6 bottles of Diesel Kleen...

[reklund]

Well, I put it back together today. New flywheel, same disc and pressure plate. 4 quarts of synthetic ATF in the trans, and filled the transfer case with fresh ATF too. Everything went back together smoothly, except the inspection cover. I had to tweak it to get it to bolt up, which was odd.

It was odd because it was hitting the backside of the flywheel! Didn't figure it out until I fired it up- and it made a helluva racket. Removed the inspection cover and I tried again. Trans noise is about the same, maybe a little better. All the vibration is gone tho, which confirms my suspicions that the first flywheel was no good. After a 20 minute test drive, the rollover noise subsided considerably, but will come and go at a stoplight. I tried to turn the idle speed back down, and the rollover noise was immediately back to terrible. Looks like the idle is gonna stay set at 900-950.

I also spent some time checking out the trans prior to reinstalling it. There's actually almost no play in the input shaft- I was incorrect before. I removed the PTO covers and didn't find any debris or broken bits. I'm beginning to think its about as good as it geta with my old trans. I'm not 100% convinced that a reman will be that much better, but will probably still go that route, just to remedy my inability to downshift into 2nd...

I'll massage that inspection cover and see what I can do to improve its fit. Otherwise, it's back up and running for now.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[jrad235]

Glad to hear you got rid of the vibration. I swapped a manual into my Thunderbird some years ago and ended up with a vibration. Turned out I had gotten an external balance flywheel instead of a neutral balance. definitely didn't see that one coming.

As far as the inspection cover goes, I had the same issue. I still have it, but I just left it off. It is definitely a horrible racket!

 

[icanfixall]

Well I'm glad your up and running ok for now.. I don't understand why the inspection cover had a fit issue. Seems like nothing changed between the blehousing and block adapter plate. Only thing I can think of is the flywheel is positioned differantly on the crank. Sure would be nice if you could find whats wrong with the wheel you took off the engine..

 

[reklund]

Who the hell knows about the inspection cover. I very well may have tweaked it slipping it between the crossover pipe and the bellhousing and oil pan. I'll get it put back on. I was gonna do it today but got distracted washing and waxing the truck.

The flywheel I removed definitely was NOT machined or drilled on the backside to balance. The new one was. I didn't have a way to check its balance, but the truck "feels" better. I also managed to crack the t-case shifter boot bezel reinstalling it. I fixed it already, but it's always something...

Ryan

 

[icanfixall]

I guess at this point just run it and see what developes if anything does.

 

[hesutton]

I "fixed" my inspection cover with a ballpeen hammer. Make a nice "bump" to clear the new SMF on the 6.9. Some of the flywheel castings in these SMF kits have bad quality control. I've seen the same flywheel in multiple different kits from different companies. Not sure where they come from, but I too had to get another SMF because of a flaw.

I'm just glad you have your truck back on the road Ryan.

Heath

 

[reklund]

Thanks guys. The flywheels are all probably cast in the same factory in China, knowing how things go these days. Some poor kid making $.05/hr is getting reamed for not scraping the casting mold sufficiently or something....

My troubles aren't over, but at least the damn thing runs. I'm still going to be doing a reman unit to cut down on some noise and get my 2nd gear synchro back. I hope we get a good turnout to the Vegas IDI meet so I can see how some other trucks sound with a SMF kit. I still REFUSE to accept that the amount of noise that I have is normal and that people live with it...


All said and done, I'd have paid an extra $500 for a DMF kit to avoid the trouble I've had. It's a shame they're so hard to come by

Ryan

 

[towcat]

Thanks guys. The flywheels are all probably cast in the same factory in China, knowing how things go these days. Some poor kid making $.05/hr is getting reamed for not scraping the casting mold sufficiently or something....

My troubles aren't over, but at least the damn thing runs. I'm still going to be doing a reman unit to cut down on some noise and get my 2nd gear synchro back. I hope we get a good turnout to the Vegas IDI meet so I can see how some other trucks sound with a SMF kit. I still REFUSE to accept that the amount of noise that I have is normal and that people live with it...


All said and done, I'd have paid an extra $500 for a DMF kit to avoid the trouble I've had. It's a shame they're so hard to come by

Ryan

why do you think I was looking to adopt your unwanted DMF?
if the flywheels are ok, the clutch kit is not much.

 

[reklund]

why do you think I was looking to adopt your unwanted DMF?
if the flywheels are ok, the clutch kit is not much.

Yeah. I'm still kicking myself for that...