Project: PolarRAM

[6DoF]

Friday:
last 2 times the g360 was rebuilt, i wasn't able to find an NV5600 within a reasonable distance and/or price. i actually found and lined up 2 on Friday for Saturday pick up. TWO! i talked to some rebuilders and everything is still available for the 5600, but why not have a spare? they are a pain to find whole and i will have 2 trucks running them.

now i just have to get the whole rig home. i start playing with it in the parking lot and 1st is FUBAR. slightly rolling down hill, just the lightest clutch pressure, it'll roll over a little and pop out. doesn't matter how little load, it won't make 1 full revolution without popping out. something is bent or broken or both in there now ... but the rest was fine. drove home great in 2nd and up.

Saturday:
first one was about 2h away. i picked it up and seams like a great trans, case is just a little crusty on the outside but will clean up nice. dude was great, easy pick-up, done. the 2nd was another 2h drive, but only 3h from home. scheduled 7-8pm pickup after whatever he was doing, i got to a gas station about 6:30 to chill. 8:30 rolls around, no-call, no-show, and i'm driving the 3h back home with only 1 trans. ghosted. next morning he ties to convince me to drive the 6h round trip again. no, gfy.

1st was bare, 2nd was a "swap kit", so i'll keep an eye out for another reasonable bare trans now. i also find it funny that on thrusday i picked up and installed the new re-tubed front drive shaft. now it's gota get longer again.

[Cobound]

You have the Three Musketeers of projects

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Cobound

You have the Three Musketeers of projects

16 cylinders of mechanically injected diesel fury!

[Cobound]

Let's ride

[6DoF]

while i'm waiting on TDI electronics to come in, i started tinkering with things that didn't take my truck out of commission.

had one front turn signal that the socket went bad, the ground strap broke off so i had to solder on a new one. easy enough. also my TruckLite LEDs were having issues, one wasn't working in low beam. turns out it's the light side connector! easy enough fix though. while in there, they were HORRIBLY adjusted and i ran them back to a way better spot. if on one flashes me i might move them up again too.

next tackled the head liner. wasn't a huge need, but no more foam dusting on me is a huge win. the PO pulled the fabric so it was just the nasty left behind. at least he had good enough sense to leave the backer! just cleaned up the inside a TON seeing the finished surface, and i love the custom look. i have enough material left over to do the soft inserts on the door panels with the same stuff. quilted black vinyl from amazon.

also ordered new black visors, and new black carpet. the shifter hole will move back like 8" with the 6spd, so i'll can just cut it where i need it now. plus clean and not worn. the idea is to make all soft surfaces black, and leave all the plastic trim gray. that means at some point i also need new seats, the wife wishes that was higher on the priority list too.

[Cobound]

That is F'n sexxxxxy!!!!!

Two headliners in one week, you were busy!!!

[6DoF]

getting myself set up for the big winter overhaul. i'm waiting on parts to get the TDI-XJ on the road before i can tear things apart on this truck, should make a huge difference. wish me luck!

NV5600 swap ... it's amazing what a little time and some leftover rattle can can do. aerosol overhaul ftw. i'll clock the np205 down slightly to help the front drive shaft angles. along with the longer trans that should make a HUGE difference up there. i'll have to make a whole new crossmember from scratch to clear everything, but i'm betting i'll still be similar or higher belly. that obviously requires a new clutch, master cyl, starter, and why not a short throw shifter as well. clutch is a dual disk from Valair.

Interior ... the trans requires i cut a new hole for the shifter, so good time for new carpet. i got black to match the headliner, all soft materials will be black and plastic will be factory grey. new black visors, and new seats too. Audi S5 full power/heat in black leather. they are thin enough i believe i can just adapt them right on top of the factory pedestals and maybe even get lower. should add seat adjustments to the passenger side while keeping the factory flip-fwd for rear access. hopefully. while the whole thing is apart, it's also going to get some Lizard Skin sound control sprayed in there too.

Suspension ... the rear leaves have 1" of droop if you jack up the truck by the hitch. it's basically a hard-tale and rides like junk currently. i have 64" '98 GM 1500 3" lift leaves and new hangers for the back. will do a shackle flip and hopefully also eliminate the factory 4" block back there. the trailer load air bags will need re-mounted and more than make up for the load capacity of the lighter spring. along with them, i'll have to re-mount the traction bars down below the axle to keep my mount separation and keep them functional. the front has an issue with the rear eye hitting the frame since the lift spring is longer. i'm going to swap out for a slightly longer shackle, and remove the smallest leaf to soften things up and bring the height back down. once i have a final resting height, i can rework the front hanger if needed for caster/pinion angle or height adjustments.

fuel tank ... while it's under the knife, i'm going to remove the custom aux tank currently where the spare tire should be. i hope to get this back up and functional as either a dual tank, or transfer tank. haven't decided yet.

[Hoofmann]

That transmission is huge!

[xj_man_646]

Make sure to read the fine print on your clutch. PJ went through this with an aftermarket one for his dually recently...apparently they are not spec'd for engine braking, especially with a trailer, and are prone to premature failure.

I was not aware of that, and was definitely surprised by it.

Maybe you're aware of it already, in which case, carry on. Wanted to warn in case you weren't though.

[6DoF]

what failed?

i started researching it cuz i hadn't heard that. as usual there's 1001 different guesses and web-driver unalienable rules ... but little actual knowledge.

[xj_man_646]

From what I understand it wipes out the friction disc(s). They are designed to hold positive torque from the engine, not negative torque from the drivetrain. If I recall correctly its something related to the angle that the friction zones sit at with respect to the flywheel and the intermediate disc.

[xj_man_646]

More info from PJ

Since the main direction of slip is one way and the trans side is the more resistant to motion, the engine side will grip the flywheel and twist between rest and some angle x.

This angle is kinda like putting your two hands palms together, and twisting one side. Did to friction, springs, and the strength of the clutch it forces the transmission side to follow. Springs help damp the force of twist and other vibrations.

The latter two are what limit the opposite rotation due to the need for overall clutch rigidity and strength to handle the HP/TQ of the application

Parts/components and the connection can’t be too small to allow for the same level of rotation in the opposite direction.

The opposite direction is possible, but at a limited angle. Once you push through this angle range, you’re basically transmitting all power and load into the clutch backwards with no spring damping due to coil bind or your resting the two halves on it.

Which is bad and ruins the springs, clutch housing, etc.

[6DoF]

that sounds ridiculous ... the flywheel and mid plate are solid, the clutch frictions/rivets are all symmetrical. none of that cares what direction the torque happens in. even the disc hub springs can be symmetrical (maybe designed to not be?) ... the only part not is the helical cut of the transmission gears.

i read lots of ppl say that engine braking with a heavy loads is fine, but downshifting and letting the transmission speed up the engine is CATESTROPHIC TORTURE. both are the same torque direction! the engine is freewheeling if the trans is spinning it up, that's basically no load so the only possible difference are torque harmonics. maybe that bounces in the clutch vs a heavy load staying tight? or are they talking about downshifting while the engine brake is engaged? but again, if the hub springs are symmetrical, that's no difference that slipping the clutch with your foot on the throttle to accelerate.

the other big change from a factory to aftermarket is ditching the dual mass flywheel on newer trucks. i guess the g56 has much more of an issue with this, and why it received the dual mass from the factory.

i'm going to keep reading on it, but so far i get the vibe that the aftermarket included a line in their fine print to limit liability and the zealots took it as gospel with internet fueled terror.

[xj_man_646]

I thought the friction plates are directional / not reversible? Wouldn't that indicate that there might be something to it?

Is it me or does a website for Valair itself straight up not exist? It would be worth a call to their tech line or something.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by xj_man_646

I thought the friction plates are directional / not reversible? Wouldn't that indicate that there might be something to it?

Is it me or does a website for Valair itself straight up not exist? It would be worth a call to their tech line or something.

we are both well into guessing at this point too ... there's not just info and a LOT of web-mechanics.

i'll agree it's worth a call to valair and SB to get their actual take, but neither present anything i can find on the subject. leads me to believe it's less of an issue.

[xj_man_646]

Do you have the clutch already? If it isn't mentioned in their warranty or instructional documentation then I'd agree.

[6DoF]

South Bend's official answer:

Is it ok to use my clutch as a brake?
What you are talking about is the age-old practice of downshifting. Even though we all learned that downshifting is an acceptable way to slow down, it does put unnecessary wear on the clutch . If a person is in the habit of driving this way, they will wear out the drive surfaces of their clutch well before they should. A little known fact is that a clutch is designed to torque in one direction only. When you downshift, you send a reverse thrust through the drive train, which causes the dampening portion of the clutch disc to torque in the wrong direction. This will accelerate the wear of the clutch.

basically it's easier to change the brakes, use them.

i can't see engine braking and downshifting being any different on the 'damping portion'

[6DoF]

only referance i can find from Valair in their entire install, faq, Do/Don't info.

Break-In Periods
One of the most asked questions we get is about Clutch Break-In, the break-in period is the
most critical period for a new clutch, we suggest low power levels with a lot of stop and go
driving while taking off in 1st or L, basically the more times you engage and disengage the
clutch within this period the better it will be, 200 miles of city driving where you are using the
clutch frequently is much better than 200 miles of highway where you may only use the clutch
once or twice. Turn off exhaust brakes and do not use the clutch/transmission to slow the
truck down during the break in period.

[6DoF]

i did see on the SB info where they said it might be more difficult to get into gear because the dual discs are 3x heavier than the factory clutch. synchro's have to work WAY harder. good reason to minimize synchro use with less shifts or rev matching ... also many many DEMAND any diesel manual be driven that way like it's a commandment.

thou shalt carry a 17mm box wrench
thou shalt learn to drive non-synchronized transmissions and rev match or else thou arest thine douche-nozel

[6DoF]

so i got to thinking the other day about my low end power issue ... it might not just be from super lag turbo's. i really need to verify where they set the timing, and with the rest of the build being very dyno number oriented, i bet it's way too high.