Irab- That dcc controller sounds like a nice unit! How is your alternator handling the extra load of the taurus fan?

Avaitor- I wish it didn't have it but its there so I gotta work with it haha!

Terry- Thanks I have been enjoying your thread as well!

After thinking about this whole cooling situation and after a ton of measuring I am just going to bite the bullit and move my whole drivetrain back 2 1/2 inches. That should give me enough total room to get my radiator and possibly even my mechanical fan up front. I'll have to see about the fan but the machanical one I have is only 2 1/4in. thick which is substantially less than any of the four electric fans I have in the shop at the moment. I'm going to hit it hard tomorrow and I'll be sure to get pics for you guys.

 

the alternator does just fine. i have a cs-130 140amp gm 1-wire conversion (easy to do), so there's plenty of juice to go around. you can feel the engine bog a tad when it kicks on at idle, but other than that, it's fine

 

I just ordered a flex fan from Jegs Performance that is 1 1/4 inches thick for my swap, that extra inch might help out a bit, it will let me keep my radiator behind the core support and still have about 3/4 inch between fan and radiator, as tight as this swap is every little bit helps.

 

irab- I amy have to do the gm swap at some point. That's good to know!

dmarsh- Is that an electric fan or and actual mechanical flex fan?

Today I hit this think as soon as I got out of school. One of my friends came over and helped me out a ton. Basically what I did was removed the cross member and made 1/2 inch plate mounts that bolt to the crossmember under the transfer case mount. Then we moved the whole lot back 2 1/2in and centered it all up. I then welded the plate mounts to the frame. All that is left is to finish welding the crossmember mounts to the frame, make new engine mounts, mount the radiator, and shorten the driveshaft. I had to cut out all of the core support where the radiator will go so I am going to have to use hood pins. Oh, and I am 99% sure the mechanical fan will fit. Anyhow here are the pictures.

 

Joe - actual mechanical flex fan, I will post some pictures on my build thread as soon as I get it.

 

Well I just got back from the machine shop and apparently my driveshaft can't be shortened. I am calling B.S. What I am wanting to do is take 3 3/4 inches from the front half of the two piece setup. I may break down eventually and buy a one piece but I was wondering if you guys had any ideas. The guy quoted me 7-900 for a custom shaft.... well there is a snowballs chance in hell of me ever doing that. I am tempted to split the thing in the middle and weld it back. I know its not ideal but I'v done it on PTO shafts in the past with success. I am not sure what to do as this hurdle I hadn't seen.

 

Most places I have dealt with charge around $125 to shorten a shaft and up to $250 to retube one to make it longer

 

Yup thats what my guy up here charges. 900 is a rip off. post up some picks of your drive shaft doses it neck down at both sides?

 

As I recall the mid section has a taper on the rear side which is probably why they said no... a good shop should be able to cut out a section and weld her up proper for you...

my mech. [a master customizer] is a member here [not active often too busy working lol] I'll call him and get his member name so you can pm him for advice...

 

Yeah the problem is I have the 2 piece and it necked down at both ends. The only way I can see to shorten it is to find a yoke that will fit the 3 inch shaft. I am heavily leaning toward ordering a one piece. Any how here are the pictures. Thanks so much for the help.

 

Thank's aviator- i suggested chucking it in a lathe and cutting the middle out to a guy this afternoon. He didn't have much to say about it. I don't see why it couldn't be done either. Thank you!

 

what i'd do is cut your flange off, cut 3 and whatever " off the tube, then stick a smaller diameter tube inside the d-shaft and weld it so it sticks out enough for you to weld back to your flange. You'll have to get a pretty thick gauge tube, but it'd be really cheap. I definitely wouldn't cut it in the middle. I'm pretty sure the heat stress will cause your d-shaft to fail very quickly, especially now with the diesel's torque

 

Grandpa and I were just discussing that. I'll have to see what kind of pipe I can get in the morning. If I were to cut it in the middle It would be sleeved when I put it back together, but it would not balance so that's a no go. I did sleeve a power shaft on one of out brush hogs a few years back and knock on wood it's still running. I just don't wanna chance it with the truck.

 

What you need to find Joe is a driveshaft specialty shop... a place that has the equipment to balance a 'shaft... they can set up what you need no worries... there's a shop in town here but the shipping cost would be prohibitive... why not ask around your "local" technical schools/colleges... I'm sure one of them could help you... maybe even make it a class project... heck even ask the local HS auto shop teacher he/she might be able to hook you up... might even be way cheaper than going to a commercial shop... and the kids would learn something...
shortening/lengthening a shaft is'int rocket science it's just a matter of good even clean string welds and a balancer... [and a tech who knows what they're doing]... I had to get the rear shaft on my unmoded 87 long box balanced... it was eating pinion seals on my 3rd... they thru it on the machine and a few welded fender washers later... I had me a balanced shaft that went 180000kms before I sold the truck... and a smooth vibration free cadilac-esque ride the whole time... [except for the stiffness from RS5000 on all corners that is lol]

try also the class 8 truck shops and or tractor shops... I'm sure one of them will know where to find a 'shaft shop cheap... other than the crooks you were talking to earlier

 

You can look at Chucks Trucks or Chux Trux, forget how its spelled. He's by kansas city, makes shafts and does a lot in the off road world

 

Aviator- Thanks so much for your input. I'm going to take it with me to school on Monday and see what my teacher thinks about it. I am in a transmissions and drivelines course, so I'd say he could probably help me. I really don't want to have to go with a one piece but its plan b at this point.

Joe- thanks for that I'll give them a call.. may have to make a trip over there.

I just came in, I've been working on the truck all day and have the engine back in the bay and the motor mounts built. I lowered it a good 4 inches and went back almost 3. It at least to me looks 100% better now in there than before. It is a rather tight fit for the valve cover and oil filter lid, but they both come off fairly easily. I'll grab some pictures when I find my memory card for my camera. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out now with the different radiator. Thanks again for all the input I really appreciate it!

 

Transmission/driveline course Gracie? I smell class/extra credit project... using school tools... equals almost free... and you learn something new... triple bonus!

 

I got a $652 bill for my head rebuild at the shop today, guess I shoulda done that in the machine shop at the university.... oh well. I will be tigging my exhaust there however

 

Joe-That's a bummer but at least its running now.

I have the radiator mounted and I am going to have to trim a little off the inner hood structure to get it to shut. I had to use the Merc radiator as the Toyota one is too tall. So now all that is left is to figure out where to mount the overflow tank and plumb it as I have to have it. The Mercedes uses the surge tank as the fill point to. I'll get some pics up tomorrow after school.

 

Post the pics and we'll see what advice/opinions we can offer Joe... vis a vie tank location that is