rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

This is why I keep **** clean and organized.

yes it is a never ending battle Phantom.

I'll admit I threw away that old (late 90s) bottle and another almost empty one last night, and bought a new one. Once you have to dip the brush in far enough that the cap hits, it makes a stringy mess.

The new can has more volatile solvent in it (as expected), flows way better, and is purple.
So as for shelf life, it does have one. Old turns into dark brown goo and will not flow into porous surfaces much before the rest of solvent evaporates and is sticky mess. It still works but not like it should. New stuff goes on quick and smooth, can use less of it. I'm a cheap ******* and don't like to be wasteful, but man what a difference.

 

[rattle_snake]

Filled cooling system with 5 gallons of distilled water.
Programmed the Dakota Digital dash and did diagnostic check on sensors, all seems OK. Need functional oil and water temp gauges.
Programmed the Holley EFI config and did some initial testing and general familiarization of the system and menus.
Put 4 gallons of fuel in the tank and ran the pump by bypassing relay. Appears to only use about 8 amp but spec is 15. One AN hardline fitting was leaking. I used a 45* flare tool so I figured I may have issues with 37* ANs.

So far there are no wiring issues. A miracle. Plumbing, not so much...


Got the fuel leak resolved. I ran the pump to make sure I was working on the right fitting and somehow over night the joint self-healed.... and the one next to it had a slight leak. Hmmm. Borrowed a friends Rigid 337 37* flare tool and re-swedged the tubes on the motor end. Will eventually go back and do the rear fittings but I think the tubing will have to come out to do it. Trying not to create more side jobs and roadblocks....

Made a radiator overflow tube out of 5/16 hardline and tidied up the wiring some more.

I zero'd out the temperature fuel enrichment table and verified the learning was enabled per Holley's support site. Charged battery and checked starter circuit.

Ready to fire up which is quite a milestone for me. Going to do a final bolt n nut check and have a buddy do a independent firing order verification and inspection.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Let's get this party started...kick the tires and light the fire!

I want to hear (appropriate) loud noises

 

[rattle_snake]

Tomorrow morning is the plan. Also happens to be my b-day which was my re-scheduled goal. What could go wrong?


After a full cool cycle then 1st drive around the block.

OK well no burnouts at first.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Well happy early birthday, good luck with the shenanigans tomorrow!

 

[PhantomEB]

Happy Birthday, Justin. Hmm mine is Jan 24th. I should make it my goal to have mine fired up by then too!

 

[rattle_snake]

Well happy early birthday, good luck with the shenanigans tomorrow!

Thanks I needed it. Cam break in is stressful!

Happy Birthday, Justin. Hmm mine is Jan 24th. I should make it my goal to have mine fired up by then too!

Yes, you should, goals are good. I'd come over to help if you were a few thousand miles closer.

 

[rattle_snake]

I was able to get my money pit running and kind of driving. Cam break in went OK. It fired immediately and got timing set. Right bank got hot quick and burned off all the header paint, left side still has paint. EFI didn't want to go into learn or closed loop much, so AFR on left bank was about 16. Coolant got hot so shut it down to inspect everything. Still in upper 90s here in October so put a fan on radiator. New fan clutch didn't seem to move much air. No shroud yet. Checked EFI, fluid and so on. All OK so restarted and finished break in without further issue.

Upon idle it seems to have a vacuum leak. Drives OK but bad manners at idle and gear changes. Sounds mean, nasty, but should be smooth with 213/227 cam. Pulled plugs, #2 looks brand new, and not like the rest. Did compression, cylinder contribution, spark tests, all pass. Thinking intake may be leaking on underside from crank case. Plan to do some more tests to isolate.

So I call it another victory but a new list of problems;
Power steering doesn't work at all.
Rear main appears to be leaking
Transfer case PTO cover leaking
Brakes soft
So it has leaked every fluid except rear diff. Trans has one drip, cooler loop ok.

I drove it a short distance. Seems to have great low end power and grunt, put a big smile on my face!
Put the hood on and cleared all the stuff out of the bed, to put a temporary bow on the project

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Glad the next phase has started, congrats! Leaks **** for sure. No video proof of cam break in?!

What's hanging underneath in the pic?

P.S. it looks tough! I'm resisting lots of urges to start a similar GMC build of my own.... damnit Justin!

 

[Boosted1]

Maybe your soft brakes has something to do with the much larger tire size you are running?
Looks good.

 

[harley jim]

Justin is it still drum brakes,
I have had problems with the drum being out of round, and you cant find a sweet spot to adjust them. I have disc on my 70 and a lot of problems went away. Just thinking out loud!
That is one sweet looking truck.

Sent from my SM-A102U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[rattle_snake]

Glad the next phase has started, congrats! Leaks **** for sure. No video proof of cam break in?!

What's hanging underneath in the pic?

P.S. it looks tough! I'm resisting lots of urges to start a similar GMC build of my own.... damnit Justin!

Thanks Marc. The thing hanging down is the breather hose for the transfer case. Still need to add them for the axles.
Yes you should start another project. You know you want to.

I did get a video of it idling. It's loud and mean sounding for sure. On my big shop audio system it shakes the walls and is pretty realistic.
I think I want to add another muffler in the 3" pipe behind the 2-into-one muffler. It's not too obnoxious but looking for more mellow and deep.

Maybe your soft brakes has something to do with the much larger tire size you are running?
Looks good.

Thanks Boosted. The brakes need to be bleed again. Ran out of fluid.
There will be a degradation in braking equal to the ratio of tire radiuses, about 20% in my case. I bought the most aggressive pads I could find, should make up for a good portion of that. I guess the pads have not been bedded in either, yet.

Justin is it still drum brakes,
I have had problems with the drum being out of round, and you cant find a sweet spot to adjust them. I have disc on my 70 and a lot of problems went away. Just thinking out loud!
That is one sweet looking truck.

Sent from my SM-A102U using The Garage Journal mobile app

Hey Jim, I've been eyeballing disc kits for the 10.25, as they also save a lot of weight. I haven't tried to adjust the brake yet beyond basic, or install any of the parking brake stuff.

 

[rattle_snake]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U2SHTNbYKrEcLLnk6

 

[zmotorsports]

Glad the test drive went well Justin. Hope you find the rough idle issue and get your leaks addressed.

The overall look and stance of the truck is amazing, even for a Ford.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I can dig it!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Looks and sounds badass!

 

[rattle_snake]

Glad the test drive went well Justin. Hope you find the rough idle issue and get your leaks addressed.

The overall look and stance of the truck is amazing, even for a Ford.

Thanks Mike. Can't really say test drive went well, but it went and that was good enough!
I am quite pleased that there were no electrical issues or rework needed at all.

Still pondering how one whole bank is so much hotter than the other. Given the dual plane manifold runner layout it's not a fuel distribution issue. Could be the whole intake gasket is leaking on all four runners on the underside.
If I plug PCV, and put my hand over oil fill, I get positive pressure from blow by, as rings are not fully seated yet. So may be hiding a vac leak. Perhaps the blow by introduced into the intake is the cuplrit.


But then there is the lone clean plug. So maybe just a vac leak on this one that makes it leaner than the others.


but the combo of the two don't make sense. Need to pull manifold and see wha's happening. Need to block off EGR crossover anyhow.

Looks and sounds badass!

Once it's road worthy I'll come by and do a doughnut in your cul-de-sac!

 

[rattle_snake]

I decided to pull intake to reseal with improved technique and block off exhaust cross over passage. All wiring unplugged and things came apart nicely.

Unfortunately while setting the block off plate in with RTV it slipped and fell into the adjacent intake runner, which just happened to have valve open.

Eventually bumped it into cylinder with magnet, so head had to come off. Poo.
Instead of being pissed and throwing tools I just moved forward with head removal and ordered a gasket. Should have drained block first, but instead I made a big mess.

Some odd combustion signatures. Don't correlate with headers, plugs, or intake runner.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Were you working in my shop? Sounds like my typical 3 ring circus!

 

[rattle_snake]

haha one step forward, three steps back!
Could be worse, I try to focus on the positive aspects and move forward.

 

[LXCam]

Kickass Justin, you're dang close but sorry you had to rip back into it. And don't feel alone, I've done the same thing before with the same results.....off with her head.

Cam break in went OK.

But don't be lying, I haven't even been invited over for a beer yet.

 

[rattle_snake]

I would have through that Mrs. Cam would have had you broken-in long ago! haha
You're always welcome to stop in for beverage if your on this side of town

 

[rattle_snake]

After head debacle I got intake manifold install complete with exhaust cross over plugs. I learned a few things and got motor sealed up better than before. Rear china wall didn't have enough RTV, 6 bolts needed thread sealant. Also one bell housing bolt goes into lifter valley. While head was off I ground the valve cover surface to bare metal. Got everything put back together and fired it up. Un hooked all vacuum lines and reconnected one at a time, even though everything is new. Seems to run better and is not dying at idle. I did switch distributor vac advance to ported but after some research I will try putting it back to manifold vacuum and check with timing light.
Vacuum levels and signature is similar to before.

Tore PS pump apart. I convinced myself I had it right to begin with so put it back together the same. On fire up power steering is working, because stuff self-heals.

Re-bleed the brakes and have improved braking but need to bed-in the pads. Now that it is behaving better can venture out farther onto main streets for speeds needed to bed brake pads.

So it goes, stops, and turns now. Finally.

Off idle power is awesome. The loose converter appears to hook just above 2000 rpm where motor is strong. Will light up the 40s no problem, with the 4.10s. I did some brief WOT, it's really loud and doesn't sound that good, but pulls front end up and hauls ***. Body torque roll can be controlled with right foot, it's a lot of fun to drive. The traction bar works well and power brake burnout is rock solid and smooth.

I figured street experience would not be that good with 4.10 gearing and 40s. So far I am impressed with the big torque and instant throttle response of this motor/converter combo. It's scooty and can get out of it's own way. Perhaps a re-gear isn't needs, will see after some miles.
65 mph -> 2250 + TC slip ~ 2400-2500 rpm
75 mph -> 2600 + TC slip ~ 2700-2800 rpm

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Glad you got it doing all things its supposed to do at a minimum!

I like when stuff self-heals and stays "healed". +1 for no ported vacuum signal, go full vacuum and time from there.

One would think with those cubes, it's definitely got to have some good power in the basement. 65mph looks like the sweet spot, not bad for easy cruising...even though everyone else is doing 80 in your part of the world!

 

[rattle_snake]

After a long debate with myself I decided on a 2nd muffler and ordered some stuff. Going to try a 3" Jones flow pack muffler, Which is a 5" round chambered style.

Since I am picky about exhaust sound, and subject to changing things out, I also bough a V-band and some more hangers. Going to put the V after the existing 2-into-1 muffler which will also help shorten the length of middle section and ease installation.

Also going to re-work the hangers as needed and add a 2nd hanger in opposing direction to mitigate the longitudinal wobble the long straight piping has.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Exhaust is hard, especially when one is particular to the note.

So is the volume also a problem? Or is it just the exhaust note?

 

[rattle_snake]

Exhaust is hard, especially when one is particular to the note.

So is the volume also a problem? Or is it just the exhaust note?

More so the note. Blatty, raspy once you get on it, and also really loud. With essentially no bends and straight through muffler, it needs more reflections. Looking for a deeper more refined tone.

 

[rattle_snake]

Put some more miles on the truck including brake pad bed-in. Seems to pull to right a bit at speed but overall drives OK at 50 mph. Did some more WOT, pulls good up to 5k, shifts good. Better acceleration than I though given the trucks weight and tire size. Will break a tire loose from a stop with only 25-30% throttle. Need to get rear end locked....

Put the distributor vac advance back to the manifold vacuum port. It behaves OK, cold start and drive. So it appears that something improved/changed after reseal of intake. Like before, once warm in park the idle surges slowly (~5 second period) as EFI and vac advance are interacting with one another. IAB controls idle RPM with vacuum, vac advance changes timing, hence idle RPM with vacuum. So a closed loop control system that is slightly unstable.

Next step is to venture out to a gas station and then emissions test to get registration.

Plan to rework exhaust for 2nd muffler then start on mounting brackets for the rear bumper.

I ordered another set of radius arm brackets from ballistic so I have them on hand when it is time to re-do front axle.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

What is your idle speed and how much vacuum are you pulling @ idle?

 

[rattle_snake]

Programmed idle setpoint is 750. Idle vac is dependent on IAB % and so on, but generally in the 12-14" range. It's enough for the brakes but expected a bit higher, 16+".

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Programmed idle setpoint is 750. Idle vac is dependent on IAB % and so on, but generally in the 12-14" range. It's enough for the brakes but expected a bit higher, 16+".

Can you bump idle to 900rpm and see if that solves your surge, sounds like with your stall it shouldn't try and push through the brakes? 12-14" is super light...a GM HEI would require a special or adjustable vacuum can to even make that work. In the "old days" we would swap over the L79 vacuum can. My Z28 idles around 950ish and is still pretty choppy.

 

[rattle_snake]

I could try that yes. The surge is minor, only about 50 rpm, so not a problem more of an observation. In gear it doesn't seem to do it.

Passed emissions today with just a few miles on new motor. HC levels were 1/3 of limit and CO at about 1/2. I figured with EFI at 14:1 AFRs should have no problem but you never know with all new everything. Ecstatic to say the least. Got registration, so legal to drive again now. Calibrated speedo.

Truck pulls to right at speed. Jack up and spun all wheels, right front is dragging considerably. Have to pull it apart and inspect.

Started bumper moch-up and plan for frame brackets.

 

[racer-john]

Quote: Started bumper moch-up and plan for frame brackets. :Quote
Change the "h" to a"k" and you got it.

Nice work you do!

 

[PugetDude]

Quote: Started bumper moch-up and plan for frame brackets. :Quote
Change the "h" to a"k" and you got it.

Nice work you do!

Oh, you Krazy Kanadians...

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Quote: Started bumper moch-up and plan for frame brackets. :Quote
Change the "h" to a"k" and you got it.

Nice work you do!

Oh, you Krazy Kanadians...

Haha, maybe learn to quote before giving a fella spelling lessons!

 

[rattle_snake]

Hey, I'm an engineer. I do math & stuff but cannot spell. No social skills.

 

[rattle_snake]

Reworked the exhaust to quiet down the annoying >50% throttle aspect. Was too blatty/raspy and loud under heavy throttle. I want a deep burley rumble not just obnoxious noise.

So I decided to add another short, free-flowing muffler in series with the existing Jones muffler/y-pipe. Not ideal from a flow perspective, but this is not a drag car operating only at WOT. I chose a Jones flow pack JFP300. It is a chambered style bullet muffler, was hoping to get a mix of straight through perf/chambered sound.

Since I like to change up exhaust setups, I added a 3" V-band behind 2-into-1 muffler. This also makes the whole setup easier to install and work on. It was one long piece from right collector to tail pipe.

The tailpipe was already close to the right rear shock and reservoir so I also added a jog in the piping to increase clearance.

While I was modifying the mid pipe I also added another 02 bung to the right bank. Currently the left bank has EFI 02 sensor in it. Repainted the right header that go hot during cam break-in. I think the original paint from L&L was part of the issue, as it boiled off everywhere on the header but not at all on other side of collector.

I also addressed a stability/stress issue with piping by redoing the hangers. The long strait pipe would wobble back and forth along the length. I reworked the rear support to a dual opposing hangers to dampen the oscillations.

But how does it sound?
Awesome.

Idle is similar to before but improved. The straight piping and straight-through muffler allowed individual exhaust pules to come out at high velocity and it had an odd sound at tailpipe. Somewhat of a spitting sound as each pulse was tearing though the air around it. The 2nd muffler's baffle provides reflections to clean this up, and idle tone is a little deeper and had a taste of a chambered sound. Overall it's still loud and nasty at idle and you know it is packing some cubes.

Tip-in and part throttle cruise are similar to before. Deep and throaty. I intentionally put mufflers back behind cab and in-cab done is not an issue.

Heavy throttle and WOT are all cleaned up and rasp is completely gone, which was the goal. Overall I like the sound, not overly loud. Aggressive but tasteful. It makes the right roar at WOT as tack sweep past 5k.

Overall a good complement to the deep howl the 40s make as they loose traction!

 

[rattle_snake]

Replaced the right front brake caliper and the dragging and pulling are resolved.

Also checked toe-in and adjusted from neutral to 1/8" in.

Pedal had long dead spot so re-adjusted read drums and fiddled with p-brake levers. No p-brake cables, need to buy new ones. Now pedal is tight but brakes are just OK. Once hot the left front wheel starts to hop. I re-used that rotor but it's junk so I ordered a new one. The right side had a brand new rotor for some reason.

Truck drives great under 50 and has no bump steer. Tight and well controlled. Above 65 it takes more attention. Body roll from a lane change upsets stability some, but expected with no sway bars and high COG. Had it up to 80 and it still pulls hard. Runs 2600 rpm at 65 mph cruise.

 

[rattle_snake]

Started into repairs on my 2004 Polaris 600 twin. Front A-arm bushings are done, 5 of 6 CV boots torn. Once apart the ball joints were trash so ordered more parts. The suspension repairs should help handling.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

What tools did you use to press the Polaris ball joints? A buddy called me the other day asking if I could help him with his and I said we could probably improvise some tools, but it would be nice to know up front.