project Rentedmule

No worries at all man, I was just clarifying!

Rotated the rear tires today - they also get camber wear on the outside edges from stretching in the turns so I had them dismounted and swapped to the opposite sides. I also mounted up a set of used Michelin Pilot XGT-Z4 (I'm still too broke/cheap to buy new). They're 275/40-17's so they really fill the wheel well! The treadwear rating is 300 versus the 280 of the Toyos and they're also quite old so I'm not expecting much out of them in the handling department. They were fat, cheap and would pass inspection and that's all I was after this time.



Hard to see but there's still enough clearance at full lock


They replaced my 265/40-17 Toyo Proxes T1R's that I corded a few weeks ago. I'm still running a 295 version of this tire in the rear.

Race season is over and the truck is laid up for the winter now.  I have the interior out replacing the heater core that blew early this summer.  This is definitely the largest project I've ever undertaken on my own





Organization FTW!


Picked up a set of '95 Pontiac Firehawk 17x9" wheels to eventually run slicks on.  I plan on stripping and refinishing them over the winter, they're in rough shape but they were damn cheap



I'm also taking over Firefighter's magnacharged 4.3 project.  The custom lower intake manifold is here and the plan is to run an intercooled gen 5 M90 from magnusun.  That will be a slow moving project so don't expect quick updates on it.  I'm shopping for an engine to use for mock up now - I thought I had one last week but the deal fell through

I can't remember where you're at, but I'm pulling the TBI4.3 out of my blazer tomorrow. It wouldn't actually be the worst engine for the build if you're looking to do some machine work on the block too. It's stock bore right now and is pre-balance shaft, so you don't have to worry about the oiling woes or timing issues of the balance shaft blocks.

That intake manifold is tits by the way, these need to make it into regular production, they would sell like hot cakes. GM is still using the 4.3 in trucks today and it's almost completely unchanged since 96 and largely unchanged since whenever the hell it came out, mid-80s I think,

I'm way the hell up in Canada so I'll have to pass on the engine offer - thanks though!  I should be able to pick up a complete 98+ for a few hundred bucks locally if I'm patient.  I want to get it mocked up on a junk engine and then just transfer it over to the one in the truck once it's finished.

yay 275s up front!

It's too bad they are such crappy tires!  They look like they should be sticky but they're probably the worst tires I've had on the truck in a few years. 

I swapped the heater core out and started reassembling things last night.  Everything seems to be going well so far (knocking on wood)

I drilled a hole in the AC box to access the heater box screw inside - worked well.  I just patched it with some plastic cut from a spray can cap


Figured out a bit better mount for my fuel pressure gauge while I was in there.  I had some low idle and starting issues a while back that ended up being the IAC valve but I wanted to test FP. It was just zip-tied in place before

That's a really nice spot for the fuel pressure gauge, nicely done.

I drilled a hole in the AC box to access the heater box screw inside - worked well.  I just patched it with some plastic cut from a spray can cap

I always use a 1/4" ratchet in the hole for the resistor.  Works well enough for me.  Although the last time I helped a friend with the heater core he was so thankful he got me a 1/4 air ratchet, so that will make it even easier.

I tried the 1/4" ratchet - I know it could work but I couldn't get it to work for me 

I got the dash back in last night but I decided to install my wide-band sensor before I put all of the electronics back in so I could route the wiring more easily.

I picked up a custom HVAC gauge pod from a member on S10F.  It snaps in place of the vent with no other mods.  I'm having a bitch of a time getting paint to stick to it using my normal interior painting routine but I'll give it a third shot this weekend...

I've done 3 or 4 heater cores, so that probably helps with the little tricks.  Nothing wrong with the hole and plug, but I'm really picky about things like that.

A few updates that I forgot about.  I shortened my front swaybar end links by about 1 or 1.5" a while back and it made a monstrous difference in the effectiveness of the sway bar.  I'm pretty embarrassed that I didn't think to do it earlier 

I ended up making my own links out of hollow steel tubing and a 7" long bolt.   That angle to the LCA sucks but they seem to be holding up OK, I've raced 6 or 7 times on them


I reused the poly bushings I already had but I cut about 1/4" off of each one to reduce room for compression


I thought about shortening them after a failed attempt to replicate Air Ride Tech's 'posi-links'

http://www.ridetech.com/info/2007/10/posi-link%E2%84%A2/

I was dubious about paying $200 shipped for some linear ball joints and a bit of threaded rod so I attempted to make my own.  I sourced some ball joints and threaded rod for ~$40 total and put them together but the angle between the sway bar and the LCA that you see above was too great and there wasn't enough articulation in the joints to deal with it.  Maybe it would work with stock LCAs.  In any case, it was worth a shot (IMHO).



I also got some new number magnets made up



Gratuitous race shots from before the sway bar adjustments!

I'm just about to lose it and 360 in this pic - you can tell by how unweighted the suspension looks.  My front tires were corded and I pushed a bit them a bit too far trying to catch up with the guys running slicks






I don't know how to embed vimeo movies but here's one from the same race

http://vimeo.com/47111519

I was dubious about paying $200 shipped for some linear ball joints and a bit of threaded rod so I attempted to make my own.  I sourced some ball joints and threaded rod for ~$40 total and put them together but the angle between the sway bar and the LCA that you see above was too great and there wasn't enough articulation in the joints to deal with it.  Maybe it would work with stock LCAs.  In any case, it was worth a shot (IMHO).

if those are mcmaster in-line "heavy-duty" balljoints, they wouldn't have been good for you anyways. they have so much axial slop in them because of the way they are designed.

How tall are your new links?

I've heard rumblings that some newer F150 links will work well, but I haven't got my hands on a set to measure how tall they are.  Supposed to be similar to the Ride Tech links, but all one piece, cheaper, and available to purchase locally.

My notes say 2006 F150 4WD and I wrote down 3.4" for the link height.  I think that is the height I'm looking for, but don't remember exactly haha.

I think they were about identical to the linkage joints in the pic so about 4 inches.  I'll measure tonight though since the truck is on jackstands anyway.  Interesting about the F150 links... I'll check that at the parts store next time I'm there.  The pic on rockauto does look a lot like the ones I tried to make!

Started installing and running wiring for a wide band O2 sensor tonight



I also ordered those F150 endlinks, they should be here tomorrow.  I'll give them a shot and if they don't work I can return them.

why the bung in the clamp?

leaks around that area would make the wideband superuseless.

I didn't want to pay to have someone weld it for me.  I could try to do it myself but frankly, I just don't have the right gear to safely weld under the truck.  My barn is 177 years old (no typo) and tinder dry and I don't have proper welding leathers - either the barn would burn or I would. 

It's an AEM piece and there's a gasket under the clamp sealing everything, I really don't think there will be any problems with it leaking. If there are, I'll just take it to someone to get a bung welded on later.

I also ordered those F150 endlinks, they should be here tomorrow.  I'll give them a shot and if they don't work I can return them.

Awesome.  Thanks for taking the dive and checking those out on just my word.

Edit: And grab a measurement since I'm running the ART arms and don't remember if you had swapped the lowers yet.  May work well for both, but my main incentive is the mislocation of the ART sway mount.

I'm not sure what the decision is on the F150 endlinks.  They only have a ball joint at one end but it certainly has a much larger range of motion than the crappy ones I tried before.   



I couldn't get a very accurate measurement of my current links - I was in street clothes and didn't want to slide under the truck.  They look to be at least an inch longer between mounting points than my current ones though.  The increase in length with the F150 links may offset any gain associated with the ball joint.  I was in a rush but they look to be roughly 5" between the solid stops and they'd be longer with the required bushing on the non ball joint end. 

The truck is on jack stands at the moment anyway so I'll try bolting them up.  Any input on which side I should put the ball joint?  It may only fit on the sway bar side.  Harley - which measurements in particular do you want?  I run the Spohn LCAs and have the same misalignment issue (see pic a few posts ago).

If able to, I would definitely put the ball jointed end on the LCA, but necessity is the mother of all invention, so I guess we shall just have to see how it fits.