Author Topic: Heep  (Read 7455 times)
icefoglights
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Re: Heep « Reply #15 on: December 12, 2014, 11:42:20 PM » Author: icefoglights
I'm learning.  I learned a lot working on this Jeep.  It's the first engine I've ever taken the head off of that ever ran again.  The first two were an old rototiller and the second was a 1981 Honda 3-wheeler with worn out rings that I wanted to rebuild.  I disassembled that one, got the price for a new ring set and gaskets, and that's as far as that project went (I was 17 at the time).

Another project that could come my way, is a 1991 Isuzu Trooper that a friend is selling really cheap.  It moves under it's own power, but has a blown hub lock (easy fix) and a possible rod knock (not so easy fix).  The engine is the infamous GM 2.8L V6.

Someday I'd like to get a Cherokee straight-6 NVH engine (preferably a 99), disassemble it, bore it, and reassemble it with the crankshaft from an AMC 258 straight-6, than swap that into my '99.  I've never messed with an engine's bottom end before, and you do have to have darn near clean room conditions when working with the bearings.  I also don't have a garage or a flat concrete pad for rolling engines around on.  The extra torque would be nice for pulling a trailer in the mountains.

More immediate project is a new gas tank on my Ski-Doo Tundra snowmobile.  It's the last thing keeping it from being a reliable trial runner.
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Re: Heep « Reply #16 on: December 13, 2014, 12:06:42 AM » Author: ace100w120v
Yeah I need to learn more too.  We just scored a 40KW Yanmar genset that has a blown up cylinder or something.  It actually powered the school I go to once upon a time, thus some vintage PCB ballasts from there I now have.  It's fairly new (went in in '09) and has I think 18K hours or so.  But in it's case it was better to get a new one and totally replace it.  But I'm told by my dad it should be about a 500 dollar fix, so well worth it.
Ever seen those Isuzu diesel gensets? How about a Northern Lights/Lugger? Lister-Petter? Onan?
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Re: Heep « Reply #17 on: January 06, 2015, 01:11:44 PM » Author: icefoglights
I've never really messed with diesel gensets.  Only portable gas ones, and haven't torn very deep into them.

I'm tempted to do a 4wd conversion on this thing.  Would have to keep an eye out for a front drive axle, late model AX-15 transmission with transfer case, transfer case lever and linkage, and a set of drive shafts.
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Re: Heep « Reply #18 on: January 07, 2015, 10:48:22 PM » Author: ace100w120v
Yeah I've mostly been exposed to the Honda 2000s and 3000s...those are good generators for being portable gas ones...inverted power so no voltage/frequency problems, that sort of thing.  And QUIET! Just got a 3000w Honda for my house and it's quieter than the 2000w one it replaced.  Only time I've been on something non-Honda was a very short while about a year and a half ago when my 10Kw Isuzu was working almost correctly...before the muffler fell apart and started spewing exhaust that is.
I think a 4WD conversion would be a good idea, especially living in Alaska! (Being the other Alaskan member on here I can understand LOL).
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Re: Heep « Reply #19 on: January 23, 2015, 12:21:46 AM » Author: icefoglights
We used the little Honda back in September to power the camper in the evening and into the night.  It's a pop-up style camper and it was in freezing conditions, so the furnace was working overtime, and the generator made sure it kept running all night long.  The generator would usually run out of gas sometime around 5am, leaving plenty of battery power to carry the furnace till morning.  And quiet enough I didn't have to worry about disturbing the other campers, many of whom also had Hondas humming into the night.

Bought a fairly new snowmobile so I decided to attempt to sell the old QuadRunner.  It's not in great shape, but I have a friend who is interested in a cheap project.
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Re: Heep « Reply #20 on: January 23, 2015, 09:07:03 PM » Author: ace100w120v
Yeah we had one on the boat running pretty much 24/7 for several months, often with heavy loads! (12KW diesel genset was out of commission at the time).  We had to have something, since the diesel crapped out literally a few hours before a trip across the Gulf from Seward to Sitka, so a couple friends went driving to I think Kenai or Palmer or something since it was the nearest place that sold one.  It's break-in was running at a hefty load for five days straight! It then went most of a summer like that, only shut off occasionally, unless it ran out of gas. 
The 40KW Yanmar engine turns out to be more or lest toast, as the block is damaged I guess.  It was never really heavily loaded, hence somehow two of the cylinders didn't glaze but somehow overheated (forget how) and that was the end pretty much.  The generator head is good though, and we're looking at buying a Kubota or something for that generator head.  The aforementioned boat diesel genset needs work, too: It's cooling manifold has a hole and leaks, and there's a strange rattling from somewhere too.  Might be the generator head, it could be on it's way out.  At one point it was "flickering" lights really severely, but it didn't sound like the engine speed was fluctuating that much, only as much it would with a changing/flickering load. We thought it was really toasted after rewiring a saltwater deck hose pump that turned out to be siezed up, that blew the little relay fuse in the gen head.  When calling our mutual marine electrician friend, he thought it was toast over the phone too but came running over and replaced the fuse, which I anyway never even knew existed!
As you can tell I have a lot of genset/off grid power stories to share!
Hope it sells for you!

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Re: Heep « Reply #21 on: January 24, 2015, 03:57:17 AM » Author: icefoglights
That's too bad about the cracked block.  Could get the head cleaned and fluxed and if it's good, maybe sell it.  Gotta be worth something.  I haven't spent much time around boats myself, and my generator experience is all portables.

Speaking of blocks, I think the Heep's block may have some issues.  I've had a hard time getting the water jacket to seal up where the block meets the head.  The head was fluxed and machined flat, but I think the deck maybe warped.  I threw some Barr's HG Sealer in and that slowed the leaks down a bit.  #1 also had poor compression, a fairly pronounced slap and I think it's blow-by is causing oil to come out of the filler cap.  It's a beater but at least it runs.

I hope my friend decides to buy the Quadrunner.  He's currently battling with the injector pump in an '89 F-450 flatbed.  I haven't decided if I'm going to sell the old Tundra yet or not.  They have kind of legend status around here, for being simple, light weight, go anywhere machines, so it probably wouldn't be hard.  I did pickup a case of injection oil and a compact come-along for the new sled.  The Tundra, if stuck, could be manhandled to get unstuck.  The Bearcat, being over twice the weight, if it gets stuck, needs outside help.

Another thing that arose from the new sled is the need for a new trailer.  I currently have a 5x10 with a ramp gate, but the Bearcat is 11 feet long, so it won't fit in a 10 foot trailer.  To get it home, it came with a little 4x8 tilting trailer with metal rails.  To fit, the skis are up on the front rail and the track hangs nearly 3 feet off the back of the trailer.  Unfortunately the load is so back-heavy that it's lifting up on the trailer hitch instead of pushing down, which isn't good.  May keep the little one, and trade the larger one for something along the lines of a 6.5x12 ramp gate/side gate trailer.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2015, 04:06:05 AM by icefoglights » Logged

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Re: Heep « Reply #22 on: January 24, 2015, 10:23:57 AM » Author: ace100w120v
I'm pretty sure the block didn't crack, but rather a bad piston scraped a groove or something.  Pretty much a total rebuild.  I guess it might be good for scrap metal, or a very large paperweight, but that's about it!
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Re: Heep « Reply #23 on: May 30, 2015, 05:58:04 PM » Author: ace100w120v
Hey Icegfoglights, you might appreciate this: As my plans for living in Fairbanks for college develop, (And wanting to live off-campus) I might be ending up with a "Deuce and a half" a friend (Who also sorta collects lighting; we've discussed fluorescents in person a lot) is trying to get rid of...I might end up with it pretty much given to me next June. (In 2016).  I can justify it with probably living in a dry cabin with wood heat (Firewood chore), and being a lighting enthusiast and major yardsale person, plus possibly having to move often, and helping friends move frequently as well.  Same for the multifuel feature, and decent cold-starting (Essential for a daily-driving vehicle in Fairbanks in the winter). 

So not quite a Jeep but I figured you'd get a kick nonetheless.

The aforementioned genset engine is toast BTW...any updates on the "Heep"?
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Re: Heep « Reply #24 on: May 31, 2015, 12:59:34 AM » Author: Solanaceae
A heep O' jeep!
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Re: Heep « Reply #25 on: May 31, 2015, 03:00:51 AM » Author: icefoglights
That would be a cool vehicle!  Not sure about the daily driver bit though.  Depends on how big it is, and how much it eats.

The Heep is running great!  Still looses a little coolant, but a lot better than when I got it.  Gotta find a fan shroud for it.  With the warm weather, I'm surprised I haven't gotten any warning lights while in traffic (wish it had a temp gauge).  Changed the transmission oil though.  Didn't have the stuff to fill it through the fill hole, so I had to remove the gearshift and pour it down the top.
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Re: Heep « Reply #26 on: May 31, 2015, 02:22:10 PM » Author: ace100w120v
That would be a cool vehicle!  Not sure about the daily driver bit though.  Depends on how big it is, and how much it eats

That's what I thought! Been wanting one for about six months now.  Crazy, but I can think of umpteen ways to justify owning one.
As for daily driving, first of all I don't want to own more than one vehicle yet, especially in a city I'm not going to end up living in for more than a few years.  Since they're multifuel I see possibilities for used motor oil or even cooking oil (I wonder if places like McDonald's would give theirs away for free? Seems like there's a lot of fast food places in Fairbanks).  Thing is though, it'll have to be heated somehow in -40 temps in the winter. Also they're good cold-starters, which is ESSENTIAL there, though I'm sure I'll have to install a block heater.  (I noticed literally every car I saw up there had an extension cord sticking out of the radiator grille, even the taxi I rode in from the airport to the Alpine Lodge).

It'll be a project for sure, as is any old vehicle.  I'm told it has a new 20' bed (well five years ago but hardly used), new tires, but needs a muffler (I'm told it's wrapped in a piece of flashing).  But apparently it runs and drives, which is a start. 

I think I'll still end out with less in it initially than buying a regular car from a used dealership.  (Being more or less given to me, shipping it up here, and running on alternative fuels if at all possible). Projects, of course, but that's the fun part!
s
Yeah are triple-digit temps common there in the summer?  Is traffic really THAT bad there? Seemed to me like much of Fairbanks consists of straightaway 65MPH freeway! (I guess I'm going to have to get used to "life in the slow lane" if I end up with the Deuce). Is the Heep now your daily-driving vehicle then?
Do you have to do a lot of driving just to get into town? You've mentioned being outside of the city. 
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Re: Heep « Reply #27 on: June 01, 2015, 01:03:47 AM » Author: icefoglights
I don't know how readily available used cooking oil would be.  I'm sure most larger chains have a contract with someone to deal with waste oil.  Smaller independent restaurants might not though.  Biodiesel does not do well in the cold anyway.  It gels up at a much higher temp than dino diesel.  For heating, the most common is a block heater that replaces one of the core plugs.  You can also get circulatior pump heaters.  They give you faster heat because the circulate and heat all the coolant in the system instead of just the coolant in the block, but are not as reliable, since they have the pump.  A block heater is just a simple heating element.  Not much to go wrong.

Triple digit temps aren't common, but they have happened.  Typically tops out in the 80s, though it's already hit 88 this summer.

I drive the Heep on weekends.  My other Jeep is loaded up for kayaking and other things.  I often drive the Heep on my days off.  My daily driver for going to work is a Ford ZX2.  I drive about 15 miles each way, and it can do a week for under $20 in gas, while the Jeep would be over $50.  The Jeep is more my weekends, projects, trips, bad weather and hauling vehicle.  It's no deuce and a half, but coupled with a trailer, there's nothing I haven't been able to haul with it.  That said, when the day does come to replace it, I'd probably look into an F-150.

I have to give the throttle body on the Jeep a good thorough cleaning and replace the idle air controller, but it is a total CHAMP at cold weather starting, even without preheating.  I hate to do that to it, but if something comes up, it comes through for me.
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Re: Heep « Reply #28 on: June 01, 2015, 01:20:24 AM » Author: ace100w120v
Yeah congealing at cold temps is going to be a deciding factor for sure. 
Core plugs? What are those? 
And what's the electrical draw on a block heater? (In case I end up in a dry cabin without city power and have to run a generator for electricity; would a little Honda 2000 run one, along with other things?
15 miles each way...so you aren't out the Chena Hot Springs road, then? You do quite a bit of 65MPH freeway driving to get there from downtown...
I've also been told to NOT use ether/starting fluid if at all possible with any engine...would a block heater get around that in most conditions anyway?
 

As for "how much it eats" I had some friends cracking up today relating the Deuce thing to them.  They were all laughing and one was like "Yeah and you'll get like 5 MPG at BEST!".  Then I had them laughing at the thought of the exhaust smell...nasty fast food on the freeway!
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Re: Heep « Reply #29 on: June 04, 2015, 08:28:41 PM » Author: ace100w120v
And even funnier is when people think you'll be in the supermarket buying gallon after gallon of Crisco, Wesson, etc...for $11-ish a gallon!  ;D
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