I am simply going to ask random questions regarding my truck and upgrades, feedback on upgrades others have done....anecdotal evidence etc....

 

To start off...has anyone ran the stainless diesel manifold? (http://www.crazycarlsturbos.com/Stainless-Diesel-Exaust-Manifold-SDman.htm) If so....what is your opinion on it?

 

I am slowly preparing for compounds OR just a larger single, haven't decided yet. Specific setup is still not known at this point, however I do know I want reliability and usability over everything. In my other thread, TFaoro made some excellent points (

). 

 

 

I'll be back with more ?s. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

PS TFaoro.....trailer weighs 5,560 pounds  I'll see about getting a pic up here soon. 

 

@dripley Thank you for your feedback! I didn't even think about swapping the FASS pump head onto the titanium unit. I'll look into that. Its unfortunate that Moog was bought out. It seems that literally EVERYTHING these days is about profit and not at all about customer satisfaction. I like the sound of the 5" straight pipe...just sounds wicked as hell, especially when the engine was under load. Going to a 4" w/ a muffler seems like the right choice anyway. 

My 4" has a flowm thru muffler, Banks, but still puts out a nice sound. Not straight pipe mind you, but nice to the ear. Been thinking about a FTE resonator and taking the muffler out but we shall see. I hear it puts out a good sound.

 I also never had any issues with egt's on the 4". And thats pulling a 15k 5th wheel. Even in the Blue Ridge here.

Can you just add a muffler or resonator to your 5” and save a few bucks?

  On 8/11/2019 at 10:06 PM, Royal Squire said:

Can you just add a muffler or resonator to your 5” and save a few bucks?

I actually had one of those "big dog" mufflers. It was 52" long end to end from diamond eye. I ended up taking it off and selling it on Craigslist. I guess I could try one of those resonators. Wouldn't hurt. If it doesn't do what I need it to, I'm sure someone on Craigslist here in Western wa will scoop it up quick. 

  On 8/11/2019 at 7:03 PM, dripley said:

 

 

 

 

5. Ball joints, now that will spark a conversation there. @Me78569 bought the Spicers and had piss poor results. Worn out in 20k or so I believe. I swapped out the OE at 240k with Moog and 240k later they are still holding up. They seemed to have gotten a bad after Federal Mogul bought them out about the time I bought mine. I did have to replace the track bar with around 140k on it with the same Mogg part and it now has about 100k on it and is still tight. 

 

I put 'original' Spicer joints in since the OEM ones lasted pretty long. 12k later I was doing it again. I have a thread with a video somewhere on here showing the worn out sloppy 12k joint. I won't buy Spicer again. I have a pair of axle joints laying on the shelf and I'm half scared to use them. I went with AC Delco ball joints this time and so far so good. Time will tell

Edited August 13, 20195 yr by dave110

  On 8/13/2019 at 1:54 AM, dave110 said:

I put 'original' Spicer joints in since the OEM ones lasted pretty long. 12k later I was doing it again. I have a thread with a video somewhere on here showing the worn out sloppy 12k joint. I won't buy Spicer again. I have a pair of axle joints laying on the shelf and I'm half scared to use them. I went with AC Delco ball joints this time and so far so good. Time will tell

I think the key word there is "original". Not sure they exist anymore, especially the 01 and 02. The OE were sealed and evidently more robust than todays even from Spicer. I purchased the MOOG and it seemed like the next day I started to hear bad things about them. I felt much better about them when they surpassed 50k. 

What I got were sealed just like the original. I didn't opt for greaseables that time. I'm not sure what changed but that set was junk.

Hey guys n gals....been a long time since I've been on the forum, let alone done anything to my truck. 

 

Just picked up a used stainless diesel manifold for $450 on eBay from a trusted seller. Very happy. Haven't put it on yet. This is a modification I've wanted to do for a long time. One of the steps in my overall goals for the truck. Now that life isn't kicking me in the nu**, I can get back to doing the things I love.

 

I also need to put a full set of brakes on my truck. I'm just going with OEM everything. I'm replacing all 4 calipers and rotors and using ceramic pads, haven't figured out which brand of pads to go with yet. 

 

Looking on Genos garage and elsewhere, I feel like Geno's has the best prices, expect for the calipers, they don't carry those. I sourced those OEM mopar NOS on eBay from a trusted seller also (I've had great luck with eBay over the years). 

 

Also, how do I make a donation on here? Thanks. 

Don't do ceramic pads they tend to wear the rotors fast. I use econmy pads with exhaust brake and getting 200k miles of service.

  On 7/1/2020 at 2:54 PM, Mopar1973Man said:

Don't do ceramic pads they tend to wear the rotors fast. I use econmy pads with exhaust brake and getting 200k miles of service.

Any suggestions on pads that create minimal brake dust?

  On 7/1/2020 at 1:51 PM, crf450ish said:

Also, how do I make a donation on here? Thanks. 

We are on subscription bassis. $20 to $45 a year depending on what you want. There is also some montly plans. Just go to subscriptions at the top of the page or click the 3 horizontal bars and it will pop up. Then pick your poison.

I should add that I put ceramic on mine and they the are working well with no dust but most lkely will have change my rotors when it is time for a brake job. They are harsh on the rotor. I got these off of rock auto for less than 100 bucks.

  On 7/1/2020 at 4:22 PM, crf450ish said:

Any suggestions on pads that create minimal brake dust?

 

Exhaust brake... No dust, no wear period. Since I use a exhaust brake for 90% of all stopping my brakes don't wear at all 200k miles easy on a set of economy NAPA pads. No dust on the wheels till way down the road. 

 

Then for like myself I grab a bottle of Home Depot degreaser concentrate. Spray the wheels and wait maybe 30 to 60 seconds and hit them with the power washer and look like new again. Just did the demo on Ford 7.3L diesel two days again the owner was super happy he doesn't need to scrub wheels anymore. 

Here is a pro and con article on brake pad types.

https://www.autoanything.com/resources/what-are-the-best-brake-pads-ceramic-or-semi-metallic/

  On 7/1/2020 at 7:46 PM, IBMobile said:

Here is a pro and con article on brake pad types.

https://www.autoanything.com/resources/what-are-the-best-brake-pads-ceramic-or-semi-metallic/

Good read.

 

  On 7/1/2020 at 7:13 PM, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Exhaust brake... No dust, no wear period. Since I use a exhaust brake for 90% of all stopping my brakes don't wear at all 200k miles easy on a set of economy NAPA pads. No dust on the wheels till way down the road.

My EB quit working a while back or I would using the cheaper pads. They worked great with the e brake. Very little dust also.

Edit:

 

 

 

 

I just ordered the 6 pack of exhaust flange gaskets from stainless diesel as well as a couple turbo oil cooler coupling gaskets, and a couple t3 flange gaskets. I'm also replacing the exhaust manifold studs with grade 8 black iron studs & 12 point nuts. Same stuff we use in the steam drums in powerplant generation boilers. I'm pretty excited. 

 

 

 

  On 8/11/2019 at 8:49 PM, dripley said:

My 4" has a flowm thru muffler, Banks, but still puts out a nice sound. Not straight pipe mind you, but nice to the ear. Been thinking about a FTE resonator and taking the muffler out but we shall see. I hear it puts out a good sound.

 I also never had any issues with egt's on the 4". And thats pulling a 15k 5th wheel. Even in the Blue Ridge here.

 

I just installed one of these a couple weeks ago. Wayy better than a muffler in my opinion. EGTs still the same as they were with the straight pipe, drone is gone, obnoxious thundering sound is gone (never thought I'd say that, but hey I guess I'm getting older). Not bad for $65 free shipping. 

Edited July 1, 20204 yr by crf450ish

Funny... I just went back to straight pipe 4 inch.

  On 7/2/2020 at 12:28 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

Funny... I just went back to straight pipe 4 inch.

I probably should have done that to begin with. Hindsight is 20/20... But my ego back then wouldn't allow me to settle for anything less that the largest exhaust available. 

Is it a good idea to wrap the exhaust manifold with exhaust wrap? The stainless diesel manifolds, being stainless, really hang onto the heat once the engine is shut down. At face value, it seems to me that properly wrapping the manifold will eliminate a lot of residual heat once the engine is shut off. 

 

However, in every single under the hood picture I've seen on here and cumminsforum as well as Instagram and other social media, not once has there been a manifold wrapped with exhaust wrap. So that begs the question, what am I missing? 

  On 7/12/2020 at 6:35 PM, crf450ish said:

Is it a good idea to wrap the exhaust manifold with exhaust wrap?

 

If in northern states that use salt NO! It will rot the exhaust manifold and down pipe quickly.

 

  On 7/12/2020 at 6:35 PM, crf450ish said:

At face value, it seems to me that properly wrapping the manifold will eliminate a lot of residual heat once the engine is shut off. 

 

Not really a problem. Engine is off and cooling naturally. Up here in Idaho being the summers are much cooler this year I don't hold heat very long at all. Engine oil runs between 165 to 175*F. Coolant typically falls to 188*F and then Quadzilla drops the ignition. Without the wrap it drops temperature quickly being exposed to the air. 

 

  On 7/12/2020 at 6:35 PM, crf450ish said:

However, in every single under the hood picture I've seen on here and cumminsforum as well as Instagram and other social media, not once has there been a manifold wrapped with exhaust wrap. So that begs the question, what am I missing? 

 

Different story for performance. Now if your trying to get all that expanding heat energy through the turbo you would wrap the manifold holding the heat into the manifold so every little bit of expanding heat can be shoved into the turbo. There is no cooling down of the gasses from the head to the turbo. 

Hey guys I can't get the brakes to stiffin up at the pedal. Installed brand new rear calipers and rotors and pads. Haven't touched the front yet, that's next weekend project. But I have followed the correct process to a T. This is the process my dad and I used: 

 

Engine off-

 

1.Starting at the passenger rear, Dad pumped the brakes until they are firm as they could get and I cracked the bleeder valve and closed it when dad said close- pedal 3/4 way to floor. BLEEDER VALVE CLOSED AS THE PEDAL WAS STILL MOVING TOWARDS FLOOR, so as to not allow any air to enter the system.

2. Continued step 1 until all brake fluid was clear and no air coming out and pedal firm.

3. Performed step one on the drivers rear caliper until there was clean fluid and no air and pedal firm. 

4. Moved to passenger front caliper and did the same thing..

5. Moved to drivers front and did the same thing. Pedal was rock hard at this point. 

 

When we started the truck and pumped the brake pedal....it was like stepping on a wet sponge. What am I missing here? Is there a different process for bleeding brakes with ABS? My truck does have the anodized blue cylinder next to the master cylinder...

Edited July 19, 20204 yr by crf450ish