dieseldude4bt

I have seen a piston lift pump fill the crankcase with fuel on two different trucks, so it can happen with them as well.

Jim Lane

That is what I wanted to know, if it can happen,
What seperates the fuel from the oil?

O-ring, piston rings?

If I could find a good dependable electric pump I would use that and block off the side of the block.

Maybe a rotary fuel pump off the crank pulley.

I am trying to remember what the class-8 engine used,

I used to drive a wrecker with a 903TT Cummins

jtamulonis

the push rod that rides on the cam lobe can just be pulled out of the piston lift pump and a new "O" ring installed in the pump housing. then reinstall the push rod. EASY !! the only seals I`ve seen in the piston pump are "O" rings.

nothingbutdarts

Wow, that would have been a VT-903. PT fuel syst. with a gear type fuel lift pump inside the PT pump. Memories of working @ Cummins back in the 70's.

Jim Lane

Yes,
PT pump,
1974,
Yes it is all so clear now,

I drove the Mack with the 903 and recovered our new Neoplan double deck bus that also powered by a 903 Cummins and a separate Kiki diesel to run the air conditioning the engine has so much torque that it snapped the Rockwell drive axles at the splines.

Jim Lane

Cowl Cracks, the what the where and the why.

If you missed some of my post explaining my absence from DTR, here is a little recap, I am getting my truck repainted, the materials and labor are free but I paid Detroit Auto Body to repair the cowl cracks.
Look here https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...m-lane-331473/

Way back around June I had stopped at Detroit Auto Body who does all of my body and paint and showed the manager Larry a couple of spots on the hood and cab where the paint looks like it is starting to delaminate from the metal and a couple of other issues and I told him that I think the paint is defective, it looks like it is starting to break down, he took pictures of it from all angles and he said he would contact the paint vendor.

Several months go by and he calls me and said Mr. Jim, guess what?

I say Larry, tell me what?

PPG agreed with you and said the paint had some issues and was defective, PPG agreed to replace the paint and catalyst to repaint your truck.

Detroit auto Body will cover the labor under their lifetime warranty to sand down to the bare metal, prime and reapply the paint.

So on January 07 2019 I had to take in my truck to get repainted, but first it took almost a week to take all of my work tools and materials from the back of the truck, and then after I dropped it off, he calls me and I had to come down and remove the auxiliary battery and all of the wiring under the hood so they could get the fenders off.

He said it will probably take about 3 weeks but in reality it took 5 weeks because of all of the rain we are having, all the work they did was inside a paint booth with heat lamps on to control the moisture.

I felt bad about them having to do all the labor for free, so I had them weld up the cowl cracks and patch them after I showed them how to make it so they were able to recover about $1000.00 for this.

So here is what took place,

I know most 1st. Gen owners should have heard about something called a cowl crack but I really think nobody really knows what or where it is or what happens.



Let me show you what happened on mine.

The first thing that needs to be done is to remove the hood, front end and both front fenders to gain access to the sheet metal of the cab where the cowl actually resides.

The part we ate looking at are the end caps in front of the doors that close off the firewall and the cowl, outside air enters the cowl vents and pass down the side of the cowl to supply air to the foot vents and heater inlet.

They also let water leak onto your floorboard when they crack.

Driver's side.



Passenger Side.



Passenger Side.



I had cracks on both sides but the driver's side was much worse, I personally blame California's lousy roads and freeways.

Recently I have noticed that wherever I go, around town or down the freeway, that 2-3 of my tires are always in some kind of rut or choppy part of the roadbed and I am shaking my teeth out, ask my wife, I am constantly cursing at the road and at the governor.



You can see where the cracks are, luckily my cracks do not go into the structure of the cab or I would have water inside my truck when it rains.



Rather than trying to weld onto the cowl I had them stress relieve the cracks and then make a sheet metal patch out of a piece of the 90's style pickup truck bed they had in the body shop, then following the instructions from the original cowl patch service bulletin, bond the entire patch to the cowl using

3-M Automotive Panel Bonding Adhesive after the surface was roughed up and chemically prepped.



The fenders and hood were sanded down to the bare metal, primed and painted off the truck and then reassembled, still a lot of work to do.



Yes still a lot of work to do,

And no that is not me.



I hope this now gives you an idea of what we are looking at when someone mentions a Cowl Crack.

Now let us see how long this last here in California.

BTW this is the dirtiest my truck has ever been, I couldn't wait to get it home and wash it.

Jim

Shelby/Dakota

Thanks for the cowl info, was aware of the problem thanks to the wealth of knowledge on the site. Despite that never thought about that being the cause for my soaked floorboards after a good rain.

Jim Lane

I think that I lost my truck, it's the one with the lights on.

With all of the auxiliary battery capacity I have on my truck and since all of the lights are LED's I like to leave my parking lights on whenever I go into a store or whenever I am at any of my jobs.

People always ask me why do I leave my lights on?

I tell them it is for Awareness.

You must be aware of my truck because you ask me why my lights are on.

If someone somewhere is aware then my truck must stand out, and if anybody was going to mess with it then someone somewhere would see them.

It is also easier for me to find it in a parking lot.



It also makes it easier for any of the four onboard cameras to see them.

Can you help me find my truck?

Jim

Fordzilla

It's the one with the big tires on it, right?......Ben

Jim Lane

Is the fuel sender still available for my 1991 D-350 truck maybe Dorman or some other rebuilder?

Can I use a sender for a gasoline powered truck and remove the electric pump and maybe add a larger suction line while it is open.

My fuel gauge has not worked for years but the low fuel light does, the wiring seems to be ok.

Thanks in advance.
Jim