[RockyMnt1]

First off, thanks everyone for all of the time, effort, and research that has been put into this mod. It is greatly appreciated.

I am halfway into the mod (bushing has been drilled through the factory hole) and without the pics, I don't think that I would have had the conficence to do this. I am going to Grainger on Monday to pick up the taps/zerks.

Sorry for the newb question (I am a computer geek) but does anyone have a part number for the 8x1.25 grub screw? Are these common enough that I can I pick one up a Lowe's/Home Depot?

[JBWood05TJ]

Originally Posted by TheFog

Instead of using the ZDDP plus, just use a good high ZDDP oil like Mobil One 5W-40 or Rotella T6 5W-40. Or if you have a case of ZDDP Plus just make sure its going in a ACEA rated oil.

You would be surprised if you saw how broad the API SM rating guide lines are when compared to the ACEA. This is the reason the Europeans created the ACEA requirement at the behest of BMW, Porsche, and Benz because of the crap oil on the market that was getting the API SM rating.


FOG

I did get the Mobil 1 5W-40 Turbo Diesel. But I though you had recommended adding some ZDDP Plus to that even? Or am I screwed up here.

[JBWood05TJ]

Originally Posted by RockyMnt1

First off, thanks everyone for all of the time, effort, and research that has been put into this mod. It is greatly appreciated.

I am halfway into the mod (bushing has been drilled through the factory hole) and without the pics, I don't think that I would have had the conficence to do this. I am going to Grainger on Monday to pick up the taps/zerks.

Sorry for the newb question (I am a computer geek) but does anyone have a part number for the 8x1.25 grub screw? Are these common enough that I can I pick one up a Lowe's/Home Depot?

You should be able to get the grub screw at Lowes. If not, try Ace - my local Ace never lets me down.

[JBWood05TJ]

[QUOTE=JBWood05TJOne thing that was a bit odd. As was suggested, I performed the mod to my old OPDA first, just to make sure that I didn't have to sort out any problems on the new one. I bought the Crown gear to put on it, which has the hole for the roll pin on only one side, so you have to fit the gear and line the one hole it has with the hole in the shaft, and then drill through the other hole. The one hole on the Crown gear is in the same spot along the axis as the holes in the old gear. But when I had the new gear installed, there has to be 1/8", maybe 5/32" of up and down play in the shaft. Did I miss something along the way? The new unit has maybe 1/16", maybe less of play.[/QUOTE]

Anybody have any comments about this?

[TheFog]

Originally Posted by JBWood05TJ

I did get the Mobil 1 5W-40 Turbo Diesel. But I though you had recommended adding some ZDDP Plus to that even? Or am I screwed up here.

I think what I had said was the Mobil 5W-40 had plenty of ZDDP didn't need any additives. I think what happened was someone said they were not comfortable using any other weight oil aside from the factory spec of 10W-30. My comment was they could run any ACEA rated 10W-30 and just use a bottle of ZDDP Plus to bring the levels up.

JB as far as your lack of up and down play its not an issue IMHO. Just make sure the OPDA is sitting flush with the engine and not elevated off. One guy I helped didn't want to wait for me to drill his OPDA shaft for the new gear and did it himself. Well he put the gear too high and it caused the OPDA to not sit flush on the engine and leak oil. But as long as its sitting flush there isn't a problem.


FOG

[JBWood05TJ]

Originally Posted by TheFog

I think what I had said was the Mobil 5W-40 had plenty of ZDDP didn't need any additives. I think what happened was someone said they were not comfortable using any other weight oil aside from the factory spec of 10W-30. My comment was they could run any ACEA rated 10W-30 and just use a bottle of ZDDP Plus to bring the levels up.

JB as far as your lack of up and down play its not an issue IMHO. Just make sure the OPDA is sitting flush with the engine and not elevated off. One guy I helped didn't want to wait for me to drill his OPDA shaft for the new gear and did it himself. Well he put the gear too high and it caused the OPDA to not sit flush on the engine and leak oil. But as long as its sitting flush there isn't a problem.


FOG

Ahh, I see. I must have misread, or probably got two posts condensed into one in my head.

The new OPDA is indeed sitting flush. What I was asking about was the old OPDA that has the play in it. I didn't pay attention to it before I took the old gear off. But after getting the new gear on, and then noticing how much more play there was than with the new OPDA, I wondered if maybe I had missed something when installing the new gear on the old unit. But looking at the Crown gear next to the one that came off, the holes are in the same spot along the axis of the gear. It just seems like a lot of slop and I wondered if it would be safe to use as a back-up.

I put the gear that came with the new unit back on after I drilled all the holes. I understood that this was fine as long as I modified the unit so I could grease the bushing and also switched to the high ZDDP oil.

By the way. The gear that came off the old unit did not look quite as bad as some that have been posted here, but it was definitely starting to show 'the signs'. Cam gear was in good shape. 22K miles.

[willydigger]

Originally Posted by JBWood05TJ

Ahh, I see. I must have misread, or probably got two posts condensed into one in my head.

The new OPDA is indeed sitting flush. What I was asking about was the old OPDA that has the play in it. I didn't pay attention to it before I took the old gear off. But after getting the new gear on, and then noticing how much more play there was than with the new OPDA, I wondered if maybe I had missed something when installing the new gear on the old unit. But looking at the Crown gear next to the one that came off, the holes are in the same spot along the axis of the gear. It just seems like a lot of slop and I wondered if it would be safe to use as a back-up.

I put the gear that came with the new unit back on after I drilled all the holes. I understood that this was fine as long as I modified the unit so I could grease the bushing and also switched to the high ZDDP oil.

By the way. The gear that came off the old unit did not look quite as bad as some that have been posted here, but it was definitely starting to show 'the signs'. Cam gear was in good shape. 22K miles.

I didn't replace the stock gear. Since we've determined ZDDP and the shaft seizing is the cause, the gear should be okay once you've corrected the other stuff.

[JBWood05TJ]

How about the old OPDA with the new gear and the vertical play in it? Is that OK to use if I need a back up?

[RockyMnt1]

Willydigger,

In your post #1187, 3rd pic from the bottom, it looks to me like you have an extension between the grease zerk and the body of the CPS. The picture that I saw of the grease zerk on Grainger's website appeared to be much shorter than that. Did you use any type of grease zerk extension to get the grease zerk further away from the CPS body or just a plain vanilla grease zerk?

Thanks much.

[willydigger]

Originally Posted by RockyMnt1

Willydigger,

In your post #1187, 3rd pic from the bottom, it looks to me like you have an extension between the grease zerk and the body of the CPS. The picture that I saw of the grease zerk on Grainger's website appeared to be much shorter than that. Did you use any type of grease zerk extension to get the grease zerk further away from the CPS body or just a plain vanilla grease zerk?

Thanks much.

The below image uses a long shank grease fitting.

GreaseFitting, Str, OAL 1.13 In, PK10 - Grease Fittings - Fittings - Power Tools & Metalworking : Grainger Industrial Supply

[willydigger]

Here are some recent photos of a used OPDA shaft with aprox. 50K miles. Notice the heat discoloration on the upper bushing area. The unit had not failed, but showed gear teeth wear. It actually spun smooth in spite of the damage to the shaft.


Below are the score marks from the lower bushing.


Overall shaft.


Upper bushing wear.

[tufmar]

I just installed my new modded OPDA and thought I lined it up perfect, I guess not. Right after I installed it I took it for a quick 5 min test drive around the block--no check engine light.

On my way into work this AM, the light came on...25 mins into the drive (all highway) which I thought was odd. I checked the code P0016 so its the camshaft/CPS. I thought I installed it just like I took out the old, even brought the engine to TDC. Question is, I gotta be close but which way do I need to turn the unit, clockwise or counter-clockwise?

[willydigger]

Originally Posted by tufmar

I just installed my new modded OPDA and thought I lined it up perfect, I guess not. Right after I installed it I took it for a quick 5 min test drive around the block--no check engine light.

On my way into work this AM, the light came on...25 mins into the drive (all highway) which I thought was odd. I checked the code P0016 so its the camshaft/CPS. I thought I installed it just like I took out the old, even brought the engine to TDC. Question is, I gotta be close but which way do I need to turn the unit, clockwise or counter-clockwise?

I can't offer any insight. I would guess you pick a direction and try it. It will get better or worse. Could you have pinned it in the wrong hole? That might give you an idea of which way to turn it. You are probably very close so I wouldn't adjust it very much.

For others, get away from TDC. Mark it. Mark the wheel to the body. Mark the body to the engine. Even if you do TDC, mark it as a back up.

[TheFog]

Originally Posted by willydigger

Notice the heat discoloration on the upper bushing area. The unit had not failed, but showed gear teeth wear. It actually spun smooth in spite of the damage to the shaft.

Now imagine the amount of drag put on the shaft and gear to create enough heat to discolor the metal like that. As far as it turning smoothly, put it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 200F and once its nice and heat soaked and the metals have expanded take it out (with a big thick glove) and try spinning the shaft. It will have a decent amount of drag on it.

When I did this I was surprised at the level of drag it had once it was hot and had no lubrication.


FOG

[pizzle]

This was my OPDA. Many, many thanks to Willydigger for helping me mod the unit. We ended up modding the old unit but using the gear from the new unit since the teeth on the old unit were worn and we wanted to establish a baseline on the mod using a new gear. I probably should have just modded the new unit, but oh well.

I need to change the oil and then check it again after a few thousand miles I guess. I haven't driven it yet, but it started right up and didn't throw any codes. After reading the other post regarding throwing codes after driving 20+ miles, we'll see what happens tomorrow on my way to work I guess.

All in all it was a successful mod and I was lucky enough to have someone there with some real-world experience modding these things. Thanks, Willydigger!

Originally Posted by willydigger

Here are some recent photos of a used OPDA shaft with aprox. 50K miles. Notice the heat discoloration on the upper bushing area. The unit had not failed, but showed gear teeth wear. It actually spun smooth in spite of the damage to the shaft.


Below are the score marks from the lower bushing.


Overall shaft.


Upper bushing wear.