I got the new alternator on and wired in. I ran a single +12v switched power source inline with a 470 ohm 1/2 watt resistor. I folded back the end of the resistor on both ends to double up the thickness before crimping it into place. It also made it so i could get a bit of an overlap on both heat shrink crimps to protect the resistor. Its now outputting about 14-14.2v at idle. Which still a bit low i think.. so im going to look into the single wire process more. I may need more resistance to get a proper voltage out of it or i have a shitty ground somewhere. There is also zero room for this plug to be put in or taking out without the alternator coming off, so i think im going to flap disk the corner off for ease of life.
Now that i have the brake brackets here and installed i could go ahead and mount the calipers and see how i can make the stock oe front brake lines work on the rear axle since i have them laying around and im using oe calipers. I got some weld on brake tabs, but i still need some nuts to fasten them down but for mock up its great. I figured id buy a chunk of 3/16ths brake line and bend these up and figure it all out before i think of cutting flaring my steel lines. Im not sure the titan flaring tool i have will do stainless well, so i may just take the mock up line and have custom ones made, they are going to be about a foot in length so they shouldnt be too much. It worked out really well, the stock oe brake lines have this locking tab on them which attaches to the upper control arm, and it lands perfectly inbetween the u bolts so i tacked it on good.
Ive been diving into the rabbit hole of tuning software. Although the holley computer has a laerning feature, the more i do research its best at some point to turn it off and have a stable tune running. This means understanding volumetric efficiency charts and how that all ties into the target AFR tables. I cant do much fine idle tuning until i have a good stable tune and my fuel numbers figured out but it seems to be running good except for the fact the thermostat doesnt seem to be opening so it ends up running at about 215-220F, and i dont run it for longer than i have too to troubleshoot the coolant issue. Took the factory one out and heated it up. it eventually opened but made a noticeable noise breaking free as it opened. The water pump isnt weeping and even if it was bad since the thermostat is lower on the LS i would imagine gravity would feed enough coolant through for the bottom rad hose to get hot.. so I orded up a new thermostat because im hoping its the issue, plus heating them up can warp the springs and im never that patient..
Atleast the gassing of header paint is over now..
On the gen 3 LS engines they had 4 steam ports due to the thermostat being lower in the coolant circuit, and on gen4 Ls engines they only have two at the front. The idea of elimnating the two at the rear was that due to the angle of the engine the highest point is still at the front. Any air built up into the system is supposed to be bled through the steam ports. I just drilled a hole in the block off rubber cap i have on the rad and slid it in with some high temp sealant even though its a SNUG fit and im hoping it holds.. if it doesnt ill have to figure something else out.
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I got the rest of the exhaust hung up. I had a 45 degree bend i cut out of my buddies old exhaust and the left over eyeballed 45 degree off cut bend from the head pipe/y pipe merger. I had to step up the exhaust to get it over the rear axle, and i have no idea how this truck will sit so i put the exhaust around in line with the factory bump stops for height, and ill drop it down once i see where everything sits.
