AH64ID

Last weekend was a fun one for sure. It started off with a towing trip to the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness. I was loaded up at a light 23,320 lbs. It's a 260 mile tow but there are 2 notable grades to pull. The first is Horseshoe Bend Hill on Hwy 55. It's about a 3.25 mile pull that averages a little over 5% but has about 2 miles of 7% as well. Depending on traffic I usually pull this grade anywhere from 55-60. Since I knew I was a little heavier than I normally am I wanted to see how the truck did and ran it at 60, which in 5th is about 2300 rpms. Normal camping weight (19-20K max) puts me at about 80-85% load, but not this trip. On the 7% sections I was at 99-100% the whole way. I never slowed down but the load showed near max the whole time. This put me at 28 psi and 1240-1260° pre-turbo and 920-940° post turbo. All in all that's right where I want to be with sustained WOT. I also don't think I need to be going much faster than 60 at 23K up a 7% grade lol. Based on 850 lb/ft of torque in this rpm band that's about 375 rwhp, which is apparently plenty for me. I get just over 400 rwhp WOT at 2500 rpms. The next long grade was the 5ish mile pull up Banner Summit. This one is only 6% but it ends just a hair over 7K feet. I pulled it at 55 with power to spare, approx 85-90% load. It's really amazing what 5 mph will do. I don't recall exact numbers but even thou it was 3K feet higher in elevation it wasn't noticeably hotter. All of that and I got just under 10 mpg for the 200 mile drive from Kuna to Challis, ID. No complaints from me at all. The trip out was a little more interesting. I left for home just before noon on Sunday in a snow storm at 6,000' but it wasn't sticking to the road. It's a 65 mile dirt road drive to Challis from camp. About 15 miles from camp there is a hill we have to climb on the single track USFS road. The pass is at 7400', and the snow was sticking to the road from 6800' up. Based on the weight going in I still had my 19.5's on and they aren't the best snow tires... something about 70 psi minimum and LRG sidewalls/tread. I did fine going up but decided to chain up all 4 for the descent. It was nice to know that my chains fit them rather well, thou I hope to never do that again. I needed the chains for about 2 miles and removed them, no big deal. Now the real fun beings. 20 miles later I was on a larger USFS road that in technically 2 lanes but everyone still slows to pass head to head. I ran into oncoming traffic so I went to slow and pull over and my brake pedal was VERY soft and I had minimal braking. I turned on the exhaust brake and passed the traffic. Once there was a wider spot I pulled over to see what the issue was. My inital thought was the chains damaged a brake like but I had used them quite a bit since the chains were off. Turns out my tailpipe came loose and was dangling on the rear axle. The bouncing of the tail pipe on the axle punctured the right rear brake hardline... crap! I was probably 20 miles from town at this point. I pulled the loose exhaust pipe out from under the truck and tossed it in the bed, and then pinched the brake line as best I could with some pliers. I got a little bit of brakes back but only 10-15% and nothing constant as I still had a leak, but it was a dirt road I know well and I had a functional exhaust brake so I slowly went into town. In town I stopped at the fuel station and after some monkey work I started chatting with an older gentleman who was inside drinking coffee. Turns out he was the former owner of the station and offered to pinch the line in the shop for me. So I handed him a 6" piece of the hardline with the fitting on it and he pinched it very tight. It only leaked small drops with the brakes applied, so I had good brakes but nothing I could hold and sustain for long periods of time. I decided to head for home the long way. The route thru Arco added 70 miles but it's a much straighter route requiring a lot fewer brake applications. I made it 143 miles before I needed to use the brakes at a stop sign, and then made it home with only 3 more brake applications... Exhaust brakes are AWESOME! I also pulled 19.4 mpgs coming home at 70+ most the way. I got lucky and Peterson Dodge in Nampa had the part in stock and it's all fixed up. I put the tailpipe, with mangled tip, back on and will replace it this winter. The exhaust was on the docket for this winter anyhow.

I highly recommend the Southbend O-HD. It's rated for 425 hp and is VERY smooth and quiet. It's my next clutch and I run about 400 rwhp. For me 400 rwhp is enough to run 60 up a 6% grade at a hair over 23K GCW. I think that's fast enough :-)

I change mine when I hit 1 of 3 things. 18 months, 30K miles, or a noticeable pressure drop. With the way I drive lately they get changed every 18 months. This last change was done at about 18 months. I had 15,440 miles on them, which equated to 482 engine hours and 1091 gallons.

I'm excited for you!!

I found that I had to do a bit of calling to get information. For the most part people don't care about specs so there isn't much incentive for them to publish them.

I think you'll like it.

Interesting. Did you try their contact form? https://www.raceme.eu/index.php?page=content&coID=6

I called and spoke to Baldwin directly. The good thing about high pressure is the fuel pump rating is at 0 psi. So at 36 psi it's not flowing 120 GPH (or whatever it's rated for), and you're likely okay with 90 GPH filters.

Where did you get that info on the BF1212? The specs I show for the BF1212 have it at 99% free water removal and 95% emulsified water removal. 210 GPH seems a lot higher than it should be too. I thought both of those were 90 GPH filters. Running more than 90 GPH generally takes HUGE filters or parallel filtration. Parallel filtration is the most common methond, thou that's not on these trucks. These trucks usually get more fuel than the filters are designed for. It why I'll only ever upgrade to a 90 GPH pump.

I wouldn't say it's common to see. I have noticed it before but never to that extent.

The P551313 will fit a newer FASS, as will a P558000. I normally don't reccommend the P558000 at it doesn't have as good of f/w separation ratings as the Baldwin BF1212.

If you were to do a micron analysis of new oil you would be amazed at how dirty it is. Oil manufacturers rely on your oil filter to clean the oil. This is one of the reasons I never pre-fill an oil filter.

It would probably be worth a call to verify.

I think they rate them on rwhp/tq. All I know is that I'm just over 400 rw and 470ish crank and the OFE holds wot at 22K+ GCW. I don't think I'd need to detune for the O-HD.

I prefer the O-HD in my dads 06 G56 to the OFE in my 05 NV5600. It's smoother and quieter.

I thought about an adjustable trac bar, but for what little lift I have it was a big cost for minimal gain. I did replace the bushings while I had the front end apart for steering though. I used mevotech for those as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008QE0YLW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks better!

The photo shows AH as the revision, but I think Mopar is up to AL. You want to make sure it's not a recalled revision before you install it.

Can't say you're helping my already bad view of Rancho..... junk is junk, regardless of what they charge.

I seem to remember it not being required, but that's just a fuzzy memory.

How do you guys like the 4th gen style vs 2/3rd gen style? I hated them when I was driving a 4th gen, but I didn't do much towing with them

You aren't mistaken.

I agree about MOOG. I bought MevoTech at the recommendation of a trusted shop. So far I am impressed, and it was a good price thru Amazon. From what I hear if you want to upgrade to the newer style then you should go OEM.

I'll be honest, when I changed out my steering this summer I kept the 03-08 style vs going to the new 08.5+. I know there is the toe change issue with articulation but I spend a lot of time off the pavement and have never had a single steering issue. I read about many more issues with the T style so I stuck with Y steering. Here's a thought, does the 08 hit the bump stops more with the ranch hand? I know I will occasionally hit the bump stops with a 1" lift and the extra weight I have and my weight isn't even close to a ranch hand. I have a front 2" receiver, and several extra filters under hood that all add up.... each one isn't much but I sit at ~5100lbs most days on my front axle when I'm not towing. Final thought.... lots of complaints on the 06-09 seats vs the 03-05 seats. Are you sure it's the suspension and not the seat? I know my dad's 06 doesn't feel as nice as my 05 and they are basically the same truck.

They are gas charged, but I haven't noticed any pulling because of it. My truck will slightly drift to the crown of the road but it will do it both left and right, so I don't think it's related to the steering damper.