91/92? D350 CTD info needed - helping out a friend
 

Non-intercooled 5 speed with brake issues that point to the obviously newly replaced remanufactured brake booster bleeding vacuum - 20 inches vacuum from pump but plug it into the booster and it drops to a pulsating 0-5 inches. Anti-lock brake light on but there are no anti-lock mechanicals under the hood. Rear end was replaced with something out of a Ford? with the spring perches welded at the incorrect angle so pumpkin is angled maybe 15* up and it is causing u-joint rub when squatted. At the rearend there is what looks to be the ring gear reluctor sensor wire hanging but obviously nothing to plug it into so (one of) my questions is did the D350s come with anti-lock or has this thing been butchered worse than it looks like? Brake lines/proportioning valve look exactly like my 82 gas D350 SRW so what year did RWABS start being used?

He also told me that 3rd gear synchro is gone and that under float conditions at speed there is a rumbling noise that sounds like the transmission. I presume that is a sign that the Getrag needs to be rebuilt with bearings and synchros before it completely eats something inside. Would an NV4500 swap be a better solution? Or even a 5600?

He got it cheap and needs it to pull cow trailers every so often so it needs to be good mechanically but, at 264K miles and a broken speedo who knows for how long is it worth getting straightened out?

Any info/hints/tips on these trucks appreciated. (makes me appreciate my 96 and 98 autos).

Not exactly sure what your questions are, as your post rambles a bit.

The ABS sensor on the rear axle will turn the ABS Light on the dash on. You can unplug it behind the glove box if necessary, as it needs the signal from the ring gear out of Dana 70 to function.

Nothing under the hood for these trucks. The abs actuator is in the drivers frame rail above the axle, where the rear brake hose goes into. It's primitive, but it works in my rig. The "brains" are again, behind the glove box and it's in the sticky, I believe how to test, but without a ring sensor plugged in on the axle, I guess there's no point.

What is exactly going on with the brakes you need help with ? Pedal to floor, Pedal high and takes 2 feet to work it ? No pedal at all ? or is it just a vacuum issue, needing a new / rebuilt booster ?

Can't help you with the stick, but I'm sure Oliver will chime in, as he's the stick guy and knows a bit about them. TC can rebuild them, so he can help ya there too.

The NV swaps entail a lot of modifications and extra parts.
Things like moving the crossmember back one hole and re-drilling the frame. It is not fun drilling the upper frame with the cab in place for the crossmember support brackets.
Other fun jobs are making a 4x4 linkage mount up to a transmission with no spot to bolt it up. Or needing custom bell housings or sourcing 2nd gen adapter plates and starters. You will also need a transmission spacer or make one up.
Yes Advanced Adapter makes these parts to make this easier, but they cost $$ and the ones I got worked like poop. I had to rework the 4x4 linkage and get longer bolts. Getting their 4x4 linkage to work right involved pulling the transmission several times. Their transmission spacer block was as wimp and thin as can be as well.

If he likes cheaper and easier then stick with the Getrag no questions.
If he like spending [wasting] cash on a transmission that I would argue is no better and having his truck down for a long period of time while he sorts out making a bunch of stuff fit... Then the NV swap might be a fun challenge.

I have done auto 4x4 to manual 4x4 swaps on 1st Gens using the Getrag and the NV-4500. The NV-4500 was a huge pain to get to work right and in my eyes not worth it.

I have heard from guys that rebuild transmission that the Getrag is pretty straight forward to rebuild and parts are available for it.

Thanks for the info guys. I got around to looking at pics of ABS parts online so I now know what to look for on that truck. After getting some time to read up a bit I can see where the NV4500 swap would be complicated at best.

The biggest problem this truck has is that the rearend looks like it is a 2nd gen Dodge rearend with the shock absorber mounts torched off so the pinion angle is wrong with the 1st gen spring setup (no block between spring and perch). I need to go back under his truck and look some more, preferably when it isn't pitch dark and trying to rain. There may be an ABS sensor on the pumpkin but I was looking from the rear and didn't feel around and just saw the ABS wire hanging.

The hard pedal/lack of vacuum is simply a bad "remanufactured" brake booster that can be remedied easily enough. Oh - and the rear brakes are not adjusted properly so no help from back end of truck when stopping.

Funny thing is that I have a 4.10 open dually axle that has been sitting in storage for 20 years out of a 79 (no ABS) that should bolt right in but he really needs a posi for what he does. So maybe the answer is a Lock-Rite and no ABS for him. Or just cut off old spring perches on the axle he has and weld new ones on at the correct angle.

I will poke around some more and see what makes sense to do on this.

What is a ballpark on the cost of going through a Getrag, provided nothing is too chewed up? I presume synchros, bearings, and seals and hope for the best with the gears? Any known areas of concern to be aware of inside?

IIRC I have seen Getrag rebuild parts kits for about $150. Mostly just seals and synchros.

More if you need gears ETC.

I run a 2ndgen diff in my W250. Pretty sure the ABS plug plugged right in. I've also run a non-ABS diff in my '90 ramcharger. No issues other than no ABS (and I don't like ABS anyway).

For a quick fix on the axle, I would install some degree shims.

My vote is to fix the Getrag... unless you can find a complete 2wd NV4500/5600/G56 donor really cheap. To drill the upper frame rail, I used a long (12"?) 1/4" drill as a pilot - that made the angle not bad - and then opened up the holes with a step drill. Use washers too. Not the prettiest route, but gets the job done.