The_Hammer

Specificly on the early 2nd gen (94-97) trucks. I'm going to be doing some interior work on my 96' so it won't look like a hooptie anymore lol. I'm going to recover my headliner, add texture to fiberglass repaired panels, and paint them. I'm still debating building my own top dash but not sure yet. If there is any interest in this I will take pics and possibly some videos.

When it actually snows here people lose their damn minds. God forbid they attempt to use common sense and slow down. I don't have experience with the type of snowfall that yall' get, most I've had is a foot, but common sense says you don't accelerate through a snow covered turn at 60 mph unless you want to be in the ditch.

It's clear and 66 here today. We got a LOT of rain up river and it's on the rise.

Checking out the boost issue turned in to a complete retune lol. I ended up tightening the governor springs 4 clicks, adjusting the boost elbow, and adjusting the star wheel. The results are 30 psi of boost and the truck pulls hard up to 2300-2400 rpm then falls off quick. Seems that's about where a stock truck defuels at, which took 4 clicks to achieve. The pump still had the safety wire on the plug so it hadn't been messed with. The truck had just under 300k on it.

If I go the sport route I thought about wiring it up like this: Low beams wired to a 30a relay with the factory low beam wire from the switch used as the trigger. Do the exact same for the high beams but of course use the factory high beam wire from the switch as the trigger. This is how my lights are currently wired.

Built auto with billet triple disk converter, billet input, and VB from HTS pushing 170 psi at WOT. Fuel pressure: Idle: 22psi 2500 RPM (no load): 38psi Pressure never drops below 20psi while doing a WOT run. I don't have the funds for a 4k gsk with 60lb valve springs right now but it's next on the list. After I check the shutoff solenoid and make sure I don't have any boost leaks I'm going to turn the governor springs up a click or two.

@Buzzinhalfdozen Wasn't trying to make you sound like a stick in the mud lol. From your description the LS sounds like it's ok. One quick way to check your LS is to find a level grassy/dirt area, slowly begin to drive foward then make a turn. You will easily see if it's staying locked.

It's a 96'. Something just hasn't felt right about the way it runs, even before I replaced the wastegate. Fuel pressure to the pump is fine, even under WOT, but it still feels like I'm not getting enough fuel. Something I had completely forgotten to check out is the fuel shutoff solenoid, which I'm going to do here in a few. My idle has dropped on it's own by a couple hundred rpm and the adjustment is tight so something funky is going on.

Ok, so you don't tow, don't drive gravel roads, don't do burnouts, and the treadwear is even across the tires, but your rear tires are wearing about 1/32 per 1k miles. You need to verify without a doubt that your axle is square to the vehicle and that your limited slip isn't locked up.

@Cowboy I did a test drive a little whIle ago and was only able to hit 28 psi. It's been a minute since I had a working boost gauge (put one in tonight) but I used to hit about 38 psi with a blocked wastegate. I'm going to block it off tomorrow and go for a run to make sure it's actually an issue with the wastegate and not a boost leak. Mods are: 100 plate and afc housing full foward, pre-boost set for minimal smoke and quick spooling, star wheel just touching spring, cupped washer replaced with fender washer, sock injectors, hx35, timing at 16.5, 4 1/2" downpipe to 5" exhaust and 5" stacks.

It's cake to adjust the rod with the turbo off lol. I double and triple checked the travel, all was good.

My wastegate actuator quit working so I ordered up another one on Ebay. With the turbo off the truck I've been playing around with the rod adjustment. So far I've managed to stave off boost creep until 25psi whIle still fully opening the wastegate at 33-34 psi. This is without a boost elbow. Can anyone think of an issue with adjusting the rod this way? I wouldn't think there would be an issue as long as the wastegate fully opens at the desired psi.

@Me78569 I've thought about going to the sport headlights. With proper wiring can you run high and low together? I've already installed relays for my current lights so I'm good there. @BBHD Those look really good!

Who makes the best aftermarket headlights for these trucks? I'm wanting housings that are designed for the regular halogen bulbs. I've read that the OEM housing are the best but really don't want to spend $400 on them. Sanding my current housings worked pretty good to brighten things up but the plastic is full of stress cracks which gives them a pretty crappy beam.

Math? Do I look like some willie nillie mathamagician? Pfft, spending a few hours drawing chalk lines on tires sounds like the way to go.

That's the plan. Years ago I read an article in 4wheeler magazine about finding the perfect pressure for maximum tire life. *The road surface must be paved/concrete and not gravel/dirt. *Using white chalk draw a line a couple inches wide across a tire. *Drive about 100' and check the chalk line's wear pattern. *Adjust air pressure until chalk wears off evenly across the tire. Seems like it would be a pretty fool proof way of finding the correct pressure, albeit quite time consuming.

I wasn't going to use those figures as an absolute, more like a suggestion, if that makes sense lol. My pressure is always going to be a bit on the low side (comparatively) due to the tires high load capacity rating of 3860 lbs at a relatively low pressure of 65 psi.

I don't know what they actually are yet, I still have to get to a scale. I was using the weights from your article to get a round about figure since our trucks are fairly similar.

I ran the numbers and I should be running 39 psi front and 25 psi rear. My tires are 315/75R16 Goodyear Duratracs. Load range E, 3860 lbs @ 65 psi. I'm currently running 45 psi front, 40 psi rear. I used the weights from Mike's article and added 100 lbs total for the rear and 200 lbs total for the front due to bumpers. It's not exact but should be pretty darn close.

It's was probably mentioned somewhere in this thread but I missed it, what transmission do you have?

What's your power goal?

That's why I'm only after 450 tops. Actually, whatever I can get out of some 5x.012 injectors and the correct supporting turbo is what I'm after lol.

Threads like this make me want more than the 400-450hp goal I currently have lol.

I've been though a dozen or so floods out here over the years, had water in the house twice, it's no fun. Stay safe yall'! ETA: My avatar is from the flood back in May, almost got the house again.

Forgot to update this. First, I do NOT have a first gen air filter, I have no idea what it's actually for but it does work. Second, even though the filter looked ok I went ahead and replaced it with great results. The truck runs better and pulls hard right up to 2000 rpm, then falls on it's face. Next upgrade will be a 4k gsk and 60lb valve springs.