Rebuild - But not Restore, K3500 Farm Truck

[packer0440]

No problem! One thing I’ll point out is that the pump (and pulley) look a little different on hydro boost systems but still use the same bracket/alignment. The one you currently have is definitely not the right one though

 

[BuiltToWork]

It's been 1 year (11 months) since I started my rebuild project.

Progress to date:
none.

Well, I did get the shed roof fixed and got the hood & radiator out of the truck.

Hopefully next year I will get the tear down done.

I'm trying to accelerate getting it road worthy because my wife wants me to trade in my Toyota Tacoma 4x4 for a Ford Superduty, so we can tow a big enough trailer to live in. (I will have to start traveling for work again soon).
I would rather fix my dually so I don't have an astronomical car payment.

It's a race against the clock now!

New shorter "to do" list:

1) engine compression check
2) Check temp gauge (runs @ 290 when warmed up)

Full stop. If the engine is bad, revaluate life and abandon project


If good, full steam ahead:

rebuild TBI
body off
all new brake lines and brake hardware
new leaf springs (maybe)
new wiring harness (works - but modified/hacked with so much I don't trust it)
replace alternator mounting hardware (works - but wrong one)
new pullies (works - but wrong ones)
new power steering pump (works - but wrong one)
new radiator
all fluids changed


Maybe:

new fuel lines/tank/pump


As she sits now:

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[BuiltToWork]

Well, a little progress. Just ordered from amazon the:

OTC 5605 Deluxe Compression Tester Kit with Carrying Case for Gasoline Engines​

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and the

OTC 5609 Cylinder Leakage Tester Kit , Black​

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and the

OTC 5613 Vacuum/Pressure Gauge Kit​

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So now I can check out if the engine is good or not.
Compression testers I have bought in the past have all broke on 1st use - this time I read the reviews. Hopefully I didn't buy garbage again.

 

[Keeper]

Merry Christmas to you!

I always like to chase the threads before testing, for whatever that's worth

 

[BuiltToWork]

Merry Christmas to you!

I always like to chase the threads before testing, for whatever that's worth

Thanks! Will that drop shavings down into the cylinder?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

[Keeper]

I have smeared a tiny amount of anti-sieze on chaser threads and other times not. The crud is too small for me to care. What it does do is allow me to get that o-ring on the compression tester tight to the head for an accurate reading across all cylinders and not get weak pressures on the ones with dirty plug threads because they wouldn't allow me to fully tighten down the o-ring. Boy, I hope that makes sense

 

[Orpedcrow]

Thanks! Will that drop shavings down into the cylinder?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I like OTC stuff. Can’t think of a time I’ve had a failure.

I slather some wheel bearing grease on my spark plug thread chaser. That seems to “catch” most anything that might be getting knocked off of the threads. I wouldn’t use a tap though, too much possibility of making the threads oversized and loose.

 

[BuiltToWork]

Thank you @Keeper and @Orpedcrow . I learnt me a lesson in best practices today.
This lead me down the rabbit hole of UNC, UNF and Metric thread chaser kits.
I had never heard of UNC UNF before, but a quick google search revealed it's just thread pitch.
Any recommendations on a thread chaser kit?

HORUSDY​

seams to be a highly rated one.

but another quick google search and the thread pitch on a 14mm spark plug is 1.25

the Horusdy kit has 14 x 1.5, so no go.

will keep researching.

 

[BuiltToWork]

found one:

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[Nad_Yvalhosert]

found one:

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That's the wrong one. When you start from ruined threads, itll just continue ruining them

Mine collapses, goes all the way in, and restores from the good threads outward, pulling any shavings out with it.