Kalashnikov's Tow Pig and DD build thread

[Kalashnikov]

Once of the main reasons I originally got into diesels and IDIs particularly is their tolerance for alternate fuels. Back in mid 2011 I needed/wanted a tow rig crew cab diesel F350 that I could daily. I searched for a few months originallyl ooking for a stroke and ended up Getting an 89 F350 CCLB 7.3/E4OD for a good price.

You must be registered for see images attach

I liked the truck a lot but was originally was looking for a 5 speed truck. A friend of mine had the exact truck I was looking for so in February 2011 I picked it up with 189k miles 1 owner. 1993 factory turbo 7.3 5 speed CCLB 4x4 XLT.

You must be registered for see images attach

It needed a powersteering line which was no big biggie. The next year or so would decide which truck I kept. Through that time I had a lot of issues with both trucks. The 93's injectors and pump **** the bed 4k miles after I got it but it's no surprise as it was original mileage. The 89 went not long after that so I had ordered DPS injectors and pumps but THANKFULLY they had ****** customer service and I canceled my credit card and order from Pensacola (which still wasn't the greatest choice). I got the 93 done first but soon realized I had no boost. The studs for my crossover pipe had rotted out so I had to change those but the flange was rotten so it still didn't get a good seal.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

After a few months I started having starter issues and went threw three used one. At that point I was doing the pump and fuel lines on the 89 for the 93 sat for a while. The 89 kept having minor issues but excessively often. Overheating issues, starting issues, battery issues, transmissions issue-which was a huge deciding factor to stack with the stick. Finally got a decent starter for a while and the 89 started turning into and offroad rig.

You must be registered for see images attach

Had both trucks going for a while. The 93 was creating no boost at all. Turning up the fuel screw did nothing. Both trucks were smoking excessively pretty much all the time. The 89 did have a turbo cal pump and was running 40s on stock gears so it was working a lot.

Fast forward to Jan2013. Ordered gauges pods for both trucks. Got my boost, EGT and fuel pressure installed. The next day I was driving the 93 pretty hard when all of a sudden I lost power. By the time I realized it it was too late. No oil pressure. The PO had installed and external oil cooler and used regular hose clamps and rubber hose. One of the clamps rotted off and the hose blew off spewing all my oil. Got the truck towed home. Filled it up with oil and let it run. Didn't sounds too good but not horrible then it locked up all together. Needless to say I was not happy.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

So there she sat for a year til this February, dead. I sold the 89 last year after I got tired of dealing with it's issues. Ended up picking up an 88 2wd 7.3 N/A 5 speed reg cab truck cheap that's in really good shape about 6 months later. I started pulling the nose off the 93 little by little in the fall.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's where the build actually starts. I had bought a spare engine cheap about a year ago with around the same mileage, 180kish. Checked it out and it looked very clean inside. Cylinder walls looked nice. Order a ton of new parts: glow plugs, oil pan, water pump, gaskets, return lines. Already had the new injectors and pump from the other engine. resealed the oil cooler. Cleaned and painted it all up.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Not much progress over the winter as I was working outside in a tent which then collapsed on the truck after a heavy storm and not being around to clear it off due to work. Feb rolls around and my uncle, who has a nice shop a couple towns over was going away for the week and said I could use his shop to swap the engine. Had a buddy of mine tow my truck over will the new engine and parts.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Got the old engine pulled, finished cleaning and painting my engine. Painted the frame up front while it was out.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Found out why I wasn't getting any boost...

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

New SMF conversion

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I wasn't able to finish it completely. On top of that my DB electrical starter literally lasted 3 times of cranking before it cooked itself and would barely spin. I also had to fix my rotten core support. I bought champion radiator after my 89's sprung a leak an I robbed the one from my 93 for it.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

Not the prettiest but it got the job done. Slapped some paint on it and put it on the truck. I'd still like to replace it with a rust free one eventually.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

In will say the Champion radiator is excellent. I've been running no fan all summer towing decent loads (10k) and only one time on a really steep hill did I have overheating issues but I also had sky high EGTs so I blame that. I've been meaning to throw some efans in but haven't had a chance. Beides the great cooling I love the way it looks.

The first test was 1 brick nose 7.3 dump with a 9ft plow and half a load of dirt. Bad time to find out I still was boosting. Was a slow trip with very high EGTs, luckily it was still freezing out.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Found out my up pipe wasn't fully seated on the pass exhaust manifold so I had to unbolt the whole turbo assembly and get it to seat/ but finally BOOST! Installed a back rack with 2 7" LED light bars to light up the world at night.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

Hauls the 5500lb empty trailer pretty easily

You must be registered for see images attach

Had a little mishap on a scrap run, Tailgate took the brunt. Good thing I have another rust free gate. Just needs to be painted. Thankfully my diesel badge survived.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Picked up an Exploder OHC and some new style dome lights. Still have to get the OHC and the rear light in as 93s only had one dome light (dumb).

You must be registered for see images attach

Few random pics getting ready to bring home from the engine swap (shoudl've been posted earlier, oops)

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Mint 90 RCLB frame and cab I sold.

You must be registered for see images attach

I finally had some time to detail the trucks. The paint cleaned up pretty well for how it looked before. Clayed, compounded, polished and waxed.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Some light action. Pics don't really do it justice. They'll light up both sides of a 3 lane higheway (6 total). I have 2 more 7" for the front. Been thinking about getting 2 smallers ones to point off to the sides for full coverage.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

44 magnum shells fit perfect over the valve stems.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

My rearsending unit wasn't reading right and the tank wasn't feeding right. One of the lines was leaking badly so I figured now would be a good time for a 38 gallons tank. I put all new fuel lines from the selector valve back. Ended up having to do brakes lines from the same point. I painted the frame before putting the new tank in. I found a little bit of a bad spot. I'm going to plate it with 1/4" eventually. Ideally I'd like to get Fsuperduty brackets and shackles or just make some heavy duty ones.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I turned the pump all the way up a while back and disabled the waste gate. I was hitting 10PSI but I found that now I was barely able to get over 5. I thought it was my fuel issues but turns out my air filter was getting sucked up restriction the intake. Now I can hit 17 and my EGTs are wayy down. I use to b e able to hit 1200 easily not I really have to try. Towing I still have to watch out. I have a 6.0 intercooler I'm getting ready to install. I also have a return line leak and my fuel plate gasket is leaking so that doesn't help. I think I can hit 20PSI with those leaks fixed.

I moved a bucnh on cinder blocks the other day. 113 to be exact. Was a little heavier than I realized. About 5klbs of weight between the blocks, skid steer forks and 4 people in the cab. Not too much squat!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kalashnikov]

I got some Superduty upfitters and they fit perfectly in the cubby hole (just about). There's a little space on the side but I just stick disposable gloves in that space. Also got a $5 cup holder that works great. Just tucked it under the seat and it stays put. I do have a 40/20/40 seat and captains chair with a center console to go in I just haven't had a chance nor decided which way I want to go.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

That's about it for now. The front tank started leaking on me just before I did the rear so that's on the list. I have a little bit of rust I need to take care of on the cab. I want to spray the whole underneather before winter so it doesn't rot out. My exhaust is in rough shape. I'm planning on doing the 3" turbo outlet mod soon and doing full stainless 3" donwpipe to either 4" or 5" dump in front of the rear tire.

Some pics from a few days ago after a wash and wax.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[79jasper]

Nice work.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

 

[KZF250]

Thanks for taking the time to post all the pics and details...nice work.

 

[Diesile]

Nice job K. Where in Socialtusetts are ya?

 

[Kalashnikov]

Thanks guys. I'm in Uxbridge, how about you?

 

[icanfixall]

Well these are some great pics and explanations to go with pics. I like the detail to the small stuff too. Glad its up and running well now. Boosting up where you are and plan to be may shorten the life of the head gaskets without head studs. But that not a bad job after all the work you have done. Your rig is very nice looking too. I really like the swing out mirrors. The addition of an aluminum radiator was a very good idea. Those that have never installed one can't imagine the benefits till they do it.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

that's a cool project ya got there but she's just not safe anymore brother.

doing this:

You must be registered for see images attach

with this:

You must be registered for see images attach

isn't just putting your life on the line,but the life of those you share the roads with too.can you source another frame? this ones all done man.
you've got too much time and money invested not to give her a nice solid frame.it really would be worth a trip down south/out west to find one for such a nice truck otherwise now.

 

[Diesile]

Thanks guys. I'm in Uxbridge, how about you?

Still River. Part of Harvard where I look down on the ranges @ Fort Devens. We are about 40 min. apart by 190/290 etc.
Lorin