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I have recently gone down the grease rabbit hole. Grease is one of those things that the way I've always done it people will forever hold back. The automotive OEM's have long ago ditched the old lithium grease in just about every application as it separates from it's thickener, can't be used...

I bought some Moog tie rods for my CUCV. I wasn't happy with them because all of the rubber bits swole up and disintegrated. I blamed Moog then. Now that I'm older and wiser, I realize something. Modern chassis parts are designed to work with silicone greases. Don't use "chassis" grease in your...

If you can get your hands on a copy of this book you can rebuild your transmission. https://www.amazon.com/Modify-Hydra-Matic-Transmission-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0879382678 Use the Hughes rebuild kits, they use OEM clutches.

You get the dimples from trying to use it with a gasket. Ditch the gasket as use the right silicone and the leaks will stop.

No reverse only doesn't seem to be that common or a problem. The TH400 transmission has a plastic accumulator piston in the valve body that fails. Usually this causes a loss of 2nd gear engine braking. Maybe a bad enough failure would cause a loss of transmission pressure?

Using a torque wrench to tighten bolts isn't much different than using a hammer to type on your keyboard. It's not a precision process hence the need for a wide range. If tightening the bolts doesn't fix the leak and you decide to reseal the pan make sure you don't use a gasket. They didn't...

Check the fluid level. Do you have a TH400 or 700R4?

AC Delco 60G has been good for me. Don't ever use Autolites, they're the ones that swell up when they fail. You can check glow plug condition with your dash voltmeter. With the key in the accessory position the gauge should be solidly in the yellow. Rotate the key to run, if the glow plugs are...

There is a case when wired in delta where the ground connection is made to a line terminal. But that can't apply to 10 lead units.

With the ignition on, lift and reconnect the pink wire to listen for operation of the shutdown solenoid. If the solenoid is clicking then I would keep on priming. If you start seeing white smoke out the exhaust then you're getting fuel and it's time to go after glow plugs.

To add, of you have a 6.2, maybe you can put a 6.5 head gasket on it to put the fire ring over the undamaged area.

So far in my expansive 😉 experience of opening 6.2/6.5 engines, both have had erosion of the top deck. I slapped a head gasket on the 6.2 but it always blew bubbles in the coolant and finally got undrivable a few months ago. I bought an eBay 6.5 engine and found similar wear so I had to deck the...

If you've got the dough, Belzona 2000 series products are catalyst cured polyurethane rubbers that can be painted, moulded, and cast... No need to age that can of liquid tape 😉

Scotch 88 is a big upgrade over the 33. The silicone self-fusing tapes are superior as they don't have an adhesive to deteriorate. I have seen OEMs use the cotton tape which also works well, much better than vinyl electrical tape.

Cat HEUI? Replace the injector harness and then troubleshoot. Last I bought one it was $90 for the harness. You can visually inspect the pins on the injectors.

The old 2-71 generator sets are really nice. The 71 series engines at 1200 rpm are actually not particularly loud. As an operator I just prefer the John Deere engines because the parts availability is better and I don't have to work through that crazy Detroit Diesel parts manual. I'm down to one...

I bought a used 6.5 Optimizer with unknown miles. The truck was a 2001 and supposedly had 135k miles. The bearing inserts in the engine were 2004 so I'm certain the engine was replaced. It had some valve recession and the fire ring in the head gasket wore into the block. I had to strip the...

The current emissions spec John Deere units are quite the little hot rods. We spin generators with them but they're cranking 150 horsepower at 1800 rpm. The older engines use a Stanadyne DB4 pump. It shouldn't be much trouble to turn one up to 200 horsepower.

If you want a 4-cyl diesel that doesn't buzz, the John Deere 4045 engines have a counterbalance shaft and are smooth.

The 6.5 may be a better direct swap for a gas engine because it makes power like a gas engine. The Duramax and Cummins engines both run at lower speeds than the 6.5. Running the other diesels may require gear ratio changes to get the most out of the engine.