AH64ID

As I mentioned you are looking at the shipping prepaid items. If you compare like items (as you have to pay out of pocket to ship to Blackstone as well), the price is $24.15. FWIW if you are an Amsoil preferred member the cost is $25.75 with shipping or $17.95 w/out. I am not angry in the least, I just don't have any confidence in the job that Blackstone is overpaid to do.

Okay that's not the only reason I don't like Blackstone, the few times I have used them their "technicians" have left a LOT to be desired. They seem to only know what the computer tells them, and not how to acutally read a report. You are not factoring in shipping. Blackstone is $35 with TBN, but you pay to ship it. Amsoil is $24.15 with TBN and you pay to ship it. So you pay $10 more to get the same test with crappy techs.

Which BHAF are you using? Big doesn't always mean adequate filtration or flow ratings. Your report shows why I cannot stand Blackstone reports... the single biggest thing effecting oil life is an extra cost with them. Without TBN you have zero clue how your oil is holding up, it could be good for lots more life or could be completely done. Why only 2500 miles on a sample?

What ball joints did you remove? MOOG?

Well speaking of excuses I picked up another BodyGuard today. I have been looking for a 2nd for a while and a friend sent me an ad for one. It came with some Buffalo Bore .380+P which hits with 267 ft/lbs... I'll take it!!

Aren't you over fueled on the top end anyhow? Does the smarty have less power than you have air? UDC for 24V's will be great.

Have you ever tried a Smarty Michael?

Glad it's up and running, and I am guessing you mean ECM? I didn't think the 05 Diesels has a PCM.

I always like an excuse to buy a new gun!

You may be surprised what a few mm does on a waist band, or a few oz of weight. I know I was quite surprised.

.45's are great for people, heavy and slow so they generally don't blow thru. That's nice because ALL of the energy is used to stop the person. The 10mm was developed for the FBI, but between collateral damage and many officers not being able to qualify on it the .40 S&W was developed. 10mm is a great woods gun, with full power loads; however many off the shelf loads are barely better than .40. 9mm was developed to get LOTS of rounds, which full size guns can have. A small 9mm is bigger than it needs to be, and doesn't carry enough rounds. My DD has a .45ACP, my truck has a compact 10mm, my camper has a full size 10mm with a light, the house guns are .40's, and the wife's rig has a .38 SP. My main CCW is a Keltec and hers is a BodyGuard. Both .380's are loaded with Hornday Critical Defense. 200 ft/lbs Both 10mm's are loaded with Buffalo Bore 220gr Hard Cast Lead 703 ft/lbs The 40's are loaded with Guard Dog Home Defense Ammo 432 ft/lbs It comes down to what you plan to use it for. I know you want bigger than a .380, but I know many people that didn't want a .380 and bought a bigger gun. Most of them never carry it because after a week or two it got old carrying such a big gun (even a gun size like an LC9). That hasn't happened to any of the .380 owners I know.. just food for thought as the 1st rule of a gun fight is to have a gun.. if the bigger gun is at home it won't matter what caliber it is.

If your going to go big enough for a 9 you may as well get a 40. 9mm is a horrible round, there is a reason cops don't carry it anymore. I was all set to get a LC9 a few years back, for many of the reasons you listed. The size wasn't worth it for the energy difference.

It's hard to argue self defense much past 25 feet anyhow.

If you are strictly looking at a CCW have you considered a S&W Bodyguard in .380? None of the pistols you mentioned are considered CCW IMO. I have played with several of them and in the end they would get left more than carried due to the bulk. .380 has plenty of power for a CCW, and they are tiny. The S&W also shoots fairly well, at least it is a hell of a lot more comfortable than my Keltec. Aside from cheap full frame plinking I would never own a 9mm, even then I'd rather have something else.

Overheating and EGTs don't always occur at the same time. It's quite hard to overheat a 5.9, especially a HPCR as it has a HUGE cooling system that is even larger than the '15 Aisin 385/865 motor rated at 37,500 GCWR Max. The valve seat could be from overheating thou, depending on what all was done on the rebuild. Edge products are also known to run hotter than needed on HPCRs.

It depends on if the truck was stock or not. Stock EGT's can hit 1450° or 1500°, but an EGT gauge wouldn't help, unless you want to restrict power. The 04.5-07's all have improve valve seats, and the 06-07's use different valves with a much lash on the exhaust side. It happens, but it is not a common failure. It could also have been a regular old mechanical failure, but they seem to be more prone to happen in the later HPCR's with higher EGTs... but again not common.

Emissions means higher EGT's, and higher EGT's can be hard on valve seats. How did the owner use his truck?

As W&F said any long block from a HPCR will work, but if he gets an 03-04 block he will need different injector nozzles. 03-04 SO blocks don't have as good of piston coolers, so I would steer clear. There was a valve difference in 06-07, and valve seats are stronger in 04.5-07. He will have to use his wiring harness. The easiest/best would be to find a 04.5-07, or 06-07... unless he is looking for better pistons than an 03-04 HO block with 03-04 nozzles is the way to go.

Sure doesn't look like 1.25" more than angus.

I have never heard of them either.

Got a tape measure?

Are you running a wheel spacer?

IIRC all the OEM wheels in 17x8 have the same backspacing, but the steel wheels are thinner so a little more hub will protrude than someone with OEM aluminum wheels. The Shorty kit is reported at 1.25" shorter than the original kit. Something doesn't add, or subtract, up.... just looking at the photos from dork and angus. Dork... it looks like you have the shorty kit in your photos.

The photo you posted makes the look like it's a lot more than 1 1/8" past the hub cap. Looking back at the thread I posted the wheels are H2, which do in fact have a different backspacing and rim width. There will be ± 1.25" more hub exposed on the OEM wheels than the H2 wheels. I understood your "latest version" to mean they had changed the shorty kit again, maybe they didn't. Ditch those MM hubs for some Yukon Lockout's and it will be even narrower.

No, I highly doubt this is directly related to heat, I didn't mean to imply it was. Heat would certainly show on the media first. It also doesn't look like it was sucked down, it looks like it was pressed in. Any cat tracks under the hood?