Project 1997 Parts truck

[bbjordan]

I don't know. I suspect that to get the most out of it, programming will be required. But just to get running, it should be ok. I guess I'll see what the oil pressure and IPR duty cycle is once it's running. The 17* HPOP seems to be a popular hop up mod.

Eventually mine will require programming to get most out of the AC injectors.

I'm trying to get my brother to tweak the programming for me. He's a **** at that kind of thing.

 

[79jasper]

No.
But if you have a 94 like I do, you have to mod the front cover. Or also swap to the newer front cover.
They can mod it to work on either.
It has to do with the anti-drainback Circuit.

Basically the 17 will flow more oil, and can provide it down a little lower.
I checked mine out a little more and I think it's just the gasket between the hpop and reservoir. But it may still get replaced. It already has a reman sticker on it. Lol

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[bbjordan]

CAC mounting

So, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to mount the CAC (intercooler) a little lower than what I estimated at first. My first thought was to mount it as high as possible to get it away from the ground as far as possible. But after realizing how much room I had to work with, and where the radiator mounting brackets would have to be cut, I decided to lower it. This will still be above the bottom bolt for the hood release bracket (which has been truncated). It will now make for an easier cut on the rad brackets. Amazingly, the CAC fits without having to make any cuts! The hood release latch was even bent back to its original position. It's almost like it was designed to fit. These pics should prove that. The CAC is temporarily supported at the bottom and clamped up at the top. Trial fit.

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You can see the stock CAC inlet pipe connected. It fits! Need to be a little longer at the top tho.

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It's close fit, but its not touching.

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You can see where it is lower than my original marks.

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With headlight/grill mount panel. Held up with bungee cord.

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There is a piece of plastic that sticks out from behind the panel right in the middle of the CAC. That will have to be trimmed off.
Other than that it's looking really good. I will do a bit of clearancing on the rear of the support frame around the inlet and outlet of the CAC. The lower CAC supports will be fabbed up and mounted to the support.

 

[IDIoit]

is that the 7.3 or the 6.0?

 

[bbjordan]

It's the 6.0.

 

[bbjordan]

CAC mounted

More progress. Fabbed up some brackets out of some 2" wide 1/8" scrap steel I had laying around.

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1 1/4" box tube fits snugly.

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God I love having a welder.

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Some 1/8" rubber was used between the upper mounting ears and the rad support frame.

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Parts painted.

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[bbjordan]

Would you believe even more progress?

So onto the radiator mounts. Both the radiator supports and the brackets required cutting.
I'm a grinder today, which is ok cuz I'm not welding.
I like my grinder. It makes lots of sparks! With a thin cutting wheel, I think it took longer for me to put on all of my protective gear than to actually make the cuts!

This is what needs to be cut away. You kind of get the idea. View would be from inside engine compartment.

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Passenger side. I trimmed some more off of this. A new bolt hole will have to be drilled where that rusty old nut is.

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Passenger side from inside engine compartment. That cable support bracket is in the way of the CAC outlet path. It'll have to move.

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Drivers side. Note the new hole that didn't quite line up. Minor problem. Already fixed.

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Last trial fit before black rust paint. Seems solid.

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Parts painted.

 

[bbjordan]

Radiator fin straightening

So, the radiator wasn't well respected in its previous life. The first picture was supposed to be the before pic, but I had already vacuumed of dirt and fiberous stuff off, and given it a good blow down with compressed air. It's way cleaner now, but there are a lot of bent up fins. I've already spent an hour straightening fins. (The first seven columns). Can you tell? After spending another hour tonight, I'm wondering if its worth it. At this rate, I figure it it'll take another 10 hours! It's relatively easy mindless work. I can just put my brain in neutral and let my OCD play out.

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Here's a shot of the other side. If you look closely, you can still see all the radiator gravel in the fins. This is after removing a ton of dirt!

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I wonder if the PO had cooling issues with this truck?

 

[subway]

You might want to look, I seem to remember seeing fin combs at one time. It looked like a regular hair comb almost but had different widths to straighten fins. Would make work much faster to do 10 at a time.

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[snicklas]

You might want to look, I seem to remember seeing fin combs at one time. It looked like a regular hair comb almost but had different widths to straighten fins. Would make work much faster to do 10 at a time.

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Yes they do, my Dad has one.... his is metal instead of plastic like this one....

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http://www.harborfreight.com/radiator-fin-straightener-69024.html

 

[pafixitman]

Yes they do, my Dad has one.... his is metal instead of plastic like this one....

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http://www.harborfreight.com/radiator-fin-straightener-69024.html

HVAC supply houses are another place to get them. Used on heat pumps and AC units to straighten fins. Not sure if there is a width difference though.

 

[79jasper]

Mine was about the same, minus the fins.
I believe part of the hood liner had torn and was getting sucked in there.
But yours, I would just clean it and plan on replacing it. Get rid of those stupid plastic end tanks. Mishimoto has a nice one. Was around $300 last I checked.

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[bbjordan]

Weekly update

Still working on straightening the fins.

Thanks for the tips on fin combs. It's not taking as long as I originally though, or maybe I'm just getting more practiced. One thing I did was to put the rad at a nice working height while standing. No stress of being in an awkward position for long periods of time.

Some fins were beyond repair. They were just yanked out. I'm almost done. While working on the fins I remembered an aluminum cleaner that I had for the electro-static air filter in my previous house. The stuff was amazing. Just spray it on. Wait a few minutes and rinse it off. I must get some more of that cleaner. It should help the radiator do it's job.

I bought another 6.0 intercooler with CAC pipes, boots & clamps.
So now I have that and a 7.3 hot side pipe with a crappy boot and a couple of clamps.

Hooked up the 6.0 pipes to the intercooler and placed the 7.3 pipe close to the spyder. See where I'm going with this? With the proper cuts and some aluminum welding, a nice "stock looking" set of pipes can be made. Problem is, I don't have an aluminum welder.

I could get an aluminum spool gun for my MIG welder, but I would rather put my money into a TIG system. From what I've seen on youtube, MIG is ok for thicker material, but with TIG you can weld pop cans together! And it looks way nicer than MIG.

But for the price of the TIG set-up, I can get a professional to do a number of sets of these things. Hmm, do I know anyone with a TIG welder??

Passenger side:

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Driver side:

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Oh ya, it looks like the power steering cooler line will see some customization.

End of Report.

 

[79jasper]

TIG is awesome.
Pop cans? Take a look at this also.

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[bbjordan]

That's not aluminum!

Those CAC pipes are not aluminum! When I started cutting them, they were sparking. What the...? That means I can weld them.

Measure, cut, weld.

CAC pipes by Chewbacca...Getting the insulation that was put on with contact cement was about as much fun as straightening radiator fins.

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Cleaned up and tacked up.

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Hot side done.

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Cold side done.

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Sneak preview of BHAF.

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Need to paint the CAC pipe gold now.

Getting the CAC pipes done is a major milestone for me mentally. I was dreading having to deal with them.