Newbie misc, questions

[ratlover]

Well i finally picked up my truck last night :cool: 03 4x4 2500HD D/A LS reg cab black. Now has a whopping 250 miles on it. Who ever said money cant buy happiness never bought a new Chevy, I just cant seem to wipe the grin off my face. I have been lurking here for quite some time and really enjoy the knowledge here and now I finaly get to put it to use smile.gif

I was going to post this in a reccent thread but didnt want to leach off his post so here goes....

The whole drilling into the manifold preturbo kinda freaks me out with the thought of my brand new turbo chewing on CI chunks, I still dont know if I want to try drilling while running even though you guys say it will all just blow out? I just know my luck. :rolleyes:

1 How long will it take appox to remove install the manifold and is there anything I should be concerned with that isnt obvious? I have read that the gaskets are reusable but is there anything else?
2 is preturbo really that much better? If all you do is factor in a 200deg difference then whats the big deal? Or is post turbo fairly slow acting?
3 JK says that the band dealy for retaining the thermocoupler is the best right not the screw in? (this is mostly for JK)Why do your kits(wich is what I was planning on getting) come screw in style? This a big deal? I plan on getting the dual pod analog set up.
3 I plan on getting JK exhaust, cant decide between 4" and 5". 5" much louder and is either one considered obnoixious to most people? Anyone around me that I could hear either system in person? It sounds sweet via the net
4 Outa curiosity my truck runs at 210h2o. Is this normal? This is driving around town/highway. Never got above that just hung right there unless it idled then it dropped a bit.
5 I will hot juice it :cool: Why would anyone buy a new unit if you can buy a refurb with all the waranty from JK for cheaper? Is there something I am missing?
6 I have the plow prep with the aux light switch. My dealer lost my manual so I can cunsult that yet but does anyone know offhand what the max amp draw is off of that relay behind the seat?

I am getting a fisher 8'6" v plow for it. Will also get an amsoil air filter so I'm pretty much folowing most of you guys. I will install the high idle(why chevy didnt make it part of the programing like furd is beyond me :confused: ) Anything else I should think about?

Well that was long winded and jumped all over the place redface.gif

TIA smile.gif

Now I can go change my sig ;)

[ 05-23-2003: Message edited by: ratlover ]

[ 05-23-2003: Message edited by: ratlover ]</p>

[Kennedy]

I drill them with the manifold on, but it isn't that hard to remove it. The clamp in style probe is my preference for installation in a pipe, but for a manifold, the thread in style is best.

[ratlover]

Is the preference for pretubo just that it will be faster acting? Or will post turbo not show spikes and such?

[Professor]

I hadn't realized Chevy was offering the LT trim in the Regular Cab. It is about time!

[ratlover]

They dont redface.gif Its an LS

GM still dont offer a reg cab with leather and the other goodies :mad:

[Amianthus]

The difference from post-turbo to pre-turbo is NOT a constant. Nor is it 200 degrees. It can vary by 500F or more in certain circumstances. Or it can be as little as 50F. You can't tell what the variance is based on just one probe.

Pre-turbo is the preferred method for a number of reasons. Mainly because the aluminum pistons will melt (fail) before the steel turbine will.

Be carefull with the plow. The plow prep you bought will be maxxed (if not over-loaded) by the unit you want to run. That thing is heavy and will tear up your IFS in no time flat. Just keep an eye on it for problems early.

[TST Tech]

Ratlover
, The reaction time is much faster in the manifold. We are running both pre and post turbo thermocouples on our truck right now and there is about a 200 degree difference while accerating. It seems that the higher the boost pressure gets, the more difference I see in the gauges. Have a great day ! Greg

[Kennedy]

In a perfect world (excluding individual port mounted probes), we'd be immediately before the turbo so as to see the combined temps of all cylinders as they enter the turbo. This cannot happen on a Dmax as the turbo has a "twin scroll" design and the gasses never really join until the wheel.

Post turbo will read lower, respond upwards slower, but will also respond downwards slower making it particularly useful for turbo cool down monitoring.

That said, a pre turbo, single bank location is the most practical for the Dmax. The balance between banks is much better than the 6.5 as the 6.5 is an "off center" turbo that mounts on the RH cylinder bank's exhaust manifold. My 6.5 probe placement preference is in the turbo manifold, but again access, drilling tapping are a hassle here, so I default to the downpipe with a clamp in probe in these applications. Having a probe on the LH cylinder bank of a 6.5 is OK, but the common point of failure is on the RH cylinder bank and #'s 6 and 8 piston which would indicate that the LH bank temps aren't as critical.

[ratlover]

Thanks for the thechnical reasoning, I like to know why stuff works or is better not just that it is.

Plow is 820# I believe. Fisher said its the biggest I can go. Boss recomended an 8'2" at 860# as thier bigest.

Edit: The springs are supposedly good for 6000# and the front axel good to 4800# This should put me about 200 under the limits with a plow for a reg cab right?

Chevys IFS was the only thing that made me think twice about buying this truck and if ford wasnt sticking the 6.0's in the SD's it would have made this a much harder decision. I just dont know about all the growing pains I hear of from the new fords. I know IFS really dosnt like big tires or wheeling but I think/hope it will hold up in my application. I actually havent seen many problems with the IFS kersploading from plowing like it seems to with sticking bigger tires on it. I guess time will tell if she will toss her cookies or not :rolleyes:

I will probably toss the factory bumpstops up front for some timbrens(sp?)

[ 05-23-2003: Message edited by: ratlover ]

[ 05-23-2003: Message edited by: ratlover ]</p>

[Amianthus]

Those are considerably lighter than the ones I was looking at. You could be okay. Just watch your weights. It won't take much to OL your truck.
Don't get me wrong here. The IFS gives an awesome ride. Far superior to my Ram's solid front axle. But plowing is one of those things that is really hard on the truck (obviously). And you throw a diesel in on top of it, it adds up fast.
Timbrens are great products. We use them on our rescue rig. But I don't think they'd gain you any load capacity. They'd just handle the load better. IMHO.

[ratlover]

I'm just throwing them on to help the handleing a bit since the torsion bars dont seem as progressive as springs. Supposedly guys running the IFS say they work pretty good. Again we shall see.

With the plow hanging off the nose(my main concern) and my box in the bed filled with tools and some balast in the back with a full tank of fule she will be a pretty heavy pig. Hopefully she will move the white stuff well.

I'm strongly considering swaping some taller tires but then I'm going to have to get a predator I assume? I would probably go 275 or so. I aint going to try to stuff 305's or anything :eek: I would like to track down a set of factory rims so I could have a summer set and a plowing set. Better check ebay I guess

[Diesel Dragon]

Hi Ratlover

About your IFS and plowing, I had a 9' Fisher on my 93 3500 Dually diesel that I plowed comerically with for about 6 years and I never had a problem. My new truck will be getting a 9' blade this fall also, maybe a Western this time. I think if you dont go crazy with it by banging into curbs and accelerating before the tranny shifts from D to R or R to D and you keep the front end greased well all winter long you should have no problems.
Also remember that with taller tires you lose some torque multiplacation and the engine, tranny, and diffs will work harder to get you moving from a standing start. Which is what your constntly doing while plowing. I would keep the stock height for the winter and go for the taller ones in the summer.


Good luck with the new truck

Later Diesel Dragon :cool: