Saddletramp
GOLD Star
Are we ready to go out on the trail now? Very nice work and well documented.
Builds Another LS swap? Really???
- Thread starter ARJMN
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- 80 series ls swap lx450 tucson csc
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- #302
Hey Steve, hope you're well. I am chasing the last two gremlins at present.
#1 I have a coolant leak that I can not find. I have ordered some UV dye and a UV light to help me find it. They arrive Thursday, so the weekend will reveal the source, hopefully.
#2 I have to have the thing dyno tuned. The existing tune does not agree with the changes to the engine, especially that lack of a cam phaser sensor, so I have rough running and a constant check engine light.
When I get those two addressed, I will be making longer and longer shake down runs to be sure there truly is no more gremlins in the works. Looking forward to getting back out again!
Saddletramp
GOLD Star
Results from recent tune?
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- #304
Hey Steve! Yeah, no results yet. I had to cancel the dyno session due to a coolant leak and oil leak. Coolant leak is fixed, but the oil leak is a frustration. Looks to be coming from the filter base on the Speedway oil pan, but all the bolts are tight and i used a new seal. I never liked that pan from the start, so the last bullet is being bitten and a turn key modded factory pan is being ordered from Mark’s 4WD. The coolant was an engine concern so I made sure it was good. The oil is just a real nuisance at present, so I have to keep washing the under carriage to keep the accumulation down. I will have the pan in April or before and I am heading to Moab on the 15th, but being that I am trailering all my toys there, i will just deal with the leak and stay on top of the checks until then.
As for the dyno, I will reschedule when I am sure I wont be dripping all over Cordes Performance’s floor. The stock 6.0 was supposedly around 400hp/400lbft with the corvette tune. Those are crank numbers and parasitics have to be accounted for so I cant say what wheel numbers would be. I can tell you the rebuilt 6.1 feels stronger than the stock iteration, and if you got by the claims of the parts companies, should have 25-30 more ponies and torques than before. The cam should have shifted the torque curve down a bit in the rpms, which seems right with how strong it feels down low. I am oh-so-close to having it back to 100% and look forward to getting out. I don’t want to have another summer without being able to escape to the mountains, so it is a big priority to have it dialed by May.
Side note, the last last bullet is actually the AC compressor clutch assembly. When I fired the rig back up, it screeched and squealed so bad i thought the mains were locking up. Turns out the Gila charge me one more fee in the form of a silted and ruined clutch assembly.
Lessons here are that mud/water/river silt sucks! I have literally rebuilt my entire rig and will still be cleaning silt out of it for years to come. Cost of having fun…
As for the dyno, I will reschedule when I am sure I wont be dripping all over Cordes Performance’s floor. The stock 6.0 was supposedly around 400hp/400lbft with the corvette tune. Those are crank numbers and parasitics have to be accounted for so I cant say what wheel numbers would be. I can tell you the rebuilt 6.1 feels stronger than the stock iteration, and if you got by the claims of the parts companies, should have 25-30 more ponies and torques than before. The cam should have shifted the torque curve down a bit in the rpms, which seems right with how strong it feels down low. I am oh-so-close to having it back to 100% and look forward to getting out. I don’t want to have another summer without being able to escape to the mountains, so it is a big priority to have it dialed by May.
Side note, the last last bullet is actually the AC compressor clutch assembly. When I fired the rig back up, it screeched and squealed so bad i thought the mains were locking up. Turns out the Gila charge me one more fee in the form of a silted and ruined clutch assembly.
Lessons here are that mud/water/river silt sucks! I have literally rebuilt my entire rig and will still be cleaning silt out of it for years to come. Cost of having fun…
Saddletramp
GOLD Star
Looking forward to getting out on the trail with you soon
- Thread starter
- #306
Well hello there. It has been some time since I last checked in. When last we chatted, I was trying to get Lexi Jo into Cordes Performance for the dyno tuning session. That event was delayed due to coolant and engine oil leaks. The last thing you want to do is to show up at a nice clean dyno cell and slobber vital fluids all over the place. Updates there now find the coolant leak resolved in the replacement of a split heater hose...a split that was so small it only opened up when under full pressure at running temp. The engine oil leak resolution, however has been a more frustrating undertaking. In previous posts, I think, I outlined the modification to the Speedway Motors fabricated pan in order to clear the axle. This was required because there is no off the shelf oil pan solution that clears the axle. Clearance is important due to the pan being no match for an axle housing angrily ramming its way upwards on a full bump event. While my modifications were successful and there were no leaks there, the bolt on filter base has leaked from day one. I have removed it, cleaned it, reinstalled it, and for the life of me have yet to figure out why it leaks. Truthfully, I never liked that pan to begin with, and much prefer the factory GM pan options. Trouble was, I had to extend the bump stops so far to prevent damage to the pan that I sacrificed about half the up travel of the front axle. What to do? Well, after coming to the end of my patience with the current setup, I bit the bullet and ordered a Mark's 4WD modified pan from Australia. When I said there were no off the shelf options, that was not 100% accurate. Mark's 4WD sells a new factory pan already modified to clear the axle. These days, I find my time being more precious than a few extra bucks, so this was a valid option I should have selected in the beginning. This allows me to go back with the engine oil cooler setup I had before the Titanic reenactment(with all new parts of course) and gets me back to a using the wonderful factory GM pan. Seriously, they are works of art for Engineers and gear nerds.
Here you can see the clearanced oil sump and relocated drain plug. The bonus benefit here is that this will drain directly down into a catch pan, not onto the tie rod where it will split and spray all over the floor.
Those that know me and my inventory of tools will know that I own a TIG welder and all the tools needed to do this mod myself. Those same folks may ask why I didn't do it myself. I defer to my statement above about time being so precious these days. My new role at work has me running all over to keep up, and the extra dollars offset the purchase of this jewel. Also...I burnt up my TIG torch over a year ago and have failed to replace it.....
Here you can see the clearanced oil sump and relocated drain plug. The bonus benefit here is that this will drain directly down into a catch pan, not onto the tie rod where it will split and spray all over the floor.
Those that know me and my inventory of tools will know that I own a TIG welder and all the tools needed to do this mod myself. Those same folks may ask why I didn't do it myself. I defer to my statement above about time being so precious these days. My new role at work has me running all over to keep up, and the extra dollars offset the purchase of this jewel. Also...I burnt up my TIG torch over a year ago and have failed to replace it.....
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- #307
Going a tick out of chronological order, I also just last Saturday got back from a week's vacation in Moab. That was my 7th time visiting there and it never gets old. I simply love that place and had I known what real estate there(and everywhere) was going to come to these days, I would have leveraged myself to buy a place there as a getaway. It is truly one of my favorite places to spend some downtime.
This trip we had a mixed group of MTBers, dirt bikers, and hikers. That resulted in me loading up all the toys in and taking the whole show on the road. The mountain bike and camping gear got packed in the 80, the 80 and the 500 got strapped down on the trailer, and trials bike, gas, and all the extras were piled in the back of the truck. It made me smile just to see all the toys loaded knowing I was going to have a grand week.
The original plan was to work a half day Friday and push to Flagstaff for an overnight camp. The weather had other plans for me. When I got to Flagstaff and stopped for fuel and food, the temps were dropping. By the time I finish a Hatch Chili Grilled Chicken sandwich and Amber Ale at Grand Canyon Brewing, wet clumpy flakes were descending upon the area. This was my queue to shag azz out of there as I was not equipped to swag it in those temps, nor did I want to risk driving out in the snow covered morning with all my toys in tow.
I pushed through three separate bouts with the whitening conditions. I seemed to be on the front edge of the weather system the whole drive. In the end, I made the decision to keep pushing through the res, hoping I made the right call. By the time I made my final fuel stop about an hour outside Moab, it was 1am and I was ready for some sleep.
Fate saw me through to Moab and iOverlander put me into a designated camp spot that damn near saw me slide sideway into a ditch and a very bad recovery. That is the reason I always buy 4WD trucks. You may only need it a few times a year, but if I was in a 2WD rig, I would have been hosed. My apologies to the other campers there as it was 2am and this idiot in a 46 foot long diesel rig was in low range praying I could ease my way out of that offcamber mud pie. I was able to just swing around, clearing another car by about 4-5 feet while shining my head lights on sleeping bodies under a tarp next to it. I got out, and gave zero sh%&s if I got a ticket for camping in a no camping zone, but exhaustion won out and I pitch the swag and passed out. Morning came and snow had turned to rain. While not downpour proof, the swag was mostly dry and cozy warm.
Equal parts curiosity and caution to be sure I was legal and thus covered by insurance, I ran across the scales on the way out of town after filling up. I was surprised to see that my total weight was 18,160lb. Heavier than expected, but still well under certified ratings of my truck/trailer. These modern common rail diesels surprise me all the time how good they work. That Cummins is a freaking workhorse.
This trip we had a mixed group of MTBers, dirt bikers, and hikers. That resulted in me loading up all the toys in and taking the whole show on the road. The mountain bike and camping gear got packed in the 80, the 80 and the 500 got strapped down on the trailer, and trials bike, gas, and all the extras were piled in the back of the truck. It made me smile just to see all the toys loaded knowing I was going to have a grand week.
The original plan was to work a half day Friday and push to Flagstaff for an overnight camp. The weather had other plans for me. When I got to Flagstaff and stopped for fuel and food, the temps were dropping. By the time I finish a Hatch Chili Grilled Chicken sandwich and Amber Ale at Grand Canyon Brewing, wet clumpy flakes were descending upon the area. This was my queue to shag azz out of there as I was not equipped to swag it in those temps, nor did I want to risk driving out in the snow covered morning with all my toys in tow.
I pushed through three separate bouts with the whitening conditions. I seemed to be on the front edge of the weather system the whole drive. In the end, I made the decision to keep pushing through the res, hoping I made the right call. By the time I made my final fuel stop about an hour outside Moab, it was 1am and I was ready for some sleep.
Fate saw me through to Moab and iOverlander put me into a designated camp spot that damn near saw me slide sideway into a ditch and a very bad recovery. That is the reason I always buy 4WD trucks. You may only need it a few times a year, but if I was in a 2WD rig, I would have been hosed. My apologies to the other campers there as it was 2am and this idiot in a 46 foot long diesel rig was in low range praying I could ease my way out of that offcamber mud pie. I was able to just swing around, clearing another car by about 4-5 feet while shining my head lights on sleeping bodies under a tarp next to it. I got out, and gave zero sh%&s if I got a ticket for camping in a no camping zone, but exhaustion won out and I pitch the swag and passed out. Morning came and snow had turned to rain. While not downpour proof, the swag was mostly dry and cozy warm.
Equal parts curiosity and caution to be sure I was legal and thus covered by insurance, I ran across the scales on the way out of town after filling up. I was surprised to see that my total weight was 18,160lb. Heavier than expected, but still well under certified ratings of my truck/trailer. These modern common rail diesels surprise me all the time how good they work. That Cummins is a freaking workhorse.
- Thread starter
- #308
After a slow wakeup and a swig of cold brew from a can, I thought it proper to head to Sand Flat Recreation Area and begin the fun. It was still raining in the valley and it was flat dumping in the Le Sal Mountains above, a condition that altered our plans for the week, but that wasn't going to stop me from riding the trials bike on the Slickrock Trail. I was almost the first person there being barely past 8:00am.
If you have never ridden a trials bike, it is a blast. You will never find a tire that gets more traction and you can climb/ride lines that are hard to believe. That said, I was shocked to find that even Slickrock can get slippery in the rain. I had a few scares and decided to be smart and not end the trip on day one. Beautiful views regardless of rain.
Over looking the Colorado River.
A while later, everyone got to town and we met at Moab Brewing for the kickoff celebration.
If you have never ridden a trials bike, it is a blast. You will never find a tire that gets more traction and you can climb/ride lines that are hard to believe. That said, I was shocked to find that even Slickrock can get slippery in the rain. I had a few scares and decided to be smart and not end the trip on day one. Beautiful views regardless of rain.
Over looking the Colorado River.
A while later, everyone got to town and we met at Moab Brewing for the kickoff celebration.
- Thread starter
- #309
This is a Cruiser forum. Where is the Cruiser content you may ask. Well, I am getting there. Like I said above, this was a mixed group of hobbyists. I did make time to take them out in the 80 between other activities. We ended up running Hell's Revenge and Fins and Things. Those are not the most technical trails, but for folks not accustomed to the 4WD life, they were plenty exciting. We saw this really nice 200 Series pass us at the hot tubs.
Simple pic of the Le Sals from Fins and Things.
Pic of my buddy while resting during Five Miles of Hell on the dirt bikes. That track is brutal, relentless, and you are guaranteed to throw your bike on the ground at least a few times. I did, but luckily didn't break anything too expensive.
We rode 3+hrs and made about 2/3rds of the way. When we made it to the 2nd bailout, we were both relieved to call it and head back to town for beers.
Forest Gump Hill from the drive home. What a week!
Simple pic of the Le Sals from Fins and Things.
Pic of my buddy while resting during Five Miles of Hell on the dirt bikes. That track is brutal, relentless, and you are guaranteed to throw your bike on the ground at least a few times. I did, but luckily didn't break anything too expensive.
We rode 3+hrs and made about 2/3rds of the way. When we made it to the 2nd bailout, we were both relieved to call it and head back to town for beers.
Forest Gump Hill from the drive home. What a week!
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- #311
Had Colorado plates if I remember correctly…
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- #313
That is pretty funny. Had I not been trying to herd four off-road newbies into the 80 ahead of a gaggle of Jeeps, I would have flagged you down for a look. A silver 200 is pretty high on my want list.
Saddletramp
GOLD Star
Any updates on your projects?
- Thread starter
- #315
Hey Steve, in Germany at present and heading home tomorrow. Been traveling for 7 weeks and really needing some downtime at home to get some work done on them. I have all three still in flight. I’ll update soon.
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- #316
Circling back here, I'll do a quick up date on the latest with Lexi Jo. After getting the leaks sorted out on the cooling system which prevented me from going to get the ole girl dyno tuned, I did other things and stuff. I can't remember all of it or exactly why I did said things, but I guess I did them. One such thing was to replace the AC compressor...ok now I remember. The AC compressor was the last thing I needed to rehab after the ill fated Gila River crossing. When I got the engine sorted, I could no longer ignore the grinding that was coming from the AC compressor clutch. I looked into replacing just the clutch assembly, and found that like many items these days it costs almost as much to repair as it does replace. So I got a brand new AC Delco AC compressor and swapped 'er out. It had to be done, but came at a bad time as it was heading into the heat of summer at that point and I was super busy with this thing called a job. The program I am on now is quite demanding and actually had me gone for almost the whole month of July. It wasn't horrible, as I was at 10,500ft in Colorado, but still time away from home. I got back from CO, unpacked, washed clothes, and then re-packed to head to Europe for 3 weeks. Back up to before I left originally, knowing I was going to be gone for an extended period, I drained the leaking t-case and pulled the battery and spare tire. The t-case has a bad rear seal which has been leaking for some time, and I have all the bits to remedy sitting in my cabinet. I am going to remove the part time kit while I am in there and go back to good ole Full Time 4WD. Anyone who wants to argue the virtues of a part-time kit, send them my way. I will set them straight with personal experience. Hell, I may even cut them a deal on a "lightly used" one. The battery and spare were pulled because why let the languish in the heat and sun?
So here we are. It is cooling off. I am almost done with the front axle rebuild on Betty White, and when I get her out of the garage and the garage door opener (that was fried by lightning while I was gone) replaced, I will roll Lexi Jo in there and do the work. Directly after, I will charge the AC and be back to driving the ole' girl.
So here we are. It is cooling off. I am almost done with the front axle rebuild on Betty White, and when I get her out of the garage and the garage door opener (that was fried by lightning while I was gone) replaced, I will roll Lexi Jo in there and do the work. Directly after, I will charge the AC and be back to driving the ole' girl.
- Thread starter
- #317
Been driving Lexi Jo for a while now due to my truck being in and out of the shop. Back in October, I went to lunch one day and it threw a transmission code and went into limp mode. The legend of the Chrysler 68RFE continues. $7300 later I had a built tranny that was supposed to solve all the notorious weak points of the transmission selected to handle the Cummins 6.7. Let me give you some advice. ALL 68RFEs will fail at some point. If you are hunting for a 4th/5th Gen Ram HD, go for the 3500 single or double rear wheel with the Aisin. Trust me. Anyway, Lexi Jo has been fantastic to drive. The newly rebuilt LS, now a 6.1 liter is well broken in and it purrs or snarls depending on what you tell it via the skinny pedal. The previous flash file (pre-Gila River incident) was always a bit lean and would throw left bank lean codes tending to run a tick hot as well. The new one from Cordes Performance is so much better. I lost an mpg but the cooler, smoother fueling is well worth it. Where I used to eek out 17mpg on the hwy and 15 in town, I now get 16/14 with no codes or hiccups. It is basically right back in the ball park of a stock 80, more or less. I will also say that the decision to go away from 3.5" J Springs and 35s was a good one. I am on firm front, medium rear 2" springs and 33s now, and it drives so much better. Especially for a daily scenario.
The last leak that I needed to resolve previously was the t-case. I have seen less than ideal driveline wear on this rig from day one, likely attributed largely to the angles resulting from the 3.5" lift and the added whoo-pow of the LS. I went through a set of rear u-joints in about 10,000 miles and the front t case seal began weeping around the same time. It could have been a number of other factors that shortened the seal life, but the output bearing also developed a good bit of slop. After gaining access to the Robinair cart at a buddies shop, I go the AC blowing ice cold, and then focused on the t-case. Since I had the unit for Betty White freshly back from Lloyd's, I thought why not just swap it it in and rebuild mine later, so that is exactly what I did. Betty White's build thread can be found in my signature below, so I won't go into anymore detail here. Betty's t-case had a fresh set of bearings, seals, AND 3.11 Sumo Low Range Gears. I debated on doing those all along in Lexi, and did do a set for Clappy(also in my signature), but I opted out of another $700 when doing Lexi Jo's rebuild. Let me tell you now that I will be ordering another set of Sumos to go in Lexi Jo's t-case when I take it to Lloyd's. Those 3.11 low range gears are awesome! It lets the 80 literally crawl up and down slopes with ease. It is especially noticeable on the back side of things where you want to go slow and controlled down a slope. If you can swing them, get them. Now, for the facepalm moment. Betty White was purchased and a non-running rig. She had a blown 1FZ under her skirt and thus made the perfect donor for an LS swap. We are pretty sure that she was submarined based on the signs of water in the front axle when I rebuilt it, and the shelled motor. What I ever thought of, was that the t-case had also likely been under water and that said t-case likely had the same rotten vent lines as any other 80 of its vintage. The vent I am concerned with here is the center diff actuator. To get to the point, after swapping the t-case, I found that I have no functioning center diff lock, and thus, no axle diff locks. She is in full time AWD mode, but no true 4WD to speak of. Facepalm. Not a biggie in the grand scheme. I will have Lexi Jo's t-case rebuilt, with Sumos, and swap it once again. Its just a day in the garage after all...
Stay tuned for more misadventures and shop days on any one of the three 80 Series projects I have chosen to carry at the same time.
The last leak that I needed to resolve previously was the t-case. I have seen less than ideal driveline wear on this rig from day one, likely attributed largely to the angles resulting from the 3.5" lift and the added whoo-pow of the LS. I went through a set of rear u-joints in about 10,000 miles and the front t case seal began weeping around the same time. It could have been a number of other factors that shortened the seal life, but the output bearing also developed a good bit of slop. After gaining access to the Robinair cart at a buddies shop, I go the AC blowing ice cold, and then focused on the t-case. Since I had the unit for Betty White freshly back from Lloyd's, I thought why not just swap it it in and rebuild mine later, so that is exactly what I did. Betty White's build thread can be found in my signature below, so I won't go into anymore detail here. Betty's t-case had a fresh set of bearings, seals, AND 3.11 Sumo Low Range Gears. I debated on doing those all along in Lexi, and did do a set for Clappy(also in my signature), but I opted out of another $700 when doing Lexi Jo's rebuild. Let me tell you now that I will be ordering another set of Sumos to go in Lexi Jo's t-case when I take it to Lloyd's. Those 3.11 low range gears are awesome! It lets the 80 literally crawl up and down slopes with ease. It is especially noticeable on the back side of things where you want to go slow and controlled down a slope. If you can swing them, get them. Now, for the facepalm moment. Betty White was purchased and a non-running rig. She had a blown 1FZ under her skirt and thus made the perfect donor for an LS swap. We are pretty sure that she was submarined based on the signs of water in the front axle when I rebuilt it, and the shelled motor. What I ever thought of, was that the t-case had also likely been under water and that said t-case likely had the same rotten vent lines as any other 80 of its vintage. The vent I am concerned with here is the center diff actuator. To get to the point, after swapping the t-case, I found that I have no functioning center diff lock, and thus, no axle diff locks. She is in full time AWD mode, but no true 4WD to speak of. Facepalm. Not a biggie in the grand scheme. I will have Lexi Jo's t-case rebuilt, with Sumos, and swap it once again. Its just a day in the garage after all...
Stay tuned for more misadventures and shop days on any one of the three 80 Series projects I have chosen to carry at the same time.
- Thread starter
- #318
With my newly rebuilt and re-geared t-case on hand. I need only a day and the motivation to swap it out. I have steadily chipped away and making her a bit more civil for daily use, and the efforts have been worth it. It drives so much better with the 2" lift and 33s than it did with the 3.5" J Springs and 35s. The new motor is quite a bit more than adequate in the power department, and miles just melt away when you click the cruise. Call it getting old, or whatever the hell you want, but I do find myself feeing burdened by having 3 80s in my current fleet/project list. I keep tidying up things on Lexi Jo with thought of someday replacing her with something of the 200 Series persuasion. Tough time to be selling a niche rig I suppose with cheap money in short supply and savings accounts being more akin to the kiddie pool than the deep end of a diving pool. I have never been a top dollar type of seller because I can always find fault with my own rigs and never feel justified in asking for more than I know I would ever want to pay. I have SO MUCH more in this rig than I will ever get out of it, so it begs the question of whether I should sell it and chock the loss up to having so many great times with it, or park it up in safe storage for a spare or loaner. It also weighs on me that I am in the final push to get Clappy finished, and when that comes, I will really have a quandary on the value of having multiple rigs at once. Also...200s are so nice...
Tough decision. I tend to make these decisions based on what I choose when I need x. When I stop choosing to drive and or tinker with something, I let it go regardless of economics.
