Sam Memmolo
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Always read the instructions first! I’ve been turning wrenches since I
can remember. My Dad taught me how to change oil, service transmissions, and
pack wheel bearings on the family’s 1949 Roadmaster. When I was about 12, the
old Buick began to smoke and inhale oil. Dad and I jacked it up, dropped the
pan, pulled the head, and did a good old fashioned “In-frame”. Having had a great teacher, a love of mechanical things, and the usual teen desire for speed, I can’t remember ever being afraid to tear into any kind of repair. From hot rods, marine engines, and even a few air cooled small aircraft engines, I had pretty much run the gamut with the exception of diesels. I never really understood or cared about something that ran without spark plugs and rattled as it spewed soot and smelly oil everywhere it went. My first encounter with a diesel engine came when I worked as a motor pool mechanic for the now defunct Northeast Airlines. Northeast had 90 KVA generators powered by 671 GMC diesels with blowers mounted on the side. Working the night shift was tough enough on the flight line at Boston’s Logan International Airport. I vividly remember those cold winter nights (mornings) with the wind blowing off of the North Atlantic across the wide open airfield. Laying under that prewar aircraft service equipment in sub zero temperatures and screaming at it as it resisted running. All that fun was capped off one night when I returned to the motor pool garage only to find that I had been elected to replace 6 pistons and liners in one of these energizers. I worked on it for days. I also smelled of diesel fuel and oil for weeks after. That was the extent of my diesel knowledge until I met Robert Patton. He introduced me to the diesel pick up hobby, and it’s been quite a ride since then. I purchased “Midnite”, my 3500
Dually 12 valve with the New Venture 5 speed, 4X4 in 1997. The purpose was to
haul our enclosed car trailer that carried our Custom show hot rod truck. Robert told me the first thing I needed was more power. I agreed. Mark Chappell sent me a TST kit to fuel up the 7100 pump. So, we opened the hood and began turning nuts and bolts. I removed the stock torque plate, and compared it to Mark’s modified plate. Then I found this neat little fixture in the box. I wondered what it could possibly be used for. Then I viewed the supplied VHS Video tape. OOOPPPS!! The instructions were explicit. Install the jig to locate the torque plate “BEFORE” removing it. Well, there I was with both the stock and modified parts in my hands along with the fixture. Now What? I had to make the truck run so I could at least get it out of the way. So I installed the new torque plate, and estimated the original position as closely as I could. The truck did run, but there was too much black smoke. As luck would have it, Mark and Jim Anderson were in Knoxville Tennessee at the same time I was there to tape some episodes of Shadetree Mechanic. Mark & Jim to the rescue! They worked on my truck in the driveway of the production company while I was smiling at cameras. Mark dialed in “Midnite’s” fuel system and I had a great ride home. Two hundred and fifty smoke free miles with lots of power. How lucky can a guy get?
I was getting ready to leave Georgia to haul the show truck & trailer to Las Vegas for the SEMA show. I removed the valve covers, and there was a surprise! The number four cylinder had a broken exhaust valve spring. It had snapped, but jammed itself in its own coils. The truck was running fine with no misfires or noise. I went to work and changed all six exhaust valve springs, and left two days later for Nevada. That trip encompassed almost five thousand hard fast trailering miles as Diana and I came back through El Paso and Dallas. I’ll never know how long that broken valve spring would have held on. Can you imagine the destruction if the valve dropped at 2500 RPM with a ten thousand pound trailer pushing it down the highway. I’m sure I would have been sending a fat check to Cummins for a new engine. Turns out that the exhaust brake worked flawlessly, and I’m glad I listened to the editor another time. Don’t be afraid to dive into some of these modifications yourself, but always ”read the instructions first!” Happy Motoring!
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My
next install was the exhaust brake. Robert also talked me into that one. I used
the Jacobs Brake and the installation was a breeze. I did read the instructions
first, and my only apprehension was changing the exhaust valve springs. I had
changed many valve springs and seals with the heads on, but only on gas engines,
where I had a spark plug hole to work with.