Project: PolarRAM

[nblehm]

Originally Posted by xj_man_646

Duramax. Cheap. Reliable. Ha!

What planet do you live on that anything associated with a Duramax is cheap???

Right

I think even duramax guys don’t make those claims

[6DoF]

oh man, so much better!!

first try was the 125lb spring, minimum preload. smoke down low was greatly reduced, but couldn't get full boost so i wasn't getting full fuel.

next was 90lb spring with 1.5 turns preload. touch more down low smoke than the 125, but got full fuel. added another turn of preload, similar or less low smoke but still not as little as the 125, but now i was getting full fuel.

119lb goes in with 1 turn preload. matched the minimum low smoke yet, and i can get to basically full fuel.

it drives WAY better now. the engine rev's happier to 3500, sounds better doing it, smoother, no smoke past the fart-on-go. boost comes in quicker and at lower throttle, i can actually hear the turbo's in normal driving!

i think ideal i would get a different fuel pin profile, but they are like $90 and that's a little bit much to just try. going to see if i can find a used one ...

[6DoF]

not sure i posted it, but the new master cylinder is better. and the adjustable pushrod i made along with the braided stainless line were also well worth the upgrade. got the front CV driveshaft all rebuilt and tight, that was a messy pain but worth it. the drivability keeps getting better.

next big thing is dialing in the tire PSI and new adjustable shocks to match the springs. see if i can get this thing to settle down a bit on these older secondary roads.

[xj_man_646]

Sounds like decent progress!

[6DoF]

well, had a run-away with the 12V!

not bad, and i was ready for it, but happened. so i finally decided to start messing with the main fuel screw, and everyone cautions that if you go too far the pump will run away. so you pop off the charge pipe and have a board ready to snuff the air. i started turning and sure as ****, wife started it, idled ok, she rev'd it and it kept going after she let off. backed off a little and it would not accell, but crazy float it's way back down. so a little further back, comes down to idle ok, we'll call that max fueling!

the VE pump just really isn't capable of high end fueling ... i think i fixed the stalling issue letting out of the throttle at high power, but i just don't think it can push the fuel up there. so i'm back to wanting to P7100 swap it and be able to turn both trucks from the same learnings and spare parts.

[6DoF]

what a weekend, damn.

started off with stripping old junk wiring. the old gauges had a bunch even thought they were all mechanical, the old brake controller, some other random junk under the dash, more random junk from under the hood, 2 switches in the dash that weren't hooked up, plus the old sub amp. that learning and being careful took a while, plus tracing the wires. found the old brake controller didn't work cuz the wires were cut off the plug at the hitch and just taped up.

pulling the amp turned out to be amazing, all cuz i had to pull the seat. it not only got me a cubby under the seat, but if you look there are 6 holes in the bracket, the rear most 2 aren't used. so i drilled 2 new fwd holes and bolted the seat back in 2-1/8" further back!! the bracket is sloped and rounded so it tipped back slightly, got lower, and after a few washers on the front for a touch more recline is awesome. this is WAY more comfortable to drive now.

the new gauge is a 3-in-one and all read the same as the old 3, so that's good to know. but the real win is the viability and cleaning it up. windshield isn't blocked by the a-pillar pods, and my speedo isn't blocked by the column pod. i also only have to look at one place to get all 3 metrics and the tach vs up and down and all over to get em. only thing the new placement blocks is my view of the hood. one funny thing was they gave me a 60psi sender and a 120psi sender. well with 15psi fuel and 60psi boost it was easy to pick what went where. too bad that was backwards of the gauge set up so my fuel read double and the boost half. had to switch the wires at the gauge and since you can't change anything but back color my fuel is now labeled 'BOOST', boost is labeled 'PSI'. whatever, it works.

installing the fuel sender got interesting though. had to install a spacer cuz the sender totally locked out my throttle linkage. even with the tiny spacer it's like 0.5mm from hitting! i had to clock it just right.

so time for a test drive ... dash back lighting doesn't work, radio doesn't come on, no cig lighter to charge the phone, and the heater blower doesn't work. wtf did i break?!?! turns out when i pulled all the fuse taps the previous owners had they were too loose to make contact! had to tighten 3 different fuse receptacles in the block. now i'm down to only the heater blower not working ... it was colt this morning. in the process of trouble shooting i spent a little time with the truck in RUN but not on, as little as possible cuz the buzzer is intense. only to find that the injections pump is leaking fuel pretty bad around the throttle linkage, enough it made a puddle. easy enough fix to just replace the o-ring, fairly common, but more work to do.

next the P3 brake controller gets wired in, new rear shocks to match the new front, and the load bags for the back. gota be ready for towing season soon! even the deer are anxious for me to finish, they checked on me.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by wrath

The deer are wondering when you're going to plant some deer candy (hostas).

those are on the other side of the porch

[6DoF]

got some more nice-to-have's installed, worked out great.

[6DoF]

aannnddd ... kerfukkled

[xj_man_646]

Whoa. That doesn't look good!

[6DoF]

i didn't read the fine print, the bold print, or even look at the pictures

so i got the stub kit cuz i thought mine was SUPER blown out, just ordered what was available. turns out my stick was RTV'd to the stick-side stub and that sleeve is super wallowed out. this would be the source of my sloppy, wet noodle feeling shift. after reading up on both styles, i think i'll re-use the bolt-on stub, the stick stub bolted to it, and then weld on a whole new stick bent to perfection for my hand.

[6DoF]

so i really like this transmission, it's nice n easy to tear down n work on. no special tools, not even a press was needed. all new now and ready for another 337,000 miles. this trans had not been rebuilt before, i was without question breaking the factory sealer for the first time. so either this is a 337,000 miles trans, or some previous owner had a factory new trans swapped in. the PTO covers had obviously been off at some point, but that was it. it also had what looked like 337,000 miles of diesel oil and road grim built on up on it. there has to be 3 clutches worth of friction material built up inside the bell housing!

and the freaking deer are back i filled the bird feeder and within 10minutes the turkey were there eating everything i spilled. not 5 minutes later and the deer are chasing off the turkey to stick their tongue in the feeder to eat the seed. i mean, COME ON!

[xj_man_646]

That is the getrag unit right? Not a NV4500 that was swapped in?

Kinda cool that they're so easy to rebuild.

[6DoF]

YUP! Getrag G360 basically the same gear spread as a 4500, and the same strength. only thing i can find was that the 4500 being more widely used was cheaper for the 2nd gen trucks. there is ZERO reason to swap to a 4500 that i can tell. just the internet running around yelling about it being amazing! ... cuz swapping a new trans in place of a ragged out something that needs rebuilt will always feel/shift better, thanks captain obvious.

i mean, there were steps that you could have used a press for getting things apart or back together. but when you can just tap things with a tiny 6" handled light hammer, it's just 1000x easier.

[6DoF]

So when the cheap PTO cover trans cooler things don't say they are for a G360, I guess they mean it! Nothing a little bit of work from a carbide burr couldn't handle, bolted right up nice after. you also can't use the 3/8 bolts in the kit, the G360 was M10, go figure. seamed like a good plan before hauling heavy since i just rebuilt the trans and needed to change the break-in fluid out anyways.

[xj_man_646]

What is going to be your first major haul with the truck?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by xj_man_646

What is going to be your first major haul with the truck?

Towed pretty great! got 11mpg at 70+ with the 9000lb-ish 28ft enclosed. that's what my GMC got empty.

[xj_man_646]

Oh, didn't realize the trip was done already. Very nice! Yeah, my '06 got 12-13 on my way home from Phoenix. Oh well! I am not looking at owning another diesel anytime soon...prices are out of control right now

[Cobound]

I got 10 mpg in a direct headwind of 25mph...15 mpg when I was cruising in decent weather going 75+

Love this thing - but it's no fullsize



That Ram is pimp as hell!!!

[Kurt]

Originally Posted by Cobound

I got 10 mpg in a direct headwind of 25mph...15 mpg when I was cruising in decent weather going 75+

10mph isnt bad in a headwind for that towing!

We had a 45mph headwind with 60mph gusts for about 3 hours across Idaho...I was getting 6-7mpg, that was nuts. Normally, towing the JK (3K lb trailer, 6K lb JKU) I'm averaging 12.2.