, pick it up tomorrow, $400.00 for surfacing the head flat, removing four broken studs in the exhaust manifold part, and a head gasket set. I was quoted $300.00 for the head gasket set plus overnighting from Cummins, closest one was in Austin. $75.00 for the surfacing and when he said he would do the four broken studs removal for $50.00 I wanted to hug him. I can do that but I really don't like doing it. $12.50 each seemed real reasonable to me.

I had a lot of windshield time today but it was worth it. As everyone knows holidays always are crazy when you absolutely positively must get something done as soon as possible.

Wroughtnharv · 11-17-2016, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franka548

Harvey,
I would say that you made an excellent head puller with the things that you had lying around. Nice job. Sounds like you have things well under control.
Gordon,
My Dad was a mechanic also, I don't know about being slow, but he is meticulous.He taught me how to make things work when you didn't have any new parts to replace.
Frank

Y'all's dads would love Dave. He is anal OCD to the max. Open any drawer in the tool boxes and everything is perfect lined up and immaculately clean. When he was cleaning the head so we could check it for warpage I used a twenty five foot extension cord from my welder to his grinder with the cup brush. After we were done I coiled the cord. When we got to the door of the shop he told me to place the cord on the floor.

I had a what the heck moment and then he explained that when I had coiled it up I didn't have all for the coils perfectly equal. Stuff like that drives him crazy.

I remember many years ago when he bought a red 63 two door Impala. It had a 283 and Powerglide. It now has a 409 with dual quads, 425 hp version, both a close ratio and wide ratio Muncie and rear end gears from 3:08 to 4:56 posi units. It is a show car and he does very well at the shows. We are the odd couple and the best of friends.