Project: PolarRAM

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by xj_man_646

That's pretty awesome. How does it feel in terms of power? About the same?

The beauty of old diesels . Trying that on a stock new truck would not end well.

RIGHT! i would never do this to a common rail!

it's hard to say for sure exactly how it feels for power because i changed the tune so many times trying to find a sweet spot between smoke and power. with the VE that's a LOT less power lol. even thinking about it, i wouldn't say i noticed any difference in power. the MPG should tell the tale though.

[6DoF]

i guess i'll do some catch up here ... after getting new tires, i washed the truck a week later and found that the tires had spun on the wheels! we marked em just out of curiosity. no issues, but it happened. the grease pen marks were lined up with the valve stem.

[6DoF]

restacked the rear D80 limited slip for max friction surfaces, and even added some shims to the load washers. only did 0.0120" per side, but could have used more, it's not crazy tight yet.

[6DoF]

for both the 55 and Hank i got Fluidamr's, and instead of buying the $30 magnet ring for re-timing i 3d printed a template with 2deg resolution. you add a pointer to the front and align it with a mark, set the engine and pump all in factory timing, then turn the engine back a few deg before tightening down the pump gear to get more fuel advance than factory.

also for both, i decided to make my own "AFC Live" in-cab tuner for the mechanical pump. $100 in parts vs the $450 one from PDD, just no fancy box. i do however have flip-out hinges to use under the dash and will make a 3D printed mount.

[6DoF]

Transmission deal ... the GETRAG is apparently having parts discontinued quickly now. my grinding after rebuild had nothing to do with the clutch, that was all really smooth. it was that the 1 and 2 steel cone for the synchro's were worn in and seated deep enough over the friction cone that they landed on the gear. once the synchro slide landed on the gear, there was zero engagement. since those slides are no longer available new, i added some custom shims under the friction cone that's pined to the gear to increase interference. based on the fit of the friction to the shift cone, i added 0.030" under one side, and 0.045" under the other. got it all back together and she's super smooth! took 20 or so clutches and shifts sitting in the driveway to get them seated and functional, but good to go.

got the Fluidamr installed and it made a huge difference in idle and free-reving, but haven't really driven it yet. my rubber was SHOT. it forced me to space the fan out though, i over did it, and on the first drive the fan eventually ate the radiator when it caught one of the top to bottom wire supports. new AL rad, new lower hose, all sealed up and better fan spacing, but not driven as i started the floor.

the floor rotted from the inside out. outside was clean, basically new undercoated metal ... the inside was DONE. cut out the junk, wire wheel, phenolic acid etch, wire brush and cleanup, sealed the outside of the patch with ChassisSaver, got the patch welded in and the inside coated in ChassisSaver, then seam seal and top coat to finally have my truck back.

[xj_man_646]

More detail on your in-cab fuel pump adjuster thing please! That sounds interesting!

[nblehm]

I wish I had your motivation

[6DoF]

so the "tuner" at it's simplest is only a signal retarding device for the boost reference. generally, say, the most power is had with a smokey tune, and you don't want that most of the time ... maybe you have a clean running truck capable of stupid power and just want it to be more tame and drivable day to day ... or at the very least, it gives you a live fine tuning.

the AFC Live:
-bypass switch
-psi regulator
-orifice valve
-psi gauge

basically you tune the screws n springs in the pump for balls out MAX power. when you want that, flip the bypass switch and the pump sees a full and instant boost reference to fuel accordingly. when you want less, you run the "tune". if you have tuned pump fueling beyond max, ignore the bypass and just always run the "tune".

what it does is add a time delay and a max pressure to the boost reference. say you are making 60PSI boost, you can set this so the pump only gets 40psi max. this basically sets your max fueling to equivalent for that 40. save parts, save fuel, "valet mode", or limit smoke because you bought injectors that were too big. but lets also say you get that 60psi by 1800 R's and the throttle becomes overly touchy/violent for day to day use. you can close off the orifice valve more so even if the turbo is supplying 60psi right now, it takes a few seconds for that air to blead thru and takes the pump that much longer to react. say you have slow spooling turbo's, the orifice delay can help give the whirly mufflers time to reach speed before applying that extra fuel.

the gauge just helps you visualize the "tune" to find a setting you like again later.

[6DoF]

truck drives WAY better now. the fluidampr made way more difference than i ever thought it would. the whole thing just sounds different, cleaner, let alone running smoother. with the synchro's breaking in more and the shifter pivot screws tight again, the trans works great again. also while in there i replaced all the missing anti-rattle buttons for the SB dual-disk and was worried that would create more clutch sticking, but so far only seams to have eliminated the rattle.

passenger seat mod ... the wife complained about the seat enough that she would search FBM for me looking for junkyard newer seats for a good deal. when putting it back together i noticed there were thick washers on the seat mount from the factory, so i played with em. left the 2 on the front bolts, removed the 2 on the rear bolts (bolts aren't fully threaded, still need them under the bracket then). seat sits way better now, also a highly recommended quick change.

[xj_man_646]

Ahhh, so it is different than the device I was thinking of. I was thinking of the one that basically moves the fuel plate.

[Cobound]

JFC - your posts make my garage look like a dumping ground for projects I'll never get to and my energy level non existent

Dude, I'd drink you out of fridge supply if we were neighbors

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by xj_man_646

Ahhh, so it is different than the device I was thinking of. I was thinking of the one that basically moves the fuel plate.

with this set up you delete the fuel plate create virtual limits. this should also do a lot more than just create that upper limit.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Cobound

JFC - your posts make my garage look like a dumping ground for projects I'll never get to and my energy level non existent

Dude, I'd drink you out of fridge supply if we were neighbors

[xj_man_646]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

with this set up you delete the fuel plate create virtual limits. this should also do a lot more than just create that upper limit.

Very interesting. I'm still not sure I understand how it works, but it is neat

[6DoF]

holy crap ... the fluidampr is worth it! it lives up to the marketing and hype. now, my factory balancer was junk to start with, but everything is better. EVERYTHING is better. the engine idles smoother ... runs quieter at idol, at speed, on the throttle ... doesn't sounds like death revving it out when it starts to defuel ... transmission is quieter (i'd like to say shifts better, but i just rebuilt it too).

good enough that i'm pretty sure i'm going to buy one for the VW TDI too

[xj_man_646]

I would not have guessed that change. Interesting!

[6DoF]

factory rubber damper is built for a single RPM and is ok around that RPM. the factory set it somewhere where it thought was a good idea, and somewhere nowhere near where i run the engine. plus mine was dry rotted to **** and probably non-functional at any RPM.

the fluidampr is supposed to work better at the same RPM, but also work at any RPM.

[6DoF]

AAAANNNNDDDD ... it's broke ...

tried towing for the 1st time since the re-rebuilt transmission, was supposed to be going to Rausch Creek this weekend. made it 4 miles

as of hitching everything was great except it had popped out of 1st on me, just like 2nd, immediately after rebuild until it boke in. well it popped out a few times HARD with the trailer, and now i can't even hold it in gear or move the truck anywhere with it. BAM, out of gear while i'm still holding the stick IN gear. worst part of it is that now 2nd has no synchro again! WTF!?!? how did i also get instant 2nd synchro death!?! something in that 1-2 shift assembly is FUBAR.

[xj_man_646]

At least it seemed relatively simple to take apart

That sucks. Hate when a trip is cancelled due to vehicular problems.

[6DoF]

it's not bad to get out and apart ... but i can't risk this stupid trans again, this truck has to be my long-haul rig.

going to just keep driving it as-is for now, but not towing cuz that's the only time i use 1st. once the XJ is on the road, and i've been able to land an NV5600, i'll have to do the swap this winter.