KATOOM

Make sure you let them know that there's basically no screen inlet on the MAX A/C setting where it draws down by the passenger feet. So when the fan is on high it will suck up hair, dirt, leaves, paper, napkins, wrappers, etc...off the floorboard.

Actually I think its more about how you treat your vehicles than what kind of terrain your vehicle sees. I have a 20 year old truck that looks beautiful with an interior that smells clean. I still use it for driving to work, hauling trailers for whatever projects I'm doing, taking the family vacations, and getting wood for heating my house. When cutting wood, the dogs and I go up the hill in the morning and come down early evening with upwards of 10+ cords per load. And yeah its a lot of work by myself so any help is always welcome. I actually wash my truck from time to time, vacuum it out, and try to stay up on all the regular maintenance. I dont treat it badly in hoping that it will last for as long as I want to keep it. That said, I know of people who treat their vehicles like they hate it. Always dirty, smells like the backside of some animal, fast food wrappers on the floorboard, drives horrible, and rarely sees maintenance unless something broke preventing it from more daily abuse. Generally they complain about the POS they have and blame issues on poor quality. I can assure you that my evap is clean even though the truck sees plenty of dirt and fresh air. I cant say why the evap you pictured looks like a flock of birds nested in the HVAC box but I'm gonna suspect that the owner is not very vehicle friendly... Not all us country folks are bumpkins.

Looks like a disaster... You definitely should rip apart the entire dash to replace it, and change the engine while you're at it just for good measure.

Yes. Remove the HVAC fan and you can reach up and feel the entire evap with your hand. Depending on your girth it might not be as easy as one, two, three since the seat on goes back so far...but you can definitely tell if there's any debris on it. Mine was clean but then again I dont park under dirty trees all day either.

The time it takes to get this job done is going to be relative to the amount of skill someone has and whether or not they need the truck as a daily driver.....and what problems you may or may not run into along the way. Also, not everyone has the ability to evac and re-fill the AC system which means taking the truck to an HVAC shop twice, and not everyone will find their truck to be cooperative during the process. Meaning, as things get old they tend to be more fragile and susceptible to breaking. The dash is huge and everything is tight fitting which means a lot of tugging and pulling and shoving. As things break it means having to either find those replacement parts or find a way to fix it. If everything goes perfectly smooth then great...

Yes, I'm the only KATOOM... And yes, my heater core is still doing great. No leaks, no problems, and I dont regret doing it the short cut way either. It saves time and money and in my opinion the factory way of removing the entire HVAC box just to replace the core, along with evacuating the AV system, is a complete waste of time for 99% of people. I'm not suggesting only doing it the way I did but definitely worth trying unless you have AC problems that need attention, in which case it would be smart to address them while everything is apart.

Fixed it for ya...

Back when all I was running was the EZ, I know for a fact that when I replaced my 3" straight piped factory exhaust with a 4" exhaust system I gained some HP. I dont believe it was copious amounts because it was nothing the butt detector could register, but I'm going to guess around 10 HP. Just enough to make the stock clutch slip at WOT while pulling my 5th wheel up a steep grade in 4th gear. There was no denying the gain either since there was zero other variables to consider. I literally did nothing else from one day making that pull to another day making the same exact pull but with a new exhaust system...

I vote someone with an FTE do a with and without dyno test for us all... For educational purposes of course.

I'm not a show off and my WOT situations are climbing a long grade with a heavy trailer and wanting everything the engine can offer. I have no idea what kinda power loss those resonators cause but it would sure be nice to know since below is what they say on their website. I'm not dogging on FTE but its hard to disagree with the dyno... This unique spiral design virtually eliminates the unwanted sound while keeping flow characteristics for both performance and EGT reduction. Small and Simple Design makes this unit ideal for mounting in tight areas, heavy construction ensures it lasts a long time. See what customers are saying about their experience with this amazing product at www.cumminsforum.com, this product has proven itself to work great on all diesel powered trucks alike (Cummins, Powerstroke, and Duramax). 4" ID Inlet & Outlet 5" maximum diameter x 17.5" Over All Length - 12" Usable HD Aluminized Construction Eliminates irritating "Drone" & Cab Noise, maintains good sound out tailpipe or stacks No gain in EGT or reduction in flow Premium grade product

I would agree with that and already figured the volume coming out of my exhaust isnt going to relate to anything close to 120 hp loss. But...if a 900 HP truck will loose that much power just from a short resonator then a 300 HP truck will have to loose something significant as well. Maybe 30-40 HP? Not sure but just surprised at what they discovered in that vid...

I've been toying with the idea of getting an FTE resonator for awhile... Watched this YouTube video and now I'm rethinking that decision. What say you guys? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8awazQJddk

DONT float gears in these transmissions. This discussion has been hashed out for years and seems to get very heated depending who's defending what position...but no matter, it still stands as a FACT that doing so is damaging to the synchros and simply isnt what the transmission was designed to do.

Yeah but all that liberal hot air is warming things up...

This summer has been fantastic this year. Surprisingly cool temps overall, with the occasional high days. I've been planning for wood early this year so hopefully I have a handle on things before the cold winter days roll in. The funny thing about the weather patterns I have noticed these past few years or so is that I remember the hottest part of the day being around 1-2 pm. Now the hottest part of the day is 4-5 pm. And the afternoon heat is intense, like you feel like you're burning even though its only in the mid 90's. Weird... I remember there being a rumor that the planet has turned slightly off its axis due to normal patterns in weather, or one that said an earthquake knocked it off a few degrees. Maybe its true.

Filling for bankruptcy doesnt mean you loose your house... If you're struggling so much that you cant make ends meet then maybe you need to talk to a bankruptcy attorney for advice as to whether this is an option for you. Some will offer free consultations but just make sure you get more than one opinion so you're not led astray. There are options Mike... But finding someone who can give you the correct help can be hard.

Well I'm sure you're doing what you think is best for your situation... Sounds like you're chasing your tail too so maybe tone down the power a bit and make that truck a tad more reliable and hopefully you'll get through all this. I cant speak for everyone but I'm sure people are praying for you.

Its because the fuel is running out of the lines. The fuel system must retain a "prime" whereby the fuel stays in the lines when the engine is off. Also, there is NO pressure in the fuel lines/system when the engine is off. Anyone who says so is mistaken. Think of the fuel lines like a straw in a cup of water. Put your finger over the top and pull the straw out and the water remains in the straw. Thats a "prime". But put a hole in the straw and the water will run back into the glass. The size of the hole is dependent on how fast the water runs out of the straw. This is whats happening with your hard starting. When the engine is off, somewhere the fuel lines lost their seal and the fuel is allowed to run back to the fuel tank. When you go to start the engine the fuel lines/system must re-prime before the engine will start. The larger the leak the shorter the truck has to sit before it hard starts. This is also why you can typically find out if this is the problem by parking with the nose pointed downhill, because the fuel tank is then in line with or higher than the engine and the fuel has a harder time running out of the lines.

We obviously dont agree but based on the pictures and information I've seen so far, I do not believe the pilot walked out of the flywheel on its own. I think it was drawn out by the wiggling input shaft from internal problems, especially since it looks like its still intact sitting on the input shaft in one of your previous pictures. But no matter, lets just hope things hold up for you this time around... And hope your mom is doing better too...

Its your truck Mike but I'm wondering why you're "upgrading" your clutch and rebuilding the transmission. You clearly are making too much power for the 4500 given your driving conditions. Why ask to deal with this again in the future? It cant be cheap to rebuild that tranny so why not put that money towards something stronger?

This is not what injectors sound like...^ I'd check the APPS way before tearing the injectors out and having them pop tested.

This advice... I have a Sport and the OEM headlights were frigging bright...! But because they were yellowing I replaced them with TYC stock replacements and the output is nowhere the same. Dont get me wrong, they're not dim but they're not as bright as the factory lights were. I have the relay harness for full voltage to the bulbs too. If I could find some OEM housings I think it would be worth the money but they dont make them anymore and I dont believe anyone has them either.

Leaks can be very difficult to spot. You have to feel all the fittings for diesel residue since diesel doesnt act like gasoline. And a leak doesnt have to mean fuel escaping the fuel line either but rather it can be air entering. The most common places for leaks are ANY fitting you've messed with. Its surprising how hard it is to get some fittings to seal tight. The other places are the single banjo on the back of the head (towards the drivers side) and the T fitting just below it. The T fitting doesnt use banjo fittings but rubber ends. The torque for banjo fittings is 18 ft lbs. The other non-visible thing that can leak is the o-rings on the injector crossover tubes in the head. They can dry out and leak. Its definitely worth shelling out the few bucks for new o-rings when replacing injectors.

It sounds like the APPS. Check its voltage or replace it.

It clearly sounds like you need to mellow out your tune...or put the 4500 aside and get yourself a G56...or both.