Swapped in a new radiator today and am about to fill it back up but stopped myself as a reminder to flush the heater core. During the swap a new t-stat housing installed & 180* stat since I'd like it to run about 10* cooler than it does. During the swap I noticed something odd on the new belt I installed within the last year so I investigated...

Pic of the belt... while it is hard to see in the area that is in focus, if you look down onto the crank you can see discolored rib. This rib is abnormal wear for a belt that has less than 10k on it. Looking at the top of the belt that is in focus you can see why it is wearing funny, mis-alignment.







when I got the truck it already had this alternator on it and it looked new. What I dont know is if the pulley is pressed on too deep, I think it is. I dont have another one to compare to (maybe could look at the rams pulley).

Should there be a gap between the housing and the pulley?




Radiator install in progress...




e-fan... looks a lot like the volvo one I have on the Ram... only difference that I see so far is the 2 spd vs 1 spd. Going to investigate putting in the volvo set on low if it will drop in. I took measurements and IIRC the diameter is the same on both fans. I also took mounting point measurements for when I'm in the yard (probably later this week). Side note: I am deleting the mechanical fan & clutch.








With all that said, what else should I consider addressing before bringing the truck back on-line?
I have a new trans pan & filter arriving tonight and plan to do that work tomorrow while it's in the garage. Relating to that, is there anything that needs to be adjusted while I have the pan removed?

 

Take off the idler and tensioner pulleys. Use a jeweler's screwdriver and pop the grease seal along the inside circumference (never pry the outer). Push some new grease in with your finger if needed. This is how my pulleys last forever.

 

Volvo fan is 1" bigger...

 

Some old pics of mine. You can see the pulley on the right, somewhat....

 

Got it all back together, test drive it, no leaks, come home to park it and let it cool down for another test drive and come out to a nice puddle of coolant. Farfrompoopin!
So top bolt is tight as expected but the bottom bolt gave way. It was tight but apparently the threads in there were barely hanging on.


So the question is... is the preferred fix the helicoil method? (I assume yes, just do not recall doing an aluminum piece before.

 

Helicoil installed, letting it sit overnight with water to see if it drips. Install went OK, had to use a right angle drill and pull the shroud and fan out for access. Would have been really pissed if I had to pull the radiator lol...

 

Be better to run it and check. The water would be under pressure.

 

Yeah that is Sunday. Just need to put the fan & overflow back on to get it back on the road. Tired of messing with it for the day. Had 3 other things to do and none of it got done.

 

Hi Steve, you don't have to adjust anything with the pan dropped, just replace the filters and mind the seal of the sump filter.
These trans dont have bands so you can't really make adjustments.
Just remove the torx screw which holds the filter up and pull it straight down, the seal will stay seated and you can pull it with a screwdriver or something, i tap the new seal in there with a socket of the right size, and mount the new sumpfilter.
The other one is just a spin on filter, just don't tighten it to much, it has plastic treads on it.
Ain't that hard of a job, good luck.

The fan is the original AC-fan, some drive without the clutch fan and have this fan only, i think it will be enough for some, which depends on outside temperatures and/or if you pull a trailer if i will be sufficeint.
Think the Volvo fan is much better, and the way you control the fan is better too, the original ac-fan comes in at 210 and when you switch to ac in the cab.

 

Roger that Thanks!

Dak is back on the road, fixed the t-stat stripped bolt with a helicoil & now its all good.

1st observations on the 180* stat:

1) Engine now runs at 188-190*f and is pretty consistent in temp. Once the t-stat is open temps barely fluctuate +/-2* and I dont see much of a temp swing when off throttle going downhill, drops to 186 or so.

2) There IS a 4th gear!!! (while using the Jeep TCM). I have not been driving the Dak to work at all since the Ram is online but today I did. (Ram is down for a fuel pump swap that is needed). On the way into work this morning while going up the ~2 mi "grade" (~300' climb) the TCM downshifted into 4th and held it for a bit. This is the 1st time I've seen it do that. Also worth noting, while in 5th on another part of the "grade" I noticed I was now able to accelerate while holding 5th, which I previously could not do without a downshift. I'm not talking massive change, it is subtle and seen with a light right foot..

Previous tanks to & from work have been giving me mid 16's, around town have been in the 15's. Going to run the Dak to work for 300ish miles and see what it gives with the 180* stat. Last Wednesday I went to a yard down in Portland (140ish miles south) to snag not 1 but 2 ECUs that should work on my Dak as they have the same calibration number. Once those are tested and I have picked one (preferably with the right gear ratio cal to get the speedo closer to stock), the plan is to start working on downloading a tune to one of the other ones. The bench setup is still with me here at work and it appears to be working. The plan is to do a read and have HPT confirm it looks good prior to any download attempt.

On the fan setup... I left the fan & clutch installed until I have control over the e-fan. I plan to use the volvo on low with a hayden fan control kit I have (also have used this on the Ram) since I know what CFM it pulled during the testing I did. (1) DIY fan test chamber | Dodge Cummins Diesel Forum (cumminsforum.com) I also found a volvo fan down there in Portland so i snagged it.