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Tbars Project "X" begins

The intake position might be a result of the rules. And maybe for maximum airflow, a cone style air filter is the answer. These guys change the air filter frequently and rebuild motors to maintain max performance. For me, driving dirt roads and low engine RPMs, something like this will suit my needs perfectly. My Amsoil dry filter in the factory box gets super dirty with the use I described above.

Humvees and other military vehicles deployed to dusty areas use pre-cleaners like this. Tanks and whatnot. Other desert vehicles that aren't raced also use snorkels. They aren't just for water.
 



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..Yes that is true..

Several overland vehicles out here have snorkels but spend a week in the desert and you can count them on one hand..

They do sell "socks" for other brands of filters as a pre- filter that usually gets clogged up easier and because the filter design is poor.

The stock filter and intake location design is great but unless you are running a K&N drop in filter or other premium filter for dirt, the standard filters won't cut it.

Comparing our filters, K&N filters to a military Humvee filter is simply not a fare comparison..Just check the price difference of the quality of a military grade sand filter as opposed to an over the counter filter...

Here's some info I pulled off of K&N's website a few years back..

...K&N and Baja were meant for each other, including Pikes Peak and Dakar....;)

.."K&N Engineering, Inc. has been the innovative leader in air induction and filter technology since 1969, serving the needs of the automotive, motorcycle, marine, industrial and military markets.

K&N first developed air filters specifically for the motorcycle racing market. With the success K&N experienced in the motorcycle market, the company decided to branch out to the automotive market. K&N quickly grew to be the world's most widely used performance air filter in both the automotive and motorcycle markets.

Today, K&N equips approximately 80% of all off-road racing vehicles. Racers using K&N products have won in nearly every major off-road event in the world, including Pikes Peak, the Baja 500 and 1000 and the grueling Paris to Dakar race. K&N also dominates some of the world's most prestigious and technical racing series."

After years of experience with the dirt out here I will never be sold on a snorkel intake as a better location or option in the sand or dirt than a good filter designed for a stock filter replacement or a KKM or K&N cone filter...
 






I got in the habit of cleaning my K&N drop in filter after every off road trip. This last one, The Mojave Road, turned that filter brown. We drive in the desert, its dusty. Very dusty.
I also noticed that if I am leading for the majority of a weekend trip, the filter gets about half as dirty as following.
 






..Well..The X is parked for a while..

I got back from The Mint 400 on Sunday, added a really cool sticker to the X on Tuesday, and Tuesday night I heard some lite rattling going on in the motor or trans..I was so hoping this was only a loose heat shield..

I fired the X up yesterday and it is either a timing chain issue or a rod coming apart as the clunking is loud, internal, and has a definite affect on engine idle/running..:(

..My trucks always seem to get me home before they break, they just break down when I'm out of funds..:banghead:

I've left the X parked for a couple weeks now and since I've been busy I decided I would have a mechanic friend come over and take a listen to her with me before I tore into the motor..

Wouldn't you know it..

...It was in the 80*'s yesterday evening and I could not get it to come close to replicate the death sound that had me convinced it should not be moved let alone started...This usually only happens when someone brings their vehicle to me to take a listen..:banghead:

..The only symptom it did show was the rpm's stayed around 800-1000 and I could not get it to easily bump down to it's normal 650 rpm...The one or two times that it did it just dropped off like something electrical came unplugged..:scratch:

..We let her run for about a half hour and I kept trying to get it to duplicate the hard knock whick sounded like a valve sticking wide open and getting a piston tap or a rod end coming apart..:(

The result?

..The two of us came to the conclusion that I was having an IAC problem and it must have stuck resulting in a "Hard Knock" condition created by a high volume of air in a cylinder..

The good news is I didn't blow her up and I need to do some between trip maintenance anyways..

The bad news is, I replaced that IAC within the last couple years and never have been 100% happy with it but I'm going to replace it rather than play with it..

Does anybody have a preferred Idle Air Control (IAC) they could recommend?
 






Update

I teted and cleaned the IAC today along with the MAF and even added a couple more zip ties to the throttle cable for fun..

Hooked the battery back up and the computer really didn't do it's thing of sorting stuff out as it normally does when I go thru parts swaps..:scratch:

.The IAC was a little loose inside and it seemed the spring was a little weak..

..The existing IAC was a BWD part I swapped in a couple years ago and about 10,000 miles...Reluctantly I bought another and put that in tonight..Started the truck up and I heard it going thru all it's checks and changes..

The motor Idled down and purred at just over 650 rpm's and it is clear the IAC had been the issue...

I have not drove it yet but plan to get her trail ready and run it thru some test in the next week or so..:hammer:
 












..You are a day late..:D

I could have gotten the Motorcraft IAC locally for $70 but sadly it only carried the same LL 1 year warranty everyone else does...:(

BWD (Borg Warner) usually has pretty decent parts and I got the same warranty but, a friend of mine gave me a better warranty plus a cone filter for the Ranger..;)
 






It's all good;

Glad to here that it is not a busted motor.
 






..So am I..:biggthump

..I've blown up a few motors in my past and I was sure this was terminal from the sound..

...I much prefer spending this time preparing for a trip rather than preparing for a motor tear down/swap..:hammer:
 






..I finally done it..:D

..I started swapping out my dead shocks..

..Today I had some time to do some cutting and finally got my Currie 8.8 shock tabs welded up in the rear and I even got to rattle can spray some black paint...:biggthump

..This also allowed me to finally install the shocks I got from Sirhk100 over a year ago (Thanks again)...They were a little longer than what I had on there so I needed to add the new shock tabs..:hammer:

..Both old and new shown here fully extended for comparison..

20140508_190903_1_.jpg
 






Show us the shock tabs. :D
 






..The old ones or the new ones?

..I took two pictures yesterday with my phone of both tab set-ups together and they came out blurry..:banghead:

Here is a link for the new ones..I'm actually on my 3rd or fourth set due to swapping axles and set-ups but my Ranger use the same ones..;)

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/productsRE.aspx?id=1824

CE-7020.jpg
 












...Sway bar?..What is his thing you speak of kind Sir?

..Yes, these are welded to the 8.8 tubes..This way you can mount them where you want to along the tube...This is also useful if you want one shock forward and one shock to the rear like the Ranger stock set up..

BTW...Currie does have a bunch of aftermarket items for our 8.8" axles...:hammer:

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/all88inford.aspx



In fact
 






...Sway bar?..What is his thing you speak of kind Sir?

..Yes, these are welded to the 8.8 tubes..This way you can mount them where you want to along the tube...This is also useful if you want one shock forward and one shock to the rear like the Ranger stock set up..

BTW...Currie does have a bunch of aftermarket items for our 8.8" axles...:hammer:

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/all88inford.aspx



In fact

I looked at the style you used but I couldn't figure out where to put it as there isn't much room on the tube with the factory sway bar mounts still on there. I guess I could have ground them off.

9514234166_5280a444c9.jpg
Pic 3 - New shocks on SOA by maniak_az, on Flickr

I could see that style working for one in front and one in rear though..


~Mark
 






..I actually mount mine right under that position..

..I cut 1-1/2" from the bottom up, do a little grinding and cleanup and then have them welded just below but butted up to where the perch was cut which puts it just a little lower than what you have shown..(it always amazes me the depth of the pits in the tube from the factory..:eek: )

..I'm not really worried about having them below the axle tube although my other set-up was tucked up high and mounted at the top of the leaf springs..

...I've found shock bodies have become longer over the past few years while my springs are flat and can invert, which causes the rear shocks to bottom out..

..Since I still haul some trailers and do pack the cargo area at times I wanted to get some better shock control before I try to sweet talk an old retired guy down in San Diego to help build me a new leaf pack like his..:D
 






..Since I still haul some trailers and do pack the cargo area at times I wanted to get some better shock control before I try to sweet talk an old retired guy down in San Diego to help build me a new leaf pack like his..:D

Wait.....WHAT??:D
 






...Now you can play and hang out with your friends again..As long as your chores are done..:D

..I got a little energetic today while in between working..I swapped out the Tranny mount with another one like my Rangers that I got from Brian1..

20140509_164524.jpg


..Then I threw on Ricks old shocks so now I've got 2 on each front corner again but Ricks are the ones doing the work..:D

..Eventually I will get the f250 shock towers in if I can find them and the time..:rolleyes:

20140509_180301.jpg


...and this is the first time since I've owned the truck that a shock actually used the Superlift shock mount on the RA's...What a novel idea..:D

20140509_180633.jpg
 









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...Funds are tight but yes...:biggthump
 






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