Dirty Differentials and Radiator Blockers

Knowing that I had the simpler, (compared to wiring,) if messier task of doing the fluid changes on the Dodge, I did a little research this week. Changing the engine oil would be a cake walk, as I'd done it before for Frank. The hardest part about changing the crankcase oil was finding a drain pan large enough to hold the three gallons of used oil. As it turned out, I used two smaller, (that is, normal-sized,) drain pans on top of one of those large metal trays that allowed me to shift from one pan to the other, mid-drain.

The tough part would be the diffs. Unlike the axles on the Landcruiser, with nice, magnetic drain plugs in the bottom of each pumpkin, the Dodge axles have bolted on covers, with no drain plug. After doing some reading on the Diesel Truck Resource forums, I learned a few of things: the pan has a reusable rubber gasket, so no RVT, torque spec on the bolts is 30 ft/lbs, and that about 2 of every 5 guys had at least one bolt break prior to reaching the torque spec. After talking this over with Frank, he suggested a drill-driven, fluid transfer pump. Not only would I be able to pump the old fluid out, but I could also use it to fill the diffs, instead of the manual, (i.e. wear out your arm,) pump. I stopped by West Marine on the way over to Doug's, ten minutes (literally,) later, I was on my way with a new pump, some additional hose, a few hose clamps, and .546 less boat dollars than I had to start with.

Here it is in action, pumping the nasty, smelly, dark old stuff out. Also note how close that brake caliper is to the inside of the wheel. I had thought about downsizing to 16"s to make it easier to find tires, but there is no way that would work.


That pump worked like a champ! I'm sorry I didn't have it in December when I did the diffs and transfer case on the Landcruiser.


Next on the list was the radiator block. It gets so cold up north, (or even Wyoming and the Dakotas,) that vehicles, (diesels in particular,) can't get warmed up without restricting the flow of air across the radiator. Our idea was to sandwich some vinyl upholster-type material between two pieces of angle aluminum, riveted together to make a 'U'.


After putting all the rivets in, (I'm guilty of overkill here. Hell, five would probably be overkill and I put in a dozen,) I put down a layer of weather stripping, so the rivet head wouldn't be resting on the radiator fins. We'll be able to furl it if we need less radiator blockage.



The last item on the day's agenda was to put together our tool kit. We pared down my tool set to one box, with a few additions from Doug, (like a BFH.)


Next: Light bar, VHF radio, develop/finalize load plan.