Project: PolarRAM

[6DoF]

Yeah, I do not like those wheels on the TJ. When is it getting an 8 lug front end?

i actually started designing a light weight fabricated 9" last week!

[xj_man_646]

Niceeeee!. 05+ SuperDuty D60 outers? Get that sweet sweet steering angle!

[wrath]

I think I could fill all the potholes in Washtenaw County with the gravel I have stuck in the tread of my Wildpeak ATs. I pull my arm in the door when it gets above 20mph so I don't take a hit from an escaping stone.

[6DoF]

decided to fix and upgrade the clutch pedal finally. i made an adjustable rod a while back that had a hokey rod end around the pin. the pin was already worn bad, and now that was wearing into the new rod end. the pedal has also been overly heavy since i got the truck, but had extra available throw. it was the same throw and force with the southbend dual disk / g360 and the Valair dual disk / nv5600 using a 2nd gen slave. so i cut the pin off, welded the hole shut, and re-drilled the pin location 3/8" closer to the pivot. that takes the pedal ratio from 1:5.8 to 1:6.8. should reduce force by 15% and increase resolution by taking 15% longer to engage. i'll remake the rod as well to include threaded rod and an actual lubricated spherical rod end this time.

while messing around i added a web brace to the pedal, a little more stiffness never hurt anything.

with the gauge cluster out to pull the pedal pin, i noticed the master bracket moving more than i'd like as well. ended up making a Delrin spacer to sandwich between the bracket and the firewall to support it a little better also.

And ooohhh yeah, it all made a big difference in clutch feel. smoother, slightly lighter, more controllable, just all win. honestly, probably could have gone a full 1/2" move.

https://i.imgur.com/1nj3JbO.jpeg
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[6DoF]

sometimes you just need a little more peace of mind ... new class-V 2" receiver to replace the welded on, cut on, and rusty old thing. it's the small things sometimes.

https://i.imgur.com/eCykQcJ.jpeg

[6DoF]

after the hitch i got started on the next major upgrade, P7100 swap! i have been waiting for this since shortly after getting the truck, the VE is just NOT up for hot rodding. the more i learned the tuning and control setup in the VE, the more i wanted it out. another big change is ditching the electric fuel pump and going back to all mechanical. i have a whole 2nd gen engine on a stand i striped for the swap, and just ordered the other parts/upgrades.

first things first though, hot-rod lift pump. lucky for me this one i had already was the larger 30mm plunger. i drilled out the internal port to a 7/16" hole (from about 3/16 stock), deburred, ditched the inlet screen, and got everything cleaned up for the COMP 973-1 valve spring. i'll run a washable inline pre-filter just before it, should flow way better than the factory screen. it is also getting -8an fittings both in and out, there will only be one banjo fitting left where the fuel return is.

https://i.imgur.com/ZrLee7p.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/ov2HbV2.jpeg

[6DoF]

then i took a little side bar for a side step. this is going to be a good win. just a basic bed step for a new dodge off amazon, i cut up the mount and fab'd it onto the 93 bed. it's bolted right below the tailgate, directly to the bed. in the corner there is actually a lot of extra support making it nice and solid.

new step is also wife approved! best part is she can no longer refuse to help get anything out of the bed on principal of it being too tall now! :lol:

https://i.imgur.com/ixQRtU4.jpeg
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[6DoF]

started donor motor teardown harvesting all the p7100 swap bits i needed. the engine is actually super clean inside, and all the tamperproof screws were untouched on the pump. time to change that! nice to know it's not been screwed with though.

as i was taking it apart, i noticed the KDP was sticking WAY out. then shortly later as i pulled the timing case off the engine the pin just fell out and hit the floor. talk about good timing! this engine was living on borrowed time. i wish i had tried to pull it out by hand first, bet it would have come right out.

to pull the cam, i put a 3mm ziptie on all the tappets to hold em up. was able to scoot the ziptie down to hold them all tight up and worked really well. i actually left them all on there since the cam has to come out again no matter what happens with this engine later.

https://i.imgur.com/LCWyB5f.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/nvZbkmk.jpeg

[6DoF]

"see babe, i had to lift my truck for safety! it's most stable on all 4 tires, and i can still get the transmission out" :LOL:

took the pic with 0.5 zoom on my phone sitting right next to it ... makes the trans look tiny vs the tires, it's weird.

https://i.imgur.com/Wt6GTQs.jpeg

[6DoF]

gantry with electric hoist is way up there on my list of new favorite things!

no electric in The Toy Box yet, with rain it gets dark FAST. i'm also trying to decide what i can do in the engine bay while i can just stand in there to work on other stuff.

also managed to get most things torn down quickly, everything is looking really good.

https://i.imgur.com/nrodBPp.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/CcxQVWA.jpeg

[6DoF]

man, i keep forgetting to take before pics ... so the pan used to have this tube welded on where the rearward port now is. actually slightly fwd of, but i now have better access to the pan bolts. while the pan was on the bench getting prepped for sound deadener, no time like now to set it up for anything possible in the future. 10an fittings and 2 in case it's ever needed. for now one will just get capped.

sprayed down two double coats of LizardSkin sound control on the tappet cover, valve covers and oil pan. these seam to be the best areas to protect. when i did the oil pan on the 55 i noticed a big difference from the first max coat to the 2nd, so went right for that this time. if you put it on any thicker to start it won't cure right and will pull/crack, have to give it 24h between heavy coats. everything got rattle-can'd black after to seal it up nice. you'd never know the pan had been beat as bad as it was

https://i.imgur.com/tda42yF.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/tUsZIO9.jpeg

[xj_man_646]

Nice work! My barn is basically just a storage shed anymore. Hoping next year to start making some progress on turning it into a wrenching space.

[6DoF]

i had no intension of working out in mine yet that's for sure. but there was no way i was easily pulling this engine with a 9ft ceiling, cherry picker, and 25ft deep space. I'd have had the truck half out of the shop, front axle resting on the brake rotors, and entire core support pulled to even have a chance.

gantry, done

as soon as i get the engine back together and swung back in the frame, hank gets pushed back to the shop for all remaining assembly

[xj_man_646]

Gantry cranes are pretty awesome.

[6DoF]

speaking of seals, the front crank seal had to be struggling to keep oil in. quick repair sleeve and good to go ... or so i thought. sleeve went right on, i bought the fancy Cummins main seal tool kit last time i was messing with one. but my first try getting the seal into the front cover ended with a damaged seal, totally my fault. now i had to wait for delivery of another, but while looking i realized what the other tool in the kit was and that's what i needed! 2nd seal, used the nice tool, junk went right in. too bad it was junk and the seal was ripped half way around ... why do i keep buying china crap!?!?. 2 $11 seals down, i ordered 3 $25 MAHLE. first one popped right in and finally good to go.

i had ordered the blue amazon valve cover gaskets too, and they weren't even the right size. had to stretch them ever to slightly and would just pop off. returned those for the red ones ... you'd think i would have learned by now.

https://i.imgur.com/fAUoHgc.jpeg

[6DoF]

despite the extra waiting, got the whole thing back together and back in the frame rails before the cold front. was the last day in the 40s. swung it up n over while the in-laws were prepping the thanksgiving meal! my FIL helped me get the truck pushed back into the heated shop. the shop ceiling is too low for extraction, so i was working on the engine in the barn. glad i'm not still wrenching out there now in the 20s.

hot rod lift pump (build in post #200) got -8AN lines and eliminated 4 of the 5 banjo fitting. the last one has the injector return screwed into it, so i didn't rework all that. if i can prove i am loosing fuel pressure at the top end and need just a little more i might play other games. the inlet screen was also tossed for a big in-line filter.

3D printed a template to put timing marks on the balancer and got the timing all turned up while it was still on the stand. timing cover listed 12.5 base, so +7 to 19.5 should be game on.

with the engine in the truck, i did the BARE MINIMUM to start it. no trans, no cooling, just fuel and a few wires. priming with the little plunger was lame :lol2: but she worked and fired up! sounds smoooooth, i wish i had checked the sound level before and after cuz this is way quieter. at this point i have the trans back in and almost everything finished up. final thing to screw with is the throttle cable, and those parts don't show up til Wed.

https://i.imgur.com/zAdOla1.jpeg
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[xj_man_646]

How did you decide on +7 degrees timing?

[6DoF]

How did you decide on +7 degrees timing?

sort of averaging experience from online ...

factory is 12.5-14 depending on year. adding timing will move the power higher in the RPM range, it's also good for more MPG. it can however start to hurt spool-up, where depends on your setup.

basically no one recommends less that 16deg total for any application ever. 18 is like the bog-standard for anyone with gov springs and turning screws. reading about ppl running 22-24 and some love it while some have turned back a few deg. race trucks run upwards of 36.

this is still my tow rig and i do love quick spool, but i also drive at higher R's with the gov springs and the 6spd has less drop in R's per shift. i maybe kinda do like to play some stupid games now and then too. figured 18 min, but i couldn't convince myself to do over 20. i finally just decided "screw it, I'll do 19 if i can't decide" ... but then with 12.5 base i talked myself into a whole number of deg change and rounded up. so 19.5-12.5 = 7

[6DoF]

funny thing is i think i only moved the timing +6 on the 55 ... but it's also factory head gasket and bolts.

[6DoF]

throttle cable worked out really well i think. found a universal kit on amazon that had cable ends that snapped into the factory square firewall hole perfectly, and the factory throttle pedal! but the cable was too short, couldn't buy the parts cheaper elsewhere, and i just ordered a second longer cable. 36" sheath was perfect. it's the factory throttle lever, i just removed the ball socket and bolted in the pin from the kit. the cable bracket is just a plate welded to the solenoid bracket that clears the shutdown lever. The return spring is just hooked to one of the pump mounting studs and a hole already in the lever. game on, nice and smooth.



Kit 1:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QVTIM8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

longer cable:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DXSC3QV?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

https://i.imgur.com/4SdpIe4.jpeg

[6DoF]

but she's up and running/driving!

let me start this with the fact that i have no clue what the timing was set to on the VE, and i guess it's possible the pump was just wore out too ... but this is a COMPLETELY different truck now. throttle response is off the charts better. it's making 15lbs of boost grandma driving how I'd have only been at 1psi before. it's sooo much smoother and less NVH, to the point that it's eerily quieter inside driving. quieter, not quiet :lol:

at this point i'm feeling pretty good, this is awesome. if i'm getting my prior acceleration boost now while cruising, what will i get actually accelerating!?!? turns out, no clue, but too much. i blipped the throttle and the little digital gauge just started flashing numbers faster than i could read them ... and that's when a charge pipe let go. just blew out of the boot, i must not have gotten it seated well.

pre-boost is set to an absolute minimum, star wheel is tightened to somewhere arbitrary, game on. tonight hopefully i can keep these old junky charge boots to stay on and we start tuning.

[xj_man_646]

15 psi cruising seems, out of whack, to me. If you're cruising with little to no load I don't think you be seeing much boost. Accelerating is different.

[6DoF]

cruising as a relative term, "just cruising around" involving corners and hills.

actual sustained lower speeds on flat straight roads though, i used to be 0 without exception and am now fluttering 3-5

[xj_man_646]

Curious what your peak pressures actually get to when you can measure them.

[6DoF]

so in the before the max i ever saw was 60psi, but that was a long pull on the highway in 4th letting the R's run out. the VE never had the fueling capable of using anywhere near that much, and then i turned the pump down a good bit trying to drive it around town without constant coal rolling. the only way i used to be able to see over 30 was really letting it eat and getting the R's up

now in the after ... ho-lee-phuk. went out and started playing with it on my arbitrary 1st settings. no matter what i did there was no way i could make any smoke, meaning fuel was really conservative. but i was able to get like 38psi only kind of trying. at that point it was across the board better than the VE in every metric already. except when boost came in i was getting a vibration now. wasn't engine though so oh well, time to turn it up.

arbitrarily gave the pre-boost screw 2 full turns and loosened the star wheel some significant amount. big moves, lets see what happens. also swapped for a lighter throttle return spring and it's much nicer.

if i get after it, JUST as boost rolls in, there's a small waft of smoke. i think i nailed the pre-boost, but after that it's still totally clean. power and boost ramp faster, vibration is getting worse. i saw 53psi once when i stayed in it just briefly. the spool difference is next level, i can now be over 50psi where before it wouldn't have yet made 5.

at this point i start screwin with it to feel it out, i need seat time before i turn it up any more. come around a corner in 3rd, rolling into it, vibration comes in, shift to 4th and no vibration as i clutch it, but throttle into 4th and the vibration ramps with boost. it's at this point i realize i'm drifting the truck. well sh!t. re-test in a straight line. sure as sh!t, my vibration this whole time has been axle hope just spinning tires. with the traction bars it's a high frequency for any axle chatter i've felt before.

hoods back on, alternator hasn't been charging. previous owner swapped to some stand alone regulator from the ECU, i might have fried it. now i'm trying to decide between $360 for a proper 1-wire alternator with warranty that bolts in, or $150 to void warranties and DIY a 1-wire.

[6DoF]

alternator was still using a factory looking hookup, but i know the PO said the check engine light (i mean, Gate Open light cuz RamCharger dash bezel) was on since he swapped to a new voltage reg. i shorted all that out hooking it back up with the battery connected and no-charge. ordered the PA Performance 1-wire with warranty that i could get faster than the DIY parts to build one, thing showed up on the early truck Saturday. this is when things went down hill.

chopped all the BS off the battery lead, new terminal end, she's charging perfect and no more light on the dash! time for a better test drive finally, lets return a bunch of stuff from Thanksgiving to my parents house. feeling confident, i'll even take the wife. made it like 2miles and blew off a charge pipe, again. this is where she starts getting snippy about "always breaking your truck" and "why do you always have to do something stupid" ... i'm over hearing about it. pull over, pop the hood to confirm what joint, it's an annoying one and i'll fix it at dad's. there's some smoke, but looks like it's coming from all the new manifold and turbo insulation. it wasn't.

get to dad's and park, i left a trail of oil into the driveway and all over his parking pad ... faaawwkkkk ... get that look from the wife and she goes inside. the oil drain from the atmos turbo had a HUGE split! oil just sheeting off everything under the truck, i lost about 3qt of oil in like 9miles. lucky for me i didn't come completely off, and there was enough hose to cut off the split, have less on the turbo barb, and still clamp on the pan. with the charge pipe also back on, home was easy.

the intercooler to intake horn is crimp bent exhaust pipe, it blows off cuz there's no safety lip. added weld, lets hope that's never an issue again.

really didn't want to break the seal between the turbo and the mount, but i REALLY should have done this hose update while the engine was out. just need to eliminate the welded on tube so i can use the -10AN drain. lets hope i can get everything to seal up nice again.

to help make gaskets i sharpened an old nut driver in a drill with the grinder, worked awesome!

https://i.imgur.com/005xler.jpeg
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[xj_man_646]

I'm surprised you don't have a bead roller to put a nice rolled edge on the charge pipes.

You might need to look into actual clamps and not boots.

[6DoF]

well ... the PO used exhaust pipe, so it's steel and kinda thick-wall. i have a tube bead roller for AL charge pipes, but no way it would touch this stuff. there's a chance this is big enough to fit the full bead roller, but i didn't bother to dig it out and find out. still might be too heavy.

i really don't want to have to get into the fancy clamps ... that sh!t gets spendy

[xj_man_646]

What gauge is your bead roller for? Exhaust pipe can't be that thick :dunno:

A compound turbo charge air piping may not be the place to 'worry' too much about cost especially if this is going to be your long haul tow rig. You only need 4 connections, technically, if only considering from the turbo to the CAC and back to the intake. Something like this seems like a good deal assuming it comes with the clamp and flanges :dunno:

https://bullboostperformance.com/collections/clamos/products/3-inch-76mm-aluminum-hd-clamp-intake-v-band-clamp-intercooler-pipes-black

[6DoF]

it's a tiny thing ...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09VP7DT46/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

i guess we'll find out on the charge piping, but this really shouldn't be an issue now.

[xj_man_646]

I hope you're right, the wrath of an unhappy wife sucks. :lol:

[6DoF]

I hope you're right, the wrath of an unhappy wife sucks. :lol:

:lol:

something breaking is one thing ... but when i get mean on the throttle and something brakes, that's when she's all glaring judgy

[6DoF]

got all the bolts started, first one tight, and realize i got the AN adapter to fit on the bracket ... but i never clearanced it for the actual hose to thread on ... all back apart ��*♂️

but it's together now and it's solid.

https://i.imgur.com/QTH0gpq.jpeg

[wrath]

I find the blank soul-less stare to be effective at de-escalation.

I kind of want to try out the "that sounds like something my ex-wife would say".

[6DoF]

BAAAHAHAHAhahahaha :lol:

good luck with that!