mvusse

Say Pete, how come your mileage is so bad? I get 18mpg mixed driving 24 highway (if I stick to 65mph), in my tired '87 4.0/AW4. And that's with the original stock injectors. Haven't had the funds to get Ford ones yet.

Natural gas prices have been going up along with oil prices. Anyhow, the biggest obstacle with using natural gas as a vehicle fuel is storage. It can not be liquefied unless cryogenically frozen. So usually it is stores at 4500psi to be able to at least take a "almost usable" amount with you. The tank to hold it (has to withstand 4500 psi) costs $5000+ and in a 4 cylinder car that might get you 100 miles. Less on larger vehicles. The rest of the conversion is less expensive. LPG (mostly propane, commonly called propane) is a better choice. It burns just as cleanly, and liquefies under moderate pressure allowing a much cheaper tank to hold a much larger quantity. An unmodified gasoline engine runs just fine on it, but wastes most of the available energy, and cost (at least in the USA) is prohibitive. Why a waste by product of refining gasoline costs more than the gasoline itself here is beyond me. Another waste by product (called diesel) is also more than gasoline here :nuts: Now in a diesel vehicle natural gas and LPG make more sense. Diesel engines run high enough compression to actually use the available energy and stability of the fuel. LPG or natural gas injection into a diesel engine can easily yield 150 more peak HP in a Duramax, I imagine comparable in a 7.4 powerstroke or V10 Magnum Cummins. This is called a dual fuel application, as the gas is added to the fuel, instead of replacing the fuel (like in a gasoline engine). The reason is that natural gas and LPG are too stable to ignite of their own in a diesel engine, so the superheated air ignites the diesel fuel, and the ignited diesel fuel in turn ignites the LPG or natural gas. And again, LPG would be the cheaper choice because of the high cost of the tank to store natural gas at extremely high pressures. Anyhow, natural gas is just as a much a fossil fuel as coal and oil.

I never looked for a Jeep one or at Jeep stuff before, because I never had a Jeep before. I'm not saying they don't have one. I'm saying they used to have Ford and GM, so they *may* have Jeep/Chrysler ones as well, which I *assumed* they did. Sorry if I unintentionally implied something else with my earlier post. And I know, assumption is the mother of all f..k ups. I should have known better :oops:

Gravity has been enough for me. Fill through upper radiator hose, holding the end up in the air.

Answers in Project thread, but maybe more people will see it here :D 1) Yes, if you have hard water 2) Run water through 'till it runs clear, then drain and fill with distilled water. The rust is not from the engine, the rust is from the iron in the tap water. 3) No need to replace freeze plugs unless you are rebuilding the engine (even then it's iffy) or one is leaking. I imagine replacing while engine is in vehicle will be very difficult if at all possible 4) The chances of you removing them with the engine in the vehicle is slim. The chance of messing something else up while *attempting* to remove them is higher. I would run tap water through (you installed one of those flush kits, right?) until it runs clear, then drain and fill with radiator flush and distilled water. After a few hours or so driving with that, flush with tap water until it runs clear again, then drain again and refill 50/50 with antifreeze and distilled water. Or use the premixed stuff, but that will cost you more. The key here is draining after using tap water and using distilled water. Leave tap water in the block and within 10 minutes you'll have rust again. Rust is very good at plugging up radiators. In case of emergency, rain water (if available) is an acceptable substitute. Lots of pollutants, but no iron. It took me 2 years and 3 radiators before I figured out this problem the hard way by myself. edit to add: the water wetter is also a good idea. I believe the purple ice stuff is just that, although an expensive one.

No, I mean OBD-I. The meaning of the codes is different between brands, and therefore most scanners are brand specific. OBD-II is truly a standard, and one scanner works for all. If you want to find one that fits the Jeep connector, I imagine you mean 91 through 95? The Renix ones don't have even OBD-I. But I don't remember having seen one. I know I've seen Ford (and Ford brands), as well as GM including Cadillac (which is different from the other GM ones). Maybe the Jeep ones are the same as Chrysler?

I imagine without the 1.75" spacers, your front lift would only be 3.75". Maybe they thought a full 5.5" lift coil spring would pop sideways under full compression. And since most people would run larger tires with the lift, you can't stuff them into the fenders as far anyway before the rubber would hit the metal or flare. Don't know about the track bar.

If you have hard water, the water you put in can turn brown in a matter of minutes when exposed to air (oxygen). The orangy stuff (rust) will then settle out and plug the radiator. Even if you have a water softener, the outside spigots are almost never hooked up to it. That's one reason why you should use distilled water. Not as convenient as a garden hose, but at $0.59 per gallon at Wally World, what is the excuse the not use it?

I like them better toward the windshield as well. But either flat black or paint matched to the rest of the truck. Chrome is for ricers. edit: and you already have an awful lot of that shiny stuff.

Last time I saw them was at Autozone. The cheap ones just display the codes, nothing more. The obscenely expensive ones interface with the computer and can tell you every bit of data the computer has. On some vehicles they can also spoof sensor data and change the computer operating mode in real time. The cheap readers that just display the codes are usually useless since you can get the same info by counting the flashes of the check engine light. But if he swapped in an OBD I engine/control system and didn't hook up a light, it might be useful.

Well, I got a tube of seal-all last week, but haven't had time to use it yet. Last weekend went to Canada, and overheated standing in line at the border. turns out my pressure bottle had cracks in the bottom, and when pressurized I'd lose coolant. The combination of low coolant, insufficient airflow when not moving (still no shroud, auxiliary fan mounted but not yet wired) and probably lower than designed pressure in the coolant system due to the leak caused me to boil over. I smelled coolant, but wasn't sure till the car next to me rolled down their window to let me know water was pouring out behind the ps front wheel. I undid my seatbelt, opened my door and hung my head out to look underneath to find "pouring" being the understatement of the decade. I managed to make it through the border, off the first exit and into a hotel parking lot before running completely out, but as I coasted to a spot the gauge started moving up FAST. Talk about being just in time. In short, I let the truck cool down, got a 5 gallon bucket of water to refill the system, and made it to my destination. For the trip back I "wired in" my auxiliary fan temporarily. With limited tools and materials at hand, I simply unplugged the harness from the heater/vent squirrel cage, and used a piece of romex to connect the power lead to the auxiliary fan, sticking the fan's negative lead between one of the screws holding it on. This now allowed me to use my heater controls to not only turn the fan on and off, but also gave me 4 speed settings. How's that for redneck engineering. Also took 2 3 gallon buckets with lids filled with water with me just in case. Left the cap off the pressure bottle for the way back. This lowered the boiling point of the water to 212 degrees, but unless it boiled over I wouldn't loose coolant through the pressure bottle cracks, since they only leaked when pressurized. I made it through construction and across the border without losing too much water, and met Wildman to get a fan shroud off him. Thanks Bob! So yesterday my new pressure bottle came in. Installation took only 10 minutes which was about all the time I had. Today I finally had time to install the fan shroud. Decided not to remove the radiator unless absolutely necessary, and found there was no way the shroud was going on without removing the fan. Took the fan off, stuck in inside the shroud and put them both in place together. I scuffed up the radiator a bit because I had almost but not quite enough room for the fan to clear the studs in the pulley, but didn't think much off it. This is a 6 month old radiator that was put in days before I bought the truck. Get everything together and start the engine to make sure nothing hits, and I get misted with a fine spray of water. Turned out where I scuffed the fins I also put a hole in a channel :mad: Now I still have to remove the radiator to pinch that channel shut. :wall: Wildman also liked my "rear leaf spring quick disconnect". It has been there since I replaced the springs, and after a day off road and a few thousand road miles is still hanging on. Some of the people at Badlands have seen it, but I promised to take pictures for everyone else to see. They will be coming soon.

I'll probably get slammed for this as everyone seems to like it, but in my opinion, the tires just look too big. Maybe 37s will look better on 16.5 or 20" rims, but not sure about that.

I have to agree with Taz, $1800 ate the most, but probably closer to $1500. That's a pretty large list of little things to fix, and 250K is a lot even for these trucks.

The original Hummer Alpha was available with the 6.2 POS. Mid 90s they were available with the 6.5 turbo, which might be sufficient. Recent years can be had with a slightly detuned Dmax. Only 300 hp instead of 360. But dang, the suckers start at $100K plus new. Even used they'd cost more than a new Dmax crew cab 2500HD short bed.

They may be stop nuts. They have a crimped thread to ensure they will not loosen by themselves. They should go on, but it will require some force from a wrench or ratchet.

No need for a scanner. Short the diagnostic terminal to ground and count the check engine light flashes. If you didn't hook up a light, use a test light between ground and serial out terminal. But then again, an OBD-I scanner only costs $15 to $25.

The above statement is not true. Leaf springs flex with engine torque. That's the reason for a slightly downward alignment at static. Also something to ponder, traction bars are made for leaf springs NOT coil springs. that because most coil sprung suspensions use control or trailing arms and there is little to no movement because of engine torque. I think the cardan joint is getting you confused as when your using one it will change the alignment. BUT most of the time its at the output shaft of the tranny or Tcase not at the axle/pumpkin end. So having one or not doesn't change anything at the pumpkin end of the axle. Nope not getting confused. Ask a drive train/suspension professional and see what they say. They have always told me parallel with single u-joints, pointing straight at the centre of the double cardan joint (which is supposed to be opposite the axle end, like you state) if using a double cardan ds. If you want to adjust by 2-3 degrees to make up for axle wrap, that does not change the basic theory. If everything is balanced properly, and working properly, you shouldn't get vibration as long as the angles are close to what they need to be. The only times I had vibes was either because of a bad u-joint, or a bent shaft from hitting/setting the truck down on a boulder.

Where you point the pinion depends on the type of drive shaft, not on the suspension type.

The thicker the oil, the better it is at lubricating and minimizing wear. The thinner the oil is the less drag and thus better mileage and more power to the wheels. The hard part is to find the perfect median.

If I remember my physics and math (especially geometry) correctly, the pinion should be pointing directly at the SYE flange (actually a little behind it, where the centre of the double cardan joint would be) if you use a drive shaft with a double cardan CV joint (like the stock front ds). For a drive shaft with just a single U joint at each end, the pinion shaft needs to be parallel to the t-case output shaft to minimize vibration caused by the slip joint oscillating under normal driving conditions, even on perfectly flat roads. This all stems from the fact that a U joint actually lengthens and shortens twice during each rotation if they are at any angle other than straight. With the two shafts parallel, the joints run at equal, but opposing angles, causing the change in the one to be counteracted by the other one. Now the entire shaft evenly shifts back and forth without the slip joint having to move (unless the suspension moves from a bump or whatever). To go back to the first paragraph: the double cardan cancels itself out, and you want to other u joint to be straight under normal driving conditions, so it stays even. If you'd run a double cardan joint on each end, it would not matter where anything pointed. This would be ideal, if not for the fact that double cardan joint can not turn as steep an angle as a regular single u-joint

The Duramax has never been offered in a Suburban. The last couple of generations have not had a diesel option. Willy I know. We've been asking, and the answer has always been "maybe next year, but no promises". Now that they are making a smaller Duramax, besides the original 6.6, it (the smaller one) is supposed to be available in the 2009 models that have been available since like February of this year. This is second hand information, though, as I have not yet seen one myself. Frankly, I think the 2009 body style sucks @$$.

4500 pounds can still be done pretty good with a Burb with the 350, That's what I have with 3.73 gears. Unless you tow very occasionally, though, I would call 4500 pounds the max. Any more and you want a 454, or the 6.5TD. Stay away from the 6.2, they only make 90hp. They will get your load started, but can't get up to speed. The 6.5 TD has issues with the injector pump overheating, but this can be solved by buying a kit to relocate it to the fender (away from the block). 454 with 4.10 gears would pull anything, but 9 is the number. 9mpg empty, 9mpg loaded, 9mpg highway, and if you're lucky, 9mpg towing, but probably closer to 7. Don't know much about the newer ones, but the 5.3 does not make enough torque to get a trailer started, the 6.0 might be okay, but the 8.1 gets almost the same mileage empty, and actually better mileage towing a load; about the same hp as the 6.0, but a lot more torque. Only available in the 2500. I guess they *finally* started putting a Duramax in the newer Burbs, but it is a smaller one (not the 6.6), and the Burb's been downsized to not fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood with the doors closed any more. My dream would my current Suburban (92-99 body style), 2" body lift to make the Allison fit in the tunnel and put in a 6.6l Duramax out of a p/u truck.

No experience with their mail order, but have always been impressed with their in-store service. I only live 45 minutes away, all freeway.

Good luck with everything, and if you need it, I have a motherboard with a 400MHz P-II based Celeron and some memory on it you can have. It's just collecting dust in my basement right now. Won't play youtube video, but should be okay to read the forums.

I believe head bolts are supposed to stretch a certain amount when first installed/torqued. Since used ones are already stretched, they should never be reused. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.