Saturday, January 30, 2010

Stacks

There are fans of stacks and there are fans of standard rear exhaust systems. Personally, I think there is a place for both. Stacks give a truck a much more robust and muscular look while rear exhaust is provides more of a sporty look.

I've decided that my '65 Ford is a good candidate for stacks. I think the stacks would give it a classic diesel look. The cab also has a very narrow stance with the back slanting forward slightly. This narrow side view doesn't look good in my opinion with the truck jacked up the way it is and I think stacks would sorta fill in this area.

Anyways, reasoning aside, I'm looking at options for this upgrade. If you go to the standard diesel shop or website you'll find prices for a complete duel stack kit around $1000. Well, I am certainly not going to pay that much if I can get away from it... So, I've been browsing around putting together a list of mixed parts to see how cheap I can make my own kit... I believe I could do it all for $300 and get an even higher performing system...

So I figured I would keep the downpipe that's on there which is only 4 inches, however, buying a 5 inch would definitely raise the price higher than I want to pay right now. At the end of the downpipe there will be a y pipe, and on the two ends of this 4-5" adapters. Two 5" flex pipes will go from there to both ends of the bed where there will be 45 degree elbows. Attached to these elbows will be 5" chrome pipes going about as high as the cab... (I already have a hard enough time in parking garages... no need to make it harder.)

I think this system will be better for several reasons. First the split comes earlier in the system allowing for a greater volume of flow before all the bends. Secondly, using flex pipe will make fewer sharp bends in the pipe. I may incorporate 45 bends after the y pipe as well... this would make for a total of 180 degrees of total bends (not counting flex pipe bending) instead of 540 degrees with the standard system...

Anyways, I'm planning on doing this upgrade during spring break... Until then I will continue research and start gathering materials.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Mercedes 617 diesel

So as you well know I've been putting a good bit of thought into doing a jeep diesel swap. Previously I have entertained using a cummins 4bt because it is a great motor and it's been done a million times. However, recent research has caused me to maybe consider a Mercedes 617 instead.

Back in the early 80's mercedes diesels were very popular in the states. The 123 frame mercedes were as bombproof as they come. I read that around 70% of the originally registered models are still on the road toady and there have been many reports of 1,000,000 mile cars still running strong... This motor is considered to be one of the most reliable engines ever produced... you make a car that good and you'll go out of business. Anyways, the 617 motor in these cars is a 3.0L 5 cylinder turbo diesel that makes about 100hp (of course this can be turned up). From what I can find these motors are really easy to work on and parts are readily available. The motor has indirect injection and an injection pump that is fairly similar to the legendary P7100 on the cummins.

There is a growing number of people that are swapping in these 617's. In fact in the past couple years they've started producing adapter kits for use with GM manual trannys... you can't beat that. From what i can tell the MB 617 is just as good if not better than the C 4bt as far as reliability is concerned and while the displacement might be larger on the 3.9L 4bt vs the 3.0L 617, they appear to make about the same power...

The cost of acquiring the Mercedes is much cheaper than a 4bt... you can buy a full out donor car for around 3k any day. For a decent 4bt you are looking at the same price for the engine alone unless you get lucky... and speaking of lucky, guys all over the web say they've scored old Mercedes cars for just a few hundred quid. There also appears to be a much larger support network for the MB 617 because of the amount of cars that used the engine as well as all of those loyal customers that are still using their 20+ year old cars.

So the Mercedes is looking like a much more practical option for a Jeep swap over the Cummins... I will probably post more about this as ideas begin to develop...


This is a 617 in an old toyota... MAN that fits in there good!

This is a Jeep comanche pickup...

Oh yeah, Trent did mention in a previous post about the 5cl Mercedes in the sprinter... These engines share some similarities but the new sprinter engines would be hard to swap for a number of reasons... We've both talked about this before... the old 617's on the other hand are pretty easy... I guess I just assumed previously that they would be finicky since most of those Euro vehicles are... like the VW diesel, great milage but a mechanic's nightmare.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

vp44

It is a well known fact that the weakest link in the 24V 1998.5-2002 motor is the vp44 injector pump. The concept of having an electrically controlled injector pump sounds good and definitely makes for a more pure combustion due to it’s precise controls, however, somewhere along the lines Cummins dropped the ball on this one. Several reasons make the vp44 prone to failure.

Perhaps the most common flaw with the vp44 is the weak lift pump that came on the stock trucks. The lift pump was not strong enough to keep pressure to the injector pump which causes the housings to wear out causing the front diaphragm to fail. In addition to this, Cummins designed the fuel to act as both a lubricant and a cooler. The lubricant factor doesn’t work because the EPA has now outlawed high sulfur diesel which was standard when the engine was created and actually has lubricating power unlike the new low sulfur diesel. The cooling factor of course would be reduced if the volume of fuel was low due to a bad lift pump. The heating rises another issue which is the second major flaw with the injector pump. The fuel control computer is located right on top of the pump which is located right on the engine. Over time the heat of the engine causes this computer to slow down due to a crystallizing of the electronic components.

So, this sounds like a fairly desperate situation… what are we to do?

There are a couple options.

The P7100 mechanical pump on the older trucks can be swapped in place of a vp44. You do loose your electric control of the pump as well as a huge chunk of change. On top of buying a p7100 you would also have to buy about 1K-2K worth of modification parts just to put it on there. However, some people think it is well worth it and take this plunge. The p7100 is a bombproof pump which is oil lubricated and cooled. The mechanical reliability of this pump make it the pump of choice for those who modify their truck to the max.

You can replace the vp44 with an upgraded version and add a fass or airdog fuel pump. Blue chip diesel offers a specially made vp44 which has an updated computer as well as a super build job which gives 2-3 more MPG’s. Blue chip also sells a remote computer for controlling your fuel system which bypasses and overrides the computer on the pump itself. Blue chip has pretty much devoted their company to fixing this vp44 problem as well as making some other sweep parts for 1998.5-2002 Cummins motors.



I am fairly confidant that my vp44 is on its last leg. I sometimes get the dead pedal effect which is a sign of a failing vp44. When I finally get around to addressing the problem (when I have the money), I am planning on purchasing the blue chip vp44 with an air dog lift pump. Also, another sign your vp44 is failing is reduced fuel economy… and I’m getting about 3 mpgs less than I should.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Present - Future Trucks

     So I decided to do a small (turns out to be large) amount of research on the new 2011 trucks being re-least, and all the new technology that they have put into the top truck models. I have found these new trucks on the high-end scale have every kind of pampered technology. These new machines might have more computer power than you might find in a primitive hospital today. 
     Ford has sync™ integrated throughout to manage your phone calls, Internet access, all your music needs, and voice activated Nav system. Site some other Info.
   Chevy has their amazing On-Star™ system that combines safety and communication. It seems a bit pricey though,The renewal for this system can put you back $300 bucks a year, and a tracking signal for the cops when you raid the local liquor joints.
   Dodge has a system called Uconnect™. I knew nothing about this system till I completed this research, it's a crazy complex system! I think it can do anything, built-in 3G, Play DVDs, (music and pics), stream SIRIUS, Tv, Radio, Voice activated navigation, and Bluetooth. Compatible with your at&t or Verizon subscription. And you might find a way to connect your gaming system, I do believe most Gm vehicles have this option. 

There is some crazy technology out there being woven into our lives, very interesting to observe. Now I won't do much research on Toyota's Tundra, but it has a comparable system called BLU Logic™ that gives you a hands free phone capabilities, along with XM satellite radio, and Ipod integrations. So I can safely say that whatever truck you buy it will have capabilities that were not seen in vehicles 10 years ago, or the average house-hold for that matter.

   These New trucks coming off the lot are going for $55-65,000. That is with all the options!

     So on-to the meat about these beast, the amazing things God created, and man fit into... The American Truck!!!

  Starting off with the 6.4L PowerStroke; It is very different from the previous 6.0, it compares more closely to the International Maxxforce 7. They put 16mm head studs replacing the 14mm on the 6.0, a well known problem! This engine has the common rail injection design (High Pressure fuel) eliminating the problematic high pressure oil system the early 6.0 had. The emissions control on this engine are crazy to the point were you wont get any soot from the stock Exhaust system. You can't just cut out the stock exhaust and strait pipe with out running into electrical problems with your DPF and EGR valve. The up-most down fall is fuel economy, you might squeeze 9 mpgs if your lucky. Spec Chart...









 

   6.7L "Scorpion" there isn't much info out on these yet, but very exited to find out. Reversed intake & exhaust flow. Intake valves located on the outside of the cylinder head, while exhaust exits into the engine valley where the turbocharger is mounted. Increases thermal efficiency of the turbocharger. Glow plug that enable an almost instant start. They say you can run alternative fuels such as B20 Bio-Diesel. All this info is speculative.


   









 

The 6.7 L Cummins is the latest in the B-series engines, introduced mid year in 2007. 40% of the privious 5.9 L 24-valve ISB was put into this 6.7 making it a very similar engine. Again the emission regulations are much more strict. They come directly from the factory fitted with a integrated exhaust brake system. Also capable of running certain forms of Bio-Diesel.


   Future Cummins... I have now Idea when they will be realest, but I know Chrysler asked Cummins to design these future Engines:

5.6L V-8 Cummins Diesel


4.2L V-6 Cummins Diesel


   I will not lie, I know nothing about the Duramax diesel, Shock and aw when I found they put the Allison 1000 Transmission on them. Can I have one for my B-day?

Duramax 6.6L LMM is the newest model previously LB7, LLY, LBZ, & now LMM. All of these Duramax 6600 models have evolved since 2001.  Again all these new engines are answering to higher emission demands, thus damaging the end result in performance.








   For the future release 4.5L Duramax LMK. Could be an amazing engine, Don't know yet.













   Steve help me out if you want to add to, or correct my info. I would like to talk about the Transmissions, Suspension,  ect. in the future. It's hard to write about these things considering it is just stats, reliability is yet unknown. I would like this page to be a place were there is a close comparison of these engines. Most of my info I will site to 'here'. The rest is first hand knowledge or  testimonies found on places like YouTube.


future swaps...

This being the last full semester of school I'm looking forward to graduating and getting a real job. With the real job will come more free time and money which will all help my diesel hobby progress to new levels. I am planning several swaps in the coming years and each one I plan on documenting. I know there are thousands of diesel fans out there who would like to actually see how a swap is done, after all there is a general lack of information available about such a feat. So I plan on either hiring a videographer or just getting a buddy (or wife) to film the swaps to post on youtube. Personally, if such a video existed I probably would have watched it a hundred times...

My short list of swaps are as follows:

Cummins 4bt in a wrangler

This will likely be my first swap. I want a vehicle that I can use in the place of my truck that will get better fuel economy. The 4bt will be a rather simple swap because the engine will be mechanical.

A wrangler something like this....

7.3L in my '79 Ford

In honor of the old 7.3L motor I've decided to swap one in my '79 ford flatbed dually. This swap will also be relatively easy with a donor truck. I plan on getting a newer ('96+) ford donor and rebuilding the engine and adding some new after market parts. This will probably be the cheapest swap so it might actually come first.

This is my '79... needs a little body work but I think chrome stacks would set it off... so would the throaty rumble of a 7.3 straight piped.

A CAT c7 or 3126 in something...

The common rail c7 would probably be my engine of choice if I could remove some of the emissions stuff... the only problem is I can't decide what vehicle it should go in... it would need to be a good one because this would definitely be a show truck. The amount of money and work that would go into this swap means I probably won't do it for a few years although this is the one that people want to see the most.

This is a candidate I'm considering... this was my first diesel truck... beautiful... would be even better with a little yellow under the hood.

Old Chevy rust bucket...

I would like to see a common rail Cummins or an old 12 valve in an old rust bucket chevy. The chevy in the picture below is perfect... no exterior restoration needed just leave the beautiful ruggedness the way it is...

Anyways, I'm done with school in June!!! and as soon as I get settled wherever I end up I'm going to start documenting a swap!!!

Friday, January 15, 2010

BHAF installation procedure


Installation procedure for the BHAF as promised.

Mercedes 5 cyl. Diesel

I found some info on the diesel that they most often put in the dodge sprinter these days. Spec Sheet
Not the most impressive numbers, but great potential for some small upgrades, and considering it's a rather small engine, it would be perfect for a jeep project. I am disappointed in the rest of the vehicle, but that's beside the point. there is so little info about this engine it's hard to judge to soon. Being only 2.7L you could almost fit it in a toyota prius, Speaking of a prius...

Just found a forum that looks cool.. and others. Forums. 1 2
Oh and this just look like great fun for a small price, Here!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Monday, January 11, 2010

CAT 3126 'C7' in a pickup

So it's something that most of us have probably thought about at one time or another: why doesn't Ford or Chevy put a cat diesel in a pickup? Well, this most definitely is a good question because there is no good answer. Sure you might say that CAT doesn't have the production capability or maybe they don't have a properly sized engine, but those are all things that could be worked out, after all Cummins did it right? CAT already supplies engines for the 600+ series Chevy and Ford trucks, why not one for the 350's?

So if the big companies aren't going to put one in for us then the only remaining option we have is to do it the redneck way: install one ourselves. In all my countless hours of research online I can find hardly any information about such a swap. Sure people like to talk about the possibility of a swap but there is little concrete evidence of very many people actually following through. The cummins 5.9 on the other hand has been swapped into about everything except a wheel chair... (I would be surprised if someone had though). So, what is stopping rednecks and engine enthusiasts from dropping CAT's into pickups?

1. Cost

The easiest way to perform a swap is to buy a donor vehicle. With the Cummins there are of course plenty of donor vehicle around, the CAT on the other hand has few.

2. It's a big one

I personally believe that a c7 could be fairly easily shoehorned under the hood of a pickup, but there are those that have their doubts. With a sawzall and a welder one can usually always make a little more room, besides, judging by the way my cummins fits into my Ford, the only real space issues would be with height and length, otherwise an inline 6 generally has plenty of side room to spare. Just compare the look of a powerstroke or a duramax with a cummins... it's a wonder they can fit those V8's in there. And as for weight, the CAT engine only weighs a couple hundred more pounds than a Cummins. However, it is a monster.

3. Is it really any better?

This is really the only factor that would put a damper on my will to carry out a CAT swap... CAT is a bit of an icon among boys who love big toys. Drive by any construction site and you will likely see some huge equipment plastered with the CAT logo. As a result of the general brawniness of the name, dudes want to be associated with the power. Now I have no doubt that CAT makes some of the best construction equipment out there but are the engines really any better than Cummins?.. well, no... I don't think so... at least as far as a pickup size is concerned. If you are talking about semi truck sized motors CAT fans may have a better argument, but as for the smaller motors I think Cummins would probably win. Several reasons:

a. Lack of aftermarket parts... Plenty for the cummins, almost zero for the CAT

b. CAT uses the HUEI injection system (like the Ford 7.3/6.0) which is not as good for making big aftermarket power.

c. Many people argue that the CAT C7 is not as reliable of an engine compared to the Cummins 6bt... especially the newer emissions compliant engines.

Anyways, despite the reality of the situation, I still want a CAT in a regular pickup and I'm determined to do a swap someday. What I plan is to buy an older (2000+) ford 650 and use it as a donor vehicle. I realize there would be a ton of customization to be done but I think it would be worth it. I have seen good CAT 650's in the $5,000-$10,000 range which isn't bad for a diesel donor vehicle. Compare the torque specs. from the 2 engines and it's apparent that the CAT really wouldn't be disappointing with 860 lb-ft at only 1440 rpm... wow...


This is one of the few photos of a C7 squeezed into an F-350... notice that while it takes up all the room lengthwise, there appears to be plenty of side room. There is even room for a clutch fan... something that didn't fit in my cummins... I would definitely have done a remote battery install and moved the BHAF to the front to make sure there was room for twin turbos.


This is under the bonnet of my '65 Ford with a 5.9L Cummins... plenty of room to spare.

As you can see the CAT is definitely bigger but also definitely fits... I can't wait to do this swap...

This link has a bunch of swap photos including the following CAT

Again in this photo the BHAF air filter needs to be moved where the battery is... Things could be rearranged... These guys do not recommend this swap but as far as I can tell they did not have a donor vehicle which would make loads of difference.

Specifications fot the newest CAT C7

Cylinders In-Line 6
Bore/Stroke 4.33 x 5.00 (110mm x 127mm)
Displacement 7.2 L (441 cu in)
Weight 1425 lb (647 kg)
Horsepower 300 @ 2500/2400 rpm
Torque 860 lb-ft @ 1440 rpm

Specifications for the newest Cummins 6.7L

Displacement: 408 cubic inches, 6.7 liters
Configuration: Inline 6 cylinder
Compression Ratio: 17.3:1
Bore: 4.21 inches
Stroke: 4.88 inches
Injection: Direct injection: Electronically controlled Bosch high pressure common rail; 26,000 psi max.
Aspiration: Variable geometry turbocharger
Valvetrain: OHV, 4 valves per cylinder, solid lifter camshaft
Oil Capacity: 12 quarts
Weight: Aprox. 1,150lb.
Horsepower: 350 HP @ 3,013 RPM
Torque:650 lb-ft @ 1,500 RPM



This is the type of donor vehicle that would be needed. The CAT looks so small in the huge engine compartment... I have high hopes.