Adventures with a Pete 587

[JimT]

Well past time for an update here.

Picking up where this thread left off...

Immediately changed the crankshaft speed sensor and has been good since.

Took that trip to GA and helped fill in some holes in Rawze's yard.

Made it home the day before my CDL expired! Finally got back to working in mid March and Covid hit the country. Well, wife tested positive while i was back home and I ended up staying home nearly all of April. May was so-so. Had some steady work, good rates, but basically all one way then deadhead back. On the bright side, since the surgery the trucks been getting 7's and 8's for fuel mileage. Unfortunately the lack of soot in the oil has led to the oil consumption going up a bit. And she smells like she's burning oil. Holding at about 3 gallons every 10k miles.

Had some extra time today so I broke out the laptop for the first time since Rawze's. Finally cleared a couple old codes. No more daily code clearing!

Was bored so I ran a cylinder cutout test. Ran on each cylinder by themselves. Interesting how each cylinder feels slightly different.

Then I did a fuel rail pressure test. Last test was in January, had 31,000 psi with no measurable loss after 5 minutes. This time it built up to about 29,500 psi. Lost about 400 psi the first minute. About 1,000 psi after the first 5 minutes (total), and 1,250 psi, total, after the first 10 minutes. Al in all thats a positive result.

While building rail pressure I noticed something odd. Not sure if it's normal or what. As the rail pressure increased then engine started to run slightly rough. Once it hit about 18,000 psi it was rough enough that it almost, but not quite, felt like it was down a cylinder, although the idle was steady. Pressure dropped and it went away. Tired this a few times with the same result.

So, then I did an injector performance test. First time I ran the test it got to Test Point 4 on cylinder 2 and seemed like it got stuck up at 1800 rpm for a while. After what seemed like way too long it quit test with a message about fuel system pressure being unstable. Not sure exactly what happened. Truck's at about 9,000 miles on this oil/filters (10,000 mile change intervals), so maybe there's a restriction there? Dunno, ran the test again and it completed with everything passing. Rail pressures were displayed in data monitor during the test and the numbers all seemed consistent.

One thing I did notice during the test was during all tests of Cylinder 2 there was a noticeable amount of burnt oil smoke from the exhaust that didn't happen during the other cylinders. Also, Test Point 4 took extra long again on the 2nd attempt. Makes me wonder if that's my culprit for oil consumption. Last overhead was 13 months ago, about 75,000 miles. I didn't do the previous overhead and a scheduling issue prevented me from being there when it was done. Might pop it open soon just to take a look for myself.

So, recently I had a choice. Which repair to do first: Crankshaft Damper, CAC, or Front Springs? Well, the spring pins have been popping, front and back, for a while now. Plus the front tires are fairly new, so i went with the springs. Anyone have any prep and/or install tips? They came unpainted, any preferred paint or primer? I have some black chassis spray paint laying around somewhere.

Probably tackle the crankshaft damper next. Was hoping to do that together with the CAC but just can't swing both right now and at 560,000 miles I don't want to put off the damper any longer. I can feel it in the engine. Needs to be done before it leads to some bigger problem.

And finally there's the transmission. I've had a small leak from the front where it mates with the engine for some time now. However I've noticed recently what used to be a few drops has turned in to a very small puddle. Mostly leaks while the engine is running. It's been leaking for 2 years now and I've only had to add lube once because it got a little low. Had it changed at the last PM so we will see in another 1,000 miles where it's at.

Started using gear lube (supertech 85w140 i think) at the last oil change. Seems good. Brought the oil pressure a bit high at a cold start. Plus for a little while before I started adding make-up oil where there was a bit of a whining noise. It was hard to make out, but there. Now it's no longer there, or at least it's no longer noticeable Next time I'll be adding the lighter weight gear lube instead.

Oh, for the record, during the warmer months there's little to no coolant consumption. I recently added about a quart (or less), but that's probably the first time since January. Back when it was cold, actually every winter so far, i'd loose a little coolant from around hoses that shrank in the cold. No sign of anything coming out the overflow.

Also, finally got around to drilling the holes in the frame (bought a cheapo Chinese mag drill) and installed my modified step boxes. Bought the boxes last summer. Finally, more storage!

Anyway, that's enough for this post. Questions, comments, concerns? Tips, tricks, do share!