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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond

Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
Overview Gallery Discussion
One of the local club members got video of my trip through the Chutes on Kelly Flats. You will see I was struggling getting around the big rock in the middle of the Chutes. I didn't have anyone telling me anything and I couldn't tell if I was just on the slider or getting hard into the doors. The new sliders sound a little different on the rocks.

 
I noticed the other day my air intake tube had come apart. Who knows how long it was pulling unfiltered air. :doah: I picked up a shiny tube and filter from Summit.

Before:
20240802_125725.jpg

After:
20250611_152903.jpg

I'm debating if I'll add a bracket to support the tube. It's very rigid but I also know vibration can work on it. If I do add a bracket it'll be tied to the engine since it's so rigid.
 
Tight squeezes in the chutes, any(more) significant dents? The bed looks like it holds up well to the scraping!
Agreed to support the filter.
 
76zimmer said:
Tight squeezes in the chutes, any(more) significant dents? The bed looks like it holds up well to the scraping!
Agreed to support the filter.
Click to expand...
No body dents. I did scrape paint on the cab in a couple places. The back corner of the bed got a little dinged up from that exit. But that's what I built it for.
 
I made a fan shroud this weekend. When i first installed the radiator after the engine swap I didn't look like I had room for one. Now that the whole narrowed front clip has been installed and settled in I have room.

The coolant temps run hotter on the trail than I like and the shroud should help. I have the benefit of all the aluminum sheet fabrication stuff including the CNC. I used .063 aluminum.

20250614_160006.jpg

20250614_160352.jpg

Unfortunately I ended up with a gap at the top and bottom between the fans and the shroud.

20250615_135308.jpg

I'm thinking I'll get some heat duct tape of adhesive backed foam tape. Not sure if the latter will hold up to the temperatures.
 
For the people that like the nerdy math side of things here's why I think the shroud will help.

I have (2) 16" fans which total 402 sq-in area pulling air though the radiator. With the shroud, the fans will pull air through the entire radiator which is 655 sq-in. The fans by themselves were only pulling air across 61% of the radiator.
 
mrk5 said:
I made a fan shroud this weekend. When i first installed the radiator after the engine swap I didn't look like I had room for one. Now that the whole narrowed front clip has been installed and settled in I have room.

The coolant temps run hotter on the trail than I like and the shroud should help. I have the benefit of all the aluminum sheet fabrication stuff including the CNC. I used .063 aluminum.

View attachment 506268

View attachment 506269

Unfortunately I ended up with a gap at the top and bottom between the fans and the shroud.

View attachment 506270

I'm thinking I'll get some heat duct tape of adhesive backed foam tape. Not sure if the latter will hold up to the temperatures.
Click to expand...
That gap is fine.
1/2" or more would be a problem but it's less than 1/4".
Still the sticky foam wouldn't be bad
 
The less gap the more efficient it will be.

Also, the fan themselves makes a big difference, some fans are only 1,500 CFM, some powerful dual fans are 5,000 CFM.
 
folkenheath said:
The less gap the more efficient it will be.

Also, the fan themselves makes a big difference, some fans are only 1,500 CFM, some powerful dual fans are 5,000 CFM.
Click to expand...
These are supposed to be 3,300cfm each. A big reason I bought them is because they are brushless and have a soft start feature.


imiceman44 said:
That gap is fine.
1/2" or more would be a problem but it's less than 1/4".
Still the sticky foam wouldn't be bad
Click to expand...
That's what I'm leaning towards. I agree with you and @kgblazerfive that's it's probably fine, but if it doesn't cool like I'm hoping I'm going to be wondering if that's why whether it's realistic or not. I have some foam tape on-hand anyway, so it's not going to cost me anything.
 
You just turning them on one at a time or running the PWM feature?
 
Yes, that's what I'm doing. I am looking into what I need to do run them using PWM and I'd like to set that up in the future.
 
It needs PWM+, since the Terminator X can only PWM -, I think a solid state relay would do it, since it doesn't have to control the amperage, just the voltage. The relay only needs to be used to switch the polarity, but it needs to switch the polarity at at least 110 Hz, which I wouldn't trust a mechanical relay for.

If you do that, then just add an I/O config and populate the PWM table however you want.
 
folkenheath said:
It needs PWM+, since the Terminator X can only PWM -, I think a solid state relay would do it, since it doesn't have to control the amperage, just the voltage. The relay only needs to be used to switch the polarity, but it needs to switch the polarity at at least 110 Hz, which I wouldn't trust a mechanical relay for.

If you do that, then just add an I/O config and populate the PWM table however you want.
Click to expand...
Cool, I'll check that out. I knew I needed something between the fans and the Terminator. I had been trying to find info on a C6 Corvette controller.

I have the Derale PWM controller in the C10 and I really like that setup.
 
You don't need a PWM controller with that fan, you just need a solid state relay like the Holley nitrous relay or even a Hella solid state relay since all the amperage on that fan goes through the red wire and the green wire is just a voltage input to tell the fan what percentage to run.
 
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