In this episode of Hot Rod Garage
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00:00 So we're back in Roll Smokey, our 12 valve swapped 73 D200 truck.
00:10 And it's one of my favorite products all year.
00:12 I just about daily drive this thing and it obviously runs great.
00:16 It's got that newer diesel engine with the upgraded turbo and injectors and makes a ton
00:19 of power.
00:20 But what it doesn't do, it doesn't stop, it doesn't turn.
00:23 I want to go straight.
00:24 In a normal car, you hold the wheel straight.
00:27 In this car, if you want to go straight, you can do pretty much anything to the wheel.
00:30 Still going straight.
00:31 So there's a ton of play here.
00:33 It only burns one tire, which is really sacrilegious at this point when you're making 800 foot
00:37 pounds of torque.
00:38 So we're going to have to upgrade that too.
00:39 So let's get started.
00:59 Hey, I'm Tony Angelo and this is Hot Rod Garage.
01:14 If you like this show, there's lots more great automotive content on Motor Trend On Demand.
01:18 So check that out.
01:23 Welcome to Hot Rod Garage presented by Lincoln Tech.
01:25 We're back in the shop with Roll Smokey.
01:26 And as you saw before, this thing runs hard, but it only burns one tire and the suspension
01:31 is awful and all over the place and the brakes barely work too.
01:34 So we're going to fix all that today.
01:35 We're going to do a full refresh of the brake system, install some stiffer shocks and springs,
01:39 and add a locking rear differential, which should turn this thing into an all around
01:42 performer.
01:43 Before we can dig into that, sit back, relax, grab some popcorn, and stay tuned for this
01:47 quick tech tip from Clarence Barnes and Lincoln Tech.
01:55 You know, tribal knowledge says that running your diesel engine out of fuel means it's
01:59 hard to get running again.
02:00 It's not.
02:01 Here's a few tips for replacing the fuel filter and priming the system yourself that should
02:05 save you a few bucks.
02:06 You see, most modern diesel fuel systems have a drain petcock located near or on the fuel
02:11 filter adapter.
02:13 Just open that baby up and let it flow into a drain pan before removing the filter.
02:16 The filter housing cap will thread off and is sealed with O-rings that should be replaced
02:21 with new O-rings that come with your new filter.
02:24 Coat the O-rings in diesel fuel to make sure they provide a good seal.
02:28 Before installing a new filter into the housing, it's not a bad idea to evacuate fuel still
02:32 inside the filter housing.
02:34 It's most certainly contaminated and you don't want it cycling through your system.
02:38 Next, reinstall the filter and cap and then it's time to prime the system.
02:42 Now, some modern diesels have a plunger near the injection pump to prime the system.
02:47 Others just require you to cycle the ignition key maybe about for 30 seconds.
02:52 We don't recommend breaking the fittings loose on the injector rails to prime the system
02:56 with the engine cranking over.
02:58 That just makes a mess and is a potential fire hazard.
03:02 Lincoln Tech can teach you how to have a career working with cars.
03:05 See LincolnTech.edu.
03:06 Okay, now on to the fun stuff, the upgrades.
03:14 One question people might have is why did I stick with a Dana 60 in this truck when
03:17 I could have gone to a 70 or 80 which is a really popular swap when you do big torque,
03:23 big high horsepower engines.
03:24 The reason for that is I want to run a Detroit TrueTrek differential that's only offered
03:28 in the 60, not in the 70 or the 80s.
03:30 I could have gotten a locker but because I want this truck to be fun and really streetable,
03:33 I'd rather go with a helical style differential.
03:35 It's going to have a more progressive, smooth locking and unlocking action.
03:39 It's going to be a bit more fun and more docile on the street.
03:41 While we're in there, fresh shoes, new wheel cylinders and all new bearings and seals.
03:49 This thing will be fresh and fun.
03:55 Before we can do these axle upgrades which are going to be that differential and that
03:58 354 gears, we've got to remove it from the truck.
04:01 We're just about there.
04:02 We've removed the drive shaft, the emergency brake cables, the brake lines and the shocks.
04:05 The only thing left to do is to lower the whole housing down under a couple of jack
04:09 stands we've got on this table, remove the spring shackle bolts, lift the truck off of
04:13 the axle and then we can push it out of the way.
04:16 We're using a pole jack to support the front end of the truck since we're removing so much
04:20 weight from the back end.
04:21 We don't want it to unbalance the truck on the lift and perhaps make it flip off because
04:24 that would be terrible and unsafe.
04:26 We're good now.
04:27 We've got it braced.
04:27 We've got the 40-year-old grimy Dana 60 dragged out of that truck and sitting here on this
04:49 table.
04:50 As you can see, it's an open differential so it only powers one tire and that's not
04:54 what we want in a big powerful truck.
04:56 Also, it runs a 410 gear.
04:59 That's fine for a gas truck that spins 5,000 RPM but for a diesel motor that only spins
05:03 about 2,900 RPM, we want something a little bit longer so we're going to put a 354 gear
05:07 set in there and that should make highway cruising better and actually help this big
05:11 torquey motor pull this thing around town.
05:13 The Dana 60 out of this truck is a 30-spline unit and I ordered differentials that have
05:18 35-spline setup so we're going to wind up accidentally having to upgrade the axle to
05:23 that bigger 35-spline size.
05:25 We're going to have that ring and pinion install and differential setup done by professionals,
05:29 our buddy Frank at South Bay Truck and Differential and we're going to get right back here, work
05:34 on the front suspension, get all that stuff going while he's getting the rear axle all
05:38 fixed up.
05:41 We're here with Frank at South Bay Truck and Differential.
05:44 We dropped off our mildly cleaner Dana 60 unit, new gears, the new TrueTrek differential,
05:49 some brake shoes, wheel cylinders, and then an install kit.
05:52 We had to do a conversion joint to go down to the yoke so now we can get that bigger
05:55 yoke and have a proper strong.
05:57 Put like a 1350 series shoe joint in there.
06:00 I think we can get that done.
06:01 We need that by tomorrow.
06:02 Yeah, pretty much instantly, just about as soon as you can get it.
06:06 Okay, so we've got that Dana 60 dropped off at Frank's shop.
06:12 He's going to work that thing over and we're back in our shop so that we can start on the
06:16 brake suspension and steering and the front end of Roll Smoky.
06:18 As you saw earlier, the front of this truck is a disaster.
06:21 It's worn out, it's clapped out, it's all banged up.
06:23 This stuff has been wrecked since probably before I was born.
06:25 This truck is over 40 years old.
06:28 So to refresh everything, we're going to have to piece everything we want together because
06:31 this truck isn't really well supported by the aftermarket.
06:33 What I was able to find is a full polyurethane bushing kit from PST.
06:37 That's going to replace all of the stock rubber with more supportive polyurethane.
06:42 Also we're going to replace all the moving steering parts such as the inner and outer
06:45 tie rods, a new drag link, and a new idler arm.
06:49 The best part about the steering is this, I was able to find an AGR Superbox 2 steering
06:53 gearbox.
06:54 It's a variable rate unit.
06:55 It goes between 13 to 1 and 16 to 1 so that means it should be nice and easy in the parking
06:59 lot and feel nice and tight on the highway.
07:00 Another thing I was able to find was a set of Hawk SPS pads for this truck.
07:04 So we're going to put in fresh rotors and calipers on these Hawk pads, some lines, brakes
07:08 should be better than ever.
07:10 First thing I'm going to do is hose everything down with penetrant because who knows how
07:16 long it's been together and for how many miles.
07:19 We want to make sure anything we can get loose without having to cut it or break it off,
07:22 we're going to do that.
07:23 And then I'm just going to be removing everything.
07:24 The only thing we have to watch out for is obviously the coil spring.
07:27 We're going to have to remove that in a safe manner so we'll do that using the lift and
07:29 a jack.
07:30 Alright.
07:31 We ran into a little bit of a snafu just eyeballing this bushing that we bought from PST and the
07:42 size of the bushing in our lower control arm.
07:43 We noticed that there's no way it's going to fit.
07:45 That is definitely too big.
07:46 We found out that there's a heavy duty application and a regular duty application and the only
07:51 ones we were able to get was the regular duty so we're going to have to find some specific
07:55 bushings just for the heavy duty ones.
07:57 I ordered them, I overnighted them, hopefully they get here for this project.
08:00 But just so you know the difference, if you have your lower control arm bolt and you check
08:03 it and it's three quarters of an inch, you have a heavy duty truck.
08:06 If it is five eighths of an inch, you have a standard duty truck so make sure you get
08:09 the right bushings.
08:12 Hey, so it's first thing in the morning.
08:17 We were here pretty late last night working on the front end.
08:20 We had to take all the old control arms apart, clean them all off, press the new ball joints
08:24 in, press the old rubber bushings out, press the new polyurethane bushings in.
08:28 We've got everything reinstalled.
08:30 Whenever you have rubber bushings on a car, you don't want to tighten them up until the
08:32 car is down on the ground because they only have a limited range of motion.
08:35 That's about it.
08:36 New steering gear box is in, new steering linkage is in.
08:39 We need to get the right tie rods today and then we can put this whole thing right back
08:42 together.
08:43 What I've already done on this side is the same thing Tony's already been doing on that
08:46 side.
08:47 I got the backing plate bolted up just like he did.
08:48 Getting ready to put the hub and new rotor on that we just got back from the machine
08:52 shop.
08:53 Even though the wheel bearings and everything are brand new, they were put in like a thousand
08:55 miles ago by Tony.
08:56 We took them all off, repacked them with the new grease, new washer, new nut, spindles
09:01 clean, looks like brand new.
09:03 What's real important to do after you've been pawing the rotors is to spray brake clean
09:07 on them and wipe off all the grease, otherwise you'll ruin a perfectly good set of brake
09:10 pads.
09:11 I think we all know that Tony's plenty good enough at that.
09:14 What does that mean?
09:22 Frank from South Bay Truck and 4x4 is back with our Dana 60 all hooked up.
09:27 Frank, thanks so much for getting this done quickly.
09:29 I know it was a matter of hours since you got this thing and the turnaround time is
09:32 amazing.
09:33 Thanks a ton.
09:34 Everything went in there pretty smoothly?
09:36 Everything went together very well.
09:37 We put new brakes on it.
09:39 Very true truck.
09:40 We upgraded your yoke to a 1350 yoke.
09:44 Gear's set up perfectly well and all the parts worked out great.
09:48 The axles we had to cut to fit.
09:49 Let's get it going.
09:50 Cool.
09:50 It's pretty low in the front there.
10:19 Push on it.
10:22 Oh boy.
10:28 Alright, so I've put a couple hundred miles on Roll Smokey now and just about everything
10:40 is working great.
10:41 The new brakes are awesome.
10:43 That new rear end with the true track is really sweet.
10:45 With 354 gears it's much happier on the highway.
10:48 One issue we are having is that once the front springs have settled, I've basically ran out
10:52 of travel altogether.
10:53 We took the rubber bump stops off and thought that would be enough travel and it's just
10:57 not.
10:58 We're actually making some metal to metal contact.
11:00 So I think we've got another set of springs.
11:02 We can talk about maybe cutting less out of them.
11:04 So we cut two coils out of the springs.
11:06 Whose bright idea was that?
11:08 Yours.
11:09 Negative.
11:10 That's true.
11:11 Since everything is brand new, we're going to remove as little as possible to get this
11:13 spring out so we can put a longer spring in there.
11:16 Then we'll get our other springs.
11:17 We're going to cut less off of them, put them back in, and everything should be good.
11:21 Before we can put these longer springs in, we're going to cut about two inches out of
11:25 the stock bump stop mount.
11:27 Then we're going to just slide it up the mount and weld it back on.
11:29 That should give us enough travel to have this thing happy at that lowered ride height.
11:34 All right.
11:37 So that's just about it for all the new front end stuff and the longer springs.
11:40 Now we can put the wheels back on for good.
11:42 Lower it back down.
11:43 Check out our handiwork.
11:44 Then we're going to take it over to the alignment shop.
11:46 Make sure everything is straight.
11:47 Take it out on the road and have some fun.
12:01 We're back in my truck, Roll Smokey.
12:03 We've got that whole new suspension on there, new 354 gears, and the best part, the Detroit
12:08 TrueTrek.
12:09 That's going to let me spin both tires at will.
12:11 That's going to be the best part of this whole thing.
12:13 It seems to handle really well.
12:15 Let's take it on some turns and see how it does.
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12:27 [00:01:33]
12:33 So that's it for this episode of Hot Rod Garage presented by Lincoln Tech.
13:01 Roll Smokey is driving awesome.
13:02 It burns both tires.
13:03 It slides around.
13:04 It's a ton of fun.
13:05 I can't wait to drive this thing like a million more miles on the street.
13:08 Thanks to everybody who helped out on this episode.
13:10 Thanks to Lucky for all his hard work.
13:11 Don't forget to check us out on social media.
13:13 Instagram is Hot Rod Garage Show.
13:15 My Instagram is Tangelo96.
13:16 You can find us on Facebook at Hot Rod Garage Show.
13:19 I'll see you next time.
13:20 Peace.
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14:04 Bam!