I swapped the regulator recently as part of some other trouble shooting I'm doing. Simple enough but maybe this will help someone so here's how it went...

The regulator is located under the truck, just behind the balancer on the front of the engine ... at the lowest point of the path of the serpentine belt.



I ordered the parts from my local dealership. The valve kit is 3C3Z-6C751-A. I also ordered an extra o-ring to have on hand ... W302722.
I don't have the prices to hand as I write this but I think I paid $20 and $0.50 respectively. The regulator came wrapped in some sort of special paper marked as rust proof or something similar.



I also needed a 12mm allen wrench (which I didn't have) so I got one as part of a set at Harbor Freight. (I've read some posts where guys talk about 11mm, but my old regulator cap and new one were both definitely 100% a 12mm)



The oil feed into the regulator is above the 'at rest' level of the oil in the pan, so when you open the valve you lose about 1 cup of oil at most, even if that. Some rags are handy to cover the steering bars.

My old spring was definitley a little shorter than the new one (age?)



The valve portion definitley had some marks that could be seen in the surface and felt with a finger nail.





I cleaned the inside of the barrel out with a clean rag sprayed with brake cleaner and wrapped on a wooden dowel.



Then I smoothed the surface with some finishing cloths up to 6000 grit.

Amazon.com: MICRO MESH SANDING SHEETS INTRODUCTORY WOOD KIT: Home Improvement

I reassembled everything in reverse order ... valve in first, spring in second, lube the o-ring and screw in the cap. There is pressure from the spring being applied on the cap so be careful to find the threads and don't cross thread.

I tightened it until it felt snug and checked for leaks after running the engine.

 

Great post Colm, I'll have to come back to this one to Rep you....apparently I haven't spread 'em around enough yet.

 

what model is your truck?: sorry i see now

 

Awesome post. I believe this forum in a priceless asset and this type if information is why. Thanks again for the post. I will be doing this just because its a cheap insurance policy.

 

Where do you find these?

 

Amazon.com: MICRO MESH SANDING SHEETS INTRODUCTORY WOOD KIT: Home Improvement

I got mine on Amazon. (See link above).

The 1500 cloth is like 600 grit sandpaper, and they get finer from there on up.

I guess clockmakers use them, and air crews use them to polish the scratches out of jet fighter canopies.

I think my Dad used to use something like them years ago when he was polishing the furniture he made. Some of those pieces got layer after layer of varnish with a sanding in between. It was like there was crystal glass sprayed over the surface.

By the way, thanks for the reps

 

Good info. Thanks for the work.

You oil pan looks a bit rusty. If it were pastry I would say it looks good
but it's not. Have you put a treatment on it? Maybe a conversion coating
with a good paint after as a followup.

Sean

 

Well spotted. 10yr old New England truck. The oil pan was replaced back in March of this year.

The frame, engine block and cab are about the only things left on this truck from the original

 

You should get a tax break for supporting the local economy.

Sean

 

Just for fun, don't mean to my own thread .. ..

Replaced ....

All bulbs,
Windshield
ICP & pigtail
IPR
HPOP
Water Pump
Heads
Gaskets
ARP studs
Oil Cooler
Batteries
Alternator
HCFM
Rebuilt transmission
Oil pan
4 hubs
Carrier bearing
Parking brake cable
Parking brake hardware & pads
All brake calipers
2 window regulators
LPO regulator
Bed rebuilt with new bottom and both fenders
ESOF hubs replaced with Warn
FICM
2 GP harnesses
Y-pipe
front hard brake lines
rebuilt turbo
new blue spring and cover
ball joints
all shocks
rear leaf springs
front leaf springs

Coming soon ...
tailgate
side mirrors
clock spring

 

hey colm, sorry for sounding like a dum-dum, but the oil pressure regulator should be the long looking thing behind tat wheel thing, aint it?

is it necessary to put an impact wrench to it or is it personal choice? i'm just iffy and paranoid about using an impact wrench on tat sensitive part of the dang motor ever since my last episode with an impact wrench and my external tranny filter nut. stripped tat damn nut off.

thanks.

 

Dom, Are you having any problems?

I think giving a good hosing with some penetrating oil FIRST
would help. Then I would try to turn it by hand. Do the spray
while the engine is still hot. That way it may soak in better.

Sean

 

I think I got it off by hand. But if you'd like to use an impact gun, remember you can always turn it down and add more force as needed. Start out on a light setting.
Practice burping the gun with very quick pulls on the trigger. A lot of time that's all that's needed to move a stuck nut or bolt. You don't have to ride the trigger.

 

oh no. i just looked at this write-up and i was gonna stick it in with a bunch of other stuff to do. lol. it seems straightforward and part of the vital components as stuff begin to wear out and all tat.

but guys, it's tat long-looking thing behind the wheel and the pan, right? just wanted to know so i can mark the location. thanks guys!

 

Yep. It's the long looking thing.