My second M715 build. What was I thinking?

[jeeper]

Thanks for the link. I'll be checking that out if I end up doing the lockup kit.

I have a new problem today though and it's with the transmission. For some reason I'm blowing ATF out of the dipstick tube.

I've never had this problem on anything I've owned in the past. From what I've read it could be a couple different things. It may be a blocked transmission line or it may be a plugged vent. One person reported he needed a new torque converter. I sure hope to get this figured out soon.

[jeeper]

Today after work I finished installing the fuel filter near the tank. I was able to prime the filter and get the truck started quite easily because of the electric fuel pump.

I did a bit of reading yesterday and thought I'd try something I read to solve the ATF problem. I used a locking dipstick in place of the original dipstick. It works. No more ATF spewing out of the tube.

I'm down to an oil leak out of the drivers side valve cover. It started slow but seems to be getting worse as I drive the truck. I need to pull the cover I think. On the 6.2 that's a pain. All the injector lines are in the way.

The engine seems to be running cool even without any fan installed. I'm not going to push my luck but I think I could drive it without a fan until it warms up around here in another couple months. Of course I wouldn't want to be driving in stop and go traffic but the country driving I'll be doing to get the kinks out is no problem so far.

I put almost 10 miles on the truck tonight. I have to say I really like the Truck Lite LED headlights. The low beams are good but the high beams are great.

[jeeper]

Almost had a fire yesterday. I'm still fighting with some fluid leaks and thought I had them fixed so I went for a test drive around the block. When I pulled into the driveway at the end of the run I could see smoke coming from the hood and could smell burning rubber.

When I popped the hood I found the battery cable to the starter had worked itself between the turbo and the fender and was literally burning with flames and sparking.

I quickly disconnected the cable from the battery and the fire went out.

Needless to say I made it a priority to clean up the battery cable installation. I had two cables that were originally too long. Now all the battery cables are the proper length and secure.

But what's frustrating is it seems I still have an oil leak but now I seem to have a diesel fuel leak as well. I must have caused that leak trying to solve the oil leak.

On a bright note I got my flashers working. But the step backwards is now my brake lights don't work again.

One step forward and two steps back...

Maybe I should find a hobby that I'm actually good at...

[Von]

Almost had a fire yesterday. ...

Maybe I should find a hobby that I'm actually good at...

LOL, where's the fun in that?


Fire is a good memory enhancer and learning aid...


My oldest stepson was helping me work on a 79 Lincoln beater I used to have... USED to have.. Fire helped him learn how NOT to apply starting fluid AND how NOT to use a dry chemical extinguisher on a running engine.

[jeeper]

I know I should keep my mouth shut and let people think I'm stupid. Instead I open my mouth and remove all doubt.

Today after work I thought I'd try again on my oil leak. I think I may actually have two separate leaks.

The main leak is coming from the valve cover gasket. I found ALL the bolts loose. Not only not wrench tight but not even finger tight. Doh. Simple fix I figured. I got out the socket and snugged them all down.

I took it for a test drive and when I returned I could see it was just as bad as before. Upon further inspection I could see that the cork gasket was not sealing around the bottom. It had somehow gotten pushed up and offered no seal. Doh. That's still an easy fix I thought. I spread it out and re-installed the bolts and tried again.

It was much better but there is still a small drip coming out around the cover. At this point I am going to pull the cover and put RTV around the entire thing. I must have deformed the cover by not having the gasket even all the way around.

[ray steadward]

I find cork VC gaskets less than great....Maybe get something better?

[67smith]

Do not use valve gaskets on 6.2/5 engines, use anerobic sealer, rtv works too, just a little harder to remove. Same with oil pan, no gasket(excluding the large rubber seal at the rear) these are all recommendations straight from the factory service manuals.


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[Barrman]

I have always liked Permatex "Right stuff" in the aerosol cans. Last week I learned to love it.

I put my GEP 6500 together with the gaskets and followed the TM's exactly. I wanted to skip the gaskets on the valve covers and didn't because of several discussions on diesel forums about how if the sealer bead isn't thick enough there is a chance of bottoming out the valve cover bolts and breaking the head. A guy on SS building a brand new GEP had the exact same thing happen to him a few months ago.

Anyway, I used Right stuff and the cork gasket on the valve covers. They don't leak with the engine running and the truck sitting still.

My trouble was the cooling system. We used gaskets with 3M weather stripping at the rear cross over block out plates, coolant cross over and thermostat gasket. We also used the gaskets and TM called for anerobic sealer on the water pump to water pump backing plate.

I pressure tested the system dry last week before putting coolant in. All of the connections listed above leaked. All got taken apart again and put back together with just Right Stuff. It held 15 psi for 45 minutes when done.

I used right stuff and cork gaskets on my M715 6.2 4 years ago. It is the only 6.2 I own with no oil seep there.

Just giving my experiences.

[kwai]

I used the "right stuff" on my 5.0 in my mustang. and on the 4.0 in my rubicon. Worked great.

[jeeper]

Thanks for all the tips.

I ended up trying Permatex grey RTV (because I had it on hand) with the cork gasket. When I finally wiggled the cover off I could see I damaged the cork gasket during one of my repair attempts. I will probably regret it but I just used extra grey around the broken cork part because it is right where the bolt goes through the cover anyway.

I will report back either way with the results once I get a chance to test it.