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Shift Indicator... and OEM (NOT dorman) headlight adjusters

Commander5993

Active member
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I think most people on here believe the easiest way is adjust and test drive until you get the best performance under all load conditions while road testing. Facing the engine from the front looking down on the injection pump move the mark on the pump to the right of the blocks witness mark to advance the timing. Generally on a well performing pump and engine lining up the witness marks will put you in the right place The thickness of one witness line on the pump to the right of the block line will be all that is necessary in some instances . Trial and err.
I adjusted the fuel injection pump. Was pretty straight forward like you stated, except for the bolt on the bottom right (when looking down at the engine from the front) is a really pain to get to and actually turn. Tried every type of a wrench and socket I had, just not much room to move the wrench and sockets didn't have room to actually go on. In any case, will report back once I get the dash put back together and actually drive the truck. The timing marks were aligned directly up instead of being advanced a bit.
I figured out that this was my doing. :rolleyes: I forgot that I replaced that pump about 3 years ago with a reman from the manufacture... whose name escapes me at the moment but its on the pump ID plate. Wasn't cheap I remember... but it fixed the problems I was having at the time. I had a tbi shortly after that in an incident with a fork lift with an "operator" who should have never been driving it.... lifting a large steel beam, and them catching the beam under a steel shelf and putting it under a lot of pressure/weight.... and then to top it off I broke my leg pretty severely about 6 months later. I was only cleared to drive again back around this past august, which is why the truck has mostly been sitting since then until the past few months. During that time my Dad would drive it up the road a bit once in awhile just to keep everything lubed and etc. Anyway, guess thats why I forgot about replacing that pump.
 

Commander5993

Active member
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Ok, I got a question about the instrument cluster. I have taken this thing apart before and have always had a real pain trying to get the parts to align and fit back into the dash. Does the.... back base part?... look to be the correct one?
I am suspecting that the shop I bought this truck from took a civy cluster "base" and tried to make it fit the CUCV gauges. The speedo and fuel gauge fit fine. But the idiot lights never seem to align right with the front bezel, and the front bezel never wants to fit back into the dash with screwing it back into the mounting holes in the cluster. I just repaired the front bezel and it turned out pretty good, but when I go to put it back in I am once again having to try to force everything back together and it just won't fit. If I do force it, it will just crack and break the corners and etc again.

I also found a tab that had broken off the left size of the "cluster base" which I knew was missing as I could see where it had broke off and the hole the screw was supposed to hold it to the dash support. Apparently it fell out of the dash somewhere when I pulled everything apart this time as it was laying on my floor board. It wasn't painted which means it had broken off more than 10 years ago. As I painted the inside of the base with "chrome" paint back then trying to get a little more reflective light in the gauges.
I was able to take a wood burning iron that I had recently found stored in a bunch of stuff the other day, and plastic weld the tab back onto the base. Feels strong so it should hold well. But that doesn't really fix the issues above.
 

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Commander5993

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ok, well... I got the instrument cluster mounted back into the dash the best it has ever fit. Just took me about pulling it back out about 3 times to get this far. Even the tab that I repaired aligned right up with the screw mount clip and alignment post. I did end up reinforcing that tab some more by melting a piece of aluminum door screen into it to reinforce the original break, and also to reinforce the screw hole as I found it had some cracks too. I then used the cut off "trash" parts of zip ties (which I save a few just for this purpose) to add some additional filler material. Doesn't look as "pretty", but the screen wire will reinforcement it more, kind of like rebar in concrete. Learned this from a guy on youtube back some years ago... sixtyfiveford is his channel name. Learned a good bit of odd and end fixes and stuff over the years from his channel.

I am reinstalling the black plastic... shroud? bezel? trim? cover? piece and it still doesn't align as good as it should. But its a bit better I guess. The top lines up with the cluster mounting "posts". Didn't want to align with the metal dash clip on the top left side though, but did push it in and use the screw to pull it closer... as much as I want to try to do so without breaking it.
Also the further it goes down toward the bottom, the cover pulls away from the cluster and dash. The gauges and gear indicator have a good size gap at the bottom, and the idiot lights have a gap between them and cover kind of sideways or diagonally...

Also the headlight switch and steering column still don't line up with the bezel/cover either. Actually can barely get the headlight switch to go through the hole in the plastic cover. Its like the headlight switch hole needs moved over to the right about 3/4". I thought maybe the switch had enough room in the dash that it could move for adjustment or something. So I actually took the headlight switch nut loose but found that the mounting hole for the switch just barely fit the switch. So can't adjust the switches position.

On the other hand the cut out in the cover for the steering column is the opposite, it too far to the right. And it needs moved back toward the left a good 1/2" or so, as the bezel is so close to the column it barely doesn't rub the gear shift plastic cover part.

I don't know, I guess I'm just expecting too much. Maybe the black plastic cover/bezel has just warped over time or something... even though it doesn't appear so. I'll mess with it some more tomorrow if it isn't pouring the rain. Plan on just using the screws to pull the cover in as best as it will go without breaking and call it good enough. At least now it appears the new led lights will be bright enough to see the speedo and fuel gauge much better. To bad both of them are off lol. Speedo shows 10mph fast, and the fuel gauge shows 1/4 tank left, when the tank is actually empty. Oh well, just have to remember to tell whoever I let drive the truck.
 

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ezgn

Well-known member
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Location
Lake Elsinore Ca.
I adjusted the fuel injection pump. Was pretty straight forward like you stated, except for the bolt on the bottom right (when looking down at the engine from the front) is a really pain to get to and actually turn. Tried every type of a wrench and socket I had, just not much room to move the wrench and sockets didn't have room to actually go on. In any case, will report back once I get the dash put back together and actually drive the truck. The timing marks were aligned directly up instead of being advanced a bit.
I figured out that this was my doing. :rolleyes: I forgot that I replaced that pump about 3 years ago with a reman from the manufacture... whose name escapes me at the moment but its on the pump ID plate. Wasn't cheap I remember... but it fixed the problems I was having at the time. I had a tbi shortly after that in an incident with a fork lift with an "operator" who should have never been driving it.... lifting a large steel beam, and them catching the beam under a steel shelf and putting it under a lot of pressure/weight.... and then to top it off I broke my leg pretty severely about 6 months later. I was only cleared to drive again back around this past august, which is why the truck has mostly been sitting since then until the past few months. During that time my Dad would drive it up the road a bit once in awhile just to keep everything lubed and etc. Anyway, guess that's why I forgot about replacing that pump.
Yea, maybe I forgot to mention that. I think a little grinding of a socket or a thin kerf or ground down wrench works. Whatever you fabricate keep in your cucv arsenal for next time you or a buddy needs it, glad you got it.
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Yea, maybe I forgot to mention that. I think a little grinding of a socket or a thin kerf or ground down wrench works. Whatever you fabricate keep in your cucv arsenal for next time you or a buddy needs it, glad you got it.
yeah, hadn't thought about grinding down a socket for some reason :unsure:. Will have make one once I know I got it set right (after test driving it), so I can make sure that bolt is tight. Thanks
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
UPDATE... and a new question...

We have had some bad weather, a lot of rain, some snow and just plain cold. Days I just didn't want to bother working outside in. But I finally got to finish up on the dash lights 2 days ago, it was a pill getting it all to fit. But after a few mods to the dash "pad" and some other things, it fits better now than it ever has before... at least since I've had the truck.
Yesterday and the day before, I also got the headlights, park lights, and side markers done. Also installed a new fuse box for 12v accessories in the cab. Much better than what I had previously.
Few photos below of the lights. Phone makes the dash lights appear brighter than they are. From the photo looks like they would blind you. Of course I didn't have the truck started at the time which is why the idiot lights are on. But the speedo and fuel gauge are greatly improved. And if the oil light or something did come on, they are very visible even in full daylight.

now.... the question.... I started up the truck yesterday, and backed it up from my barn to a small shed to unload some grain I had in the bed. It sat for about an hour. Then I drove it back over to my barn, about 1 to 2 minutes running time max. When I parked it, I noticed the "temp" light was on. So after I shut it off, popped the hood, I felt of the rad and it cool. The hose was cold. But when I removed the cap to see the water level, I blew antifreeze all over. But the antifreeze was barely warm at best. My temp gauge only showed about 100f, if it accurate at that low as that is the lowest number it shows. Cheap gauge I admit.

So my question is, why would the cooling system have that much pressure but not due to heat?
I doubt The engine even ran long enough to open the thermostat.... I know a blown headgasket could pump pressure into the cooling system. But I replaced the heads with rebuilt 6.5 heads a few years ago, and with all new hardware including new head bolts and etc. And the last time I drove the truck I didn't have any issues, I even hauled a pallet of grain back to the house in the bed.

Could it be a vapor lock?? I replaced the coolant when I replaced the radiator a couple years ago. It is still bright green and clean. I can see getting a vapor lock when draining and refilling, but not after the fact. But maybe I'm wrong on this.

Any input is always appreciated, Thanks All
 

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Commander5993

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Ok, well I cold started the truck today, and the temp light was off. As the truck warmed up a bit, the temp light lit and slowly got brighter. Let the truck idle for a bit and tested for exhaust gas in the coolant system, nothing.
Used an infrared thermometer, cooling pipes near thermostat was showing around 125f. Upper rad hose was cold (55f) same with radiator. So the thermostat was not open. Put the cap on and drove the truck for 3 or 4 miles, about half of which was on 55mph hwy.
Ran good, much better than before adjusting the injection pump [Thanks Ezgen [thumbzup] This was the first time I have driven it since I adjusted it.

But temp light stayed on. Got back home, cooling pipes were around 130f to 150f, rad hoses and rad were warm. So the thermostat had opened. Exhaust manifold was only about 175 to 200f, which seemed low also ??

In any case, I don't see any actual problem per say, but I don't know why the system had so much pressure yesterday. Maybe I did run it long enough for the therm to open. At the same time if that was the case, then the thermostat seems to be opening at an awfully low temperature...?? The temp reading I got from the cooling pipes seems to agree with that. But not to sure about why the other temp readings seem to also be low.

At this point concerning the temp light, I'm wondering about a few possiblities...
*One:
that the temp sending unit is bad.
**Two: that the led bulb I put in the dash is screwing with something.
***Three: that the thermostat is bad and opening way to soon, therefore triggering the temp light for the engine temperature being too low :shrugs: ???

My Dad said that he had seen that light come on before. So it could be the sending unit... or low temp. Might try to find the sending unit... can't remember where its located... and just replace it. At least eliminate it as the issue. Same with thermostat... these are supposed to have a 195 degree thermostat aren't they?

If that doesn't do anything, I guess I'll have to tear the dash all back apart again and change the bulb back to a standard one... if it is still stays lit after that... I think I'll just pull the bulb and throw it out. Buy a new Quality Temperature Gauge and install that.
 

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Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
The temperature sending unit for the engine is on the driver side front head. Are you sure you don't have a glow plug wire attached to it? They are both green and I have seen it before. Double check.
lol, I hope I didn't do something like that... but knowing me, I'll have to check.
Thanks for the location, just didn't have time to look for it this evening as it was getting late. Will check it tomorrow.
 

Mad Texan

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Here is what I used for the headlight adjusters... so far no issues and I never attached them to the rad support...

 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
The temperature sending unit for the engine is on the driver side front head. Are you sure you don't have a glow plug wire attached to it? They are both green and I have seen it before. Double check.
I checked the wires to the temp sending unit and the glow plug right next to it. I ha repaired the connector on both of those wires. Neither of them has the original plastic cover, but after I repaired the wires I covered the end with shrink tubing. In any case, I switched the wires around just to see, and the light came on instantly. So switched them back, and when cold the temp light is off or really dim. As engine warms the light fully lights up. So I don't know if its a bad sending unit or what.

I think what I will do is just do away with the idiot light, and buy a good temp gauge and replace the crappy boshe one I have. And put the temp gauge sending unit where the idiot light unit is.

Any opinion of a brand (or model) for a good reliable temperature gauge?
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Keep both temperature idiot light temperature gauge. Use the passengers side head port as a temperature sending unit point.
Yeah, I think thats where this current temp gauge sending unit is at. But the idiot light isn't working or... something. The truck runs fine, haven't had any overheating problems. Have ran temp checks using a infrared thermometer, everything looks good. I might replace the sending unit, but honestly I think it may just be the led bulb I put in for some reason. Maybe it doesn't give enough resistance?

The temp idiot light wouldn't light up if the engine is running too cold would it? I don't think they are that "smart".

I ask because my temp gauge has been showing low most of the time. Highest I've seen it is around 150f, most of the time 100f to 125f. I just figured the gauge has went to crap. But even with my infared I don't see the temps I would expect. Thats why I thought the thermostat might have been stuck open back about a month ago now I guess. But I ran the truck for a good while and the top rad hose stayed cold, until I went and drove it a couple miles, then the hose was warm. So I don't know.
 

SomeNewGuy

Member
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Location
VA
Yeah, I think thats where this current temp gauge sending unit is at. But the idiot light isn't working or... something. The truck runs fine, haven't had any overheating problems. Have ran temp checks using a infrared thermometer, everything looks good. I might replace the sending unit, but honestly I think it may just be the led bulb I put in for some reason. Maybe it doesn't give enough resistance?

The temp idiot light wouldn't light up if the engine is running too cold would it? I don't think they are that "smart".

I ask because my temp gauge has been showing low most of the time. Highest I've seen it is around 150f, most of the time 100f to 125f. I just figured the gauge has went to crap. But even with my infared I don't see the temps I would expect. Thats why I thought the thermostat might have been stuck open back about a month ago now I guess. But I ran the truck for a good while and the top rad hose stayed cold, until I went and drove it a couple miles, then the hose was warm. So I don't know.
A lot, if not all, LED bulbs have pos/neg and wont work if backwards. Hate to ask, but is it in right?

Edit: That I know of it seems. Must learn more.
 
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Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
A lot, if not all, LED bulbs have pos/neg and wont work if backwards. Hate to ask, but is it in right?
Actually these will work either way. I tested them before I put the dash back in. All the other lights work fine. The temp light works, as it is off before you start the truck. Then it is off or really dim, but gets brighter as the engine warms up until its fully lit.
 
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