joecool911

My truck is definitely noisier at startup than it is after it warms up. Good to know the reason for this.

I've got the 1/2" Vulcan big line running from top of tank to the VP. Is there anything else I should do with the tank unit? Draw straw help? I'm looking for an excuse to cut my bed for tank unit access like JAG1 did.

Cheapo metal inline old style filter.

Thanks guys.

I am installing a fuel filter behind the Raptor pump. I'll be adding isolation valves so that the filter can be serviced with minimal loss of fuel. Will I need to bleed any air out of the system at the engine if I'm working behind the pump?

How are you guys reading these temps?

I get a 4 psi drop between idle and WOT. Always have. Just now I need to clean the inlet screen cause I'm starting at 17 and going down to 13 when going up a hill with a load. Raptor 100.

That's quite a project you have there. Wow.

What about the late 70's diesel Oldsmobiles? Ford 6'litre has got to be better than those.

Wow, so at 50* we'd theoretically loose 5 mpg? 30* loose 7mpg? If that's true, that's a lot of fuel over the long haul. I assume you're only advocating using the mpg mode while not towing or hauling?

I heard a ford the other day that had major whistle. I've taken out the silencer cone and running a BHAF. Without going to another turbo unit, what's the next step in creating more whistle?

I am wondering for us that live in more moderate climates if the high idle kits are worth doing? Not exactly sure if they are for everyone or just those who live in cold areas? Will the mileage feature work for all climates too?

I've got 180,000 on my Trans. Put in a new TQ at 149,000. Runs great. Change fluid every 20k or so. Thinking about a new valve body.

I think on the fluid question it depends on how much fluid is gone. Full there is not much air in the container to hold moisture. Half full a lot more potential for contamination. I think that if the calipers were put together even with lube that sitting around the seals could absorb and become dry. Combine that with offshore labor and you end up with an inferior product. Another reason to do them yourself. $4 per caliper from Rock Auto. Upon assembly it can be really hard to get the pistons in the bores. I used a big C clamp on mine. Once I put brake fluid in the brake line hole and shot the pistons in and out a couple times they took maybe 20% of the effort as initially.

Glad they made it out if the peoples republic of California. I was going to see if he could pic me up an AR15 while down there. Lol.

There are good YouTube videos. Scattered but you can find them. Pyro is probably the hardest as you will need to drill the exhaust manifold. Spend a few hours on YouTube. Biggest worry about drilling is not getting excessive metal shavings in the exhaust manifold and don't break off the tap. Take it slow. Go until you feel resistance and then back out to expel shaving, oil and go some more. Geno's has some instructions as well. Boost and fuel pressure should be easy. Not sure if cast iron will get picked up with a magnet? But if it does it would be good to go through the hole and pick up what you can. I've heard conflicting opinions about if the shavings will go into the turbo or just be expelled into the exhaust?

Would more pressure force more fuel to the return circuit? Trying in my mind to evaluate higher pressure over 20 PSI versus the amount of fuel that potentially could be returned to the tank resulting in better cooling for the VP. That is a really small hole on the return side. I suppose the reason for that is limiting the amount that could be returned keeps more fuel in the pump and keeps the pressure higher inside the pump.

You can actually gravity bleed brakes if you have the patience. Mark your maintenance checklist for 30-50k miles down the road. Order seal kits for the calipers. Take em off and pop out pistons. Make sure the pistons slide back down fully under their own weight without seals. If not, sand them down until they do so. Replace seals and dust caps and you're good to go. You should never have to buy calipers again. If you can remove calipers and bleed, you can rebuild calipers. Mike has a good video on removing pistons with compressed air. Keep fingers out of the way? Puts a pretty good divot in the 2x4 when they come out! When I rebuilt mine, I shot a good amount of brake fluid through the brake line hole and shot the pistons back out and pushed them back in a few times to get everything lubed up nice. Then the pistons pushed back into the cylinders easy. Before this pistons were hard to push in. Dry seals even though I did lube them before assembly. Gave me piece of mind that the seals were properly seated too. Plus the dust covers stretched a bit and seated really nice. Just let them hit the 2x4, but don't remove them. It's fun to shoot those pistons out!

Kind of difficult to keep fuel pressure consistent with spikes at lulls in voltage. I keep wondering in my mind if there should be a voltage regulator on the fuel pump circuit at say 11 volts so that when the grid heater comes on it wouldn't affect the fuel pressure.

The 03-05's are nice trucks. Just depends on how you feel about starting all over with service. It's taken me a couple years and some money to get to where I am. Every different vehicle I buy never meets my satisfaction of maintenance. So I end up doing a bunch of stuff. Some im super glad I did and other times I find it was unnecessary, but at least I know where I stand.

Yes, mine are dual piston calipers. Above suggestion sounds good. Bleed off and see if they still drag.

Ripping 8" stock will require cutting from 2 sides with a 10" table saw. Hemlock I scrappy wood. Weird grain and not very structural. Douglas fir is better. Pine is what most bee boxes are made of and pretty cheap wood.

After rebuilding my calipers and greasing the pins, with pistons retracted all the way I can move the caliper back and forth with little effort. Did you grease things good? Master cylinder and rubber brake lines are about all else I can think of. I sure rubber brake lines are pretty cheap. Might be a place to go next.

Why don't you just buy the boxes? Need to be specific size to hold the frames. I don't see much in savings here. It's all the foundation and frames that cost money. A lot if small pieces and not much cost in any one component. Ruhl bee supply. http://www.bee-outside.com/pnwfirstyearhivekit.aspx

Yep, good idea. I get a discount there too.