Pulling the 5.9 with the at 545 still bolted on

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

This week has been buying parts and buying more parts...


Will lay out everything on tables for the build Wife just does not know that they are Her tables.
Pictures coming!

I don't know how you can stand to work in that mess.

Looks like you will have a bus that you can depend-on for a very long time.

Just some advice, don't piss in the parts washer- causes rust.

[Rivetboy]

When the clamp was removed from the fuel line to siphon out some diesel for the parts washer the hose started flaking away. The decision was made to replace both the supply and return lines. This might mean dropping the tank for access but not replacing a crumbling fuel line is unacceptable.
The condition of the vibration damper was next on the high dollar surprise list.
Holy Moley!
The thought of that thing coming apart is not comforting at all.
This is a 1991 TC 2000.

[cadillackid]

check the fan too.. ive seen more than once someone's day ruined when their fan blade tossed a blade... usually due to a bad fan clutch causing the fan to slice away at the shroud occasionally.. ends up in hairline cracks in the blade and smack!! on a hot day pumping a hill at max RPM goes a blade.. and the radiator and the water pump, the belt,, you get the idea.. good time to inspect it.
-Christopher

[Rivetboy]

Originally Posted by Rusty

I don't know how you can stand to work in that mess.

Looks like you will have a bus that you can depend-on for a very long time.

Just some advice, don't piss in the parts washer- causes rust.

Attachment 16629

Thats what the laundry soap jug next to the parts washer is for

[Rivetboy]

Thanks Christopher, do not know why that was missed. When I rebuilt my z71 last year that was on the list .
Along with anything else that spun:belts, idlers, water pump, starter, power steering pump, alternator, transmission, u joints etc etc.
The theory it is always cheaper to fix it all at once instead of on the side of the road.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

Thanks Christopher, do not know why that was missed. When I rebuilt my z71 last year that was on the list .
Along with anything else that spun:belts, idlers, water pump, starter, power steering pump, alternator, transmission, u joints etc etc.
The theory it is always cheaper to fix it all at once instead of on the side of the road.

Exactly my thought .. that's how my early spring coolant flush turned into Horton fan couch upgrade, oil pump, water pump, belt, fan blade, radiator steamed out, hoses..
all except the idler pulley.. and guess what broke a couple months ago....
Christopher

[Rivetboy]

Holy mother of pearl did you have to get a second to buy one of those fan clutches?
It was $800 plus for my Cummins 6bt. Believe i will go with my original plan of putting the thermal switch back in to service. It was bypassed to run the all of the time.

[cadillackid]

apparently i got extremely lucky in buying my Horton E450 for $200 and some change on FleaBay (new in the box). the guy had 2.. had i known they were a hot commodity id have bought both.. I bought mine to upgrade from the thermal viscous to an electronic switch controlled where i could set the temperature or run the fan all the time if I wanted..

-Christopher

[Rivetboy]

OK, the last couple of weeks have been more obscure parts , engine final disassembly and more. Finally found a new fan and ordered it to.
Removed the manifold cover and cleaned up the cast iron side with a angle grinder and 3m discs. Wire brushand solvent tank on the aluminum cover. Lots of priming and painting of small parts. Flycut the exhaust manifold with a 4 foot piece off 220 grit sanding belt. Pulled the power steering pump and then the Bendix TU 501 air compressor came right out and sent it out to be either rebuilt or overhauled.
Had to buy the third 3 foot by 6 foot folding table for all of the new and cleaned parts. In the continuing replace all parts saga ordered a new oil cooler for the 6b and a new vibration damper.The oil cooler plate was covered in bb size nodes of rust althogh the water passages in the block were clean. As for the Bosch P7100 pump, tomorrow looks like the big day to remove it. The plan is to send it out and have it overhauled balanced and new 3200 rpm governor springs and a 250 hp 600 ft lb fuel block. Since the bus will weigh abot 20k and the transmission is rated to 30 k I think with the additonal transmission cooling it will be ok even though the torque is about 150 ft/lbs more.
So when the pump comes off tomorrow the tappet cover with the quart every 25 miles leak can finally be removed and a new gasket installed and voila, no more leak!
Here are a few pictures.

[cadillackid]

this is good stuff!!! are you really going to push that much torque through an AT545?
the danger isnt heat as much as it is the 545s run low line pressure at lower RPM's.. you can break the clutches loose and glaze them.. bend the turbine blades on the converter and such if you hammer them with torque..

I got away with not breaking one oin my old bus that was a 454 V8.. but most all of its power came at higher RPMs. as it was a gasser V8 so my low end torque was whimpy compared to nicely equipped 5.9 like you have..

when you get it back together id just pay close attention to how your shifting is when you crowd the throttle.. your stall on the converter helps you some holding the RPMs up..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

If/when the 545 goes, pony up for a 1000/2000 or even a 643.
Whatever you do don't pay for another 545.

[Rivetboy]

CK and CB, we are just going to play it by ear, my thoughts are that with a higher red line will get us away from some of the low end torque and especially keeping your foot out of it in high torque heavy load situations. As in staying a liitle higher in rpm instead of lugging it up the hill. There is no fear of hard work here so if it turns out it has to have another 545 put in it to get me home that is not a problem. When the bus gets home though the options for a more robust trans abound.

At this point it should be a solid bus mechanically and that is the baseline for the conversion.

Anyhow dropped the pan and found nothing evil in it. Removed the gear and got the p7100 out and finally (finally) looking at the evil leaking tappet cover. cleaned up a little more and yeah!
Also , just got the call to pick up the rebuilt compressor, $500 and the peace of mind is priceless.Same people that rebuilt the Turbo for me. Great family owned buisness Dumas in Lng Beach CA.
Focus now is cleaning all the gasket surfaces and painting the long block.
Here are a few pictures.

[Rivetboy]

Also, on the previous post first picture don"t buy one of the worthless $30 Amazon pullers to pull the pump gear The bolts started walking out immediately from the hall moon cut and when I started peening the end it left divots. Ended up using a steering wheel puller made 33 years ago on a slow day at work.
Also put a nickle or a quarter between your puller and the end of the pump shaft as a sacrificial washer. You do not want to buther those threads. It also helps to tap the puller with a hammer every time you snug it up
Finally, throw a couple of blankets on the fllor so when it pops off it lands on something soft and does not chip a tooth!

[cadillackid]

That engine looks pretty good! Not sure I'd have spent 500 for a compressor rebuild, I've got remand by bendix in both my busses that were picked up for 300 a piece or so .

Are you going to ring it and valve it since it's out? Stiffer springs for the higher rpm?

Why do you want to spin faster rather than up low end torque and have proper final drive ratio?

I' guess I'm just not a fan of spinning an engine that's spent a long life already slower.. think cylinder ridge, rod stretch, ring stress.. unless it gets rebuilt to spin fast..

[Rivetboy]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

That engine looks pretty good! Not sure I'd have spent 500 for a compressor rebuild, I've got remand by bendix in both my busses that were picked up for 300 a piece or so .

Are you going to ring it and valve it since it's out? Stiffer springs for the higher rpm?

Why do you want to spin faster rather than up low end torque and have proper final drive ratio?

I' guess I'm just not a fan of spinning an engine that's spent a long life already slower.. think cylinder ridge, rod stretch, ring stress.. unless it gets rebuilt to spin fast..

This is California so everything costs more...
This is an old school family buisness and have done buisness with them for 25 years.

This is not something that is even on my worry list a few hundred higher rpm are not going to do squat to a motor designed for the rating
that you can get out of it strait from the factory. Cylinder ridge , rod stretch? If it breaks you fix it.
At this point in my life their is not to much hot rodder left in me i.e. heavy right foot. It is not what the ratings say it is how you operate it in my view.

Finally, if it fails or starts blowing hard smoke , I will buy a new one.
Look at all those lovely cracks in the original tappet cover gasket. That antique piece of dried out rubber is what has led us down this baseline hiway.

[Rivetboy]

My feelings also since the at 545 suffers from low pressure issues a few hundred rpm should help that. Driving the bus with the 2200 redline was not enough. We will see. If everything goes south a new transmission out of a peterbilt and I will bump the 6B to 500 hp and put wheelie bars on it.

[cadillackid]

I agree that higher RPM helps the AT545.. up to about 2300-2400 RPM.. I think the pressure regulator holds line pressure once you reach that point..

the TC-290 stall from my experience (from a zero MPH test).. would run up to about 1600-1800. under pretty heavy load.. but the gear ration is such that once you start to move your RPM rises quickly.. seems through 2nd and 3rd gear its pretty consistently at 2200 or above.. 4th gear and climbing a hill is where I notice the most tendencies of the 545 to drop below 2300 RPM.. with more torque perhaps you end up being able to overcome that.. your stall wit ha high torque motor will raise up a bit.. and the higher torque will limit you from slowing down to the point of dropping below the critical RPMs.

all this said i *DID* have a 545 sitting behind a somewhat built gasser 454 engine. and I never tore up the transmission.. of course that engine didnt really make a lot of power until I was above 2500 RPM..

nevertheless it could be a case that these transmissions are a lot stouter than the books or other people say they are..

one thing is for sure is they are cheap to find and pretty darn easy to re-clutch / rebuild if you simply glaze the clutches or overcome what the drum can hold..

-Christopher

[Rivetboy]

And we are both having fun so it is win win win!

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

And we are both having fun so it is win win win!

THIS!!!

-Christopher

[Tango]

According to a "usually reliable source"...all Allison torque specs are de-rated quite a bit meaning they should handle more than book. Exactly how much?....he couldn't say, so exceed with caution.