CK5
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The Great Smaug
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
After 3 in a row I have some other ideas to chase. Now to narrow the list down.
I vote another old tractor. I’m slowing getting burnt out on automotive wrenching for the time being, and old tractors are an entirely different kind of fun
Yeah...you now have hope that if you throw enough money into a square you'll eventually wind up with a $1000 rust bucket.
The truth and the problem! $$$
That's true. I'm using my buddy's Ford 4000 for lifting the engine outta the Blazer. I do miss having hydraulics around. But I only have 3 acres, and I don't have much heavy equipment work to do. Not enough to keep that thing busy.
I'm thinking a different automobile class, or some sort of go-cart. I'd love to cut down a small framed vehicle into a UTV. Like a Bronco II or a non-rusty Wrangler, if such things exist. I did that to a hatchback once and it was heaps of fun. And that was before I learned to weld, even. I could have much more fun now. Following in Grandpa's footsteps.
I have a soft spot for wagons, and recently have been looking at Roadmasters. 260HP stock in a RWD with factory posi. It's basically my Lesabre with twice as much potential awesomeness.
I have heaps of other ideas, most involving inline engines. No idea where the dice will land, but it's going to be something new and different. After 5 of these diesel engines I'm ready for a new kind of fun.
Of course, this build isn't actually done, it's just moving away from mechanical stuff and into optional amenities. 
So the Burb is going to continue to run a 6.x for the forseable future, you are just looking at new DD ideas correct?
Yes on the Burb (and Blazer). I'm just predicting that within a few months I will have finished the builds and be in need of something else. I'm looking for fun project ideas that will teach me new skills. Haven't narrowed it any further than that. Could be pretty near anything, and more or less depends on what I randomly find while trolling the classifieds.
Interesting things I've not yet mastered include:
EFI tuning.
Putting a direct injection common-rail diesel into some random passenger car (my version of a sleeper, and a throwback to one of my high school projects).
Building a suspension worthy of sand dunes (wish we had some local to here)
Making a go-cart.
Building an offroad camping trailer.
Building a pop-up camper shell for the burb.
Building a fiberglass canoe.
Putting snow tires on an AWD Subaru and running the local ice racing tournament.
24 hours of lemons? I'm probably too far from the tracks to pull that one off. But it would be a blast.
Building an offroad forklift. Just because.
Pull some flat-fender or CJ out of the woods and get it road-worthy. Probably need a new frame.
Build a smaller version of a DUKW.
Etc.
I have hundreds of permutations cycling through my head. Haven't bought a project rig in 4 years, and that's enough time to accumulate some daydreams. Who knows which one will pan out?
Due to time constraints, the lift pump switch is still connected to +12V instead of switched ignition power. Thus the lift pump must be manually turned on and off (this will get fixed soon). On a few occasions I forgot to do this (
), and the engine ran for protracted periods with no lift pump. It never missed a beat, so I didn't even notice until the next time we stopped.
But for @AgDieseler, the engine seems to run perfectly normally without a lift pump, as long as it's not sucking air. The Blazer gets an airy lope when the pump is disabled, the Burb just keeps on trucking.
Might have something to do with all that new tubing I accidentally installed.
), and the engine ran for protracted periods with no lift pump. It never missed a beat, so I didn't even notice until the next time we stopped.But for @AgDieseler, the engine seems to run perfectly normally without a lift pump, as long as it's not sucking air. The Blazer gets an airy lope when the pump is disabled, the Burb just keeps on trucking.
Might have something to do with all that new tubing I accidentally installed.
But you should definitely keep positive pressure in the pump. It's a fluid-lubricated pump, and extra fluid flow on the return line is very cheap insurance against running the pump dry.
But you should definitely keep positive pressure in the pump. It's a fluid-lubricated pump, and extra fluid flow on the return line is very cheap insurance against running the pump dry.
I wired my lift pump through an oil pressure switch. Anything below 7 psi and it'll switch off. It's actually good to have incase of an accident. If a fuel line is ruptured it won't pump out a tank full of diesel.
You cut power to the lift pump based on oil pressure? That's SOP for a lot of vehicles, but it won't kill this engine...
You cut power to the lift pump based on oil pressure? That's SOP for a lot of vehicles, but it won't kill this engine...
Yes, but it's not to kill the engine. It's to ensure that if the key is on but the engine dies for any reason the lift pump gets turned off. Pretty much every modern car/truck does the same thing. It's for crash safety more then anything.
Yes. But tying the ignition directly to the oil pressure switch has the added benefit of keeping you from blowing your engine up.
I am curious...what logical sequence turns the pump on when starting (no oil pressure)?
I've just been wiring it to the ignition circuit so it comes on and off with the key. No built-in crash safety and no oil pressure safety. But who says the engine would stall in a crash? 
As you have found out the injection pump will pull fuel on its own in order to run. So at most the engine would be running for a few seconds with the lift pump off until oil pressure builds to activate the switch. I also wired in a bypass switch for two reasons. One if the trucks been sitting for a while or when I change the fuel filters, I can turn the pump on to prime the system. Two if the switch ever fails I'm not driving without a lift pump.
The Duramax guys also tie into the starter circuit Ethan and use a diode. That way the pump is powered while cranking and with oil pressure.
No 2-second pulse like most normal EFI vehicles?
Notes from today. At least 2 more of the "new" (old) fuel return lines have started leaking. Quite glad I didn't use those lines on the turbo side of the engine. Though they looked fine when I installed them.
Otherwise it's still working exactly like it did last week.
Otherwise it's still working exactly like it did last week.
Also, despite the long trip, there are no oil drops littering the back of the truck. This is a first, and I take it as a sign the new injectors are doing their job. 
Notes from today. At least 2 more of the "new" (old) fuel return lines have started leaking. Quite glad I didn't use those lines on the turbo side of the engine. Though they looked fine when I installed them.
Otherwise it's still working exactly like it did last week.
There's a couple folks on ebay that sell the better return hose as a 6 foot roll for like 20 or 30 bucks. It's cheap enough to just always replace and not take the chance of one blowing off.
