Diary of a Restore (Thread)

[Gary Lewis]

Nice! That looks good in there!

Yes, it does look good.

[mat in tn]

Thought I would update—sorry it has been so long. I had a bad headcold over the holiday (Christmas). Not fun. Then my boss came to the job with a horrendous respiratory infection, and infected us all—but hey she wore a mask. I will refrain from commentary other than that.

So, got the Blue top in, and the Borgeson. Had to cut a foot off the Borgeson, but the job was really easy.

The bolts I ordered would have worked if they had the same depth of threads—see pic. So, I added a THICK LARGE washer to each of the three bolts and that worked. I could have cut the threads, but I did not have my vice and tap/die handy.

I do not know if it works yet as I am dealing with the water pump/timing cover issue. But, I can say it feels tighter than it was not running.

Also, I had a devil of a time getting the pittman on, and so had to disconnect a lot of the linkage to get it all to fit again. One wheel (d side) seemed to creep in about an 1/8th of an inch, and so, had to maneuver it “outward” to get that linkage to line up. Anyone experience such a thing?

More on the itming cover in that thread.

I'm not sure what you adjusted to get some things to line up for reassembly. I avoid adjusting anything or taking too much loose if possible. the box "should" drop right into the old spot with little adjustment necessary. there are times when jacking a corner off the ground to allow you more leverage on parts can help but if needed, take something loose that will self-center again like a tie rod to not change the setup.

[AmericanSavage]

I'm not sure what you adjusted to get some things to line up for reassembly. I avoid adjusting anything or taking too much loose if possible. the box "should" drop right into the old spot with little adjustment necessary. there are times when jacking a corner off the ground to allow you more leverage on parts can help but if needed, take something loose that will self-center again like a tie rod to not change the setup.

The problem was the Pittman would not angle enough to get on the box with everything connected. So, I disconnected the d-side tie rod from the drag link. I put on the Pittman, and then the drag link—all lined up perfect. The d-sid tie rod was about a ¼” off moved to the inside.

NOTHING was changed on my end. So, I moved the wheel a skosh out and it went in.

All the ball joints are quite tight.

I am still puzzled by it.

[mat in tn]

I'm not sure what you adjusted to get some things to line up for reassembly. I avoid adjusting anything or taking too much loose if possible. the box "should" drop right into the old spot with little adjustment necessary. there are times when jacking a corner off the ground to allow you more leverage on parts can help but if needed, take something loose that will self-center again like a tie rod to not change the setup.

The problem was the Pittman would not angle enough to get on the box with everything connected. So, I disconnected the d-side tie rod from the drag link. I put on the Pittman, and then the drag link—all lined up perfect. The d-sid tie rod was about a ¼” off moved to the inside.

NOTHING was changed on my end. So, I moved the wheel a skosh out and it went in.

All the ball joints are quite tight.

I am still puzzled by it.

so long as it all goes back nice and snug then it's up to the road test to find an alignment issue. some will say to have an alignment done after any front-end work. not a bad plan at all. I always do my own and I probably check mine more than most. I always watch tire patterns too.

[AmericanSavage]

so long as it all goes back nice and snug then it's up to the road test to find an alignment issue. some will say to have an alignment done after any front-end work. not a bad plan at all. I always do my own and I probably check mine more than most. I always watch tire patterns too.

Thank you!

You know it is a pickle to find anyone who will line up the truck—finally found someone with the skill to do it about 20 miles away—the rest will not touch it. “Too Old”

I plan on getting new tires, and definitely getting it to someone for a line up.

[AmericanSavage]

Yes, it does look good.

UPDATE:

After some excellent help from Gary (who called Tmeyer!) and others on the board (thanks Matt in TN!), I decided to keep the roller—though I did NOT install it this time around. I really needed to get the truck running and out of the garage. It had been sitting a month. Why would I keep it after putting it all back together? Because, I have a feeling I will be pulling the motor at some point. When that happens, I will have a roller ready to go.

I am glad I went through this experience, because it seems all the techs are wrong about the inability to use a 2 piece eccentric. Gary, thank you for your diligence in all this and helping to resolve a question.

OK, so I replaced the timing cover, the water pump, the power steering, and added a Borgeson, and a new Steering gear box.

Gear Box/Borgeson: WOW. the steering is TIGHT. Both the Blue Top and the Borgeson are great upgrades for our trucks. I had to cut a foot off the Borgeson. But the instructions and drilling the new hole was easy. I had all that installed in less than a day. The hard part was getting the linkage all back together. And the driver wheel crept inward—likely because of the wheel chock I have surmised. It pushed the tire in slightly. After separating all the linkage from the drag link, and adding new dust boots, the pitman went on with ease. Steering is fabulous now.

Pwr Str Pump: I went with a NEW Lares. It actually is a fabulous pump for a c2. No sound, no whine. Highly recommend this route. Never will I buy reman again—or I may Saginaw swap at a later date.

Water Pump: Bought non descript pump from part house locally. So far so good—works geart and NO LEAKS!

Timing Cover: The issue I started a new thread on and that went into other issues surrounding it (the roller for example) was a stripped thread. I ended up ordering a new cover from Summit. A few observations—1) the summit cover is thicker overall by about a 1/16th of an inch from OEM. 2) The bottom channel is wider than OEM. The ridges on the channel are shallower than OEM by about an 1/8th each side, which made getting it on easier because it was not hanging up on the block and allowed for a little wiggle room to press the gasket into the space. I worried about this causing leaks because the fit was not as tight on the bottom from OEM. A little ultra black rtv was applied (small amount) and High tack rtv to secure the front gasket inside the groove at the bottom for install. Grey Right Stuff was applied to the gaskets. And, so far, NO LEAKS!

I have to clean up the original cover, some rust and build up is evident—then I will weld new nuts on for a spare cover. I checked the clearance, it should work with the addition of nuts to the inside.

Also: while I was there, I changed the fuel pump. Glad I did. I think the other one was failing—it was not keeping my fuel line filter full all the times, and now, it seems I have more pressure as the filter remains all full all the time.

Getting on the harmonic balancer was a snap because I heated it up in the oven to 170—I could push it half way on with ease, and then pressed the rest of the distance. Using hot and cold on metal parts is most excellent—heat to expand; cold to shrink.

Up Next? Well sitting for a month did something to my rear drum brakes—I have a pass side brake that is sticking and not disengaging when I pop the parking brake OFF. I drove it around the block and felt the drums when I stopped—pass side was HOT—D side was cool. So, I have a drum shoe not disengaging. The brakes are supposed to be new. I know the brake lines are all new. I assume it could be the park brake cables in the back, but they look relatively new too. So, I am going to have to pop the drums off to check. Who knows what I will find next.

It’s always something.

The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

UPDATE:

After some excellent help from Gary (who called Tmeyer!) and others on the board (thanks Matt in TN!), I decided to keep the roller—though I did NOT install it this time around. I really needed to get the truck running and out of the garage. It had been sitting a month. Why would I keep it after putting it all back together? Because, I have a feeling I will be pulling the motor at some point. When that happens, I will have a roller ready to go.

I am glad I went through this experience, because it seems all the techs are wrong about the inability to use a 2 piece eccentric. Gary, thank you for your diligence in all this and helping to resolve a question.

OK, so I replaced the timing cover, the water pump, the power steering, and added a Borgeson, and a new Steering gear box.

Gear Box/Borgeson: WOW. the steering is TIGHT. Both the Blue Top and the Borgeson are great upgrades for our trucks. I had to cut a foot off the Borgeson. But the instructions and drilling the new hole was easy. I had all that installed in less than a day. The hard part was getting the linkage all back together. And the driver wheel crept inward—likely because of the wheel chock I have surmised. It pushed the tire in slightly. After separating all the linkage from the drag link, and adding new dust boots, the pitman went on with ease. Steering is fabulous now.

Pwr Str Pump: I went with a NEW Lares. It actually is a fabulous pump for a c2. No sound, no whine. Highly recommend this route. Never will I buy reman again—or I may Saginaw swap at a later date.

Water Pump: Bought non descript pump from part house locally. So far so good—works geart and NO LEAKS!

Timing Cover: The issue I started a new thread on and that went into other issues surrounding it (the roller for example) was a stripped thread. I ended up ordering a new cover from Summit. A few observations—1) the summit cover is thicker overall by about a 1/16th of an inch from OEM. 2) The bottom channel is wider than OEM. The ridges on the channel are shallower than OEM by about an 1/8th each side, which made getting it on easier because it was not hanging up on the block and allowed for a little wiggle room to press the gasket into the space. I worried about this causing leaks because the fit was not as tight on the bottom from OEM. A little ultra black rtv was applied (small amount) and High tack rtv to secure the front gasket inside the groove at the bottom for install. Grey Right Stuff was applied to the gaskets. And, so far, NO LEAKS!

I have to clean up the original cover, some rust and build up is evident—then I will weld new nuts on for a spare cover. I checked the clearance, it should work with the addition of nuts to the inside.

Also: while I was there, I changed the fuel pump. Glad I did. I think the other one was failing—it was not keeping my fuel line filter full all the times, and now, it seems I have more pressure as the filter remains all full all the time.

Getting on the harmonic balancer was a snap because I heated it up in the oven to 170—I could push it half way on with ease, and then pressed the rest of the distance. Using hot and cold on metal parts is most excellent—heat to expand; cold to shrink.

Up Next? Well sitting for a month did something to my rear drum brakes—I have a pass side brake that is sticking and not disengaging when I pop the parking brake OFF. I drove it around the block and felt the drums when I stopped—pass side was HOT—D side was cool. So, I have a drum shoe not disengaging. The brakes are supposed to be new. I know the brake lines are all new. I assume it could be the park brake cables in the back, but they look relatively new too. So, I am going to have to pop the drums off to check. Who knows what I will find next.

It’s always something.

The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

It's not uncommon for a parking brake cable to hang up.

When you have the drum off make sure you can move the cable from the equalizer end and the integral spring returns it.

If you have to remove the cable from the backing plate I find the easiest way to disengage the tabs is to force a tight fitting box end wrench over the retainer spurs and wiggle it out.

[Gary Lewis]

UPDATE:

After some excellent help from Gary (who called Tmeyer!) and others on the board (thanks Matt in TN!), I decided to keep the roller—though I did NOT install it this time around. I really needed to get the truck running and out of the garage. It had been sitting a month. Why would I keep it after putting it all back together? Because, I have a feeling I will be pulling the motor at some point. When that happens, I will have a roller ready to go.

I am glad I went through this experience, because it seems all the techs are wrong about the inability to use a 2 piece eccentric. Gary, thank you for your diligence in all this and helping to resolve a question.

OK, so I replaced the timing cover, the water pump, the power steering, and added a Borgeson, and a new Steering gear box.

Gear Box/Borgeson: WOW. the steering is TIGHT. Both the Blue Top and the Borgeson are great upgrades for our trucks. I had to cut a foot off the Borgeson. But the instructions and drilling the new hole was easy. I had all that installed in less than a day. The hard part was getting the linkage all back together. And the driver wheel crept inward—likely because of the wheel chock I have surmised. It pushed the tire in slightly. After separating all the linkage from the drag link, and adding new dust boots, the pitman went on with ease. Steering is fabulous now.

Pwr Str Pump: I went with a NEW Lares. It actually is a fabulous pump for a c2. No sound, no whine. Highly recommend this route. Never will I buy reman again—or I may Saginaw swap at a later date.

Water Pump: Bought non descript pump from part house locally. So far so good—works geart and NO LEAKS!

Timing Cover: The issue I started a new thread on and that went into other issues surrounding it (the roller for example) was a stripped thread. I ended up ordering a new cover from Summit. A few observations—1) the summit cover is thicker overall by about a 1/16th of an inch from OEM. 2) The bottom channel is wider than OEM. The ridges on the channel are shallower than OEM by about an 1/8th each side, which made getting it on easier because it was not hanging up on the block and allowed for a little wiggle room to press the gasket into the space. I worried about this causing leaks because the fit was not as tight on the bottom from OEM. A little ultra black rtv was applied (small amount) and High tack rtv to secure the front gasket inside the groove at the bottom for install. Grey Right Stuff was applied to the gaskets. And, so far, NO LEAKS!

I have to clean up the original cover, some rust and build up is evident—then I will weld new nuts on for a spare cover. I checked the clearance, it should work with the addition of nuts to the inside.

Also: while I was there, I changed the fuel pump. Glad I did. I think the other one was failing—it was not keeping my fuel line filter full all the times, and now, it seems I have more pressure as the filter remains all full all the time.

Getting on the harmonic balancer was a snap because I heated it up in the oven to 170—I could push it half way on with ease, and then pressed the rest of the distance. Using hot and cold on metal parts is most excellent—heat to expand; cold to shrink.

Up Next? Well sitting for a month did something to my rear drum brakes—I have a pass side brake that is sticking and not disengaging when I pop the parking brake OFF. I drove it around the block and felt the drums when I stopped—pass side was HOT—D side was cool. So, I have a drum shoe not disengaging. The brakes are supposed to be new. I know the brake lines are all new. I assume it could be the park brake cables in the back, but they look relatively new too. So, I am going to have to pop the drums off to check. Who knows what I will find next.

It’s always something.

The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

Good news, all the way around. Well done!

Glad the Blue Top box helped tighten things up. I’m going to have to do that with Big Blue. His rebuilt box has too much slop, and with the wind we had today I had to stay right with it to keep it in the lane.

Anyway, congratulations!

[AmericanSavage]

Good news, all the way around. Well done!

Glad the Blue Top box helped tighten things up. I’m going to have to do that with Big Blue. His rebuilt box has too much slop, and with the wind we had today I had to stay right with it to keep it in the lane.

Anyway, congratulations!

Hey Gary—do you mean you had Blue Top rebuild a box and it was still not tight enough?

I cannot say enough how much I love the Blue Top/Borgeson set up. Really like night and day.

[Gary Lewis]

Good news, all the way around. Well done!

Glad the Blue Top box helped tighten things up. I’m going to have to do that with Big Blue. His rebuilt box has too much slop, and with the wind we had today I had to stay right with it to keep it in the lane.

Anyway, congratulations!

Hey Gary—do you mean you had Blue Top rebuild a box and it was still not tight enough?

I cannot say enough how much I love the Blue Top/Borgeson set up. Really like night and day.

No, I have a rebuilt box the previous owner put on, and it has slack. I want to try a BlueTop as I think that will fix it.