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The Trip from Hell Update


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Well things just keep getting weirder and weirder. For those who have been following my original post you saw how things went from bad to worse. Still in a hole but more optimistic. I found a Mobile Mechanic who is working with me. He's and old guy whos been at it a while. He's as dumb founded as me. Well I got sick and tired of not doing anything. So I pulled the valve cover. Now I have been under a lot of covers. This one was the cleanest I have ever experienced. No build up,  no filings nothing. This is where it gets weird. I garbed the first set of valves and the block was loose. Eureka, Something wrong! I started checking around and damned if all 6 are loose. The bolts I can remove with my fingers. They all seem in about the same position. It's like someone got in there and loosened them up. Told you it was weird. The only thing I can come up with is someone didn't tighten them up and they just vibrated loose. The push rods all look straight and all of the springs are tight and the same height. Boy am I confused.

So does anyone have a clue, o heck a hair brain idea? I plan on torqueing them down and see what happens. If it starts then I can get a Turbo and maybe get out of this town.

On the police front, the cop doesn't give much hope on finding my wife's scooter or any thing else.

Life is grand.

John

Forgot the pics.397922657_BoltwCoil.JPG.cd50afad8828333a7cfe521cbed2ee98.JPG

Heli Coil.JPG

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IMG_0333.JPG

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Very interesting, We have had our 2005 Safari Gazelle since March, 31,000 miles.  Every time I ask my CAT service center(Sacramento), to do the overhead adjustments, this basically sets valve  clearance on my C9 as I understand it. He just laughs at me, says it doesn’t have enough miles.  After reading your post I think I should be more persistent. 
good luck with your repairs and safe travels.

I will keep following your post 

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1 hour ago, just_john1 said:

Well things just keep getting weirder and weirder. For those who have been following my original post you saw how things went from bad to worse. Still in a hole but more optimistic. I found a Mobile Mechanic who is working with me. He's and old guy whos been at it a while. He's as dumb founded as me. Well I got sick and tired of not doing anything. So I pulled the valve cover. Now I have been under a lot of covers. This one was the cleanest I have ever experienced. No build up,  no filings nothing. This is where it gets weird. I garbed the first set of valves and the block was loose. Eureka, Something wrong! I started checking around and damned if all 6 are loose. The bolts I can remove with my fingers. They all seem in about the same position. It's like someone got in there and loosened them up. Told you it was weird. The only thing I can come up with is someone didn't tighten them up and they just vibrated loose. The push rods all look straight and all of the springs are tight and the same height. Boy am I confused.

So does anyone have a clue, o heck a hair brain idea? I plan on torqueing them down and see what happens. If it starts then I can get a Turbo and maybe get out of this town.

On the police front, the cop doesn't give much hope on finding my wife's scooter or any thing else.

Life is grand.

John

Forgot the pics.397922657_BoltwCoil.JPG.cd50afad8828333a7cfe521cbed2ee98.JPG

Heli Coil.JPG

IMG_0331.JPG

IMG_0332.JPG

IMG_0333.JPG

IMG_0334.JPG

I hope that’s not part of the internal threads from the head on your bolts.

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48 minutes ago, Gary M said:

I hope that’s not part of the internal threads from the head on your bolts.

Yea.....that's what I was thinking. That's not good. Your rocker arm bolts are all loose? Head bolts are tight though right? It looks like you have metal on those threads. 

Without trying to crank the engine , I'd spin the engine over with a big ratchet and check my valve lash. I'm not sure what engine you have ....5.9? 

Edited by Flyinhy
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I'm sorry I didn't point this out before. That is a Helix Coil. I can just un screw it. No lock tight involved. I'm checking the rest of the bolts tomorrow. Never seen a Helix Coil stripped. The engine is a 8.3-325 and it turns over well. All I have right now is Lash. I don't think the valves are being compressed.

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Morning 

One of my clients has a inspection station for commercial vehicles,  they service my coach, crawl all around and underneath to find something wrong or possibly things that could go wrong. I have 100 900 miles on my 500 Cummins and I ask the question about valves and adjustment and he says "not even close" one of the things to watch for would be over fueling which in turn could see lots of black smoke, if it were me I would find a Cummins (Motor). Mechanic, someone who services generators and or rebuilds. I would keep my hands out of there.

Good luck

Wayne 

1999 Signature Caesar 

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Sorry but that’s not a Helicoil. It is the threaded material from the head. With the bolts being loose the constant variable pressure at high speed with the engine running has stripped out the threads. I think you may have an issue trying to torque the ones that look like this to the required spec. Not being torqued to the proper spec by someone is likely what caused them all to loose over time. 

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2 hours ago, Chargerman said:

Sorry but that’s not a Helicoil. It is the threaded material from the head. With the bolts being loose the constant variable pressure at high speed with the engine running has stripped out the threads. I think you may have an issue trying to torque the ones that look like this to the required spec. Not being torqued to the proper spec by someone is likely what caused them all to loose over time. 

Yikes!

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Guest Ray Davis
3 hours ago, Chargerman said:

Sorry but that’s not a Helicoil. It is the threaded material from the head. With the bolts being loose the constant variable pressure at high speed with the engine running has stripped out the threads. I think you may have an issue trying to torque the ones that look like this to the required spec. Not being torqued to the proper spec by someone is likely what caused them all to loose over time. 

I am not a mechanic but I have seen and used Helicoils before, and they all had threads on the outside portion of the coil just like the inside.   After all,  their function is to screw into a hole that was striped and then drilled and rethreaded to a larger size.  The coil brings the threads back to the correct size.   I don't know if a Helicoil is acceptable for this application or not,  hopefully it is acceptable and that's all that's wrong.

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A Helicoil can be used in this instance if there is enough material to drill out what’s left of the old threads and tap it to accept the Helicoil. It’s hard to tell from the picture with the cap and rocker shaft in the way. I can assure you what can out of the head is not a Helicoil. It is smooth on the OD which is a sure sign that it is stripped threads

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Just_John1,

We just crossed paths this morning. My quick departure was abrupt.  Apologies. I was on my way down the street to get my compressor looked at. The air has been leaking down and I had low air on the road 3 times last night. Not fun.

After leaving, your question made me remember a problem I had with an old Chevy motor. A rocker kept loosening. We would tighten it up but it would loosen again. Come to find out the threads were bad on the head. Had it worked on at a machinist. New threads and the problem never came back. Similar? Maybe, maybe not.

I am a few blocks down from you now at a shop called Auto Trucks. I mention it because they do Diesels and have a Machine shop here if you need it. Hopefully you don't. I hope you can torque it down and go!

Reach out if you need anything. I'm nearby.

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nvrtoofast. No problem. I'll trade you one air problem for a blown engine! I have a Mechanic and hopefully he can get it torqued down and get me a turbocharger  and we can be on our merry way. This is one heck of a community. Stuck in a foreign state in a wet town and already I have me 2 nice people.

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Guest Ray Davis

I haven't had my valve cover off to see what mine looks like but I'm amazed at how clean yours is.  Has it been worked on recently?

Has your mobile mechanic seen the bolt with the threads in it?    Personally I don't see how that bolt will tighten down properly without a helicoil installed.                         

If the hole is threaded deep enough a longer bolt might work,  but I would want an experts advice on it.

Good luck 

Edited by Ray Davis
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Just_John1, I'm glad you have a direction. I've got my fingers crossed it will bear fruit.

On my side they pulled the dryer and it was filled with awesome sludge. Putting in a new one tomorrow and hopefully on the road. No guarantees till I'm on the road. I'll likely need a new compressor in a month or so.

Let us know how you get on.

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Just_John1,

The shop was able to get me on the road this afternoon. I hope your moving closer to that goal. I'm not wanting to get you down but the opposite. Encouragement to you and the wife. I hope you're back on the road very soon.

On a side note, If anyone is in Everett, WA. I can recommend the guys at Auto Truck Service. They were honest, direct, and let me park on site overnight. Also, even though they are backlogged for several weeks they prioritized me to get me back on the road. Good team there.

IMG_3542.thumb.jpeg.aefc6e1d25752f741459af78199cd6b2.jpeg

 

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Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad your on the road again, Safe travels and maybe we will meet again.  The bus was towed to the mechanics shop so he could work on it. He is extremely busy so it may take some time. At least it is off the street. Starting to feel a little more optimistic.

John

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