What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[Big T]

Not GMT 400, but replaced the driver’s side CV axle on my 2005 Honda Accord. Both boots were cracked, with the inner leaking. Most of the groan sound is gone, but there is a little and it’s coming from the passenger side. So I may have to replace the passenger side CV axle.

 

[Paveltolz]

I need to repair the engine bay lamp in my ‘99. Where did you get these?

Superbrightleds.com

Part Number 67-x12-CAR fits the Reel Lamp socket and the hood lamp.
Part Number 1156-x3W-G-CAR will fit the hood lamp socket but it is tight against the reflector shield.

Once again, in the spirit of few steps forward, few back, the bulbs I ordered for the tail lamps are for a Standard Wired Socket, not the CK type (doesn’t stand for C/K truck).


Returning the 3157-CWT-18s I ordered as they blow the Parking Light Circuit Fuse. Correct Bulb is a 3156/3157 CK LED Bulb. Back to old filament types until the new ones arrive.

Working on the hood now…sanding out the scratches and leveling off the spot paint ridges. Going to experiment some more with color sanding since the last go round was a good lesson.

 

[MrMarty51]

Right side rocker cover is leaking oil.
Guess You know what I’ll be doing when I return to home next week.

 

[Big T]

Right side rocker cover is leaking oil.
Guess You know what I’ll be doing when I return to home next week.

Didn’t you use the Leroy girdles?

 

[Husker6.5]

Right side rocker cover is leaking oil.
Guess You know what I’ll be doing when I return to home next week.

And "The Right Stuff" sealant?

 

[Big T]

On my way to the Pick-a-Part boneyard out in Hesperia to harvest a front driveshaft for my ‘94 and I see this:


Any of you guys know anything about this bike?

 

[Big T]

And yes I did get the transfer case in on the ‘94 K2500 Suburban:

 

[MrMarty51]

Didn’t you use the Leroy girdles?

Yes, and applied sealant as described.

And "The Right Stuff" sealant?

Yup, the Right Stuff sealant.

On my way to the Pick-a-Part boneyard out in Hesperia to harvest a front driveshaft for my ‘94 and I see this:
View attachment 81553

Any of you guys know anything about this bike?

I’ll have to do some work on the picture but it looks like a sportster engine/transmission in a repop Harley frame.

 

[MrMarty51]

On my way to the Pick-a-Part boneyard out in Hesperia to harvest a front driveshaft for my ‘94 and I see this:
View attachment 81553

Any of you guys know anything about this bike?

Definetely a Sportster cast iron head engine. Be nice to have a peek at the other side of the engine. That would really tell the story.
The frame might be an original old frame and the tanks, wheels, seat, etc might all be old too but it is a lot newer Sportster iron head engine. Maybe 1970s.

 

[Paveltolz]

DieselSite sells a valve cover plate and stud kit, stainless but $30 higher than LD. Nobody on here is running it I guess given the lack of input.
If my buddy was still doing machining I'd like to try a thicker girdle version of LD's, kinda like the P-400 crank girdle only out of aluminum like my air intake spacer he fabbed up.


Unfortunately, he's given it all up to tend to his wife's health. His health isn't so good either.
Along with that train of thought, I wonder what the market interest would be in a set of cast aluminum covers...what the price point would have to be to make them marketable and yet, profitable?
Include an O Ring style gasket machined into the mating surfaces.
I'd consider buying a set and mine don't leak.

 

[MrMarty51]

DieselSite sells a valve cover plate and stud kit, stainless but $30 higher than LD. Nobody on here is running it I guess given the lack of input.
If my buddy was still doing machining I'd like to try a thicker girdle version of LD's, kinda like the P-400 crank girdle only out of aluminum like my air intake spacer he fabbed up.
View attachment 81558View attachment 81559View attachment 81560

Unfortunately, he's given it all up to tend to his wife's health. His health isn't so good either.
Along with that train of thought, I wonder what the market interest would be in a set of cast aluminum covers...what the price point would have to be to make them marketable and yet, profitable?
Include an O Ring style gasket machined into the mating surfaces.
I'd consider buying a set and mine don't leak.

That stainless valve cover girdle would be well worth the $30.00 extra, I think.
The nuts could be tightened down tighter without distorting the girdle.
I think. I know stainless is a lot stiffer than steel of the same thickness.
If the SS girdles is of the same thick as the LD girdles.

 

[MrMarty51]

DieselSite sells a valve cover plate and stud kit, stainless but $30 higher than LD. Nobody on here is running it I guess given the lack of input.
If my buddy was still doing machining I'd like to try a thicker girdle version of LD's, kinda like the P-400 crank girdle only out of aluminum like my air intake spacer he fabbed up.
View attachment 81558View attachment 81559View attachment 81560

Unfortunately, he's given it all up to tend to his wife's health. His health isn't so good either.
Along with that train of thought, I wonder what the market interest would be in a set of cast aluminum covers...what the price point would have to be to make them marketable and yet, profitable?
Include an O Ring style gasket machined into the mating surfaces.
I'd consider buying a set and mine don't leak.

I went to that site. Their SS girdle kit is 1/4” thick.
I think if a person used the Leroy girdle kit then dropped this SS girdle kit on top of it that the nuts could be torqued to factory specs without distorting the LD girdle through the gasket that LD recommends atop of the valve cover.

 

[Will L.]

I have wanted cast aluminum valve covers for ever.
With all the advanced cutting machines out there, I have thought about wanting to scan and cut out a steel valve cover that 1/4” thick for the base. Then I would just chop and weld the regular cover onto it.

I never heard of this other site where he makes the stainless ones.

Leroy’s is a good idea and that was my plan- but they are simply not rigid enough. The girdle itself has to not bend.


On edit:
Oh the 4 piece units! Duh! Yeah, I was hoping for a full one piece like Leroy did, I have talked to a couple guys that did the 4 piece units and after time they kinda slipped out of place and allowed loosening. One guy said he called him and verified the torque and redid it with new covers and they still ‘spun’ a little then leaked. He is hot shotting.

That when he got ahold of me and I told him how I removed and did mine with right stuff. He got about 100,000 but they still leaked on his.

I know Mark of mod mafia had been buying up concept and working items like this to be the single seller, but seems he has slower in doing that since getting the tv show. His prices would probably be $1500 per cover minimum anyways from him.

I watched aluminum casting with sand on YouTube- I just never have the time to try it.
Make the base way huge then machine it flat.

I wouldn’t do the oring base- the narrow head casting we have, it would suck. We just need the ability to clamp down on the gasket area much stronger without distortion.

 

[MrMarty51]

I have wanted cast aluminum valve covers for ever.
With all the advanced cutting machines out there, I have thought about wanting to scan and cut out a steel valve cover that 1/4” thick for the base. Then I would just chop and weld the regular cover onto it.

I never heard of this other site where he makes the stainless ones.

Leroy’s is a good idea and that was my plan- but they are simply not rigid enough. The girdle itself has to not bend.

If there was a good metallurgist in the area, I’d take the LD girdles and have them hardened to tool steel grade.
Thats not real super hard but hard enough that they would not so easily bend. I could possibly even do that Myself. Shine the metal to bare steel, a bernzomatic torch I think would get hot enough. Bring the steel to a straw yellow and no more then let it air cool.
Thats chisel grade hard.
I might too be okay if they was full blackened hardened too.
Then there would be no give but there might also be the possibility that they could crack at the bolt holes if tightened too tight.

 

[Will L.]

The LD ones- are you referring to Leroy?

 

[MrMarty51]

The LD ones- are you referring to Leroy?

Yes.

 

[Will L.]

Ya have to know what the carbon of the steel is to begin with- or add carbon to it which makes it labor and therefore cost inhibiting.

1/4” ar plate thats water jet or laser cut, made like Leroy’s. I wonder what that would cost…

 

[jrsavoie]

Ya have to know what the carbon of the steel is to begin with- or add carbon to it which makes it labor and therefore cost inhibiting.

1/4” ar plate thats water jet or laser cut, made like Leroy’s. I wonder what that would cost…

AR used to be pretty reasonable. We used it a lot in the grain industry.

 

[J_dude]

1/4” ar plate thats water jet or laser cut, made like Leroy’s. I wonder what that would cost…

Shucks! I coulda had a few test runs made for you guys at my last job! Too bad, I left there a month ago. They’ve got water-jet and plasma tables and a billion other tools I miss already

 

[J_dude]

I have thought about wanting to scan and cut out a steel valve cover that 1/4” thick for the base. Then I would just chop and weld the regular cover onto it.

Actually, as was mentioned billet or cast aluminum cover would be awesome BUT, someone should even start making this idea ^^ as a weld-it-yourself kit to upgrade your existing covers. That would be easy/cheap enough to do reasonably I think.