Adventures with a Pete 587

[Mattman]

Seeing as most of your troubles are about something your engine doesn't need to run, that offer of being pointed towards what needs to be done sounds real good.

[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!

   
   
   
   
   

[JimT]

   

[JimT]

Wow, so much time has passed since I updated this. I always sucked at keeping a journal. Anyway, lets see. Since the last post I Inframed the engine at Rawze's, replaced all 8 drive tires, replaced fan clutch twice (I think the first one was bad, had an issue with it from day one), replaced a motor mount and finally installed those front springs pictured above. Replaced the steer hub caps as the plastic was warping around the bolts and just starting to leak. Replaced my Davco as the cover was getting warped and it was only a few bucks more to replace the entire unit instead of just the cover. Also installed the Cat's Eyes tire pressure thingies. That was the 2nd half of 2020 through 2021, not much else of note during that time. Engine wise things were great.

2022 has been much more busy. Started out by replacing all 4 batteries twice in a week. The first set (DieHard flooded batteries from Advance Auto) needed a jump prior to being able to actually crank the truck. At the end of the week I didn't like how they were performing so I bought another 4 flooded batteries from Napa. These were better but starting was still a little sluggish at times. More on that later.

Next she got new rear shocks and track bars (or torque arms, whichever name applies to the ones above the axle). Another windshield (averaging 1 per year due to rocks cranking it), which itself was chipped just days after it was installed, so far that has been fine with just a chip repair. Added a dump switch for my airbags along with a new height control valve. Replaced a bunch of AC hoses and recharged the system. Probably screwed it up a little as it could probably be colder and the pressure climbs what I think is a little too fast at idle, but rolling down the road it's normal and blows cold enough for now. Added a fumoto drain valve, only drained the oil once since then. A little slower than pulling the plug, but much less mess! Didn't seem to change the amount of oil drained either.

Had a flat steer tire around the end of July. Drove 8 miles on it to my trailer drop yard before I noticed it only had about 20 psi. Some rubber debris had lodged in the flow through valve stem caps letting air escape. Refilled the tire and it held pressure but I knew the damage had been done. Delivered my load a few miles away and took it straight in for a new set of Bridgestone R283S Ecopia 16 ply "Super Regional" tires. The old tires, Goodyears, went on at the beginning of 2020 just before I met Rawze the first time and were down to about 5-6/32 of tread at the lowest points. So, 2.5 years about 180,000 miles on that set. Never was too happy with them, hopefully these Bridgestones will hold up better. After that I finally bought a wireless TPMS. With flow through sensor caps they are on all the tractor tires now. The drives still have the Cat's Eye (which has been great, absolutely 0 pressure leakage) but now the flow through sensors sit between it and each tire allowing me to see pressures and temps for each tire. The system itself hasn't been the best, lots of false alarms (low/high pressure or high temps). Not sure if it's due to weak scrambled signal, or interference with some outside entity or what. But it's almost always extreme and limited to either pressure or temp. So when I suddenly see 320F degree temp with pressure reading normal or 175 psi with temp only 4F above ambient I've learned not to panic.

Now for the fun stuff. Remember the batteries? Well, turns out the starter was getting weak. So, after some searching I replaced the old Remy starter with a Mitsubishi. While I was at it I replaced the alternator (I think it was a 170-amp Delco) with a 320 amp Prestolite BLP 4002 brushless. Supposedly delivers more power at idle to run accessories. Also, created the 2nd battery box in the passenger step (original box is in driver step). Installed the Maxwell start module (Ultra Capacitor, not flux) and replaced 100% of the battery cables. Tested all 8 of the flooded batteries, found one of the Napa's was leaking and installed all 7 of the good ones. They are all the same type, same age and same rating/capacity. Definitely gives me more reserve capacity then before, but I won't really see the full effect until I switch back to AGM in a year or two.

So, between the new starter and install of the Maxwell start module she sounds and starts much different then before. Knocked about a full second off the cranking time, down to about 1.5 seconds on average. Haven't pushed the limits on the maxwell yet, but I mentally switched gears from "limit how often you start the truck without running it long enough to recharge the batteries" to "idle less, but maximize the amount of time between starts to ensure sufficient time to recharge the start module". It's a weird but distinct difference. On the other hand I spent over $1,100 on new battery cables. The overall distance from alternator to batteries was about 26' when it connected through the starter. With my new setup it's actually slightly less at about 24' despite the 2 battery boxes. Design was a little tricky at first, not only because the boxes are on either side of the truck, but also because my inverter has a shore power hookup and can also charge the batteries when plugged in. So to create a fully balanced charging setup from both the alternator and inverter took some thought since the inverter is under the bed on the passenger side of the sleeper. And yes, with the start module installed I want the batteries to essentially be one big batter bank, not 2 isolated banks. Played around with a few ideas but eventually settled on positive wired Alt --- Passenger bat bank --- driver bat bank --- inverter. And the negative going Alt --- driver bat bank --- passenger bat bank -- inverter. Each battery box has a cut off relay switch that will disconnect the batteries from the system, then there is a distribution block in each box for positive and negative connections to each battery and the start module. The result is that from either the inverter or the alternator it's exactly the same distance round trip to each battery.

Ok, enough about batteries. Next we have kingpins! I've been having a worsening issue with the truck wandering with changes in the road surface. While it's normal to some extent my truck has been increasingly sensitive to even the smallest cracks or crown/camber changes. It's not alignment as on new, smooth, flat road it drives nice and straight. While doing the usual PM inspections I recently observed some movement in the passenger kingpin so immediately ordered new ones, along with new brake shoes and drums since in the 4 years I've owned this truck they've never been changed (still had some life left too, but they were noisy, started pulling to one side and the drums had tons of small heat cracks). Also had a set of new wheel bearings on hand that I picked up last year but didn't use when I replaced the hub caps.

So far I've only completed the passenger kingpin. Old one came out fairly easily, rebuild was equally smooth until I tried to insert the new pin. WOW. What a difference. Tried using a bottle jack under the pin with the weight of the truck pushing down, it wouldn't budge. Nice and straight, just kept lifting the truck up instead of pushing the pin in. Eventually I had to use my harbor freight 20-ton shop press. That did the trick, slowly and smoothly, without breaking a sweat. First trip on the road is tomorrow, can't wait to see how it handles. Will get to the driver side soon, but first I have an idea for a jig that will make the job much faster. I literally had to disassemble the shop press, move it outside and reassemble it in the wheel well. Changed both front brakes, super easy. Passenger wheel bearings looked really good, almost new so I didn't screw around with them. They are the spicer LMS setup which is the preset type with the cone in the middle so you just torque the inner nut to 250-300 ft-lbs and the outer nut to 200 ft-lbs +/- 50 ft-lbs and don't back them off. New seals of course.

Future:
Well, in addition to what I've done and the other kingpin, I've also been stocking up on parts for future projects. I have rear brake shoes to go on in the next few weeks as time and weather allow. I have a new clutch sitting in a box in my garage, new u-joints and a new main bearing for the drive shaft. That's waiting for the transmission swap that will happen... eventually.

Oh, almost forgot. Took the fairings off the sides of the truck when I did the battery boxes and never got around to reinstalling them. Been about a month of driving now and I can confidently say they seem to make absolutely no noticeable difference to my fuel mileage. Back in June I slowed down to 58pmh cruising speed and since then I've been averaging low 8's. Mostly around 8.3 to 8.5 with a few 7.8's mixed in. I've been tracking dashboard fuel economy vs 'at the pump' numbers for a few years, so I know how accurate the dash usually is. Recently I also started tracking fuel economy readings along with my usual log of odometer readings at every stop I make and when I cross state lines. It's helped to identify specific areas of exceptionally poor fuel mileage. Believe it or not PA highways are not the worst. I-84 east bound through CT is actually consistently BAD. Like mid 6's bad with 8k of ISO on the deck. West bound is better, easily mid 10's empty. For comparison traveling I-81 north from the I-80 interchange up to I-84 east across to about the CT line with the same load averages around 8mpg. Anyway, the point is I've been able to identify better and worse areas, plan and adjust accordingly.

Anyway, that's about 2 years in a nutshell. Otherwise staying busy with work and a daughter who's now 5. Sorry I don't pop on here as much, it's just how life goes.

[tree98]

I think you got a king pin that was to big. It absolutely shouldn't go in that hard. Did you check the fit of the pin into the axle eye without the spindle before you put it all together? Also did you mic the axle eye bores to check for excessive wear? A lot of times (unless the truck is less than 5 years old) your axle eyes are wore out and need resleeved if the king pin comes right out with little effort. Who reamed the spindle bushings for you?

[JimT]

(11-02-2022 )tree98 Wrote:  I think you got a king pin that was to big. It absolutely shouldn't go in that hard. Did you check the fit of the pin into the axle eye without the spindle before you put it all together? Also did you mic the axle eye bores to check for excessive wear? A lot of times (unless the truck is less than 5 years old) your axle eyes are wore out and need resleeved if the king pin comes right out with little effort. Who reamed the spindle bushings for you?

I didn't think it would be that hard to reassemble either. Not sure what mic'ing the axle eye bores is, so no. That step wasn't in the instructions. When I say it came out easy I mean I didn't need to beat the snot out of it to get out. I did use a mallet and bar to knock it free. The only significant wear on the old pin was along the two bushings. You can see it but barely feel the wear. The only movement I had prior to the replacement was about 1/8" vertical. Like not enough spacers were used or the spacers and/or the thrust bearing had worn down.

Anyway, as for the last part, reaming. It appears I missed that step in the instructions. I remember looking at it thinking it was part of the steps for "converting from conventional front non-drive steer axles to Easy Steer™ axles." Looking back over it occurs to me that this might be why it was so tight to insert.

So, the question now is what, if anything, do I need to do? Do I need to pull it back apart, replace the new bushings, ream and then reinstall? Or is reaming moot now that the king pin has been inserted?

[tree98]

Did it take grease when you got it back together? There is supposed to be something like 3-5 thousandths of space for grease between the bushing and the pin.

I don't know for sure but I think the pin is harder than the axle eye, so you might not see any wear on the pin but they wear out the axle eye in an hour glass shape. If you don't correct that it will accelerate the wear and you'll be doing the whole job over again in short order.

You need something like this

AuSL 6PCS Precision Telescopic Gauge Carbon Steel Micrometer T-Bore Hole Measurement Bore Engineers Kit https://a.co/d/bYycFx6

And a set of mic's to check the axle eye wear. You need to check it north and south then east and west about a 1/2" or 3/4" in from the top and then up from the bottom.

Stemco Kaiser makes a kit with "no ream bushings" I've used them twice now (2 different axles) and I've been real happy with them. If you use factory bushings that have to be reamed, you basically have to take the pins and spindles to a machine shop to have them fitted. The stemco kits save you all that time and aggravation.

Stemco video https://youtu.be/S17x0BeA0qc

[JimT]

(11-02-2022 )tree98 Wrote:  Did it take grease when you got it back together? There is supposed to be something like 3-5 thousandths of space for grease between the bushing and the pin.

I don't know for sure but I think the pin is harder than the axle eye, so you might not see any wear on the pin but they wear out the axle eye in an hour glass shape. If you don't correct that it will accelerate the wear and you'll be doing the whole job over again in short order.

You need something like this

AuSL 6PCS Precision Telescopic Gauge Carbon Steel Micrometer T-Bore Hole Measurement Bore Engineers Kit https://a.co/d/bYycFx6

And a set of mic's to check the axle eye wear. You need to check it north and south then east and west about a 1/2" or 3/4" in from the top and then up from the bottom.

Stemco Kaiser makes a kit with "no ream bushings" I've used them twice now (2 different axles) and I've been real happy with them. If you use factory bushings that have to be reamed, you basically have to take the pins and spindles to a machine shop to have them fitted. The stemco kits save you all that time and aggravation.

Stemco video https://youtu.be/S17x0BeA0qc

yes, greased (pistol grip gun, not air powered) up just fine and purged VERY evenly from the normal locations (unlike the old one which usually favored one or two spots over the rest of the circumference). It's a Meritor kit (R201315) with brass or copper looking bushings with what appears to be a nylon inner sleeve with holes and grooves. I know my eyes are not calibrated measuring devices (its not opened up in front of me so I can only relay what I saw), but after cleaning the bores there were no visible defects and everything was smooth. Again, only spots on the king pin that showed any wear were at the bushings. The old pin only moved vertically (only first observed at my recent PM), the new pin had no movement (except rotation) inside the axle eye prior to the wedge bolts being installed.

Aside from the difficult install, which was my own mistake, the entire job was actually pretty easy. Spent more time turning bolts to get to it than actually servicing it. (maybe I should actually use that aircat I bought) If I could find a reamer for the final size between 1.7950-1.7960" I'd have no problem doing the job again. But so far I can't seem to find one of the correct size and I have no clue what shops are around here that could do it. I'll look into the other tools, any pointers are always appreciated.

Edit:
Finally found a reamer of appropriate size, should be here friday. Will pull it out this weekend and redo it properly. Thanks for the info tree98, really helped!

[Nilao]

Check with RV shops. A local RV shop did my king pin bushings, including reaming, and aligned it. My Prostar never drove so nice.