Ratman
6.5 Diesel NUTCASE
This is sort of a long one...
Well, as some of you may know, I began a project over a year and a half ago when I lost a headgasket on my '94. It began with cracked heads, then progressed to small cracks in several pistons. The rig had 200k original miles, -never anything done to it except for the infamous DS-4 pump/pmd replacements by the previous owners.
I decided it would be in my best interest to tear the engine down and do it right. Well, -all was going well, -until I found a small crack in #2 and #3 main webs. You know the type, -caused from the 12mm outer main bolts in the 599 block splitting the edge of the hole open. So, at this point, I decided to look for another block.
Well, I wasn't able to turn anything up, -so I started looking at new blocks. I got on the phone, and ordered one from Diesel Direct, -along with a supposed "forged" crankshaft. When the block/crank shows up, it is a mess. I mean to tell ya, -it looked like they dropped the thing off a ten story building. The crankshaft was broken in two, -and definitely not forged.
So, after much stress and legwork working with Diesel Direct, I was able to get all my money back. Kudos to Kris at Diesel Direct for coming through, -despite the stress in the interim.
So, off to find another block and crank. One of the fellas on the other forum knows I was looking, and sends me a PM. He happens to have a year 2000 506 that is in pretty mint condition, -and the price was right. SO, I decide to order a Scat crank and get this 506 from the guy. The 506 shows up, and it becomes obvious that it needs bored/decked, -no biggie. I take it to a very respectable machinist and have the full meal deal done.
I order new heads from Clearwater, Felpro gaskets, Clevite bearings, and new Mahle 18:1 marine pistons. At this point, I am clearly committed to doing this sucker right. It goes together beautifully, -and is blueprinted every step of the way. Every dimension is logged, -and put into a spreadsheet.
The DS-4 had sat on the bench for better part of a year, -caplugged, bagged, no issues, -just bolt it up and rock and roll, -right? Hah, -fat chance. I had all the injectors gone through, -new nozzles, all the pop pressures evenly set, etc.
So, initial test-fire time....
I light the thing off, and bleed all the lines, -but there is a problem. The timing is waaay off, -and the thing ain't running right. So, I go through the motions of resetting the pump, fooling the ECT, doing the TDCO learn, etc, -yada yada. The pump will not time, -something is wrong. SO! Off comes the intake. I make a few calls to round me up another DS-4, -not hard to find with all the PMD-related "pump-failures". So, I get the "test" DS-4, -and install it, -and voila, -the thing times-up just fine. At this point, I am ecstatic. Realizing the loaner pump has to be returned, -and the fact that it idles weird, -and that I have absolutely NO history on it, -I leave the intake off until I can get the pump issues resolved. I decide to cover the intake ports with shoprags to keep the dust/dirt out until the next day.
Now, as you can imagine, I'm feeling pretty "giddy" right about now, -except, my buddy is coming over with his Modis the next day to check my timing (might run the loaner pump a while to break the engine in), -and I wanted to see how the thing idled cold one last time. By now I have a couple glasses of wine in me, -the radio is turned up, -and I've gotten a couple of phone calls. I decide to jump in the truck and give 'er one last run before calling it a night. BIG MISTAKE. The thing fired RIGHT up, -and it didn't take long for me to realize there was a problem, -it hit me in the head like a brick. I suddenly realized what I had done. I opened the hood to get the damage report. Bad news indeed, -there's coolant splattered out of the #5 intake port with about two-thirds of a shop rag inside the port. At this point, I can hear my coolant reservoir sucking down, -and it literally sounds like someone is taking a leak into my oil pan. I'm thinking, -oh no, you've got to be kidding me. So I grab a wrench, and a drainpan and whip the plug out, -yep, you guessed it, lots of green stuff. At this point, my heart is in my stomache.
(to be continued in part two).
Well, as some of you may know, I began a project over a year and a half ago when I lost a headgasket on my '94. It began with cracked heads, then progressed to small cracks in several pistons. The rig had 200k original miles, -never anything done to it except for the infamous DS-4 pump/pmd replacements by the previous owners.
I decided it would be in my best interest to tear the engine down and do it right. Well, -all was going well, -until I found a small crack in #2 and #3 main webs. You know the type, -caused from the 12mm outer main bolts in the 599 block splitting the edge of the hole open. So, at this point, I decided to look for another block.
Well, I wasn't able to turn anything up, -so I started looking at new blocks. I got on the phone, and ordered one from Diesel Direct, -along with a supposed "forged" crankshaft. When the block/crank shows up, it is a mess. I mean to tell ya, -it looked like they dropped the thing off a ten story building. The crankshaft was broken in two, -and definitely not forged.
So, after much stress and legwork working with Diesel Direct, I was able to get all my money back. Kudos to Kris at Diesel Direct for coming through, -despite the stress in the interim.
So, off to find another block and crank. One of the fellas on the other forum knows I was looking, and sends me a PM. He happens to have a year 2000 506 that is in pretty mint condition, -and the price was right. SO, I decide to order a Scat crank and get this 506 from the guy. The 506 shows up, and it becomes obvious that it needs bored/decked, -no biggie. I take it to a very respectable machinist and have the full meal deal done.
I order new heads from Clearwater, Felpro gaskets, Clevite bearings, and new Mahle 18:1 marine pistons. At this point, I am clearly committed to doing this sucker right. It goes together beautifully, -and is blueprinted every step of the way. Every dimension is logged, -and put into a spreadsheet.
The DS-4 had sat on the bench for better part of a year, -caplugged, bagged, no issues, -just bolt it up and rock and roll, -right? Hah, -fat chance. I had all the injectors gone through, -new nozzles, all the pop pressures evenly set, etc.
So, initial test-fire time....
I light the thing off, and bleed all the lines, -but there is a problem. The timing is waaay off, -and the thing ain't running right. So, I go through the motions of resetting the pump, fooling the ECT, doing the TDCO learn, etc, -yada yada. The pump will not time, -something is wrong. SO! Off comes the intake. I make a few calls to round me up another DS-4, -not hard to find with all the PMD-related "pump-failures". So, I get the "test" DS-4, -and install it, -and voila, -the thing times-up just fine. At this point, I am ecstatic. Realizing the loaner pump has to be returned, -and the fact that it idles weird, -and that I have absolutely NO history on it, -I leave the intake off until I can get the pump issues resolved. I decide to cover the intake ports with shoprags to keep the dust/dirt out until the next day.
Now, as you can imagine, I'm feeling pretty "giddy" right about now, -except, my buddy is coming over with his Modis the next day to check my timing (might run the loaner pump a while to break the engine in), -and I wanted to see how the thing idled cold one last time. By now I have a couple glasses of wine in me, -the radio is turned up, -and I've gotten a couple of phone calls. I decide to jump in the truck and give 'er one last run before calling it a night. BIG MISTAKE. The thing fired RIGHT up, -and it didn't take long for me to realize there was a problem, -it hit me in the head like a brick. I suddenly realized what I had done. I opened the hood to get the damage report. Bad news indeed, -there's coolant splattered out of the #5 intake port with about two-thirds of a shop rag inside the port. At this point, I can hear my coolant reservoir sucking down, -and it literally sounds like someone is taking a leak into my oil pan. I'm thinking, -oh no, you've got to be kidding me. So I grab a wrench, and a drainpan and whip the plug out, -yep, you guessed it, lots of green stuff. At this point, my heart is in my stomache.
(to be continued in part two).
