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I'l be pretty interested to see how that sample comes back. I am sure it'll be pretty good. Where did you get the paint?
I'm sure as well, I wrote in the notations to test its "Shear" Strength, to see whats going on with that.
The paint can be had online, or I found it in AutoZone. Its called SEYMOUR 316 STAINLESS STEEL. Its an exact knockoff replica of STEEL-IT. Only 1/3 the price and just as good!
Originally Posted by z31freakify
Every time I see your build I see a masterpiece being created.
Bravo sir, Bravo.
Did some more work on Shamu this weekend (surprise surprise, my wife always says). I did my oil change with the new Delo, truck seems to really like it so far. We'll see after 5000 miles.
But today I did some major work to the front end. and PAINTED IT! I picked up 2 more cans of the Seymour Stainless Steel paint (knock off STEEL-IT AGAIN), and sprayed the whole front end. My Dad (58 years old) got out there on his hands and knees and helped me pull it all apart, we were both crying in agony at the end though lol.
Got the whole front end apart, springs and all, and we sprayed the frame wih Black first, (so many runs, either we buy the *****tiest Rustoleum, or we're terrible at painting, probably the latter haha)
All of the suspension parts and axle got painted with the SS paint. Very little prep work went into these parts, only a wipe down with some Purple power and we shot them! The Seymour SS paint works AWESOME! It sprays nicely and even if you lay it too thick in an area, it self levels and you cant really tell. It also is dry and ready to touch/install in less than 10 minutes. I LOVE this stuff!
Well sorry I haven't been keeping this thread as updated as I have on PSN, been a little busy, but here goes;
Well on the 13th, I got my first trip down with the new turbo, and also my new Jelibuilt tunes. I gotta say, I'm extremely happy. The turbo outdid all of my expectations other than one. ITS EFFING LOUD! Anything over 10psi and its just god awfully loud, so I'll be trying to figure out how to encase the intake box/air filter housing.
So, I grossed right at 16,800lbs the whole trip, thats 7200lbs truck, 9600lbs trailer. The last time I did this voyage to Avila Beach (which is over the Cuesta Grade, 7% incline), I got down to about 37mph, In 2nd gear, with the truck screaming its guts out at 3400rpms. This time, I was prepared, and hit the bottom of the grade at almost 78mph, in 3rd gear at 3300rpms. I only got down to 55mph before I realized I was still only at about 1175* on the pyro, and making 16psi of boost. While dropping boost and speed, I actually changed the tuner from Jelibuilts "Strenuous Tow" to "Tow Performance", and the boost jumped from 16psi to 20psi, and EGT's only got up to about 1225*. The truck steadily gained speed up to 57mph and held there the rest of the way, kept the pedal on the floor the whole way and crested the hill. ALL THE WHILE, MY EOT ONLY GOT UP TO 231*!!
So, I'd say I have found my setup that I'm pleased with, and will be keeping it this way until I upgrade to a bigger trailer (which we do want to upgrade to a 35'+ 5th Wheel), or I get bored again lol.
Also, not sure if its the turbo or the tuning (as they were both done together), but it seems getting up to speed with the trailer is must easier. Before, I'd really have to get past 75-80% throttle before we actually got moving. The truck would be revved out, but not really going anywhere, y'know? Now, a good 1/2 throttle and we're accelerating with normal traffic. I actually had to merge with traffic (65mph) from a stop at one point, and when making the turn onto the freeway (sharp left), I got on it, and me and my wife both thought the truck was going to break the tires loose!
My only gripe with the tow tunes so far, is the strenuous tow tends to downshift from 4th to 3rd a little too easy. On small rolling hills, the truck will downshift for the last 20 feet of the hill, and then immediately upshift. Very annoying, very loud, and wakes up the sleeping kids every time. I found in tow performance, it holds the gear a little longer, but I think I'll be talking with Brian Jelich about it too.
Pics of when we got there, we stayed at Port San Luis Campground, and we were parked about 50 feet from the ocean. Dry camping, but none the less, very fun. The kids and the dog had a blast. Pics taken on Friday the 13th!
Then, just on the 26th, I finally got around to actually loading some revised tunes into my chip. Leaving for a trip to the Desert on the 27th. This time we were fully loaded down, weighing about 18.5-19k combined, and then after I got over the Tehachapi grade, I'm filled up with 120 gal of water and 40 gal of fuel, pushing right about 20k combined, which is as heavy as I ever have been or will be with this trailer probably.
I also got a new FTE Resonator for Christmas , so I installed that! I also put a little jog in it so that it will clear my divorced NP205 (if that ever gets rebuilt and installed, slacker), with some nice 3/8" thick, 5 bolt flanges. The sound is AWESOME! Way quieter from the tailpipe, a lot less drone, all you really hear is the engine, which I will be working on quieting down next with a full enclosed airbox with venting through the fenderwell (i think).
And then today; Well I was suppose to go out on the 26th and come back the 1st, but inclement weather postponed us leaving until mid day the 27th, as the Tehachapi pass snowed over (in the middle of the desert, heh snowball chances in hell) on the 26th, and they shut down the pass in order to salt/sand and plow, but then the hundreds of cars already on the pass made it difficult. But, it opened back up on the 27th so we went for it.
We got all the way to tehachapi and found out they were still escorting people up the pass, and traffic was backed up to a stand still for close to 30 miles! So after waiting for 30-45 minutes or so, we opted for an alternate route through the 178, which led us up through Lake Isabella. Now, this was a tight, curvy road we knew, but it had been a long time since we've been that way last, and we had forgotten how bad it was... VERY TIGHT, and a rocky wall no more than a few inches away from the white line on our right, and a tight one-lane each way with a cliff on the opposite side made for some interesting maneuvering! Saw a Semi almost take out a Toyota SUV, and several occasions I came within inches of taking out some of the rock wall on out right side, but we came through unscathed.
We ended up turning a normal 2 1/2 hour drive into almost 6 hours!!! And many friends ended up staying in the line at Tehachapi for almost 5 hours themselves, so we ended up saving 3 hours or so taking the 178 through Lake Isabella.
After that, I became pretty ill, bad congestion, head pounding, ears wouldn't "pop" making my already bad hearing even worse, and couldn't sleep, couldn't interact with the kids or anything, we ended up decided to come home today, so we were only there for 2 nights, but it was still fun. Got to take our CanAm x3 out in the snow which was pretty cool. Shamu did great all the way there and back, never skipped a beat, and almost every hill I had the cruise set at 62mph and it never budged below it, although I've noticed with my new Jelibuilt tunes, they truck is more smokey than the Swamps tunes, to the point where my safety chains are completely black. Thankfully the whole front of my trailer is already black or else it would probably look much worse. Going to talk to Brian about that... Overall though, I'm very happy.
Finally, today came in my last present for the holidays, I swiped it from a guy on PSA, a brand new OEM engine harness, correct to my year and everything, gonna try and install it tomorrow, hopefully my illness is gone enough, I still have to wash and park the toy hauler too!
Dan, that harness is a great find! Now you'll have a spare when you install the new one. That's never a bad thing since these trucks are only getting older.
I am stoked to hear that your EOTs are finally in check! I really wonder what happened to get them under control .I know that was a gremlin you were fighting for awhile now. It goes to show that maybe tuning and other mods can address it. I know the 180* T-stat did it for me and always has on all of my 7.3 trucks, but you may have found another way. Good on ya!
What an awesome truck!!! Love the flatbed, you got some skills man!
Those wiring harnesses are still being produced, I just picked up a new one from Riff Raff a week ago. It’s tag said made in Mexico with a production date of Aug 2019. I believe they sold out with more to come.
Pretty easy install as well, hardest part is working with the stiff new harness. Took me a few hours to take the old out and put the new one in, taking my sweet time.
My old harness was shot with lots of exposed wire, burned out connections, oily, and looking 20yrs old. New harness made a noticeable difference in how my truck runs, much smoother and solved some issues I was having.
Yeah this harness was made in Aug of 2017, so it's been on the shelf for a bit, but still great. I got it installed today and it was a little stiff, but fit great. I have updated the EOT sensor so the pigtail is incorrect, and I have to swap the updated one to the new harness. But after the drive home, I can tell the truck definitely runs smoother in all aspects. Super happy!
What an awesome truck!!! Love the flatbed, you got some skills man!
Those wiring harnesses are still being produced, I just picked up a new one from Riff Raff a week ago. It’s tag said made in Mexico with a production date of Aug 2019. I believe they sold out with more to come.
Pretty easy install as well, hardest part is working with the stiff new harness. Took me a few hours to take the old out and put the new one in, taking my sweet time.
My old harness was shot with lots of exposed wire, burned out connections, oily, and looking 20yrs old. New harness made a noticeable difference in how my truck runs, much smoother and solved some issues I was having.
Must be a harness type of month. I just picked up a new harness too. I got mine from Swag Offroad. Mine was made 05/19. Im going to nurse the old one along until rebuild time and then start with a new harness. Unless I have to swap it out. I figured I better grab one while I still can. Who knows how long they will be available.
Anyone know the part number for the wiring harness that runs to the alternator?
Alright, I dont understand how, but this new harness has me flabbergasted at how quiet the truck has gotten! Out of all the mods I've done to quiet it down (thick coated valve covers, HPX, full exhaust with 30" FTE resonator, fuel sump and EFuel, T500 pump, etc), this has quieted it down the most. I actually had to turn DOWN the radio on the freeway today because it was plenty loud enough to hear! I also got to test out the Drag Ripper tune from Brian, now that he stretched the shift points a little more, and it is awesome except for one easy thing. It bounces the rev limiter in 1st before going into 2nd lol, but then revs to a good 34-3500 shifting into 3rd, very good power curve and less boost drop in between shifts. The engine sounds good at that RPM too and dorsnt sound "wound out" like it's outside of the power band, but still pulls that last few hundred rpms.
, so I installed that! I also put a little jog in it so that it will clear my divorced NP205 (if that ever gets rebuilt and installed, slacker), with some nice 3/8" thick, 5 bolt flanges. The sound is AWESOME! Way quieter from the tailpipe, a lot less drone, all you really hear is the engine, which I will be working on quieting down next with a full enclosed airbox with venting through the fenderwell (i think).
