That Allsup's next to a Diet Coke is just my brand of juxtaposition

EskimoJoe said:

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Centerpole90 said:

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You youngsters will never know how much bucket seats and captain's chairs changed the game... and not for the better.

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Great update!

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I'm officially old enough to remember that you could tell how well all the high school couples were getting along, by how close she sat to him while dragging Main

Only after some very careful measuring and re-checking did I commit to drilling through the roof.

That's one less clue to it's 3/4 ton SRW origin. It looks all grown up like a proper dually.

There is a harness going up the passenger post that has a 6-8 pin plug for everything that is supposed to be in the roof. That includes the overhead console, dome lights, etc. One of the pins was for the roof lights - but there was no provision for it in my roof harness because: deleted.

I bought the Recon light and harness kit that made stringing the lights together real easy, but where to tap in, right? Well, lucky me had some of the same style pins to work in the connector… so I just pinned the wire and stuck it into my roof harness's socket and I was all good!

Finally. The black smoke and loud noises have arrived. I'll be busy for the rest of summer so I should give a little update ahead of any potential carnage.

After getting back from the panhandle trip I finally built up the nerve to order tuning from 5-9diesel.com. I opted for EFI Live and modeled it after the setup Just Diesels has, since I already had similar components. So after a short wait I had my Autocal and was pulling the factory tunes and info to send to Rob.



That was the easy part, thanks to American Express. However, when I was getting ready to install the five position CSP5 switch in the dash I developed a MAJOR case of 'while-I'm-here-itis'.



First of all, if you have a manual transmission 3rd-gen and you want to pull the center dash section out; IF the two silly screw hold-downs haven't already been clipped off by the PO... you have to pull the whole center floor section out from around the shifter. It's a pain. Once I had it all apart I figured that was as good a chance as any to swap the factory radio for double din unit. So I went to the local stereo shop and got what I 'needed'. One thing led to another and before I knew it I had the carpet out in front of the shop and high-pressure washing it.

While this was going on I was also installing some electrical accessories so I decided to mount the switches in the narrow pencil cubby under the radio. By now I was learning the basics of Fusion360 so I whipped it out and sent it to the printer.



On the first revision it fit how I liked, then I cut the back half off the cubby to expose the switch wiring.



I did my best to put it all back together better than I found it. I also called Silvy and asked him to school me subs. I don't know if it was good advice or not - but I'm poorer and the windows rattle when I turn the volume up; so it couldn't have been too bad. mission accomplished

Car Play! The horn button is for the cow siren; which is funny because all my cows live in plain sight of my shop and come to my voice, but now I have a cow siren to blow at my buddies. The others are reserved for silly stuff including a 12 Valve tune.



This is the happy switch. According to Rob, these are the settings:

CSP5 Switch Tunes:

• Tune 1: 30HP Eco
• Tune 2: 60HP Tow
• Tune 3: 90HP Street
• Tune 4: 160HP Sport
• Tune 5: 210HP Race
• ECM Switch Tune 6: 120HP 12 Valve Tune

As of this writing I have driven it primarily as shown: Tune 3. In that tune I get a fair amount of smoke below 1800 rpm. Once I get there, however, continuing to accelerate the smoke goes away, the RPMs race up, it definitely pushes you back in the seat. In any tune the most noticeable difference is how responsive and free the acceleration is compared to stock tuning. Before it was slow motion getting over 2k RPM, now it will get to 2300 or 2400 in an instant. I used to feel 'tapped out' at 70mph, now it feels like it 'wants' to run 75 (2300rpm).

I have not done anything more than dabble in the higher tunes because, well, it's been so much work getting here I want to enjoy it before I risk blowing something up. I have not hooked up the 12 valve tune yet either. That requires removing one of the main connectors to the ECM and inserting a new pin - then grounding that pin via one of those fancy switches I installed. When grounded that overrides the CSP5 switch and the tuning cuts out the pilot injection event so the engine rattles just like a 12v.

I drove to San Antonio and back this weekend, about 500 miles, in the ECO tune and got along great. I think I got about 16mpg, but after installing oversize injectors - I don't think that is a metric I should consider any longer. No smoky burnout pics yet, but I do have hauling to do next week; so there's still an opportunity for self-destruction.

I need to find a ranch hand replacement grill guard one of these days. I prefer them to this Baja style. Also, I believe the seats are from a crew cab truck. I need to find single cab seats that fold all the way forward to access behind the seat; not that there's much room back there now thanks to the sub box, but still.



This truck is so handy. I love it.

DGrimesAg92 said:

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I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, you are very talented.

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That is quite a compliment, and I appreciate it. This ongoing rebuild of a plain ol' work truck has been fun, and expensive, but mostly fun, and I appreciate the board continuing to encourage/sympathize/comment/laugh at me. Starting a build thread fosters a sense of accountability to the board and keeps the project from dying in the corner of the shop.

The matter at hand was a stretched chain in the transfer case. I never heard it popping, but I haven't had it in 4x4 putting pressure on the chain either. Because the front axle is live on these trucks the chain is always turning - being driven by the front axle and freewheeling on the main (rear) shaft when in 2wd. This case had about a CUP, a single cup, of oil in it - I probably caught it shortly before Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (to borrow phrase from SpaceX).

As it was the chain was riding on the front shaft sprocket and rubbing on the webbing of the case casting. The aluminum shavings were errywhere; ERRYWHERE. However, 100% of the hardened components, including planetary gears, look good with no wear or discoloration from overheating. Even the shift forks and poly thrust washers look OK. So, I ordered a rebuild kit with all seals, bearings, retaining rings, 2 new sprockets, chain and oil pump. That was less than half the $ of a reman and I get to say I did it myself. This is a picture of the type of wear from the chain misbehaving:



I work at a fever pitch in the afternoons when I get home. Some days my buddy comes by, and he's a huge help for a while getting some stuff done - then he assumes this posture. Now, how rude would I be to let him do that all alone?



I have taken this downtime to service both differentials and I need to replace a rear U joint too. When I get the parts in and the case all cleaned up I will document the re-assembly. Until then, I will have to reminisce about more productive days for the CC...

tl;dr New Process (NP)271D transfer case repair complete and successful function check confirmed.

I got all my transfer case parts in and last week I got it re-assembled with minimal drama. The transfer case is really simpler than I'd anticipated and I'm glad I took it on instead of going the reman route. Like I noted earlier, the parts kit had all the bearings and seals I needed, as well as the retaining rings (transfer cases like retaining clips), sprockets, and chain. Pictured here are the main output shaft (long one) and the main input shaft (with planetary gear assembly).



The front output shaft set in place with the stub end that rides in a blind bearing on the other case half.



I bought the finest Chinese blind bearing puller kit Amazon had to offer, LOL. I got it all set up and took this picture - but that bearing was well past 'slide hammer' level of tight. I got it out using the suppled puller legs and I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that my Amazon purchase did it without breaking anything. I was investigating what another case half was going to cost with each turn of the wrench...



Last picture I took before buttoning it back up. Well, buttoning it up the first time. I did it 2x because on the first try the oil pickup tube escaped its pocket and I could feel it dragging on the chain. That was unacceptable so I split the case, cleaned up the RTV, and the next day had a successful do-over.



So a sacrificial wear sleeve, transfer case tail shaft housing, and a worn-out Orthman cultivator hub walk into a bar...



This was easily the most rewarding part of the job for me. The driveshaft slips on the main output shaft and into a wear sleeve in the tail of the transfer case. That wear sleeve has 2 oil grooves and since mine was worn waaaayyyy past those grooves I needed to replace it while I was here. The YouTube mechanic crowd says "use the new one to press the old one out" but nobody really demonstrates how they did that. I didn't want to screw mine up, and I knew the 'right' way to do it; but first I needed a tool.

I looked until I found something about the right size that would slip very narrowly inside the sleeves. This old cultivator hub would do and I turned it until it was a few thousandths smaller than the ID. The length was great because it held the entirety of the new sleeve and about half the old one as a guide.



I cut the hub off so it would fit - driver, new sleeve, setting in the old sleeve.



Since this transfer case went out I attended an equipment auction and bought this Dake arbor press for $300. I love it. I used it for almost everything on this job. It's like having a second pecker. Obviously, this is easily done in a hydraulic press, but for things that match its capacity - there is nothing like the 'feel' of doing it with an arbor press. I can't wait to build it a proper and substantial mount in the barn (probably on the beam there) for future projects, but for this one I just clamped it to the welding table and pushed my sleeve into place. easy peasy.



Inspired how handy the 'new to me' press was I got on FB marketplace one night to find a drill press I had spied a few months ago was re-listed. I didn't make the mistake of dragging my feet on it this time. Buffalo Forge #18 - just needs a deep clean and some new paint.



In this little exercise I serviced both front and rear differentials, replaced rear u-joint, and of course, repaired the transfer case. After a couple hundred miles of driving it hasn't started vibrating, rattling, grinding, or exploded, so I think the repair was success and the CC is back to doing the things I built it to do. Tonight, we hauled the pit up to the livestock show grounds and fixed dinner for the first show board meeting of the new school year. Next thing will be rear rotors and parking break shoes - something I hope to get done before SEC games start.

Right at the FIRST anniversary of getting the CC on the road so I figured it was worth bringing the project thread up to date. Back in September, I redid the front brakes in their entirety. The truck had a nasty habit of ducking into oncoming traffic when I stepped on the middle pedal. My passengers tended to panic while I wrestled things back to equilibrium, so I figured I should address the issue.



Don't make fun of my Oreilly's parts selections. I have thrown enough good money at this beast; I'm entitled to take my life, and at most one other, into my hands when I mash the brake... if it saves me a few bucks. The scope of this project was to replace: rotors, calipers, hubs, and new hoses. After action: it tracks super straight when braking.



I've had the rear drums and park brake pads in hand for months but haven't brought myself to undertake that yet. That requires pulling the axles and I keep forgetting to order the socket I want to use so I don't have to do it with a drift punch. I should start an Amazon wishlist like all the intahoes and see if my fans shower me with gifts. lol.

Here's the PTO block off cover I purchased for my transmission. I took the occasion of changing the oil in the transmission to install it. The new oil level plug on this cover is at 8 full quart capacity, which is the 'overfilling' level commonly recommended for the G56 trans. The next hole down is for a trans-temp sensor which I'd be ticked to install but I need another CAN adapter for the Edge CTS and well, I just don't want it bad enough for the $ that doohickey costs.



When I pulled the PTO block-off plate I didn't have a bunch of gear teeth fall into the drain pan. I took that as a positive. I added back 2 gallons of Mobil Delvac Transmission 50 per the Cummins forum. It did help with gear rollover noise, I don't even notice that anymore, but it is a little tougher shifting than what was in there before. I don't live in a cold climate or I might be starting all over again! Another popular choice is Amsoil MTG. I may try that next time.



Overall project rating is still 10/10, would bang again. If I'm traveling by myself, screwing off a Saturday afternoon, or just wanting to convert a few $$ into noise and black smoke; I'm taking the CC. When I go to CS for meetings I drive it and park on the roof of the hotel garage. Sometimes, as a walk away, I look back and snap a pic... it's hard to believe I bought this as a cripple wasting away under a tree in Halletsville 2 years ago. It has given me all the satisfaction of adopting a stray pup; if that stray dog sucked your bank account dry and mauled you each time you pet it. It has not been easy, light, or cheap, but it has been fun and rewarding.



For 2025 - running boards. I found some to my liking but they will require some significant modification/fabrication for the finished look I have in mind. I'll update when done - I like how they're shaping up.

God Bless ya'll and your families this Christmas Season. I hope your time wrenching in the shop is rewarding.