Project: PolarRAM

[Cobound]

Man, they don't give those away. I gotta say tho, I have the tripod, work light and handheld lights and love them all

That one would be a nice addition

[xj_man_646]

That is a legit setup. Might just need to get one of those.

[6DoF]

[6DoF]

holy ... sh!t ... it is like a completely different truck now.

i LOVE how it looks, just cleaned everything up and gave it some flare. i think it all works pretty well together, even for the sport seats. but now i'm getting comments that the wood grain dash needs to go away soon.

the seats are amazing, Audi did them right. great support, great adjustability, just super comfy. even the "hard tail" rear springs are less noticeable with these.

the sound control changes are beyond expectation ... and maybe too much. the FTE resonator had a huge effect, and more than i expected. even with a bare steel floor i could have a conversation on the highway. but now with the dual applications of Lizard Skin on the floor and back wall, new carpet/heavy batting, and the killmat on the ceiling it's just dead. like the engine is almost becoming a generic white noise, and i think i hear the linkage on the exhaust brake rattling now. it's in eye sight of the driver if the shifter boot was off, so little to nothing stopping just that one noise

pretty soon i need to tow across the state, so more update coming.

[xj_man_646]

That looks fantastic, Matt. That is awesome.

[MBood82]

That has turned out really awesome. Must be a huge improvement over how you bought it, and it looked like it was a pretty good setup then!

[6DoF]

thank you!

it's a huge win over before. the OG seats were the old, flat, zero support sofa kind of seats. good shape, reasonable comfort, but zero adjustability. the drivers seat was only fwd and back, the backrest was basically fixed. it was unlocked fwd, unlocked back, or upright. the passenger seat was the same back and fixed seat. now i can give the rear jump seat more room if needed.

the "velvet" seats also didn't let you move, it would just pull your pants off instead

[Cobound]

Wow, pimp daddy!!

Holy wow, dude, sweet job!!

[nblehm]

Nice dude!

Funny on the Audi seats, my buddy is building a 85 crew cab dodge, and he just bought BMW seats for the front seats of his truck.

[Dennis]

Damn Audi seats, I am locked into buying/leasing the German Four Rings in perpetuity for my wife due to them.

Great choice.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Dennis

Damn Audi seats, I am locked into buying/leasing the German Four Rings in perpetuity for my wife due to them.

Great choice.

that's awesome, they really are THAT good.

i ended up having an Audi for a rental last year on a work road trip and quickly thought ... i need these in my truck! took me a bit to find some nice used ones local, but was worth the wait.

[Dennis]

Volvo’s XC90’s were too hard, Explorer/Grand Cherokee’s were too soft, Audi Q7 were just perfect.

[6DoF]

turns out when you buy the cheapest used transmission you can find within a lot of miles ... it's going to need rebuilt. there is a distinct rattle under load that comes with a loose bearing apparently. i guess these trans are a B!TCH to rebuild though. my goal is to get another cheap (for an NV5600) trans to rebuild and swap in, then rebuild the current for a spare. if i have any issues while rebuilding then the truck isn't down, and i bet i can hot-swap the trans in under 2hours.

i also just rebuilt the NP205 thinking it was that, but no ... so at least it's all new now too.

[xj_man_646]

IIRC the NV5600 reputation is that rebuilds aren't cheap either. I'm somewhat surprised all the parts are still available for them, when the ZF-6 found in Duramax trucks is effectively bespoke now and a few components are only available in the used market.

[6DoF]

5600 still has a big following, absolutely everything is still available. shops are even doing custom machining for better lubrication. i've seen ppl swap the 5600 in place of a g56, but never the other direction even. 5600 needs some better lubrication tricks, upgraded synchro's to handle the big dual disc clutch, and for crazy racing they'll do the cryo n shot peen gears. the g56 requires a full exo-skeliton to keep the AL case from twisting. they both have similar issues for rattle and longevity stock in non-competition use. wish they had stayed 5600, but i think that's when Daimler bought em.

if you buy a reman, they are like $3500 + $2000 core ... it's a bit crazy. other places are like $1500 just in labor + parts and shipping. the performance rebuilds are $4500 plus shipping. but complete rebuild kits are only about $550. upgraded synchro's are like $250. they also get you on tools though, some special sockets are needed. other nice to have pullers and such too.

thinking i can get myself set up, learn it and rebuild 2, then be ahead of the game. if i can get some core's to rebuild and sell i could make some pretty solid coin.

[6DoF]

blower voltage was low so i started going back thru the system to find where the drop happens. as i did that, pulling and installing the connectors i gained 1+ volts at the blower! was enough of an increase that i stopped messing with the wiring and called it good. i have full voltage going into the blower speed switch, and even with the blower resistor unplugged the high speed voltage was low. i might try a new switch at some point.

next was the heater hose block off valve. the factory one had a functional diaphragm, but turns out the internal seals were gone and it didn't block anything. got this bypass loop valve from Amazon and it's awesome. plugged right into the hoses, sizes were perfect, just had to cut like 2" out of the other hose to let it fit in. new vac line and game on. took me a bit to realize the valve only closes in MAX-AC.

[6DoF]

I FIXED THE RATTLE!!

turns out, wasn't the transmission after all. had a buddy riding with me who could use both hands on the twin sticks and was able to quiet it right down. it had gotten bad enough that with only one hand I could barely get it to quite some. only thing i hadn't done diagnosing that was to throw the entire shifter on the bench and go for a drive. finally did after his ride.

the sticks are nice units with bronze bushings around the shoulder bolt, they were super smooth but did have side-to-side play. the bushings were loose on the bolt. i pressed them out, 3D printed some PETG bushings designed line-to-line for the bolt and shifter bore, and she's money! i wasn't sure they would survive being pressed onto both sides, but a few taps and it all slid together. there is now ZERO side to side play, but they still shift smooth. so much win, so much nicer! they have rattled from new.

last week i picked up a spare 5600 that was all torn down for rebuild, but never happened. i have all the rebuild parts, upgrade parts, etc ... even ordered a 50ton press. now i can get this together without feeling rushed and will probably still swap it in for the new-ness and upgrades. cross your fingers all the parts are actually there.

[Hoofmann]

I love this truck. What a dream.

[nblehm]

Question the the bushings. So when I converted my flat fender to Saginaw steering I had to make a bushing work for ejs in the end of the column it isn’t great. Just needs to support the steering shaft in the column. I thought about trying to 3d print one, but was worried it wouldn’t be strong enough, I also only have pla at the moment. Think switching to what you used would be strong enough? Obviously the bushing in a steering column will be used much more than a shifter bushing. The steering column is hollow so I could make the bushing as long as I want. They do make an 80 dollar bronze one that I could buy but 3d printing one would be more fun.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by nblehm

Question the the bushings. So when I converted my flat fender to Saginaw steering I had to make a bushing work for ejs in the end of the column it isnt great. Just needs to support the steering shaft in the column. I thought about trying to 3d print one, but was worried it wouldnt be strong enough, I also only have pla at the moment. Think switching to what you used would be strong enough? Obviously the bushing in a steering column will be used much more than a shifter bushing. The steering column is hollow so I could make the bushing as long as I want. They do make an 80 dollar bronze one that I could buy but 3d printing one would be more fun.

for steering i'd probably buy the bronze bushing

that said! could be interesting to see what happens. for mine, they are fully captured on all sides. as they get hot, they'll compact and if hot enough and not captured maybe try and squeeze out. PLA is a really low temp before it starts moving and squishing, PETG is stronger with a good bit more temp resistance but still not great. if your printer is capable of 300C print temp, you can get a steel tip and actually printer carbon fiber impregnated nylon. that chit will hold up to some temp!

pla in the sun in the summer will warp and sag ... PETG will move on a hot day in the sun in a closed up car on the dash. carbon filled nylon i think can be used as a water neck on the engine n stay solid.