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bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
5/6/23 7:07 p.m.

I was wrong. I had to replace the return line as well. This motor circulates crazy amounts of fuel. I thought being a gear pump it would force any excess back to the tank through the old 3/8 return line. But I guess it was creating back pressure and causing a restriction in the pump. So I ran another new half inch return line back to the tank. While playing with it I had reinstalled the old inline fuel pump that I had on the old Cat motor. It is a Holley Blue that does 88 gallons an hour at 14 PSI. With the new line installed it would run well for a minute or two and then starve for fuel and shut down. When I cycled the key I could hear the pump building up pressure again so I figured the motor must be drawing more fuel than the Holly pump could deliver. So I disconnected the pump and bypassed it, and that solved the problem.

First drive! ( I was going to video it coming out of the shop, but I managed to get the range and splitter airlines reversed so it was stuck in high range and it kind of lurched its way out of the shop. It took me a while to figure out what I had done wrong.)

https://youtube.com/shorts/vPGVi5hrp6U?feature=share

edwardh80
edwardh80 Reader
5/7/23 12:24 a.m.

Makes all the right noises! Well done!

golfduke
golfduke Dork
5/8/23 9:55 a.m.

MAn you can clearly see the torque twist on that bus frame, haha.  This is EPIC. 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
6/2/23 1:31 a.m.

Whelp, I guess this thread is drawing to a close.

The Fossil sat in the yard for a few weeks because I had an intermittent no start issue, and I also had no power steering at low RPM. I replaced the shutoff solenoid on the pump but it did not help the starting problem, but I have been picking away at small jobs including chasing down some air leaks, and as a result starting it quite regularly. The starting frequency improved gradually over time, and after a while it would start every time, although sometimes it takes a little cranking. There is an internal check valve in the pump, and I have decided it is sticky and sometimes not holding pressure. But with new filters and fuel perhaps it is sorting itself out but I see a new pump in my future. I replaced most of the ancillary systems when I refreshed the motor but I just resealed the pump and threw it back on since it ran well enough in the Freightliner. 

The steering issue turned out to also be a worn out pump. I did not zoom in on that right away because the Freightliner turned well and so did the Fossil. I used the original Wanderlodge Ross box  and the Cummins/Freightliner gear driven pump with new hoses, and the big Freightliner reservoir with a new filter. When it had trouble turning at low RPM I attributed it to the extra 1000 ish pounds of weight on the front end, the oversize 315/80R22.5 tires I am now using, and the extra 4 degrees of castor I am running. But eventually I put a gauge on the pump and it would not do more than 500 psi. Should have checked that first, but now it steers beautifully. 

I also need to redo my remote air operated clutch, which is just a light switch. No modulation at all.  I used an air cylinder and attached a trailer hand brake valve to the clutch pedal thinking it would be a good way to have progressive air delivery. But instead it delivers air slowly at first, and then increasingly quickly so that just when you need less air you get all the air. So it operates backward. Not helped by the fact that somehow, I managed to get the shift pattern exactly backwards..... That was a head scratcher. I can run a lot of different shift patterns, but operating a 13 speed that is a mirror image of how it should be takes some concentration. I used the shift tower, cables and shifter from a Kenworth K100 cabover, and installed them pretty much the same...I thought. But something on those trucks must be flipped around. More research needed. 

So, anyway, a couple days ago I went for a 30 minute drive. I was a tense knot of nerves with the new project stomach flu I always get, fully expecting something to blow up, fall off, leak out, catch fire, snap, bend, melt, seize, or just plain wind up dead in an intersection, but it was completely drama free. Never had that before from a project, ever. Not that I am done. I have a long list of things to do or redo next winter, including the fact that I have no engine brake, cruise control or temp gauge.

But it is a runner/driver and I am going to call it for now. But because I am an idiot and like to fail as publicly as possible, the second real trip for the repower will be tomorrow, with a load of passengers, and in front of screaming crowds. You heard it here first. Pics and report to follow tomorrow. 

 

 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
6/2/23 11:26 a.m.

So today my youngest graduates. During covid when assemblies were banned the school district came up with the idea of a parade through town instead. It proved to be very popular so it is now part of the process. Later today, ten grads will be piling in the Fossil and driving a parade route through three communities. Or at least they hope to make it through all three communities.....

golfduke
golfduke Dork
6/2/23 11:30 a.m.

so happy to see/hear this project come to "completion.  Such a cool re-power, I love heavy iron. 

 

Chesterfield
Chesterfield Reader
6/2/23 11:58 a.m.

So glad to see this cruising down the road after all your hard work.

buzzboy
buzzboy SuperDork
6/2/23 5:15 p.m.

The thought of driving a mirrored 13 speed is mind blowing to me. I love this project so much.

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UberDork
8/18/24 3:29 p.m.

Time for an update since I made some improvements over the last year and have put some miles on it.

I built yet another dash. This one is number four. I bought a dash from a 2012 Freightliner which amazingly plugged right in. The back lighting on the gauges are much better and since they were individual gauges rather than a large molded piece of plastic it was much easier to put them in a custom panel. And I gave up on wood since I could not make a proper wood dash without delamination, ripples and other disappointments. So this one is made of formica which worked fantastically well and looks kind of woody. I glued it to a sheet of galvanized steel. If I tilt the wheel back the dash will lift up on hinges so that I can access the wiring underneath.

Looks pretty good I think. 

New steering wheel and a rebuilt steering box means no Wander left in the Wanderlodge

Built a new console.

I figured out the backwards shifting as well. I was thinking the cables I used had to run around and hit the transmission from the back but it turned out that I had the actual shifter on the dash back to front. A bunch of grinding and cutting to make room sorted that out.

And recovered the doghouse. I learned how to stretch carpet so it came out much nicer this time.

I also got the clutch working better using a hydraulic screen door opener on the linkage to force the clutch to slip more. It almost takes care of the light switch problem but it's still hard to feather when you want to pack up to a trailer or back into a campsite. I have quite a few miles on it now and I'm getting pretty good at the low speed maneuvers but I don't think anyone else would be able to drive it easily so I need to play with that. I know it has a very stiff metallic clutch and I am contemplating dropping the transmission and going to a much softer organic clutch which I think would probably fix it.

 

Right now my wife and I are on a two week tour of the Kootenays which is a beautiful but extremely mountainous part of Southern bc. We cross a pass everyday and lots of 6 and 8% grades. Pulling the Rover on a trailer I crossed the government scale at 43,000 pounds including full water and fuel tanks. It runs remarkably well and takes the hills with no issues at all but it is still not what I would call a hot rod. On an 8% grade at 43,000 lb I am down to just under 60 km an hour which is about 35 mph. I talked to Pittsburgh Power which is a Cummins tuning company and they will turn it up to 650 horsepower for me so I think that is in my future. But I need to get a handle on the egts first. I have a pyrometer probe pre-turbo and it will get up to 1400 degrees on a pull if I let the revs drag down. That is within Cummins tolerance but adding another 200 horsepower will definitely cause trouble. I guess I need a bigger turbo first but not sure what or how to figure that part out. I'm sure you all will be able to help.

 

Racingsnake
Racingsnake HalfDork
8/18/24 3:50 p.m.

Nice to see an update on this one, especially out and about being used 👍 Sounds like you're  getting it pretty well dialed in. Surprised it doesn't pull the hills a bit better though.

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UberDork
8/18/24 8:39 p.m.

In reply to Racingsnake :

I think it is where it should be for the horsepower. These are long climbs up to 8 or 9 miles so momentum is not a thing. Without the extra 8600 pounds of Rover and trailer it moves a lot quicker. But I would have never dared to pull that kind of weight with the old drive train.

golfduke
golfduke Dork
8/19/24 8:35 a.m.

Love the update, and also to echo what's already been said- I'm happy that you all are using it and enjoying it as intended still! 

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
8/19/24 9:16 a.m.

Incredible. What a journey! I'm thrilled to see it being used and functioning as desired, that was an awesome project and you did it. Good job.

Mezzanine
Mezzanine SuperDork
8/19/24 11:09 a.m.

Still one of my favorite threads on GRM. I'm not a big diesel or RV guy but this is the epitome of GRM and I'm here for it. 

Is that the Kootenay Lake ferry? I used to work out of the mills in Grand Forks and Castlegar quite a bit. Beautiful country and I miss it. 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) UberDork
8/19/24 11:48 a.m.

In reply to Mezzanine :

Correct. World's longest free ferry ride.

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