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- #2,761
Hopefully sometime this week. We've had a passing in the family, so we've been busy with funeral arrangements and all that comes with that. I have the brackets all nice and painted, just waiting on some free time.
Builds Big Red Toy
- Thread starter The Phoenician
- Start date
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Hopefully sometime this week. We've had a passing in the family, so we've been busy with funeral arrangements and all that comes with that. I have the brackets all nice and painted, just waiting on some free time.
- Thread starter
- #2,762
Because everything has to be a pain. For some reason the only way the injection pump bracket would fit is to cut it and reweld the top backwards.
Whatever, it's on there solid. Waiting for new power steering pump to arrive now.
Whatever, it's on there solid. Waiting for new power steering pump to arrive now.
bluehawk
Appalachia Cruisers
Truck is looking good.
- Thread starter
- #2,765
So took Big Red to work yesterday, the first time in over a month. I actually got pulled over for speeding, first time that's ever happened in that rig. Luckily it turns out the cop is an old friend of mine, so no ticket was issued.
I love the new driving characteristics of Big Red, seems a lot stronger than my 200 hp vw. I'm able to cruise quite easily at 70mph and if i give it a little diesel, I can get the boost gauge to go from 15 psi to nearly 30 in about a second. I blew out a silicone boot doing that earlier, so I went in and retightened everything. It does seem to run about 10 degrees hotter than normal without the AC on.
Now some bad news, my pump is still leaking, though not as badly as before. Will need to replace it since trying to repair it three times hasn't worked. Also my hysteer jam nuts keep coming loose, so I need to at least temporarily lock tight them in place.
My electric fan showed up, it looks like it will be a perfect fit. I have to figure out how to hook it up. I definitely need it on when the AC is running, so I might just hook it up to the AC switch so it turns on when the AC is on. Another idea was to use a toggle switch so I can turn it on when I want. I prefer to have a thermostat that makes it turn on when it hits 200* and turn off at 180*, but I don't know how to wire it. So I'm open to suggestions.
I love the new driving characteristics of Big Red, seems a lot stronger than my 200 hp vw. I'm able to cruise quite easily at 70mph and if i give it a little diesel, I can get the boost gauge to go from 15 psi to nearly 30 in about a second. I blew out a silicone boot doing that earlier, so I went in and retightened everything. It does seem to run about 10 degrees hotter than normal without the AC on.
Now some bad news, my pump is still leaking, though not as badly as before. Will need to replace it since trying to repair it three times hasn't worked. Also my hysteer jam nuts keep coming loose, so I need to at least temporarily lock tight them in place.
My electric fan showed up, it looks like it will be a perfect fit. I have to figure out how to hook it up. I definitely need it on when the AC is running, so I might just hook it up to the AC switch so it turns on when the AC is on. Another idea was to use a toggle switch so I can turn it on when I want. I prefer to have a thermostat that makes it turn on when it hits 200* and turn off at 180*, but I don't know how to wire it. So I'm open to suggestions.
You can get a fan controller that does all of that. It can work automatically, some are adjustable for turn on/off high/low speeds for single or dual fans, can read an AC signal and turn on the fans when the AC is on, can be turned off for water crossings, can be forced on when needed. I'm running a painless unit that does all of that but there are other brands that do well too. Wiring was simple.
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- #2,767
I installed the fan. I had to take off the shroud, the condenser and the intercooler to get it mounted properly. I haven't yet wired it, because I'm still waiting on the power steering pump to arrive. There's no use wiring it just to unhook the battery to replace the pump.
I used a harness from Oreilly's, it gives me the option to add a second fan, which I'm thinking about doing for the AC condenser. It also allows me to pre set the temperature and wire it to turn on when the AC is on.
I put the shroud back on and hopefully it all goes smoothly in the next couple of days.
I used a harness from Oreilly's, it gives me the option to add a second fan, which I'm thinking about doing for the AC condenser. It also allows me to pre set the temperature and wire it to turn on when the AC is on.
I put the shroud back on and hopefully it all goes smoothly in the next couple of days.
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- #2,768
Had a couple of hours to myself today so I installed a re-manufactured vacuum pump. I haven't had a chance to test drive it yet, but this in theory should stop my oil leak. The fan that will go on the condenser should arrive tomorrow, so I'll be wiring both fans if I have time.
I'm glad I got in there today, I tightened a few bolts that had come loose. I need to figure out how to make all my wiring look clean and tucked away, it's beginning to look like a rat's nest.
I'm glad I got in there today, I tightened a few bolts that had come loose. I need to figure out how to make all my wiring look clean and tucked away, it's beginning to look like a rat's nest.
- Thread starter
- #2,769
So I didn't get to work on Big Red today because I came home really late from work and it began to rain. However I did get a few things in the mail.
I finally got a portable beer fridge. The smaller fan also came in. Now I have to convince Aurora that the fridge is her birthday present that she's always wanted but never realized existed. In the meanwhile, I have beer in the garage now. No longer will I need to walk all the way to the kitchen for a refill.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the wiring done so I can start driving it again. However since it's Aurora's birthday, things might have to wait.
I finally got a portable beer fridge. The smaller fan also came in. Now I have to convince Aurora that the fridge is her birthday present that she's always wanted but never realized existed. In the meanwhile, I have beer in the garage now. No longer will I need to walk all the way to the kitchen for a refill.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the wiring done so I can start driving it again. However since it's Aurora's birthday, things might have to wait.
- Thread starter
- #2,770
I guess it's update time. Not much has been going on with Big Red, I've been swamped with work and training. The little time I have left has been chasing down a slight performance issue with Little Red ( it randomly stalls, seems to be a common issue with this engine due to bad grounding). It's been raining here like crazy the last few days so I've jsut been spending time indoors. Hopefully next week I'll have some updates with pictures.
I did however manage to check something off my bucket list that I promised myself to do about 20 plus years ago. I got to see the original ( mostly original) Guns N Roses in concert. By far the best concert I've ever been to, distantly followed by AC/DC and Metallica. Enjoy the videos.
Paradise City
November Rain
Slash Solo
Slash Solo - Sweet Child O' Mine
That's 2.5 hours of non stop rock. No intermissions, no breaks!! At 50 they still rock.
I did however manage to check something off my bucket list that I promised myself to do about 20 plus years ago. I got to see the original ( mostly original) Guns N Roses in concert. By far the best concert I've ever been to, distantly followed by AC/DC and Metallica. Enjoy the videos.
Paradise City
November Rain
Slash Solo
Slash Solo - Sweet Child O' Mine
That's 2.5 hours of non stop rock. No intermissions, no breaks!! At 50 they still rock.
- Thread starter
- #2,771
Little update since I've installed the electric fan. I have the dial set to turn on at 200* or when the AC is on. So far it's working great, moves a lot of air. The highest temp I've seen it go was 200 in the middle of the afternoon with the AC going. That's about a 20 degree drop from the highest I've seen it. I wanted to install another smaller fan on the condenser, but that one ended up getting run over. Maybe by next summer I'll revisit that idea.
Um, run over? Splain please 
- Thread starter
- #2,773
Someone set it on the bumper and forgot about it. Then later on someone somehow drove over it. The details are fuzzy but what's important is no one was hurt......except for the fan.Um, run over? Splain please
- Thread starter
- #2,774
I have a boost question for you diesel guys.
Since tinkering with the 4bt and replacing the cracked front cover, I've been able to achieve a steady 16psi at highway speeds (70mph or above). This is up from 10 to 12 psi. It can go as high as 25psi with a little pressure to the pedal. So here's my question, since a steady 16psi is new territory for me, is this a safe psi number to drive for say 2 - 3 hours or am I killing the turbo?
EGTs have largely remained the same, roughly 1100 at highway.
Since tinkering with the 4bt and replacing the cracked front cover, I've been able to achieve a steady 16psi at highway speeds (70mph or above). This is up from 10 to 12 psi. It can go as high as 25psi with a little pressure to the pedal. So here's my question, since a steady 16psi is new territory for me, is this a safe psi number to drive for say 2 - 3 hours or am I killing the turbo?
EGTs have largely remained the same, roughly 1100 at highway.
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Don't worry about boost, worry about EGTs. 1100 isn't bad for cruising, but a little hot. It's about what I'm running.
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- #2,776
Thanks for the fast reply Johnny.
I swear this EGT issue will keep haunting me. All my 6BT friends run between 700 and 850*
Does your OCD keep you up at night? 
- Thread starter
- #2,778
I never sleepDoes your OCD keep you up at night?
LOL!
It really shouldn't haunt you. You have huge tires on a very lifted truck. The 4BT puts out a ton of power, but it's using a lot of that power to push your truck down the highway at modern freeway speeds. Two fixes:
1. Decrease the load by running smaller/lighter tires or lowering the truck.
2. Increase engine RPM at cruising speed so that the engine makes more power, therefore decreasing load.
