flagmanruss

I had my AD 150 installed. If you have the pickup in the OEM basket, the AD return must be back to the basket (or the line). If your pickup is outside the basket, the return should be also. The problem is that the basket screen itself is designed around the flow capabilities of the OEM pump. The 150 - 165 pumps several times the flow of the OEM pump... the basket will just not flow that much. At low fuel levels its apparently possible to pump the basket dry & draw air with fuel still in the tank. I found this out when my install was in progress... I had put the system together from parts some used, some new to save money & the mixed parts were going to cause me grief. Hope this helps,Russ

I called around & surfed the net... found the Honda 1000w for $699 + 20 shipping... $139 less than next best. I ordered it. Thanks guys! Russ http://smarttrucks.1freecart.com/i/87838/honda-1000-watt-generator-eu1000ia2.htm

I have a few weeks to our annual (2 week) re-enacting camping trip. Because of my disability, we will be just seting up a "day camp" in the re-enacting area & setting up the Toy Hauler camper in the remote parking lot. It is completely self contained, everything runs on propane or 12V... it has 3 good sized marine/RV batteries. I will be taking my battery powered mobility scooter (medical equipment gets an exemption). I'll need a small generator to run the battery chargers for the scooter & camper. I don't know what to get. I've heard the cheapies are junk... but the I've heard the same about the small Honda & Yamaha inverter types. I've concluded the only ones who write reviews are the ones who had problems... and I expect that there is a tendancy to over load the small generators which I don't think I'd do. So guys, what would you recommend?Russ

I don't know... I got both plow prep & camper packages... 8800 gvw. I'd like to know. I need new shocks...

Hi Guys,It's not all that cold out. Outside air temp 50-60, not appreciable wind, down to sea level, uphill coming back, some hills. I have my IAT fooler installed. I had to make the same route yesterday & today. Reset my overhead (still running stock mode) was AVERAGING 16.8 with about a 1 mpg dive on each the cold start & local miles (1 start to go there, sat all day, 1 start to come back)... about 100 miles for the day. Today with the IAT fooler on, the average only dropped .2 on the cold start & local roads & without resetting the overhead brought the AVERAGE up to 17.4 for both days (100 miles + 100 miles). Not only was it better than yesterday but it improved the average for both days. Mathmatically, to bring up the 2 days average by that amount, it has to be a 1 mpg improvement... but it is still a small sample.

I let my friend know this information. It made sense to him. We appreciate the good advise. I included the transmission question because someone asked. No, I didn't think it would have anythiong to do with the complaint. Tx Russ

I hung out with Tony for an hour this morning... Truck is 1997. He tells me when it starts up sometimes normal with no smoke, sometimes like it's starting one 3 cylinders with white smoke. Eventually it smooths out. He had to replace a solonoid in the transmission recently.

He told me it starts & dies a couple of times on a cold start. He's retired & doesn't use the truck a whole lot. Main use is hauling a 2 horse slant load gooseneck with living quarters. I think it is an automatic. We haven't seen much of them in recent years... they took my horse in (for free) when my ex kicked him out of the new barn I built. (So I would not loose him.) Later, they stood up for us at our wedding. (I did better the second time around.)

Saw him tonight at horse camp. He has 180k on it. Runs "ok" but has lost several mpgs.

OK, I'm confused. I used a Radio Shack DPDT switch. I thought all such switched the active contacts were opposite the toggle position. When I soldered the wires on, it seemed according to the multi-meter that the active contacts were in the same direction as the toggle. Which is it?

I know what you mean. My plans for this Spring took a back seat to getting it running again Diesel shop charges set back other projects... I really want to get my rusted out doors fixed.

Yes, I'm figuring I'll have to re-coil after service but better than damage. I couldn't make the harness spiral stay but I can make a loop out of it... a loose zip tie at the top (overlap). I don't think I can secure it up behind the dash (with one hand) but i can use a piece of fishing braid to raise it... then it'll have give. The XZT is the size of a pack of cigarettes but I'm having trouble finding a place to velcro it. The harness is short & I can't get it beyond the brake pedal / steering shaft. I'm looking at the plastic cover on the e-brake assembly... might be able to velcro it there.

My truck was in the Diesel Shop... the mechanic questioned "all the extra wiring under the dash".... Yes there was. I'd left the harness on the trailer brake full length as it had nice labels on each lead. I had installed an Escort Radar system (front & rear sensors wired to a under the dash box & a tiny control unit)... again left full length as they were tiny factory made connectors. They were all bundled & zip tied under the dash. None of these affect the engine but he didn't know what it was. I had an AD150 & big line system installed. Now, I'm adding a IAT fooler & XZT+. Both are plug-ins. This is important as they can be reversed for troubleshooting if necessary. I'm creating a schematic & sheet on the IAT. I AM going to copy & keep the installation instructions for the XZT. And I'm making a list of these aftermarket sustems... to stay with the vehicle. God forbid I should have to explain all the stuff on the truck... but better to keep it all together. edit When I had the AC repaired last, the mechanics (idiots) apparently did not snip my zip ties... and some of my wiring (rear radar sensor) was damaged. It's my belief that they just used force. I'm thinking of employing grocery store velcro (produce dept green strips) to hold some slack in the wiring so it'll give this time.

It depends what the cause of the failure is. According to Blue Chip Diesel who builds pumps, the electronics can wear out by overheating. I found he discussion on their site useful. http://www.bluechipdiesel.com/vp44diagnostichelp.html Blue Chip has experiemted with cooling the VP44 & not had any luck... though it seems that fuel going through the pump cools it & more fuel flow being returned to the tank cools the VP pump. This is why so many are going to aftermarket higher volume lift pumps. Be sure you have fuel pressure. I have been running TCW3 (outboard oil) and am convinced that is saved my VP44 when my fuel pump lost power & stopped. Pray Best Wishes, Russ

OK, I found the ASD relay under the hood. No reason it should have been disturbed sitting in the middle of the electrical box. I tried to pull it but only succeeded in rocking it some. Turned the key on & the CEL was out! I can't imagine the relay does anything but pull straight up. Are these relays expensive (are they all the same on one truck... maybe I need a spare). I need to secure the wiring now & take it for a ride. Thanks, MikeRuss

P1388 - Auto Shutdown Relay Control Circuit An open or shorted condition detected in the auto shutdown relay circuit. I finshed up the IAT fooler. I used the IAT extension harness from Caspers to make it up. 3 wires into the cab & a 2.2K resistor... never turned it on yet. I installed the XZT+ (plugs into MAP & back into harness, plugs into data link plug). Never turned it on yet either. It was pretty tough for me to get to the harness plugs, either see or feel. I seated the plugs until I heard the retainer click. (Note: I didn't have the CEL when I brought the truck home... fresh install on the AD system.) Could there be a problem there. I had to move the AD harness (excess coil) to get to the firewall. I can hear the AD kick in when I turn the key on. Ideas where to look?

I installed the IAT fooler harness yesterday. I'm not about to take it off to redo, but if I was starting from scratch I'd pay better attention to make the leads come out to exact equal length because we're cutting the leads it's an extra detail. I'd also Y the splice joint rather than Ting the way I did. It would just make the end product slicker & the final dressing of the harness neater. I ran the harness up & over the brake to the gromet to keep it safe. When I'm done, I'm going to slide split loom over it & zip tie it to the other harness on the cowel edge along with the XZT+ harness. The only thing left to do is solder the switch in... Already soldered the 2.2K resistor to the switch.I will run the IAT fooler alone, first, before using the XZT+ so that I can ~scientifically separate the effects. I place this update here on this thread, to help those others who follow after. Russ

I once had a vehicfle which just ate fan belts... I had the alternator rebuilt & it still did it... I got rid of it before I figured it out. I sure couldn't find any misalignment... but I wouldered if something on the belt might have excessive drag. (Could still have bad alturator bearings). Bad Waterpump bearings, PS, Serpentine belts use an idler.

I tend to get "tunnel vision" at times... The idea to mount the switches behind the panel is a great idea that did not go well. Really a failure. So I'm going to mount them directly in the knee panel. I'm going to see if I can find a washer for the bunged up hole to try to salvage this knee panel... nothing to loose. (If it doesn't work, I start hitting up junk yards.) To make this panel easier to remove, I'm going to leave plenty of slack in the wires. I'm going to tape & then chafe protect the cut edge of the steel dash (and the wires) so the harnesses should slide out easily. Plan on dropping the switches out when the panel comes off in the future. I want to get this settled & get under the hood. edit I decided to use the ugly knee panel for now, rather than stopping the project. I had to carve out the knee panel backer with my trusty dremel cutter so the switch necks would reach (another reason the rear mounted switches were a failure... ) Got that done & I used short pieces of electrical tape to wrap the sharp edges of the dash cut out then slipped a piece of 1" split loom over it. I followed the leads where I ran my remote mount radar detector (years ago now) & was able to cut the grommet to admit the IAT fooler harness I made up. I had a terrible time locating, reaching, unplugging, plugging into harness & sender with the IAT harness under the hood. I couldn't see well enough into the dark hole with the bright sun outside... I struggled to get my arm in the right place & my fingers to hold onto & plug the d@gn thing in. But I did finally succeed & quit for the day (my legs were shot anyway & hadn't forked anything up yet). I'm going to test continuity on the IAT before I solder the leads to the switch. I did use force & violence to remove another hunk of firewall insulation... it was hanging down in my way... When I yanked it, a couple of acorns rolled out. Sadly, I have no choice but to continually remove moouse habitat every time I find it. I tried & failed to get the plug for the XZT+ through that grommet first but there's another one nearby & I think that may be the answer. I the MAP sensor I need was right there while I was doing the IAT but I have not spotted the data link yet. Hopefully it'll not be too hard to reach. further addition Upon reflecting on the IAT fooler harness install yesterday, if I was starting from scratch I'd pay better attention to make the leads come out to exact equal length because we're cutting the leads it's an extra detail. I'd also Y the splice joint rather than Ting the way I did. It would just make the end product slicker & the final dressing of the harness neater. I ran the harness up & over the brake to the gromet to keep it safe. When I'm done, I'm going to slide split loom over it & zip tie it to the other harness on the cowel edge along with the XZT+ harness. The only thing left to do is solder the switch in... Already soldered the 2.2K resistor to the switch. So IAT fooler install is almost complete. I will run the IAT fooler alone, first, before using the XZT+ so that I can ~scientifically separate the effects. Russ

I've decided how I'm going to run the harnesses for my XZT+ & the IAT fooler. The mechanic was fussing about "all the extra wiring" under my dash while they were working on it. (Too bad he did not call me because there was the Trailer brake box & the Escort remote radar detector system... neither of which connects to the engine.) Well, I took the knee panel out. I had left the harnesses long & just zip tied them up & out of the way. Since I know I still have to have the dash pulled for the heater & AC repairs, I figured I'd create some slack to work with. (snip, snip, snip... zip ties out)So I started to install the 2 toggle switches for the XZT+ & the IAT (mpg) fooler. I decided I'd rather not install them in the knee panel but rather behind it sticking through (making the knee panel easier to remove in the future. I spotted my locations, I ran a drill through, & clearanced the dash (plastic & steel) behind the knee panel. I made a mounting plate for the switches & screwed it in. The last thing before I was to quit for the day, I bored the holes for the switch necks through the knee panel. The larger one chewed up tearing the surface of the knee panel in an unsightly manner. My bad. I should have stepped the hole up more gradually. I don't know what I can to to improve the appearance. I usually keep going just a little too long... I should quit when I begin to get tired.

Well I had a gas GMC (305 cid) with 3.07s & it was horrible. I lowered the ratio as far as I could with that carrier. My 68 Plymouth Road Runner 383/727 auto, 3.23 (14" rims) was a a fine well balanced car. My Chevy C30/454/auto/3.73s/16.5 was a towing fool... at 11mpg (loaded or empty). I do agree a multispeed transmission, with a 3.23 or 3.55 (big wheels) would be a better combination. OD is fine for running empty... edit When I got this truck, it was my first full sized diesel (Ranger 2.2 & JD backhoe preceded it). I didn't realize that the diesel engine really made little difference to the effects of the ratios (my opinion, now). The stock ratio is much better than the 4.10s I got unless one is going to run much bigger wheels. I'd be much happier if this truck had 3.23s or 3.55s. I relied on the f*cking salesman & he wanted to sell the unit on his lot.

Prices are crazy here. I've seen 4.11 (4.15, 4.25) to 4.29 on the same day. I bought gas for the Cirrus... trying to keep it in the top 1/4. I bought reg gas at 3.69, 3.71 across the street! Just crazy! I've cut my driving by half or more. These run away prices are sucking any income gains out of the economy.

Well, my faithful JD backhoe has sat out, seldom used for years at a time. Mice are a problem even on the backhoe as the like to sit on the transission & the mouse deposits interfere with the transmission linkage. I've had a lot of rust problems here... the Chevy truck that was in the barn, had a lot of rust underneath. At some point I had a valve hang... it un-hung when the piston hit it, spitting the pushrod out... the strange thing is that that interval was no longer than some others. I should have fogged the gas 454. Previously, I'd had it out of action but kept plates & insurance so my buddy at whose house it was stored, could drive it occasionally.I really think the TCW3 oil is a real benifit... Storing a gas engine, I'd run some through the fuel & then fog with it... years ago I used to fog boat engines with Mystery Oil but today I'd use the TCW3. My CTD truck doesn't get used that much... but I plan to drive it once each week. If I had to store a truck, I think barring the engine over once might be a really good idea. I deliberately scuff the brakes the 1/2 mile hill leaving the house. It's amazing how fast stuff rusts around here. If I could get a caretaker... and it wasn't going to be driven... I think I'd look into not only indoor storage but running a dehumidifier (I've run them in my shop & basements for years... but they ice up in cold weather.)

Stranger & Stranger... ??Scratching head?? edit[/edit The original alternator did not do this. (presumably) At least you are paying attention. It will be interesting if this were to happen again. further edit I just looked at my truck. My thought is that the 2 sides of the steel bracket stamping are supposed to squeeze together to grip that aluminum boss on the alternator tightly. If the bolt was not threaded enough (perhaps a replacement when the alternator was replaced previously) or rusty or the welded on nut rusted / damaged might prevent the steel from squeezing although the bolt might be "tightened" to spec. If this was my truck, I'd compare length, wirebrush / chase the bolt threads, maybe run a tap into the nut section, a drop of oil or NeverSeize, reassemble. Russ

Likely, the China made alternator boss is out of spec. First I'd try to shim with washers to get a squeeze on it. Some alternator mounts have a sleeve which slides in to adjust for variation in dimension. But doing that would be more work.