New engine for my F-600 Dump Truck

[CATMAN]

When your machine shop gets the engine torn down, and if they truely feel it has been dusted, then you must go back and reinspect items like air cleaner base gasket to carb, rubber gasket under wing nut for air cleaner lid, air filter to air cleaner sealing areas(top and bottom), oil filler caps, PCV hoses, carb to manifold gaskets, brake booster vacuum line, etc. That dirt got in there somehow. You did mention about vacuum plugs being off at one time, I believe. Don't want to spend money a second time and not have a good idea of the true culprit/root cause.

Caterpillar shows a method to find leaking air intake systems on their diesel engines. This method involves carpenter's colored line caulk; with prefectly clean air piping(internally), air cleaners, etc. and the engine running, one squirts the colored caulk(externally) around all of the joints, tubing, air filter seals, gasket areas before the air reachs the turbo. Next, shutdown engine and slowly disassemble air inlet systems to find the source where dust/colored caulk has entered the intake system. This method may ruin one or two new air filters, but still cheaper than missing the root cause after an expensive overhaul.​

Is your choice of air filter of a good enough quality for your enviroment? These are just some thoughts, but maybe you already have a good idea of the main culprit. There are plenty of machines/engines that work in dusty enviroments that last a normal life span(tight system and good maintenance).

 

[SimS]

CATMAN;

I like your diagnosis tip with the chalk dust. Very clever. But I think Eddie's problem stemmed from the missing vacuum plugs he mentioned in one of the early posts. Vacuum at the carb base sucking in Texas red clay dust is what probably did in the rings. This problem literally sucks.

SimS

 

[EddieWalker]

Those vacume leaks probably added allot to my issues, but when I put the heads back on and was thinking about sealing off the carburator as good as possible, I spent some time cleaning up the air cleaner cover. It was rusted and pitted with some silicone in the holes that I knew of. I used a wire wheel in my drill and discovered at least a hundred holes. I sealed them up real good with silicone, but it was obviously too late.

I'm looking on ebay for a new air cleaner cover, but it's an odd engine that doesn't seem to have many parts for sale in there. Could be that I'm looking in the wrong place or have the wrong info on my searches, but it's not a big deal right now.

Does anybody know of a really good aftermarket air cleaner for dust that would work on a F-600 Ford with a 370 big block V8 gas engine?

Eddie

 

[RobJ]

I guess they still make them but you can get what we called a chrome air cleaner, filter exposed, chrome pan on top. Put some foam around it to act as a pre-cleaner.

Or look around for an oil bath cleaner. Much better than paper. Actually you can probably seal up yours to work good enough. Of find one that'll fit at a junk yard. Then get some hose and run a snorkel up high or run it into the cab where there wil be less dust. Every little bit helps.

good Luck,
Rob

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Eddie, go to a junkyard. Any Lima series-385 Ford air cleaner should function well. You could also look at a K&N 14" air cleaner. I don't know what kind of vacuum lines go to the air cleaner, but I don't think there's anything there you couldn't plug.
It's real funny how different parts of the country experience different problems. Up here in the northeast, we've run engines with no air cleaner at all and never had problems. I know that my buddy in Florida experienced all kinds of different issues after he mover there from Pa. He said lawn mower decks don't rot out down there like they do here, they get holes sand blasted in them from the sandy soil. Up here we bend the blades on rocks that pop up, down there, the sand wears them down to nothing. I guess that's just another thing that makes the world go round.

 

[AlanB]

If it was mine, I would duct to a cleaner area, and put on a big cylinder type unit or K&N.

Watch for a PM.

 

[ScottAR]

K&N are for race cars. Put somthing on there that will actually filter dirt. JMO.

If nothing else, put an open paper type on there and watch it close.

I'm sure a good salvage man could find you exactly what you need or at least somthing that will fit. Just guessing that engine has a Holley carb. Nearly any
V8 Ford that came carb'd will bolt up to the carb.

 

[john_bud]

Eddie,

I think that a 400 M (Modified) will also bolt up. You may have to double check, but I believe that they share the same bell housing bolt patter as the Lima family (370, 429, 460). You can probably find a 400M in a large station wagon, LTD, or old truck cheaply.

As you seem to be burning thru them quick, you might want to build up a stock!

On air cleaners. You can probably get a Donaldson unit for a big rig. Google on line. If you stay with the factory set up, you may want to think about a canister prefilter adapted to the snorkle. (Seal the pre-heat hose to the exhaust manifold as Texas is hot enough).

 

[EddieWalker]

It took me awhile, but I finally got it back together a few weeks ago, but today was the first time I was able to run it. Rain, mud and other projects have all been getting in the way of moving some dirt!!!

The oil rings were fried. They were wornd down smooth with the sides of the pistons. Nothing at all sticking out past the width of the pistons. So mystery solved, I sanded the engine. I showed them to the guy at the machine shop and also the bearings. He said a few of the bearings were a little worn and I should replace them to be safe. Otherwise, the block was fine. I also replaced the compression rings.

On my first load, I noticed that it was smoking real bad from under the hood. The valve cover gasket was leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold. I took it off and saw that the gasket was broken. I had a brand new tube of gasket sealant, so I just put it on real thick. Then when I went to put the air cleaner back on, the threaded part that goes into the carburator broke off about halfway in. I taped up the carb to keep it clean, then drilled a hole into the broken part and pulled it out with an easy out. One load of dirt moved and it was already noon.

We moved a dozen more loads of dirt when the smoke returned. I figured it was the same problem, so my dad volunteered to go to town and get a new gasket. I pulled off the cover and found that it had broke in a new place. I might be a little slow, but two breaks on a valve cover gasket just seems a little odd.

With the new gasket on, we went back to moving dirt. I loaded it with the backhoe and he drove the dump truck. There was one time when it wouldn't start, but after letting it run for awhile, it didn't happen again. Right after that starting problem, my dad said that it felt like there was less power too, but that went away. I did notice that the fuel preasure valve was set at 2 pounds, so I raised it to 4 1/2 half pounds. That might have been the problem, but I don't know how it got to that level and why the power issue wasn't from the start.

The axle is leaking oil again too. It leaked when I bought it, but the new seal didn't hold. Another seal failed, and then the third. This is seal number four, and all four seals are from different stores. Obviously it's either a bad axle or a lousy mechanic. Probably the mechanic.

I received a new air filter in the mail from a friend who I'll just call the Air Filter Fairy. It's a full sized monstrosity that I just finally figured out where to put it. With all the rain we've had, dust isn't a big concern right now, especialy with all the effort that I put into sealing up the factory air cleaner. My plan is to mount it behind the grill, upside down so that when I take the lid off, the dust that is outside the air filter will fall to the ground. There is a massive hole on the ousdie of the metal container to let the air in. It's on the side, so I either have to have it facing down to let the dust out, or do it this way. I bought some ducting that will make my turns, so now I need to weld up a bracket to mount it.

I'll post pics of it when I get done.

Thank you to everyone for all your help and advice,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

While loading dirt, I gave my 7 year old the camera, and told him to take some pics. He really likes the zoom and I have allot of closeup pics of the backhoe bucket now, but he also got a few that show we were actually moving dirt today, and not just wrenching all the time.

Eddie