On the cummins thing....No way in hell would I ever take the motor in this truck over a built cummins.
Not really a fair comparison, a stock TBI 454 over a
built cummins...?
I respect diesels, they get good mileage, they produce a lot of low end torque, they are great for towing, and the mileage even stays decent for that. They work well. They are both (BB and Diesel) good for their own thing, and they can both be built to make thousands of hp, and it's a good thing all of us don't like the same thing or it would be boring.
With that said I could go on and on about why I like big block V8s over diesels. Cost, Weight, RPM, sound, fuel system hassles, cold weather hassles, etc. But I would have to say the main reason that turns me off of them is when you start to make some real power in a gas engine it doesn't start bellowing out so much black smoke and soot that you can see a path of where the vehicle just drove on the ground. I just feel like it's going to give us wheelers a bunch of bad attention.
However, I doubt you are going to tune it up to that level, and I agree, you will get much better mileage, and for what you want to do with the truck, weight really isn't a factor. So it's probably the best option for you.
I think your truck is bad@$$ either way, so enjoy it.
And I hope that procedure works for you on the front end alignment, glad I could help.
My own observations on the whole disc brake rear thing. Unless I am going in mud alot, drums are staying.
I could modulate the brakes really good on my old blazer and when I put discs on I never got enough braking power from the rear to need to modulate. Stomp the pedal and it slows down, with the drums it would lock up the rear, with my discs it won't.
Eric, are you sure something wasn't quite right with the discs? When I put my disks in I used the larger piston calipers in the front and the smaller in the rear, and I still had to use a prop valve to modulate the rear down considerably, or the rear would lock up to easy when I had to stop fast.
However, it is also true that although discs are better for dynamic braking because of heat and brake fade, and are more efficient at stopping a moving vehicle, drum brakes have more surface area, and do have better static holding power. Is that what you are referring too?
By the way, when Zim and I were wheeling he was thankful to have ridden with you at Moab, he was very impressed with your rig! Said it had sick flex and you would take it anywhere. That's awesome!
