rancherman

EXHAUST gasses continue to expand all the way out to the end of the pipe, from the time the spark or injection occurs. Actually, right up to the point they reach ambient temp. (floating around in atmosphere, several feet away from tip) So, a choke point (where you indicated) is handling still relatively 'compressed' gasses, and the area they have to travel through, well, they 'fit'. Now, 7 feet 'down stream' will see these same gasses trying to take up more space, just because they have 'expanded' even more.. This is where we'll see the muffler, and larger tailpipe configurations in a lot of vehicles. In NA rigs, a smaller headpipe is for velocity/cylinder scavenging, and they progress into larger and larger pipe for back pressure management, and sound reduction. Small pipes will have speed, which is momentum that can help 'draw' much like a chimney. Chrysler did a lot of goofy looking intakes and exhausts in the 50's and 60's utilizing this phenom.

I'm doing it for added lube, and not 'fuel replacement'... I think too many are trying to run on 30% or more weo.. "looking for free fuel' which naturally will cause build up.. I'm only going to use my own oil, I use Conoco fleet 15w40 in every engine on my place. even the 4 wheelers.. No hydraulic, gear, automatic trans.... just engine oil. I have a unique situation, I have my own fuel storage, and should be able to have a good blend before it hits the tank. I've been 'hand dumping' weo in a cummins 903 for about 4 years now.. trying to keep 5%

......wish I had clouds to watch! Clear blue skies day after day after day... Man, It's DRY here!

Is there room to just buy longer bolts, and run nuts up against the box?.... I'm sure as soon as I run outside and pop the hood, I'd have my answer. If it was mine, I'd look really hard at if it was starting to leak, or getting close, but if it was rebuilt recently, try the longer bolt/nut trick? ( 'boxes aren't that expensive on the other hand ) Man, you might of dodged a bullet here.. having a box fall off going down the road isn't too fun of a scenario! Better check your frame for deep galling or wallowed out mount holes too!

Last week made a run to the city for my monthly wally world 'run'.. and picked up every jug of 2 stroke, and always make a point to check out the ammo display. 2 stroke still 12.38 a gallon. (10 cents an ounce). Nice surprise, just about every caliber is available, and even the 9 mm and .223 was offered in 250 and 500 loose bulk pack.. Prices are still a bit high, but are lower than the 'opportunists' were charging last year... (I'm sure I have a rant on here about those guys!) .22 is still vacant on the shelves, but a quick search on various sites such as gunsamerica.com , gunbroker.com will show several brands, types, and amounts. There are some 500 round bricks 40 gram lead LR for 54.99 per brick, 11 cents a round. My gosh, 11 cents for a .22 ! oh well, at least it's available. Wallyworld still has a limitation on how many boxes a person can walk out the door with, which probably is ok...

My 'project' '94-97 truck will be a test mule on this subject, and put this myth to rest... one way or the other.

I had quite a 'bang' upon going into 2wd last fall. Sometimes it would take several miles for the light go out, then BANG. I just started backing up a few feet to speed up the process. 2-3 foot is all it takes. Nothing wrong with the servo. or lines. It was the tires. Soon as I replaced all 6, it shifted smooth and quickly... quarter inch difference in 'wear' makes quite a difference in ratios front to rear... . a sticky/bad/leaking servo won't make it go 'bang'... only extreme torsional differences...

Man, u really touched a nerve here! I've only been with US cellular... only because it's the only carrier 'out here' that I can get reception... about 6 years ago, I bought a 'gross' of used flip phones, off of ebay, with extendable antenna... (Motorola V323's ) for something like 120 bucks for the box. They were used, but came with new chargers. Shoot, they weren't even wiped clean! I got some pretty interesting pics... So when ever I crush, drown, electrocute or just plain lose any of my phones.. I just grab another one out of the box and run down to the office to have it activated. I'm pretty sure they don't iike to see me walk in the door!... (gives me the willies just to walk in!!) All they have on their mind is to SELL SELL SELL! service is NOT on the menu there! They act like they just got news of an impending root canal while they activate my phone... Cell Phones. sheesh, talk about the biggest brilliant scam ever devised...

I saw a 'how they make it' show on horseradish.. and they leave the root in the field all winter... late winter early spring is when they dug and processed it. My gosh, talk about a high powered acid! The 'heat' is supposed to travel through our upper palate at something like 800 mph.. and well, we all know what happens next! I kinda like it! I'd like to try growing/processing some myself, is there hybrids out there, or is it all the same?

I guess the movie 'nebraska' was shot not too far from here. I haven't seen it either. LOL I know there was quite a 'herd' of local wannabe 'extras' trying to get in front of the cameras..

hmmm.. I ususally only wash my stuff as a 'pre fix' prep. 15 minutes on the end of the powerwasher keeps me a tad cleaner... LOL, some of my older stuff doesn't have much paint left! isn't it amazing the amount of 'asphalt' we can build up on these engines? (oil, clay and sand)

Hey MnTom, WF, others in the great North... What are people sayin aboot the new tv series Fargo? The original movie years ago was quite a tale, and I can't but wonder how this series is going to play out...

Gotcha, I was just curious about all the bearings that went bad within a short time.

X2. It does help soften the 'blow' a bit! Turn the radio UP!

curious, do you powerwash your engine bay a lot?...

snowing here too... same system that's bombing you Tom... Horrendous winds, WC is about 0* My mom and dad 'retired' back in 1996, and moved to Pequot Lakes, about 30 miles north of Brainerd.... Bought a nice house lake side and snowmobiled all over the place, including the west shore trail up to Grand Portage and back.. Don't most sane people retire to warmer climes? LOL

Time to shift gears and do a little investigation, I got vehicles/ parts all over, in 2 different locations. I'll get back with some info, thanks!

I have a parts donor truck that is a '97 5 speed and 4 wd. It has the exact same dash as my 2000, with the digital odometer. (Along with numerous 94-96 parts trucks) I used to think the 'type' of dash was the determining factor with which body harness needed? My plan is to take the 12v out of this 97, and put together a nice rust free 94... (just about ready to start bolting it all together).. I better hurry up and figure out how deep I gotta get on the electrical part! I haven't decided which dash to run.. I kinda like the looks of the 97's cluster, but my 94-96's are in better overall shape... In either case, I have the harnesses to swap over to make any combination work...

When I jumped into the ranch business in 1984, I got about 350 dollars for every calf I sold. They were just shy of being 1 year old. I 'made' about 100 dollars profit on each one. Anyone remember how FAR 100 bucks stretched back then? That was at least 5 tanks of gasoline or 8 tanks of diesel. (sure, the diesel pickup 'back then' wasn't worth driving home!) GM's attempt at converting a 350 gas. Last month, I sold the same size calf, and they averaged just under 1100. Guess what? I still am making just a tad over 100 dollars per calf. Unfortunately 100 bucks don't go very far these days. Now, to get this calf ready for the freezer, a person would need to feed them to grow and fatten.. probably need another 3-400 dollars for the corn and hay, 5-6 additional months on feed, and another 350-450 for the butchering. That's about 1950 dollars for a 'finished' calf, ready for cooking. That figures right at 3 dollars a pound 'in the freezer'. Ya know, I thought I'd never think I hear myself say this, but has this Country reached a point to where any additional population is going to change forever our 'way of life', and our wide open spaces will be just a fond memory? I heard the other day that when our pop in US reaches 1 BILLION... uggg.

All over Fox news this morning... and the lack of beef in US. Cow numbers are at 1951 levels. Ranchers are encouraged to increase their herd numbers.. But I gotta ask: Where? I'd love to! Blm grazing in places is almost non existent. 100's of thousands of private grassland has been plowed up to grow corn... Pasture and rangeland is THE most efficient way to feed the mother cow... any form of confinement is just asking for problems with disease, and increased costs to 'carry every scoop of feed in, and poop out'... Confinement works ok with the fattening of the calf, not the daily lives of the mother cow. Somebody somewhere decided that 'corn' was renewable, and can supply US with 'clean' fuel. They never factored in the butt loads of fertilizer, additional fuel to pump irrigation water ( ground water, heaven forbid they pump dirty river water!!! ) to grow this miracle plant on marginal ground... Yes, the corn plant is 'renewable'... But the materials to grow the stuff sure isn't! Don't even ask me about the release of CO2 during the fermentation process of the corn... yikes! We better remember about our soil: we don't own it today, we are 'borrowing' it from the future. Watching it blow away every spring around here is sickening. Keeping it in native grass ( and mowed down with cows teeth) is the best way to preserve our most valuable resource...

I'll try answering.. 'as designed'.. cummins is top notch..... It's when the human element is added is when any engine will show weaknesses... But still, Cummins is easily modded without enormous collateral damage/expense to increase durability It's amazing what is getting produced out of these without a thing being done to the lower end!... duramax and powerstrokes need a buttload of cash just to keep the bottom end intact. You could annually check your antifreeze for PH.. or send a sample in to be analyzed for change in PH and/or exhaust contamination Early detection won't make it live any longer, but it may help you prevent a catastrophic failure.. The damage will already be done by then however... When I see or hear about exhaust seat/pocket cracks or deterioration, one thing I usually think of is improper heat up/cool down.. especially in competition running... or too late fuel injection.... improper/too late water/meth injection.. the list can go on and on.. Cascade is a base.. it's very similar to the detergent we used to use in milking pipelines. Since our cooling systems tend to run a tad on the acid side, going the 'other way' with the ph makes a great scum remover... to answer you last part, yes.. it can happen to any engine given enough time.

Bill, I'm talking about letting cattle drink out of the natural waters that are either flowing across a persons property, or being pumped out of the ground... for stock watering purposes.... and the little bit of irrigation needed to supplement the ranchers winter feed supply.... Not the mile after mile of row crop farming * subsidized by you and me* and using up water, just because it makes 'money'. The Monsanto's and John Deeres, CIH"s etc are making sure DC gets the point! I'm right in the middle of a massive 'turn native grass into irrigated corn' type phenom... and our Ogallala aquifer is the supplier of this needed resource. I'm pissed because it's really changed how I do business.. I now have to truck cattle a couple hundred miles to find enough summer grass.(yes, I'm considering moving my whole operation) More importantly, It's a waste of natural resources. Besides the fact our ground water no longer safe to drink with high nitrates. We really screwed the pooch here. Without irrigation, this 'lush' country of Nebraska too is just as you stated... a desert.. I don't agree with how this State has evolved in the past 30-40 years... Far as I'm concerned, It should be ALL native range land. Ok, OK, the eastern 1/3 of the state has pretty heavy soils and adequate rainfall... I look at Crop farmers who sell every kernel of grain for cash much differently than the Rancher who plants just enough to supplement their operation... This Spring... I'm witnessing first hand on what a 4 dollar drop in corn prices has done to land values, and 'greed'.. land is not renting very well at all to the commercial operators. Meanwhile, our topsoil (if that's what it's considered... it's mostly sand ) blows away!

The 'other' half of this story is the tons of money from the tree huggers.. and the massive weight they impose on DC... 'they' don't want cattle on public lands. PERIOD... I won't rant in here about the benefits of controlled grazing has! Another factor could be the state of Nevada using their muscle for water rights.. and using the fed as the thugs to implement. Las Vegas is pumping water from the northern 2/3's of the state (gobbling up water, and forcing farmers/ranchers out) Sure, they can stay.... but without water it's suicide. It only takes the smallest of loophole to start eviction..

Remember my concerns last week on building a tow rig without a fuel plate.. and worrying about a non-accustomed driver behind the wheel? How about installing a valet switch... somewhere where I'm the only one that knows about it?

No problem John! I had a couple of heaters where I tried to tap a garden hose into for a quick hot wash... and only got cold... or barely warm at the best... I figured at the time the intake down pipe was really close to the drain bib, and the intake water was running out the drain bib in a straight line shot.... very little mixing. I figured most WH's were typical. Geez, thinking back, they were propane heaters to boot... I'm not sure if those would have different configurations on the inlets... I do remember hearing about electric's having an anode/cathode for sacrificial corrosion.. (When I lived in eastern Iowa, our well water ate WH's for lunch) LOL< If I could 'trust' my plastic hose drain, I'd run downstairs right now and see if my 50 gallon electric will give me hot or cold! (I've had a bad experience with those things!! don't ask!)