Re: Quinnster's Syclone 2208 Rebuild
Its been a while since I have updated, so I figured I would go ahead and do so now. So here is where I'm at.
I figured while the engine was out I might as well take out the front diff and replace it with a lower mile one or take the chances of having it rebuilt. I ended up deciding to go with a company that does nothing but drive shafts and differential and figured they would properly rebuild it. It turns out they didn't... When Dave came over and looked at it he immediately didn't like the feel of the pre load on the ring and pinion (too tight). Since it has a 2 year warranty I decided against Dave's good judgement to go ahead and put it in, and after fussing with it for a while and installing it I filled it up with diff oil and it immediately started seeping out :roll: So I spent the time and took it back out and sent it back to them and let them know the issues and they currently have it and promise it will be right this time.
Since I had time to kill while waiting for parts I decided to put in new body mounts, paint the frame and clean the firewall and this is what I got. Not the cleanest in the world, but without the build taking many years and costing more than I can afford this will do and it actually looks pretty good!
Now we get to the valve train which took a bunch of thinking time to get right. First issue was that I need to find a rocker stud with the M10 size to thread into the block and 3/8" for the Scorpion Roller Rockers, which I found from Comp Cams, but then stud was only getting 5 threads of engagement even with the guide plates raising them up a bit. The other problem I found it that the rockers were riding too far forward on the valve stem and almost rolls completely off the stem at full lift.
To solve both problems at once I had the idea of getting shorter push rods. I got some adjustable push rods and ended up finding out I needed a push rod exactly 7" in length to give me a safe amount of threads and keep the roller tip centered forward and back on the valve stem. Got that issue solved then find the next one.
After that we noticed the rockers on the center cylinder heads would not open the valves with the rocker tip on the exact center left and right of the valve stem. They were aimed too far out from each other which we believed would cause premature wear on the valve train. You can somewhat tell from the picture what I'm talking about.
When Dave saw the problem he talked to Jeff (TwinTurboV8TY) and they came up with the idea of using Comp Cams width adjustable guide plates. Dave and I set those up today and were able to get them aligned absolutely perfectly! Now we just need to put a tiny spot of weld on each one to lock them together and keep then from losing their position. You can see in the picture that on the center cylinders guide plates have a bigger gap. I guess the push rod holes in the heads are spread out a little further on the center valves for some reason?:dunno:
And now they all sit perfectly center!
It really took quite a bit of work to get the heads right, but It should be well worth it! I think the list of parts bought for the valve train alone is about half of the entire list of engine parts and the cause of the obstacles I had to overcome on this engine.
Now the plan it to resume on the truck once I get back from my work trip to Georgia later this month. Then engines gotta get painted, accessories bolted on and put into its new home. Finally it may be just around the corner. Nothing I want more for Christmas than to hear the Syclone start up again! :tup:
