Painter's tape can be used - depending on your class. It IS an aerodynamic improvement (hopefully) and some classes prohibit that. In the DT class I'm allowed a front air dam but no other aero changes to the body. The truck can be lowered (mine is) but no top chop, sectioning, etc. You can run either a hard or soft bed cover but it must be roughly even with the bed sides. No rear spoiler unless factory equipment like the Dodge/Ram Daytona. That was never available with a Diesel so that's probably out. Actually, duct tape works better - it sticks at speed and can be easily removed if it gets wet.

Yes, you can remove mirrors. Given that the Dodge is my DD I just fold them in - hard to know how much that helps. The S-10 had 'em removed years ago.

In DT I have to run Diesel or Diesel/vegie oil in any mix. There are other classes for propane, N2O, etc.

Thanks for the interest
Dan

FINALLY - something worth a pic or two.

We're back from MI/Ontario and have a week or so before we leave for The Ohio Mile and points West - WAY West. Anyhow, I'm determined to get at least SOMETHING done on the S-10 this week.

I picked up another pilot bearing while in MI and you guys gave me some ideas as to how to fit it in there. It was a SOB to drive in but I took a Tootsie Roll to the bore (lightly), tapered the edge of the bore a bit more (they have a 45* bevel from the factory), and took the green wheel to one edge of the bearing (the green wheel is VERY mild). I also soaked the bearing in ice water to shrink it a little. After all this who-ha I did get it to start and then beat in as far into the bore as I could get it. It looks pretty much like the one from the 240D so I think it should be fine (I hope - it didn't hit bottom like I expected).

So home free, right? No. The LuK clutch kit came with a centering tool that didn't fit the clutch disc splines. Oh, joy! I had an old GM one which has the same spline but the fit into the pilot was sloppier than I was comfortable with. Turns out the new one was not made with deep enough splines so I pounded the tool thru the disc splines and re-broached it to fit (good thing it was plastic). If anyone needs to install a Benz clutch I have the tool! But jobs that ought to be easy never are, I guess.

So I put the trans up on the table saw and slid it up to the engine. (The table I have the engine on was built to be an outfeed table for the table saw so everything is at the right height.) The pilot fits REALLY tight (I knew this from test fitting the bearing before the battle) and that made the trans a TIGHT push up to the block but I got it.

Currently I'm trying my homemade scattershield and modifying as needed. I think it'll work but the manual trans case has a LOT more ribs than the auto and I made the shield fit pretty tightly so it's taking some fiddling. I've slightly trimmed some of the ribs but I don't want to go too far as I know they add structure to the case. Still, I THINK I can work the scattershield on there.

Here's the pics:

The top one just shows that there really IS a clutch in there.

Middle and bottom are just a couple of shots of the trans bolted up. Also shown are my He-Man engine lift brackets (there's a similarly beefy unit on the front). I didn't want my sexy powdercoated VC getting messed up with the installation chains and the stock lifting brackets (as most of you know) are stamped sheet metal and bend under load, right into the VC. These are made from 3/16 plate.

Note how little the trans is compared to a US one (BW, Muncie, etc.). Unfortunately mine is the aluminum case one. According to you guys the cast iron case ones are MUCH tougher but I'm not going drag racing so I think I'll be OK.

Dan

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Looks very nice!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

It looks very well done, I'm glad you're taking the time to make it 'right'. I like the he-man lift points, I may have to steal that idea...

Unless you're slam shifting it and shock loading the transmission I don't see any reason why it would fail sooner than a cast iron case.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

yeah that stamped rear lift bracket sure does get bent some when lifting the eng out of the Bay.

The last one I pulled in PNP was missing the R/R bolt, and with only one little bitty 13mm bolt holding all that weight...... I didn`t notice it until after I got the engine out of the car.

Dan be sure to bolt the little bracket to the R/R 13mm bolt to the lift bracket and then bolt the tab on the Turbo Oil Supply line to it. W/O it bolted solid, the vibrations will crack the line.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Yep, it's coming along. I laid out the rear lift bracket by drawing around the stock one then extending the "ears" up and out on the same angle as the stock bracket. The bottom hole is a top secret speed modification - or the plate I was using happened to have that hole in it. One or the other.

Charlie - thanks for the tip. I was planning to use that support for the turbo oil supply. My general experience is that more support is always better on these kind of lines and fittings. You can probably see the support on the line in the pics.

Dan

Something worth reporting (at least to me) and taking a pic or two.

After some SERIOUS hassles I found out that the pilot bearing hole in the crank (auto trans) was just a tad (maybe 0.020) too small for the manual trans pilot bearing to press in the hole. Once I figured this out I attacked the hole with the die grinder and a Tootsie roll, followed by a fairly fine flap wheel. I measured as well as I could using my calipers but it was difficult to get square to the hole. I KNEW I should have bought that dial bore gage when I saw it for cheap. Anyhow, going by the measurements I could get and the feel of the bearing in the hole, I got the darn thing in there.

The first pic is the pilot hole after I enlarged it. The surface finish is not too bad.

Second shot is the rig to press the whole deal back in place. This way I didn't have to pound on the crank and therefore the thrust bearings.

The third shot is the bearing in place and at the right depth. I went over to my buddy's place (the guy who got the 4 cylinder engine) and measured the depth of that pilot - I'm just a smidge deeper than the factory installation which should be no problem.

I also found that one of the clutch slave cylinder bolt holes was FUBAR'd and a 8mm Heli-Coil fixed that.

I've started reassembling the whole deal. The intermediate plate is back in place and tomorrow I'll torque the flywheel back in place, install the clutch assembly, and bolt everything back in place. Then on to refitting the scattershield.

Dan

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The clutch is back together - finally. Here's the pics of the process. As I was putting it together I had thoughts of Shannon doing hers so I took more pics than usual - it may take two posts to put them all up - I forget how many the forum will let us show per post.

The answer is 5!

The first pic is the flywheel being reinstalled. Note the chain to prevent it from rotation. If the friction surface is burned, has chatter marks, etc. you'll need to take it to a machine shop and have it ground like mine is.

Second shot is the flywheel reinstalled and torqued in place. Haynes says 30 lb/ft then turn another 90 degrees. I ran a tap thru the bolt holes - they are 10mmx1.00 pitch (fine thread). The bolt heads require a 12mm 12 point socket (at least on mine.

Next is the clutch disc going in. Here I have the alignment tool stuck in the center of the disc and it's being held in place by the alignment tool's pilot in the pilot bearing.

In pic #4 I'm preparing the pressure plate bolts (the pressure plate is also called the "clutch cover"). I ran them over my rotary wire brush (on a bench grinder) but you could brush them by hand or run a die (female tap) over them. Here I'm applying a drop of Loctite red threadlocker.

In the last shot on this page notice that the clutch cover bolts are NOT a hex socket head (at least on mine). Mine are a loose fit in my T40 torx set. Seemed to work OK, though.

Next page.....

Dan

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Last pics of this series:

I bought a LuK clutch set and the alignment tool is a bit too tight in the clutch splines. Seems to align the clutch disc nicely but doesn't want to slide out of the splines. I used the Vice Grips to pry against and a big screwdriver to pry it out.

And finally here's the whole deal ready for the trans. I'll LIGHTLY lube the surface that the throwout bearing contacts (the ring in the center) before I slide the trans up. I like to mark the bolts that I've tightened so there's no doubt the they and the torque wrench know each other. If I can I also make a paint "seal" between the bolt and whatever it tightens against. This will be used in a race car and I'll want to know if anything loosened up in the event of a failure.

Hope this helps

Dan

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I got far enough along today to include some pics. So here's my process for building a home-made scatter shield. I'm sure some of the pros on here have better methods but this is what I could figure out with my home shop equipment. Wish I had the eyesight to weld better......

All the stock is 1/4" mild steel bar stock, 2" for the halo and 4" for the plates.

1) This is how I bent all the pieces for the "halo" and for the plates that make up the segments. Just a cheapo HF 12 ton press but a 20 ton would have come in handy.

2) This is the halo bent and tacked to the bolt tubes. The 10mm bolts get 3/8 schedule 40 black steel pipe and the 12mm starter bolts get 1/2" schedule 40. I would have liked schedule 80 but none was available here in town. The bolts, of course, are extra long - the 10mm I had to order as no one here had 120mm long Allens in stock.

3) Starter side of the halo mounts. I used little spacers so the halo was held away from the starter.

4) In the process of fitting the plates. The heat discolored areas are the result of the "Heat & Beat" method of custom blacksmithing. Kinda fun and I learned from the first 'shield that I had to leave more room for the bolt heads.

Also, this time I made a piece out of angle to get over the starter hump. Seems to work OK and I THINK I have enough room in the reconfigured floor for it. There are a couple of ways I can fix it if it hits.

5) Shot of the finished top half mounted to the engine/trans. The automatic 'shield hit the bellhousing and my efforts to create clearance there resulted in the bolt tubes no longer aligning with the bellhousing bolt pattern, hence the new one.



Tomorrow I'll start on the new bottom half. There are lumps and bumps on the manual bellhousing that prevent the lower half I made for the auto trans from fitting so it's back at it.

I'm getting WAY too good at this! Wish I could just order one up from XYZ Safety Company!

Dan

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looks pretty slick! I like the way you did that. How far back does the shield have to go? Just over the flywheel area? How heavy does it end up being?

also Im glad you went with the manual over the auto, early on I had thought you were going for the automatic for good!

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Fabrication is half the fun! Your scatter shield looks great, don't forget to paint it bright orange....for safety.

Check that slave cylinder while it's out of the truck, and remove/reinstall it to make sure the bolts aren't seized. Just a friendly reminder

Are you allowed to tweak the engine? For around $100 and some time you can rig up a cheap pyrometer and boost gauge to get a supposed additional 20hp (plus a few hours of tweaking.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

The 'shield will be GM engine blue (sort of a turquoise blue). I have several cans let over from my 250cid Chevy project. The last one weighed under 10 lbs (estimated) and I expect this will be about the same. It has to cover the clutch and flywheel area and I have a blanket if they want to cover further back but I think I'm good like you see it.

As far as engine mods - the sky is the limit as long as the ACTUAL displacement is declared. This engine is right at the upper displacement limit for the chosen class so I won't mess with that. Tim's Turbos has tweeked the turbo for about 1 atmosphere (say, 14 psi) but around twice the volume. I'd like to find someone to do the pump but so far no $$ for that part of the project. All in good time.

I have a good temp gage for EGT - a Type K thermocouple and readout from Auber Instruments. It's a nice system and not TOO pricey. I wish I had an ice point cell to check the meter's calibration but it's probably fine. No decision yet on a boost gage . Part of my job was selecting and installing instrumentation for dyno testing so that's sort of MY THING. I'll choose something good.

Dan

I was going to reccomend an audber unit, good choice. When you're ready to start tweaking stuff yourself post back and we'll start you down the dark path of diesel performance

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Thanks - I'll need that guidance! BTW - do they run better with SALSA or pico de guillo? (I know - my Spanish spelling sucks).

Any suggestion for a boost pressure gage? I'd prefer digital as most of the dash (tach, temp, etc.) will be digital. Maybe it doesn't matter as the OP gage is electrical analog.

Another tidbit - either "gauge" or "gage" is correct. Hardly anyone besides me uses "gage", however. Spell checkers do NOT know this factoid.

Dan