Advice for my D2 3J pony please

I would measure up your crankshaft and see if you can use standard bearings or if it's been turned undersize etc. CAT is going to be the easiest source, but possibly could find them somewhere else???? If it's already undersize and clearances are too great to just replace the bearings, I know someone here has posted about shrinking a sleeve onto the crankshaft and turning back to standard. I would say the economics of that would depend a lot on whether the rod bearing throws are regrindable etc. There's bound to be some good used crankshafts out there in blocks that have been damaged by water getting inside the cylinders etc.

Used would likely be the best source for a nut and washer. Or just take a hammer and file to it! Peen the smushed metal back down and dress it up with the file etc.

You can make a lot of gaskets for $240! All of them should be available from CAT dealer if you want to price them. There wouldn't be so many that you can't just total them up and compare pretty easily. Head gaskets would be the only thing that's not possible to make, and possibly can be reused with some sealer applied. I have heard lots of folks use coppr-kote spray or a coating of aluminum paint, but I would assume a coating of brush-on gasket maker like permatex might work just as well and help on the pitting The only place I would say would demand a skim would be the fire ring area around the cylinders. Almost anything on the rest of the surface could be handled with a sealer.

Easiest thing to do with the block while you have it off and stripped down is to take it and have it hot tanked at a shop. If you want to do it yourself, I would say wash it with Tide or some other good detergent to remove any grease before you put it in a citric acid bath. After the bath, you should be able to poke through all the coolant passages with a stiff wire and blow through with air or water spray. Don't forget the heads and top cover when you do it! I don't think the citric acid will hurt the sealing surfaces at all. You need a little bit of texture on that kind of thing to keep the gaskets from creeping as you tighten things down.

The end play on the crankshaft is not adjustable except by shims/gasket thickness under the cover behind the flywheel which carries the "rear" main and the crankshaft seal. The spec I have on the larger pony motor will likely do for yours 0.010-0.016" (max 0.030") The usuall problem with excessive end clearance is when the main bearing opposite the flywheel looses it's hollow retaining dowel and moves in the bore of the crankcase casting. When you install the dowel, I would retain it with locktite or punch it so it is positively retained in the block. Also do not strike the flywheel and drive the crankshaft axially when installing or removing the flywheel

I would measure up your crankshaft and see if you can use standard bearings or if it's been turned undersize etc. CAT is going to be the easiest source, but possibly could find them somewhere else???? If it's already undersize and clearances are too great to just replace the bearings, I know someone here has posted about shrinking a sleeve onto the crankshaft and turning back to standard. I would say the economics of that would depend a lot on whether the rod bearing throws are regrindable etc. There's bound to be some good used crankshafts out there in blocks that have been damaged by water getting inside the cylinders etc.

Used would likely be the best source for a nut and washer. Or just take a hammer and file to it! Peen the smushed metal back down and dress it up with the file etc.

You can make a lot of gaskets for $240! All of them should be available from CAT dealer if you want to price them. There wouldn't be so many that you can't just total them up and compare pretty easily. Head gaskets would be the only thing that's not possible to make, and possibly can be reused with some sealer applied. I have heard lots of folks use coppr-kote spray or a coating of aluminum paint, but I would assume a coating of brush-on gasket maker like permatex might work just as well and help on the pitting The only place I would say would demand a skim would be the fire ring area around the cylinders. Almost anything on the rest of the surface could be handled with a sealer.

Easiest thing to do with the block while you have it off and stripped down is to take it and have it hot tanked at a shop. If you want to do it yourself, I would say wash it with Tide or some other good detergent to remove any grease before you put it in a citric acid bath. After the bath, you should be able to poke through all the coolant passages with a stiff wire and blow through with air or water spray. Don't forget the heads and top cover when you do it! I don't think the citric acid will hurt the sealing surfaces at all. You need a little bit of texture on that kind of thing to keep the gaskets from creeping as you tighten things down.

The end play on the crankshaft is not adjustable except by shims/gasket thickness under the cover behind the flywheel which carries the "rear" main and the crankshaft seal. The spec I have on the larger pony motor will likely do for yours 0.010-0.016" (max 0.030") The usuall problem with excessive end clearance is when the main bearing opposite the flywheel looses it's hollow retaining dowel and moves in the bore of the crankcase casting. When you install the dowel, I would retain it with locktite or punch it so it is positively retained in the block. Also do not strike the flywheel and drive the crankshaft axially when installing or removing the flywheel

Hi Neil,

Olson gaskets are a bit pricey in my opinion. They wanted nearly $2200 for a complete pony set and Diesel upper & lower sets last time I checked.

New pony head gaskets are only $11.78 each from Cat (I just bought a set). There is a pair of pony head gaskets on Fee-Bay right now in Canada for only $50, plus shipping, plus duty fees to get them back in the USA, ...not a good deal from where I'm sitting. I would think that you could get all of the pony gaskets direct from Cat for well under $100. The rear main bearing (behind the flywheel) was quoted to me for about $135-ish from Cat just a few weeks ago.

Recommended spark plugs are Champion D-16, but most everyone on this BB would recommend NOT using Champion's. Cross the Champion number over to Ac, Autolite or anything but Champion. Use a plug with a black-oxide finished base, not cadmium plated.

Awesome - thanks you guys. I'll call Dana at Florin and see if he wants to send me the set. I haven't been into the local Cat dealer so I don't know that I want to spend time "educating" the new guy behind the counter (although I will go get those extra studs and whatnot that I need. By the way, I tried the old left-hand drill trick to get out a broken-flush stud and it worked very well - not an ounce of damage to the threaded hole in the block - very happy about that!
I noticed that only the top (read: accessible) big end nut was pinned so I bought some spares to do the bottom as well. It's not easy getting a pair of mitts in there but I'd rather take the extra time and know that it's secure.
Mike - I see that the camshaft runs directly in the bores (doesn't seem to be any bearing there. I'd be a bit nervous about dunking that into the citric. Perhaps I can glue some pipes onto the block and run the citric only in the coolant passages rather than dunking the whole block?
Cheers,
Neil.

I just did the heads in Citric Acid, not the block, use a long piece of wire and your pressure washer on the block, those cooling passages are a good size, it's just within the heads I noticed they are much smaller with bends and curves to jag any trash that gets dislodged from the main motor or radiator.

Re Florin, I find I get faster service from Judy, I think Dana must be flat out on bigger customers and my little orders got overlooked till I lucked onto Judy. If you need part numbers sing out.
Good luck
Mike

hot tanking would probably damage bearings, but should have no effect on the cast iron itself. The shop should be able to confirm this. I know there's different chemicals used.

I checked in with a local shop today and he said that his hot tank solution was pretty weak. I've pulled everything but some of the head studs and the three copper oil drain pipes from it so after I get the freeze cracks brazed up I'll get them to clean it. I'll take the crank in tomorrow and get him to mic it to see whether I need to go standard or undersize bearings. I'm still surprised that the camshaft doesn't run in bearings.

Any word on whether I should pull that freeze plug on the underside of the block?
Cheers,
Neil.

Hi Neil, I have everything open on my main motor, thermostat is out so I can back flush better, drain plug, water temperature sender and radiator is off so I can get some good volume flowing.

The pilot is on the main motor, however the heads were off. Those little water ports on those heads get blocked by the smallest trash, take your time there with some softish wire and the pressure washer.
regards
Mike