Building a Tow Rig - Page 3

CruisinGA · 10-02-07, 06:30 PM

2nd on the partsmike. I make my own rods and bought the TRE's from him. Lots of good info on the site.

Ggg6 · 10-08-07, 07:04 AM

Very nice truck to make into a tow rig!!
I have done a few Cummins conversions, and in general do a lot of diesel work. Currently I am doing a Cummins 4bt into a Jeep TJ.
The first suggestion I would make is lose the fan and clutch to gain the 4" you need. For empty daily driving you will not need it. You can always add an electric fan in front of the rad with a thermostat switch. But I doubt you will need it very much. Secondly your gearing is way off. On that engine for best economy you want to stay below 2000rpm. The torque sweet spot is 1800-2200. Your 4.56 gears will put you at over 3300 @75mph. You really need 3.50-3.73 gears with your 35" tires to keep the engine at it's torque peak for towing. My service truck is a first gen Dodge with 727, the body is a box truck and it weighs 16,000#, it still has the 3.07 gears. No it is no hot rod but it will get out of its own way. BTW yes the fan is gone, took it off for a dyno run and it never got put back on.
Make sure you put EGT and Boost gages in there to keep track of how hard the engine is working, especially since I think you said the pump is turned up.

D'Animal · 10-08-07, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ggg6

Very nice truck to make into a tow rig!!
I have done a few Cummins conversions, and in general do a lot of diesel work. Currently I am doing a Cummins 4bt into a Jeep TJ.
The first suggestion I would make is lose the fan and clutch to gain the 4" you need. For empty daily driving you will not need it. You can always add an electric fan in front of the rad with a thermostat switch. But I doubt you will need it very much. Secondly your gearing is way off. On that engine for best economy you want to stay below 2000rpm. The torque sweet spot is 1800-2200. Your 4.56 gears will put you at over 3300 @75mph. You really need 3.50-3.73 gears with your 35" tires to keep the engine at it's torque peak for towing. My service truck is a first gen Dodge with 727 box truck that weighs 16,000# and it still has the 3.07 gears. No it is no hot rod but it will get out of its own way. BTW yes the fan is gone, took it off for a dyno run and it never got put back on.
Make sure you put EGT and Boost gages in there to keep track of how hard the engine is working, especially since I think you said the pump is turned up.

Are 4:11's too tall a gear for the 5 speed?

freds40 · 10-08-07, 11:27 AM

On my '97 Dodge I just threw in 4.11s from the stock 3.54s. I have 33s and am looking to go 35s just to bring the RPMs down a bit on the freeway. With the 3.54s, I was around 1700 RPM @ 60 in 4th going up the 4 lanes. With the 4.10s I am about 2200 in 4th also up the 4 lanes. I prefer the 4.10s a lot more as I am in the motors "happy" range and I can vary speed up and down quite a bit before the HX55 lags.

Ggg6 · 10-08-07, 11:35 PM

I do not know your exact O.D. ratio but using a general O.D. ratio of 0.78:1 the 4.11 gears and 35" tires should put you at 2050 rpm @65mph, or 2370rpm @75mph.

fj40charles · 10-12-07, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freds40

On my '97 Dodge I just threw in 4.11s from the stock 3.54s. I have 33s and am looking to go 35s just to bring the RPMs down a bit on the freeway. With the 3.54s, I was around 1700 RPM @ 60 in 4th going up the 4 lanes. With the 4.10s I am about 2200 in 4th also up the 4 lanes. I prefer the 4.10s a lot more as I am in the motors "happy" range and I can vary speed up and down quite a bit before the HX55 lags.

Are you running a stock HX55? That is a large turbo to spool up.
How much are you fueling with the P7100 pump?

weak-link · 10-13-07, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fj40charles

Are you running a stock HX55? That is a large turbo to spool up.
How much are you fueling with the P7100 pump?

nothing under the hood of that thing is stock.

DWitcher · 10-28-07, 09:47 PM

HX55 is too large for an 8.3L.
4.10 will be fine for a tow rig. Sure the RPM might not be optimum for a freeway flyer but 55mph is max legal towing speed and with 35's you'll be in the sweet spot.

DWitcher · 10-28-07, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ggg6

I do not know your exact O.D. ratio but using a general O.D. ratio of 0.78:1 the 4.11 gears and 35" tires should put you at 2050 rpm @65mph, or 2370rpm @75mph.

Dodge manual O.D. is .74 and auto is .69 .

D'Animal · 11-06-07, 08:45 AM

I had the Dana 60 rebuild with 4:11's and installed a posi lock. New brake calipers, U-joints in the axle shafts, rotors turned and a new set of lockers. They shop that did the work really treated me fair but dang did that price add up.

I removed the old axle assembly and installed the new one last night. I forgot to order new U-bolts and studs so it is jsut sitting on the axle for now.

The steering is all hooked up, the fuel lines are ran, etc. I should be driving it around the yard by the weekend.

D'Animal · 11-07-07, 10:43 PM

Finished bolting the front axle under it tonight.

I fabbed up the Brake booster bracket to the Dodge Brake booster. I had to extend it 1 3/4" and now the brake lines are not long enough. The booster pushrod has a large hole and the lever off the pedal has a small hole. I have to get a bushing to mate them up.

I bolted up the tie rod but lost one of the nuts.

Clutch pedal is installed. Next step is to cut the firewall and install the Chrysler Clutch master Cylinder mount.

The radiator support is fabbed up for the radiator but I have not installed it yet. I have to put the four headlight set up on it after I remove the two headlight setup.

D'Animal · 11-09-07, 10:37 PM

The radiator support is fabbed up for the radiator but I have not installed it yet.

I have to put the four headlight set up on it after I remove the two headlight setup.

D'Animal · 11-09-07, 10:40 PM

Here is what it kinda looks like now.

D'Animal · 11-09-07, 10:41 PM

Scrap.

D'Animal · 11-09-07, 10:44 PM

Tonights project almost done!

D'Animal · 11-10-07, 08:15 AM

Here is the clearance I have at the rear of the engine. I can still remove the back valve cover.

Beverage container is for size reference only.

fj40charles · 11-11-07, 07:59 AM

Looking good Dan!

D'Animal · 11-11-07, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fj40charles

Looking good Dan!

Thanks

Being home only on the weekends and splitting my time between three builds and doing ranch chores stretches me thin.

Everything on this is a custom build. No parts catlogs are avaliable to order crap from. That could go for the other two projects as well.

DWitcher · 11-17-07, 12:03 PM

Dan you have a PM on that intercooler. Ya know with a little mod to the pushrod linkage between the pedal and the booster, the 77 and earlier GM booster and bracket will work on the 72 and down firewall. It would put it closer to the firewall. BTW that intercooler will fit between the radiator and the grille on the outside of the core support.

D'Animal · 11-17-07, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWitcher

Dan you have a PM on that intercooler. Ya know with a little mod to the pushrod linkage between the pedal and the booster, the 77 and earlier GM booster and bracket will work on the 72 and down firewall. It would put it closer to the firewall.

Well crap!

Now you tell me!

D'Animal · 11-18-07, 07:13 AM

I know diesels don't have much vacuum so I thought it would be best to use the Dodge. I also used the Dodge brake master cylinder. They have some weird brake line thing mounted on the driver side frame on the rear axle. I did want to use a Chevy master and not have enough pressure to stop the truck.

LC_Hamma · 11-18-07, 07:08 PM

I pulled the 5.9L 12 Valve Cummins Diesel engine out of my 1990 Dodge.

I would have sold the Chebby, the '90 Dodge & other parts around the yard & just bought a '92 or '93 W250 or W350. You can find *some under $5K I'm sure. I see 'em on Ebay all the time..... I know yer wife said you couldn't buy one, but for all the time you are spending + D60 shipping, etc. you could have convinced

in this case it would be *better to buy another used tow rig. JMHO, lookin good on the build

DWitcher · 11-18-07, 07:24 PM

No way! I understand the work and money involved but for conversation and coolness..........It'll ROCK!

LC_Hamma · 11-18-07, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWitcher

No way! I understand the work and money involved but for conversation and coolness..........It'll ROCK!

I'm sure it will

I don't get fired up about a stock type tow rig build. Sure, it takes some creativity, but I though this forum was about building up HARDCORE rock crawlin rigs? I LIKE THE BUILDUP, just sayin' I'd rather concentrate my skills on links, cages, custom axles, etc..... Again Just my opinion. Keep up the fawesome build!

DWitcher · 11-18-07, 08:28 PM

A build up is a build up right? I understand it's not Toyota but it's still Hardcore. It's nice to change it up every now and then.

D'Animal · 11-19-07, 05:52 AM

I've put more time and effort into this rig than I have my

Build FJ40
FJ45 Extended Cab
FJ60 Expedition Rig

My original plan was to intall a Cummins in the old style GMC. That was just not going to work since the 72 GMC frame was too narrow and cutting it and chanelling it would become a major safety factory. I regrouped my thoughts and started with pretty much a frame and built up from there.

This is my first Diesel engine conversion.

If one of the three super mods want to delete or move it to other vehicle section, it is up to them. (As I stated in post #30.)

10-02-07, 06:30 PM	#61
CruisinGA Ramblin Wreck Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Georgia Tech Posts: 5,408	2nd on the partsmike. I make my own rods and bought the TRE's from him. Lots of good info on the site. __________________ Bailey Quintrell '74 FJ40--37 Irocks-32 Bolt 'Locks-SM420-ARB-XD9000i-FJ60 PS-MetalTech Cage '93 FZJ80-DD-Part Time 4wd-locked-5" lifted-snorkel-bullbar-315 AT's '97 FZJ80 '98 UZJ100-OEM RR locker ΣΧ

10-08-07, 07:04 AM	#62
Ggg6 IH8MUD Rookie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: northern IL Posts: 2	Very nice truck to make into a tow rig!! I have done a few Cummins conversions, and in general do a lot of diesel work. Currently I am doing a Cummins 4bt into a Jeep TJ. The first suggestion I would make is lose the fan and clutch to gain the 4" you need. For empty daily driving you will not need it. You can always add an electric fan in front of the rad with a thermostat switch. But I doubt you will need it very much. Secondly your gearing is way off. On that engine for best economy you want to stay below 2000rpm. The torque sweet spot is 1800-2200. Your 4.56 gears will put you at over 3300 @75mph. You really need 3.50-3.73 gears with your 35" tires to keep the engine at it's torque peak for towing. My service truck is a first gen Dodge with 727, the body is a box truck and it weighs 16,000#, it still has the 3.07 gears. No it is no hot rod but it will get out of its own way. BTW yes the fan is gone, took it off for a dyno run and it never got put back on. Make sure you put EGT and Boost gages in there to keep track of how hard the engine is working, especially since I think you said the pump is turned up. Last edited by Ggg6; 10-11-07 at 06:28 AM.

10-08-07, 11:27 AM	#64
freds40 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 464	On my '97 Dodge I just threw in 4.11s from the stock 3.54s. I have 33s and am looking to go 35s just to bring the RPMs down a bit on the freeway. With the 3.54s, I was around 1700 RPM @ 60 in 4th going up the 4 lanes. With the 4.10s I am about 2200 in 4th also up the 4 lanes. I prefer the 4.10s a lot more as I am in the motors "happy" range and I can vary speed up and down quite a bit before the HX55 lags. __________________ My old 40, lowrider on leafs: http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=19561.0 Building my 60: http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...ilds-60-a.html www.4x4him.com

10-28-07, 09:47 PM	#68
DWitcher IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bakersfield CA. Posts: 222	HX55 is too large for an 8.3L. 4.10 will be fine for a tow rig. Sure the RPM might not be optimum for a freeway flyer but 55mph is max legal towing speed and with 35's you'll be in the sweet spot. __________________ Student of the PIGG '68 FJ55 '72 FJ55 '73 FJ40< newest addition "Fish on!".

11-06-07, 08:45 AM	#70
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	I had the Dana 60 rebuild with 4:11's and installed a posi lock. New brake calipers, U-joints in the axle shafts, rotors turned and a new set of lockers. They shop that did the work really treated me fair but dang did that price add up. I removed the old axle assembly and installed the new one last night. I forgot to order new U-bolts and studs so it is jsut sitting on the axle for now. The steering is all hooked up, the fuel lines are ran, etc. I should be driving it around the yard by the weekend. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan) Last edited by D'Animal; 11-09-07 at 10:33 PM.

10-08-07, 11:35 PM	#65
Ggg6 IH8MUD Rookie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: northern IL Posts: 2	I do not know your exact O.D. ratio but using a general O.D. ratio of 0.78:1 the 4.11 gears and 35" tires should put you at 2050 rpm @65mph, or 2370rpm @75mph.

11-07-07, 10:43 PM	#71
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	Finished bolting the front axle under it tonight. I fabbed up the Brake booster bracket to the Dodge Brake booster. I had to extend it 1 3/4" and now the brake lines are not long enough. The booster pushrod has a large hole and the lever off the pedal has a small hole. I have to get a bushing to mate them up. I bolted up the tie rod but lost one of the nuts. Clutch pedal is installed. Next step is to cut the firewall and install the Chrysler Clutch master Cylinder mount. The radiator support is fabbed up for the radiator but I have not installed it yet. I have to put the four headlight set up on it after I remove the two headlight setup. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan) Last edited by D'Animal; 11-09-07 at 10:35 PM.

11-09-07, 10:37 PM	#72
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	The radiator support is fabbed up for the radiator but I have not installed it yet. I have to put the four headlight set up on it after I remove the two headlight setup. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-09-07, 10:40 PM	#73
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	Here is what it kinda looks like now. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-09-07, 10:41 PM	#74
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	Scrap. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-09-07, 10:44 PM	#75
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	Tonights project almost done! Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-10-07, 08:15 AM	#76
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	Here is the clearance I have at the rear of the engine. I can still remove the back valve cover. Beverage container is for size reference only. Attached Images __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-11-07, 07:59 AM	#77
fj40charles IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,119	Looking good Dan! __________________ 69 FJ40 with some minor mods... 2000 Cummins powered Dodge with some power enhancements. DO NOT SUPPORT TRAIL GEAR!!!!! bad ethics = bad business! http://www.paypalsucks.com

11-17-07, 12:03 PM	#79
DWitcher IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bakersfield CA. Posts: 222	Dan you have a PM on that intercooler. Ya know with a little mod to the pushrod linkage between the pedal and the booster, the 77 and earlier GM booster and bracket will work on the 72 and down firewall. It would put it closer to the firewall. BTW that intercooler will fit between the radiator and the grille on the outside of the core support. __________________ Student of the PIGG '68 FJ55 '72 FJ55 '73 FJ40< newest addition "Fish on!".

11-18-07, 07:13 AM	#81
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	I know diesels don't have much vacuum so I thought it would be best to use the Dodge. I also used the Dodge brake master cylinder. They have some weird brake line thing mounted on the driver side frame on the rear axle. I did want to use a Chevy master and not have enough pressure to stop the truck. __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan)

11-18-07, 07:08 PM	#82
LC_Hamma The Anti-Leafer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Dallas, Georgia TLCA# 3343 Posts: 1,692	I pulled the 5.9L 12 Valve Cummins Diesel engine out of my 1990 Dodge. I would have sold the Chebby, the '90 Dodge & other parts around the yard & just bought a '92 or '93 W250 or W350. You can find some under $5K I'm sure. I see 'em on Ebay all the time..... I know yer wife said you couldn't buy one, but for all the time you are spending + D60 shipping, etc. you could have convinced in this case it would be better to buy another used tow rig. JMHO, lookin good on the build __________________ '73 FJ55 http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pig-preservation-society/76835-pig-chebby-avalanche-trim-%3D.html '73 FJ40 http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q...&addtype=local '78 FJ40 - future crawler in pieces '93 Ram W350 5 spd. SRW CTD '99 Ram 3500 4X4 5 spd. DRW CTD '74 BMW 3.0CS future project

11-18-07, 07:24 PM	#83
DWitcher IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bakersfield CA. Posts: 222	No way! I understand the work and money involved but for conversation and coolness..........It'll ROCK! __________________ Student of the PIGG '68 FJ55 '72 FJ55 '73 FJ40< newest addition "Fish on!".

11-18-07, 08:28 PM	#85
DWitcher IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bakersfield CA. Posts: 222	A build up is a build up right? I understand it's not Toyota but it's still Hardcore. It's nice to change it up every now and then. __________________ Student of the PIGG '68 FJ55 '72 FJ55 '73 FJ40< newest addition "Fish on!". Last edited by DWitcher; 11-18-07 at 10:34 PM.

11-19-07, 05:52 AM	#86
D'Animal Beagles Rule! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central California TLCA# 17104 Posts: 10,055	I've put more time and effort into this rig than I have my Build FJ40 FJ45 Extended Cab FJ60 Expedition Rig My original plan was to intall a Cummins in the old style GMC. That was just not going to work since the 72 GMC frame was too narrow and cutting it and chanelling it would become a major safety factory. I regrouped my thoughts and started with pretty much a frame and built up from there. This is my first Diesel engine conversion. If one of the three super mods want to delete or move it to other vehicle section, it is up to them. (As I stated in post #30.) __________________ Cruiser Dan at American Toyota Phone is 1-800-432-6668 ext. 8 (I am not cruiser Dan) Last edited by D'Animal; 11-19-07 at 05:57 AM.