Arborigine
Full Access Member
Sometimes I second guess myself and wonder why i do things the hard way, and if its worth it. Today was one of those days. We had a bit of a storm here and on friday they closed the mountain pass over the Sierras on the highway where I live. Last night the Cal DOT website and phone info line both list it as open. So up the hill I went. 35 miles later I come to a closed gate. Now I have to backtrack.. I stopped in at home and re-checked the website, still showing open. I proceeded to got to Doug's (Genlightning) in Minden to set the timing on our trucks, but was wondering if it was worth the trouble as I had set the marks static on the new U-haul pump and it ran fine. I have no other 6.9 to compare it to, and know it is definitely weaker than my Dad's 91 Cummins/Dodge. Over the pass I go, making this a 350 mile day transecting the Sierras twice in snow. I discovered that according to the instrument my timing was at 0.1 degrees. We reset it to 6.8, close enough to seven. Coming home I found that there was a noticable increase in power, and a much better response when suddenly floored in 4th gear from cruising uphill 2500 RPM at both 8700 feet altitude and at 2000. The truck is much more enjoyable to drive in the hills and should even get better mileage, but it will be a few weeks before those numbers are in. Next I have to re-work the throttle to get that 1/4 inch of throw I am missing.
The trip was really worth it. Had a good time with Doug (genlightning) and meeting his lovely wife and enjoyed seeing the fine work he has done on his Chevord.
The moral, don't trust the factory marks if you have swapped pumps.
Thank you Doug, for the invitation.
The trip was really worth it. Had a good time with Doug (genlightning) and meeting his lovely wife and enjoyed seeing the fine work he has done on his Chevord.
The moral, don't trust the factory marks if you have swapped pumps.
Thank you Doug, for the invitation.