Crew Cab 6.9 Rebuild Update with Photos...

[hesutton]

You have to come to a rally...... the only place that story gets shared is around that campfire...... I hope to hear a couple in about 6 months.....

Sorry....... Scott is right. It (for some sick and twisted reason) has become a rally tradition. Seems that's the case for several interesting stories in the OB world.

Heath

 

[Diesel JD]

Doc Sutton, are those Sealed Power instead of Mahle pistons? I thought I saw their logo on there. It seems as if the Mahle's are getting harder to find at least on evilbay and Northern Auto Parts. I guess you aren't concerned about the cast vs. forged thing?

 

[hesutton]

Doc Sutton, are those Sealed Power instead of Mahle pistons? I thought I saw their logo on there. It seems as if the Mahle's are getting harder to find at least on evilbay and Northern Auto Parts. I guess you aren't concerned about the cast vs. forged thing?

They are Mahle pistons. Part number is 144111WR. That gets you 8 pistons with reduced compression height by 0.010 (to compensate for the decked block or lower compression with stock deck), 8 wrist pins, rings, and pin clips.

Look in the upper right hand side of the piston. The Mahle symbol is stamped there. In the upper left hand side the part number is stamped there.

You must be registered for see images

I had to order them from Republic Diesel in Louisville, KY. They were the closest Mahle dealer I could find.

 

[Diesel JD]

Oh I see, I assumed you'd use Mahle if you could find them I just thought I saw the lightning bolt symbol on there. How much did those set you back if you don't mind my asking?

 

[h2odrx]

any coatings going on this build??

 

[hesutton]

How much did those set you back if you don't mind my asking?

$550 plus shipping. Not bad actually. Got some much higher quotes from other, more distant dealers.

any coatings going on this build??

I really was looking into getting the crowns ceramic coated. I was trying to get factory Mahle pistons that have hard anodized crowns, but they are discontinued and no longer available.

I almost ordered Tech Line's ceramic coating and was going to try and do it myself. But, the lack of the proper tools (blasting box, special spray gun, curing oven) and the lack of time to do it keep that from happening. The cost of getting someone to do the pistons for me would more than double the price of the pistons set. So, the pistons will say the way they are unfortunately.

Heath

 

[wanabebig]

Heath thats the price i got quoted for the pistons too. I just get to get the money together so I can get them ordered and here, christmas kinda set me back on getting them a little bit.

 

[Diesel JD]

Ouch! But pistons are not the place to save pennies. I suppose these are forged pistons as opposed to hyperteutic or cast aluminum. They'd better be for that price. I just wonder which is a tougher piston, a ceramic coated cast piston or a naked forged piston. Clearly the best of all worlds is the forged, coated piston.

 

[blackflag]

Heath, before you give up on the coating contact a company in Chattanooga called Better Than New. I don't have a link to send you so you'll have to do a search for it but they are a company that developed a coating in conjuction with the Dept. of Defense plant in Oak Ridge, Tn. I had them coat some ring gear and pinion parts for me in my race car along with some wheel bearings. They have something on their website regarding coating the internals of an engine as well. May be worth looking into. When I rebuild my 6.9 I'm gonna check it out and see if it's cost effective to do it. The good thing is that it won't cost anything to inquire about it.

 

[blackflag]

Heath, I found their phone number, it's (423)266-RF85. RF85 is what they call their treatment process.

 

[hesutton]

Heath, before you give up on the coating contact a company in Chattanooga called Better Than New. I don't have a link to send you so you'll have to do a search for it but they are a company that developed a coating in conjuction with the Dept. of Defense plant in Oak Ridge, Tn. I had them coat some ring gear and pinion parts for me in my race car along with some wheel bearings. They have something on their website regarding coating the internals of an engine as well. May be worth looking into. When I rebuild my 6.9 I'm gonna check it out and see if it's cost effective to do it. The good thing is that it won't cost anything to inquire about it.

Heath, I found their phone number, it's (423)266-RF85. RF85 is what they call their treatment process.

THANKS. I'm going to look into that and see what the cost and turn around will be.

Heath

 

[blackflag]

Just found the website, it's www.rf85.com. Check it out and see what you think.

 

[hesutton]

I really looked and looked at their site for some time. It seems the RF85 is a great friction reduction treatment, but not really a thermal barrier. It seems like it would be a great way to reduce frictional losses in any engine, but I can't imagine that it would be cheap.

I emailed them with several questions. I hope to hear from them soon and will pass along the reply.

Heath

 

[blackflag]

I agree, but it seems like it would be a great way to reduce stress on parts due to less friction, thereby extending life and possibly picking up a little more "oomph" from the parts. If I'm not mistaken, the company and treatment was started to treat heavy machinery moving parts to make them last longer and work more efficiently, bearings and such. And yes, please let us know what they tell you, I'd be interested in having engine bearings and rings, among other things, treated.

 

[hesutton]

I agree, but it seems like it would be a great way to reduce stress on parts due to less friction, thereby extending life and possibly picking up a little more "oomph" from the parts. If I'm not mistaken, the company and treatment was started to treat heavy machinery moving parts to make them last longer and work more efficiently, bearings and such. And yes, please let us know what they tell you, I'd be interested in having engine bearings and rings, among other things, treated.

Never heard back from them. I'm assuming they won't get back to me at this point. So, I will move foward.

My partner got back into town yesterday afternoon and I immediately left for the shop. Not much time to work, but I did get the lobe and other odds/ends and the gear pressed back on th cam and got the cam in the block.

No time for photos or other work on the engine, but, I hope to really get it going this weekend.

Will post up more in a few days, I hope.

Heath