1998 K3500 overhaul - repower decision and more questions

[derekja]

So last time I checked in I was looking for advice on my engine block crack.

I decided that since the heads were cracked, the block was cracked, and the crank would need at least repolishing that I had basically not much to gain by rebuilding what I had. If I repaired the block crack I would always worry about it, and I wasn't getting hopeful noises made about the ability to repair it. If I'm going to buy a reman engine, spending 3K on an old block that is just likely to do this again didn't feel right. And the $1500 1993 engine got snapped up by someone else while I was researching it, and it would have needed some rebuild work anyway. So I bit the bullet and spent 5K on a Kennedy reman. Ug. Broke and looking for overtime for a while to come I'm afraid!

So I'm doing the rest of the steering work while the engine is out, replacing idler and pittman arms while I have space to work in.

I'm planning on replacing the motor mounts.

My harmonic balancer and main pulley look OK, but worn. The rubber is still all in place and not cracked, though. Should they be replaced now? Any fluidampr opinions?

Should I do any testing of the IP? How? It ran fine, had OK power, etc. when I pulled it out of there. I ask only because it's so much trouble to get it out later...

This truck has the stock exhaust, but it's falling off. So I'm replacing it with the Jardine exhaust kit, I think. I haven't bought this yet, any opinions? I think I'm going to gut my cat while it's off, although I'm not yet sure exactly how to do this.

The oil cooler is leaking, so I have a lubricationspecialist cooler on the way and will put the hose fittings on the engine before reinstalling it.

Then I've got a couple little wiring issues to repair and get it all back together again. (Well, rear brakes and shocks need to be worked on, and the airbags in back need work, but that can happen after I get back on the road.)

Anything else I'm missing? Thanks!

[sailun]

Gutting the cat is probably the easiest task ahead of you. I used a realllyy long masonry bit in my 1/2 inch drill, also used a big paint mixer chucked in the drill. (5 gal pail size mixer, cut the round circle off the bottom).

Suck it all out with the shop vac.

If you just cut a clear hole from inlet to outlet, you might save some time breaking up all the rest of it, so's it comes outta the pipe.

But........... you might get loose chunks clogging things up later.

Motor mounts would be just too easy, with the motor out. That would be like cheating !

[tommac95]

If you're over 100K Mi , suggest renewing the harmonic balancer now , OR, since it seems OK now , establish a habit/routine of checking it every oil change until you change it ... just that they're critical to the life of the crank, and the crank isn't new.

Careful with oil line routing/support; and extreme care to prevent dirt from the injection lines. Establish prime/oil-pressure before startup.

I say 'run' the injection pump to failure/immanent failure.

Extra/pre-fuelfilters , and extra/new engine grounds seem to help reliability....

If time available maybe a good occassion to replace bottom oring in fuel conditioner, maybe check heater element while there. Be sure the cylindrical nylon strainer is in place on the inner/thinner stainless tube within the cannister.

[Kennedy]

New OE balancer and pulley are definitely recommended and cheap insurance. Exhaust is a very good idea. I'm biased towards my own system though. It's a bit more $$$ but there's good reason for that.