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@EXSwap Keith
Reps can wait!! Reading through some of your comments above had to share some thoughts
- Gear Shift points: I was taught to drive a stick shift in India in cars that did not have a tach. So, all my life, I have driven stick shift ONLY by feel and the sound of the engines. I have seen many people watch the tach and speedometer to decide when to shift. IMHO, that has been mostly unpleasant to my riding feel.
- Headlight aiming/alignment: Good point about the change of height due to a different suspension setup. In addition to what I had mentioned earlier, it is nearly impossible to get the same nearby light coverage with the newer style headlight and projectors as you would get with the stock headlight setup. Fog lights will fill that space. That is one of the reasons why @Twitchyleprechaun is going with a custom setup in his headlight by moving the low beam projector to the turn signal area and adding multiple pods for high beams. I had used a Bi-Xenon HID projector (Hi-Low beam in single projector)in my headlight setup. Going with Bi-LED this time.
Prakash, thanks for the clarification on the headlights. It's all totally new to me, so I appreciate all the info I can get! In your opinion, are the light outputs between the regular HID and the LED the same/equivalent?
I too was taught to drive completely by feel and sound on a manual transmission. Generally, it's the way I like to drive and eventually it'll be how I drive all the time. I'm getting more and more used to this engine the more I drive it, but for troubleshooting and ensuring that I have the proper setup (tuning), the tach will be nice to get going correct. The big things for me right now are EGT, boost, and RPM. The P-Pump defuels at a certain RPM range and while I can sort of tell when it's defueling it's not exact at this point. The EGT is self explanatory and the boost I still haven't been able to figure out. I did get my new gauges for both of those, so hopefully I can get them installed sooner rather than later. I'm excited to get the old 12V tuned up correctly!!
Prakash, thanks for the clarification on the headlights. It's all totally new to me, so I appreciate all the info I can get! In your opinion, are the light outputs between the regular HID and the LED the same/equivalent?
I haven't been able to compare the two setups myself. But from what I have seen on the street, the LED seems to be a bit more crisper than the HID. Both are much better than the stock setup.
Overall: Still very happy with all the choices I made. Runs and drives great!
Transmission/Drivetrain: I'm learning more each day on the shift points and timing of the clutch. No more clicks!!
Suspension/Steering: Still no issues and still rides very good. New steering box will remain on the list.
Engine: I've used about 1.5-2 quarts of oil (can't really tell because I used a big 2.5 gallon jug to top it off). Not unheard of until I get the rings seated. No drips or leaks aside from a small amount hanging on the crankcase vent tube. I'm hoping to be able to play hooky this Friday and go riding in TN with some buddies. If that happens, I'll pull the 24' box trailer with all the toys down and back. That should seat them nicely. We shall see.
Other than that, it's been a great week and 500ish miles riding around in Clifford. On to the mods!!
So, with the lack of a major project taking up all my late night brain power, I've taken to digging around in the tech folder. I've found a few things I want to do. But, in order to get my tuning in order, I installed a few new Mat Tow double vision gauges this weekend for EGT and Boost. Overall a fairly simple job except for the fact that routing through the firewall is a pain as the engine bay is pretty full. I removed the dash and stereo, wired (with solder...and I suck at it), all the lighting, constant and switched power into a makeshift harness and put it all back together. Gauges work great, and now I want two other new ones to replace the existing oil pressure and temperature I previously installed. I was also able to light up the rocker switch for the grid heaters, not that I'll need to find it in the dark with the engine running. I had been wondering if my previous boost gauge was defective, if I had a gross leak, or if my wastegate was opening too early. Turns out, I had a GIANT boost leak. I went to install the sender from the new gauge next to the P-Pump and realized there wasn't enough room to get the wires connected. So, I figured I'd plumb it into the top as there are 2 1/2" pipe thread plugs in the top. Went to look at those and I'll be darned if one was missing!!!! found the leak. So, plumbed it all in, got it all installed, and no issues so far today while commuting. Gauges light up nicely and seem to work flawlessly. I still have a bit of a concern on the wastegate as I can only build around 5 psi of boost going through the gears until 5th. Then I can get about 15 in 5th and 6th. And I want close to 30.... Still a small amount of smoke, but not as much as before. I'll get a boost elbow on order, install it, and go from there.
Does anyone have any insight as to why I wouldn't get as much boost out of the lower gears? Is it just a spool issue where the turbo needs the time to get spun up? I kind of miss my VGT turbo....maybe someday.
The other mod I went ahead and got the parts for comes from @woodnthings and the famous X Tech folder! More on that later!!
Not sure about the boost leak only because we are dealing with a Cummins and not the 7.3.....you could build a leak detector like 7.3 guys have and start going through the intake to exhaust from front to back with a spray bottle of soapy water and see what you find. that's about the only thing I can think of. I do know the Cummins setup is more simple than the 7.3. That should help.
Not sure about the boost leak only because we are dealing with a Cummins and not the 7.3.....you could build a leak detector like 7.3 guys have and start going through the intake to exhaust from front to back with a spray bottle of soapy water and see what you find. that's about the only thing I can think of. I do know the Cummins setup is more simple than the 7.3. That should help.
Thanks! I'll go dig through the 7.3 tech folder and see if there's one stickied.
I've been driving using differing styles the last couple days. Essentially, I'll split it one of two ways: conservative (normal), or "drive it like you stole it". Generally, I don't like the second option. Too many idiots out there just waiting the smash into my rig, and I see more and more people distracted each day. I saw a lady painting her dang fingernails in rush hour traffic the other day.
But, when traffic flow has permitted, I've been getting on it pretty good the last couple days. I've found that I can build 5-8psi in 2nd and 3rd, 8-10psi in 4th, and 10-16 in 5th and 6th. The harder I run in the early gears, the faster it builds and the higher it goes. As to the smoke output, it still cleans up pretty good when the boost builds and it's still there before hand. I for sure need to tune my AFC some more as I have my fuel plate almost fully to the rear and I haven't touched the "smoke screw" (pre-boost fuel) yet. I'm not likely to touch that, but it's all part of the system.
In any case, a leak tester is completely a worthwhile exercise for making sure I don't have issues (and for future troubleshooting).
Got a couple maintenance items done this weekend. Adjusted the valves as I had just over 500 miles on the build. Most were loose as would be expected. Motor runs a tad quieter now and seems to build boost a ton quicker and more of it. Not sure it's real or not, but seems that way. For certain I'm hitting higher numbers than before. I was able to hit 22psi in 6th gear getting on the highway. would an adjustment in the valve really make that much of a difference?? Also changed my break-in oil out. went back at it with 1300 super and one bottle of ZDDP this round. I had a thought that I'd change it over to synthetic at some point, but the 1300 Super seems to be quality oil. Also, I had a thump in the drivetrain that I couldn't figure out. It sounded like someone took a block of wood and put it on the underside of the body and smacked it lightly with a sledge. Couldn't make it do it by accelerating/decelerating, gear changes, anything. Sometimes it would even happen when turning a corner slowly. Never happened at highway speeds. Since I had 500 miles on the build, I needed to check all the suspension parts and come to find out I had loose u-bolts in the rear end. Torqued those back don and no more clunk. Whew!
Got home after all that and right after I shut it don I looked at the ground and there was oil dripping. Ugh!! the turbo oil feed was leaking. So, took that all apart and the fitting that screws into the fitting on the turbo seemed to be the culprit. the threads on one end are 3/8 reverse flare and I thought the other end was 1/8 NPT. I had a 1/8 NPT to 1/8 flare adapter screwed into that with the 1/8 flare connecting to the SS braided line to the filter housing. So, I couldn't (obviously) find a new adapter for the 3/8 reverse flare, so I used some thread sealant on it and tightened it as best as possible. Anyone have any aftermarket fixes that connect directly to the filter housing and turbo housing? I'm gonna do some digging around, but I'd like to get a replacement for it in case it leaks again. Plus, I have a concoction of fittings in place now that I'd really like to get rid of.
Also, seems that my cutch decided to start leaking again on the way to wok this morning. I was able to tighten the fittings up, but I'd like to have a permanent solution to that also. Anyone know if a source of clutch lines that I could just order a replacement of the correct length? I have a G56 clutch kit from Valair that just wasn't long enough. I'd buy a whole new setup at this point just to keep from having to monkey with it any more. Weird fitting. Has 3/8 reverse flare threads and then seems to be 1/8 NPT female, but the fitting screws way in so I don't think that's the correct thread. Mockup of the concoction. I don't like how long it is.
Drove Clifford down to Monterey, TN this past weekend for a bit of hog hunting, with a stop at Crazy Carl's turbo. Overall a pretty good drive:
Steering/suspension/brakes: 70-75 MPH is an easy one handed drive with little to no effort. I still have just a touch of play in the steering, but nothing crazy. New steering box is on this list, and before I do that, I'll be checking for play in the steering linkage to make sure that's not the issue. Ride is overall great with a bit of stiffness if I have a bad bridge transition or a pothole. Sway is nonexistent (even without the rear sway bar), and I feel confident that if I had to do an evasive maneuver, it wouldn't be catastrophic. Brakes are still doing very well, though I still need to adjust the passenger parking brake to get full use out of those.
Interior/Sound/ride: Overall, pretty happy with it, but I definitely need some additional sound proofing that I didn't do during the main project. Doors and pillars come to mind. Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until spring. I'm getting a fair amount of noise coming from the shift boot, and I don't particularly like the install, so I'll be looking for a solution there. Being that I no longer have the vent under the carpet in that area, the carpet is a bit bunched up with my current setup. Idea I had was to make a wood or PVC block that is the same size or larger than the bottom of the shift boot I currently have, secure it to the body, and then crew the boot to that through the carpet, giving me a flatter surface that will hopefully look a bit better. From there, I can get a larger boot to go over the smaller one and then put some insulation between the two to knock down some more of the sound. If I can get some PVC window sill material, I'll use that. Otherwise, I'lll use some marine grade plywood to make up the wood block so it doesn't rot. Not likely to get a bunch of water up there, but you never know. I also have some noise in the shifter itself that goes away if I rest my hand on the **** (no pressure to speak of). I may lose some of that noise with the boot fix, but I also need to install the vibration dampener back onto the transmission crossmember to see if that helps. The noise isn't terrible, but I can hear it. F650 dash works well, but now I want all mu gauges to match, so I'll likely go back with new water temp and oil pressure gauges next spring as well. I need to repaint the dash too as it's not the correct color, and when I do that, I'll look to clean up the mess of wires I have under there. I'd like to find a couple of bus bars and secure them somewhere and wire to those instead of having a bunch of wires hanging around everywhere.
Engine/Transmission: Everything ran fine and no oil leaks or other issues. Shifting is still getting better, and now that I don't have a giant hole in my intake, I can make 20psi boos pretty easy in 5th and 6th. Still a bit of smoke as I haven't tuned that up yet. I'll get the new oil feed line installed hopefully this week or weekend.
Now for Crazy Carl. He's a SUPER nice guy who has a small shop that provides compound turbo setups for Cummins motors. I believe that he deals exclusively in Cummins applications. He's essentially in the middle of nowhere TN. His wife was also super nice. He had the exact parts I needed in stock and a decent price, and when I talked to him about my fuel/air setup, he also had a good answer for that right away. It's likely that in the future, I'll be visiting him again for a compound setup if I decide to get one. I'll decide on that after next years towing cycle to see where I am. But, overall a great resource and super nice guy that @thor363 turned me on to. Thanks!
With the weather the way it is, looks like I might get to some more mods/work on Clifford in the coming weeks.
Good deal. Thought he might be able to help. Now for the important part...where's the hog hunting pics?
You're also always welcome to drop in out here and help with my build if you're bored!
I posted a couple up in the "what's the latest forum" but here's a few more. Buddy of mine took his very first hog and another his first cow elk, which yielded quite a bit of meat that I'm excited to try.
If you were closer, I'd absolutely be headed over to help out!
She's about 700 pounds My boar and a decent sized sow
Been super busy lately and seems like any time I have time, the weather sucks. Going into winter and our weather can't make up it's mind. In any case, I was able to finally get my Crazy Carl's oil feed line installed without much trouble. I was also able to route it around so that it's not rubbing on anything, which is better than the last one I had. The old fittings were easily removed and the new ones installed just as easy. Took me a minute to realize that the new line fittings clock just by rotating by hand and I didn't have to loosen the nuts on them. Aside from that, super easy and no leaks! Now to just get my dang clutch line fixed. I originally thought that the fittings would be too big for my master and slave, but turns out they measure super close to another one I had laying around. May be a small amount of fitment to be done, but seems close. Now to figure out how to connect the steel braided line with a plastic tube to the AN fittings, which seem to have a compression ferrule in them. On to the pics!
Old janky line setup New fittings and line Installed in oil filter housing Line installed And in the top of the turbo housing...need to take care of that rusty manifold bolt head....
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found the leak. So, plumbed it all in, got it all installed, and no issues so far today while commuting. Gauges light up nicely and seem to work flawlessly. I still have a bit of a concern on the wastegate as I can only build around 5 psi of boost going through the gears until 5th. Then I can get about 15 in 5th and 6th. And I want close to 30.... Still a small amount of smoke, but not as much as before. I'll get a boost elbow on order, install it, and go from there. 
