Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (6 Viewers)

[theglobb]

That's a great looking downpipe. That self adhesive 1/4" foil backed insulation at Lowes might be good on the inside of the truck to keep from melting your floormats or other. Yes the exhaust wrap is effective. ..............I take it you don't have a boost guage. Try disconnecting your wastegate vacum/pressure line and putting a screw in the line to plug it. Then go drive somewhat conservatively and see what effect that has on your EGT's and performance. Many stock turbo wastegates for gasoline engines are very limited in the boost they allow. Like less than 12PSI. Boost for diesels is alot higher than gasoline engines as we are not worried about preignition/detonation of gasoline fuel.

At some point in the future it may be worth a larger exhaust. My stock exhaust was 1 5/8". a 2.25" straight downpipe ran better and had cooler EGT's than the stock exhaust. I eventually put in a 2.25" exhaust using the 2.5" $35 flowmaster clone they sell. I used flex pipe that didn't last on the downpipe. Seems OK farther back.

Definitely gonna do all I can to take the heat down in my engine bay. I was able to get a boost gauge made by issopro for $30 on ebay, the catch was that it's for like a semi-truck and the PSI goes up to 50 haha. I fully tightened the wastegate and it's making about a max of 8 psi with a comfortable 6 around town. Don't have any hills to test it on here. I lost the brass compression fitting for my pyrometer into the endless pit of pinestraw where I was working so I'm waiting on a new assembly to arrive before I can see EGT's . Annoying how a $2 part can prevent so much haha. Not going to mess with the fuel or boost anymore yet until I know what my EGT's are so now I just wait for that part to arrive I guess. The downpipe I just installed was 2.5 inches and the PO of the troopy had the exhaust replaced and it's definitely bigger than stock, either 2.25 or 2.5. Not complaining at all, less money on my end that I have to spend. I'll keep this thread updated once I can play with stuff a bit more whenever that part for the pyro arrives.

 

[theglobb]

Well, the little brass compression fitting arrived thus my pyrometer was working. Wow. It's a lot more responsive to throttle. With no turbo, I could hit 600f around town if I was flooring it and now I can hit 900f pretty fast in 3rd, even up to 1000f if I push it a bit higher in gear. The gauge is really all over the place now, kinda cool to see it actually doing something for once but I'd prefer for it to not get so hot so fast. Still only making like 7PSI of boost max so went ahead and wired the wastegate shut. I'm hoping a bunch more air in the engine will cool it down some. Also with the wastegate removed I was able to turn the turbo any way I like, so I just cut out the unnecessary 180-degree bend. I'll come back again sometime tomorrow with updated boost levels and EGT numbers.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Are you running an aftermarket water temp. gauge?

 

[theglobb]

Are you running an aftermarket water temp. gauge?

I was running one until it broke out of nowhere in November. Ordered one and installed it this morning. So now I have boost, EGT, and water temp numbers to report back to everyone.
Water Temperature stayed at 190-200 the entire time around the city and on the highway up to 70mph. EGTs were 600-700 around town just cruising, could get up to 800 if I was giving it everything. On the highway from 55-70 mph EGTs stayed at 850-1000, a bit high for my liking but I don’t know if that’s usual or not. Boost with my wastegate wired shut can now reach 14-15 psi max and runs around 8-10 PSI around town and 12-14 on the highway. I’m happy with everything other than EGT numbers and I’d prefer to have a bit more acceleration because it’s not ~that~ much of a noticeable difference. Just don’t want to turn up the fuel if it’s just gonna make it hotter.

Are those EGT numbers on the highway pretty normal? My personal safety number is 1100f for the EGTs and it’s pretty dang close to it at higher speeds

 

[Gun Runner 5]

When you get up in that 800 - 1,000 degree range for prolonged periods you should see the water temp creep up. You also have the option of an Intercooler if you’re not happy with the EGT’s.

 

[FJBen]

Those egt seem pretty normal. I run anywhere from 650-900 on highway at 65-70 mph depending on grade/load/headwind.
Once you start adding more power, it feels good for a day, then you are like, must have more!

you could turn your fuel up...but with that comes more heat. Heat bad.
you also don’t have a boost compensator to help manage boost/fuel.

Personally, I wouldn’t push an old 3B anymore than you are. They were never designed for boost. Also I wouldn’t run more than 70 on the highway With 33s, I’m at 2350-2400rpms at 65. Seems happy and decent mileage there. After that, it just seems like it’s working harder and I just don’t like stressing those engines.

 

[theglobb]

Those egt seem pretty normal. I run anywhere from 650-900 on highway at 65-70 mph depending on grade/load/headwind.
Once you start adding more power, it feels good for a day, then you are like, must have more!

you could turn your fuel up...but with that comes more heat. Heat bad.
you also don’t have a boost compensator to help manage boost/fuel.

Personally, I wouldn’t push an old 3B anymore than you are. They were never designed for boost. Also I wouldn’t run more than 70 on the highway With 33s, I’m at 2350-2400rpms at 65. Seems happy and decent mileage there. After that, it just seems like it’s working harder and I just don’t like stressing those engines.

Sounds good as long as it helps me on uphills that’s all I’m looking for. As for 70mph I don’t drive that fast, just wanted to push it and see what my max everything was. Seriously appreciate the advice.

 

[robmobile73]

Your your troopy weighs more than my BJ 73. I have stock gears with 32 inch tires. You've seen my truck you can compare how aerodynamic you think it is or isn't compared to yours. I searched round and round looking for good EGT temperature warnings. The most legit sounding one that I found was "once you get to 1400 f you hold it there very long something will give". My gauge is Celsius. I have my alarm set at 720c or 1325f. Driving 68 to 72 mph on the interstate with aircon on I run 1050 to 1150F. My EGT probe is pre turbocharger.

As far as water temps the last time my truck heated up was actually on fort Fisher driving on the beach. I do that in 3rd gear low range. I had a 10 to 15 mph wind from behind so virtually no air flow through the radiator. And as you know the sand is a high load on the engine. I had to stop two times and shut it down for a few minutes.

 

[theglobb]

Your your troopy weighs more than my BJ 73. I have stock gears with 32 inch tires. You've seen my truck you can compare how aerodynamic you think it is or isn't compared to yours. I searched round and round looking for good EGT temperature warnings. The most legit sounding one that I found was "once you get to 1400 f you hold it there very long something will give". My gauge is Celsius. I have my alarm set at 720c or 1325f. Driving 68 to 72 mph on the interstate with aircon on I run 1050 to 1150F. My EGT probe is pre turbocharger.

As far as water temps the last time my truck heated up was actually on fort Fisher driving on the beach. I do that in 3rd gear low range. I had a 10 to 15 mph wind from behind so virtually no air flow through the radiator. And as you know the sand is a high load on the engine. I had to stop two times and shut it down for a few minutes.

Appreciate the real-life info with a turbo setup similar to mine. Luckily I have never had any cooling issues with the Red Rocket, water temps have always stayed between 190-200 and the stock gauge just doesn't even move whenever it gets up to temp.

 

[robmobile73]

Appreciate the real-life info with a turbo setup similar to mine. Luckily I have never had any cooling issues with the Red Rocket, water temps have always stayed between 190-200 and the stock gauge just doesn't even move whenever it gets up to temp.

Remember turning up your fuel doesn't make your EGT's go up by itself. It depends on your right foot. You're going to burn a certain amount of fuel at a given load. If you want it to be super peppy around town and off road you can add alot of fuel, but once you use your right foot to keep the peddle down to maintain interstate speeds on grades or keep highway speed in the mountains without downshifting, just more right foot and more smoke. How much fuel screw you add determines how quickly it gets hot. You decide how much attention you need to pay to the guages during your driving. If you have more than one person who drives your vehicle you definately want to be careful else your friend or family, or significant other burn something up in the engine driving it like a normal vehicle..............Around town less than 45mph not accelerating I"m making 7-8 PSI. Normal acceleration I'm about 12psi. Highway speed is 10psi. Full accelleration is 15 PSI. (17PSI without intercooler). Without intercooler I have added enough fuel to get 22psi, but with tractor pull type smoke and really quick climbing EGT's. 12-17PSI max is a good range to be in. At 12 it's difficult to hit the too hot EGT's. Again that is with a truck that's probably 500lb lighter??

 

[FJBen]

I would definitely error on the safe side. All that boost is tempting, but a 3b and used turbo would
Have me boosting under 10 at most.

 

[theglobb]

I would definitely error on the safe side. All that boost is tempting, but a 3b and used turbo would
Have me boosting under 10 at most.

Gotcha, I've yet to have hit 1200f even when I was pegging it on the beach so I'm pretty happy with as of right now. Don't plan on messing with fuel as I feel like I have it pretty solid right now.

If you have more than one person who drives your vehicle you definately want to be careful else your friend or family, or significant other burn something up in the engine driving it like a normal vehicle

Cross country I have 2 of my friends that I trust enough to drive the troopy. One dailys an 87 4runner and the other is one of the lead mechanics at an offroad repair shop. Both drive manual all the time and are used to old and slow rigs haha. Even with that being said though I don't want to risk it so I'll just leave it alone, don't want to end up with a fried engine 2,300 miles away from home.

 

[robmobile73]

Gotcha, I've yet to have hit 1200f even when I was pegging it on the beach so I'm pretty happy with as of right now. Don't plan on messing with fuel as I feel like I have it pretty solid right now.


Cross country I have 2 of my friends that I trust enough to drive the troopy. One dailys an 87 4runner and the other is one of the lead mechanics at an offroad repair shop. Both drive manual all the time and are used to old and slow rigs haha. Even with that being said though I don't want to risk it so I'll just leave it alone, don't want to end up with a fried engine 2,300 miles away from home.

That is a smart choice for your trip. If you feel you have enough power to drive safely on the highway more like a normal vehicle I'd leave it alone till your Trip's over... I'm going to send you a PM on something.

 

[budlightpup]

This wasnt you parked on NAS Oceana was it?

Heres 2 photos from about a week after I got it to get this thread started.

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This wasn't you parked on NAS Oceana was it? Thats my wife's HZJ73 parked next to someone.

 

[svsisu]

This wasnt you parked on NAS Oceana was it?

This wasn't you parked on NAS Oceana was it? Thats my wife's HZJ73 parked next to someone.

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I don't think that's his, unless it's an old photo... which means there are 3 RED Troopys in coastal NC. Your wife has a very nice looking 73 series.

 

[FJBen]

That’s a great looking 73.

 

[theglobb]

This wasnt you parked on NAS Oceana was it?

This wasn't you parked on NAS Oceana was it? Thats my wife's HZJ73 parked next to someone.

View attachment 2678501

View attachment 2678502

Nope, not me. Good to know there are now 3 red troopys in our general area though! That one has REALLL nice paint, its missing the "Jihadi Edition" Graphic on the hood, has rear sliding windows, and headlight washers??? Never knew any troopys came with those.

Your wife has a very nice looking 73 series

That’s a great looking 73.

x3 That's an amazing-looking 73, and LHD aswell!

 

[theglobb]

Took a turbo test/surf trip to the Outer Banks this past weekend. I believe I have a horrible exhaust leak, very small somewhere. Whenever I make any amount of boost it sounds like a horrible belt squeal mixed with a tea kettle going off. I thought that it may have been the turbo internals and figured it would blow up within 50 miles of leaving home if it was that but it made it 500 miles and performed perfectly, just sounds horrible. Other than that the trip went great. Met up with @svsisu but sadly couldn't see his troopy since #6 piston crapped itself. Still great to meet up with him and he even gave me a magnetic overlay for my speedo that reads in KPH and MPH! Need to figure out this leak but I've tightened everything... maybe the wastegate is opened just a tiny bit causing it to leak??? I'll figure it out later. Onto the pics

 

[theglobb]

Also have a rough but complete route for cross country. We are gonna be going to other places than just the stuff I listed, just using all these places as stuff we are gonna be going through.

Same goes for this rough list for the first 2 weeks of the trip for where we will be and when. Do I really think we will be on the west coast in 14 days? Nope, probaly more like 18-20 but at least its a list we can kinda rely on and go off of.

Once again if you live near or directly on this path and want to meet up be sure to tell me! We would love to. Also if you have any recommendations of where to go or any cool spots along this route please let me know. The more the better

 

[FJBen]

How much shaft play is on that turbo?

If I had to venture a guess, it would probably be an exhaust gasket, either on the turbo or the manifold to block gasket.