The ongoing fixer-upper and mod project

[ShadyGrady]

A tank of gas later, and I am still enjoying the result of the last maintenance. Cleaning the MAF with Electrical Parts Cleaner really did the trick. I have zero spark knock, ZERO clapping on start up, and I can climb low grade hills in fifth gear at 15MPH...that was impossible before the cleaning. ZERO bucking when cruising super slow in Fifth gear also. My high speed spark Knock is gone. it was gone while using 89 octane BP gas, and the POWER is back with 93 octane BP gas. so what is next you may ask?
I am doing the MAF high flow tube upgrade on the cheap...no more restictions for me, and also I got a better link for aluminum tubes from ifab.com. I am not sure I will do there tubes or not...need tires first...but here is the link all the same. it is very sharp looking. I will have athere set under the hood soon...just got to step it out some. The old link was dead...so I e-mailed them and they got back to me fast...it takes 5 days to make up the tubes so plan ahead ot message them if you want a set for your ride.

http://ifab1234.bravehost.com/products/91ex.html

The PVC route looks good too...performance may be about the same...and I will not say more than that cuz I do not own a dyno...I just research it out first and then I do my thang!
good luck, be safe, NO DRINKING AND DRIVING, and have a good weekend to all who read this!!

 

[ShadyGrady]

I see there are a lot of pipe solutions out there for us old explorer types, I said I would get the pipe kit from the folks in my last post...130 bucks is a lil hard on the pokets these days...and there kit don't come with a MAF adaptor...so I want that MAF adaptor...wut to do...scratches head, rubs tummy, viola! I went looking on JC WHitney's web site, and catalog...they always seem to got something...1x 45degree mandrel bent & 1x 90degree mandrel bent, 3" muffler pipes with 6" lengths past the bends that will require cutting and a lil filing to fit...same idea as with the PVC pipe idea, but these are steel...a lil heavy...but not bad...pics to follow soon. still I did try the straight 3" MAF adaptor with this...AMAZING POWER!!! but horrible idle quality...my third gear acceleration was downright crazy!!! like it was garabbing another gear behind my back!!
I got one or two issue I need to iron out. The PVC system...the lil pipe comming off the oil filler tube is meant to give up oil vapor/gasses from the crank case into the air intake system for burning. not a real contributor to the A/F ratio by any means. It is sucked out at higher than idle RPM/operation via the vacuum crated called port vacuum. if it is not sucked out it will need to vent out somehow. intro the tiny parts store fancy shamcy PVC filter gadget. I got a question to anyone who might know. Should this system be kept intack for that port vacuum operation...I mean should I put a port in my pipe and keep the stock stuff operating? Or will I be OK with the after market filter thingy?

 

[ShadyGrady]

here is a picture...looks cool, and was cheaper than most solutions that use steel or aluminum...I will heat wrap it next in hopes of dropping the air temp a few more degrees...like they say...every drop in temp is a gain in HP...and every gain in HP is a lil better gas mileage as far as bolt a on goes. and it will all pay for itself in the end so it is worth it...just a matter of when will you get your return. so far I am looking at just about the last thing I can do till I copy what our other gas mileage chasing member has done...drop it and keep it aligned...good tires, good driving habits...I am still at a solid 17 to 18 city with the occasional 20 city average. Highway is still in the 27 to 30 depending on if I can keep it consistent 70ish speed range. I want to re-route the air intake from the wheel well, and get from the under the front bumper!

 

[ShadyGrady]

I almost for got the tubinator...got to get one of those too!!! a few of my friends say it works...might not see the mileage increase right off...but the power increase is there!

 

[ShadyGrady]

Been living with the new mods for a few weeks now, nothing new to report, I still feel i should put the PVC pipe back into the system...I think it is a critical part to the idle quality with how the vapors are scavenged out of the engine...something called PORT VACUUM comes to mind. It runs OK, but it could be better. I will put it in soon and report back.

 

[ShadyGrady]

Hi all...well I did install the PORT VACUUM header close to the MAF as it would be located if it were OEM...and VIOLA! I cut a end off a steel "T" heater hose adapter i had in my junk box, and welded it on...then I drilled a hole into the 3" pipe from inside the new fitting. I added a lil J&B-Weld putty stick to the cleaned weld surface, to ensure a good air seal. My welding is not good with hobby welder on the thin stuff. I will post a pic soon! It is fairly clean install. Prob have to point it out to someone. I would say a nice fix for a bad plastic OEM air hose. I just want to say...many have placed there brand of this fix...so I used as much as I could find from this site, and wanting to have a lil SHADY on it...I chose this material...everyone who posts to this site helped me...and I say Thanks to you all!!! I am just posting my findings and the how I did THIS one...I by no means did anything original or special...WE ALL DO IT SPECIAL!!! to tell the truth...i could not get all the PVC stuff to copy the one idea that guy on here did with his...I also just love playing with metal...so I had 90% of the PVC stuff...took it all back to LOWE'S except for the 2.5' section of PVC pipe. My son and I are going to build a air powered potato gun! HaHa!

All the idle quality is back...it is absolutely awesome to drive! To have this thing want to run right to the 5K all the way through 4th is just amazing...I can get my foot out of it now...I got beat on it if it don't run right disease. it is so stupid to be like that...the more serious and disciplined guys don't do it or don't get caught doing it...anyway back to the original matter at hand...the GAS MILEAGE...be back soon with a report on that one. Radius Arm Bushings installed now also...and WHAT A DIFFERENCE they make!! I don't know why i lived so long with the busted ones!!! Sometimes CHEAP is not the way to go...that is if not getting it done is the cheap way...I looked for some STUFF to put up in there as a sub...but hey 18 bucks is just hard to beat!! I guess there may be worth it to mention: I took out the OEM manifold gaskets...as they were crumbly and on the 4 or 5th re tighten job...only to discover they were half gone anyway...no wonder it leaked...and yes they sealed just fine with out them. that is all for now...pics and what ever id new in a few days!

 

[deamon3]

!

So a laptop on the passenger seat would have been far to streamlined right?

 

[ShadyGrady]

So a laptop on the passenger seat would have been far to streamlined right?

NO a laptop just would not do the trick! I wanted a mounted, hard wired vehicle PC for YEARS! The first time I saw one while surfing the net, I thought it was a great idea, and I LOVE computers. It does look bad sitting there all sideways LOL!!! It is mounted properly now so it is not leaning or crooked up in there anymore. I was so excited I just had to get a pic out there of it installed and working.

I don't ask anyone to hold the laptop for me while drive with a passenger, and I don't have to worry about batteries, adapters, or wires. I use it when I want to, and it is always there ready for me when I need it. Please check out the whole tread about it, there is a lot going on. I think I listed a price breakdown, it comes in at just under the price of a good laptop or right at the same price of a general use low cost laptop.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF personal car crafting is the PERSONAL pleasure, right? The whole reason for this forum is to share ones ideas and accomplishments with others, so the usefulness of this sharing excites one to create, mod, improve, improvise, or just repair their own Explorer to their own liking, and to create an environment to helping others who want to do stuff to their own Explorer. I use this PC for a whole host of things like: NAV, MP3, and entertaining my kid with movies and games while I do mobile calls, and the whole host of other things a person could use a PC to do. I do not have it hooked into the ECU...but this is OBD1 vehicle, and I have not found an interface for it that is reasonably priced...yet.

Thanks for looking, your lil question did get me boiling for a min, but I thought better of it, and came back to edit.

I think lots of folks will think the way deamon3 does, and a laptop will satisfy them. These people will just not see any reason to make/install a vehicle mounted PC. There is nothing wrong with these trains of thought, THANK GOD WE LIVE IN AMERICA...say what you want/do what you want, and be good enough to accept what anyone has to say or do...just everyone involved MUST be legal!

Thanks for looking!!!

 

[01EXP5.0]

I love the idea of a car pc and do plan to build one myself. I plan of getting my X dirty and I'm a little worried about mounting a hard drive. I know they are cheap but it's PITA to keep replacing them. I am currently running an 8GB static drive on my netbook and running Ubuntu netbook remix from a thumb drive. I'm thinking a micro atx mobo, 12v power supply, fold out monitor w/touchscreen and ubuntu as my os from a flash no hdd. What do you think?

 

[ShadyGrady]

I am totally impressed about your vehicle PC idea...make it happen!!! I tried Unbuntu for awhile, had it as a dual boot on my laptop...it is a great OS!! I works just as good, better in a lot of ways than windows flavors I will admit. WAY SMALLER and prettier than WIN-XP by far!! Huge advantage for Unbuntu in a vehicle especially if one looks at size and operation...big plus in my book for that OS!! I guess I am a lil too lazy to get Unbuntu the way I want it for now. I almost went with the slide-out monitor route, I can't find one that is VGA for the price I was willing to pay. I like your idea all the way! I'm not sure if ya mean SSD when you say flash as they can be called that also, allow me to share something I looked up just to offer a lil help; maybe help is not needed here. May I suggest, a Solid State Hard Drive for your PC project? They are the same size as laptop drives, come in SATA so it will work with zero adapters, eat very little power. 30gb solid state drives just went on sale on www.newegg.com for $119.95, just might be the type hard drive you need. Try this link if it will stay applied to this thread, the ad was good as of 23 June 2010:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[01EXP5.0]

I appreciate your input. I thought about SSD drives but my experience with my netbook has taught me I still have a lot to learn about these drives. I tried several operating systems in my netbook the multiple installs fried my SSD in less than a year. Plus I don't see a big advantage from a $ to GB stand point. I agree $119 for a 30GB is a great price but I guess I'm a little spoiled 1.5TB for under $50 bucks the other day at Tigerdirect.com of course that was after rebate and not a wise choice for this install but you know what I mean. I figured I could install ubuntu on either a thumb drive or a sd card save space and money. As far as music and movies go we always travel with external hard drives so a simple plug in at the usb port and you're good to go. I have also found some great cases and power supplies specifically for this build. http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/sc.8/category.101/.f I will probably start gathering parts in the next month or two no hurry just found out they are shipping my IT job to India and it looks like unemployment is on the horizon. But thanks again for the input and I think you did a great job. You have encouraged me to push on with mine. Please share any additional suggestions you may have. Thanks.

 

[ShadyGrady]

That is my point exactly, YOU GOTTA DO IT YOUR WAY!!! It is why I like linux flavors, they work well, most are free, and you can run it from a flash drive...can't beat that, no matter how hard you try!

I'll share my sources for cool low cost stuff: GoodDeals18.com, DealExtreme.com, Mini-Box.com, mobilecomputingsolitions.com, MP3.com, LittlePC.com, hack-a-day.com, e-bay, Mimi-ITX.com, miniitxsystems.com, global.aopen.com, itxdepot.com, newegg.com, geeks.com, directron.com, and you can google the stuff you need. There is plenty more places to get parts.

If you plan to build any part of this your self from scratch, hit me up again...I got a few stories that might save you some pain. If not than you good to go, and have plenty of where to get stuff. You obviously know all about how to set up a PC...and how to fabricate/work around a vehicle...

I just thought of one...get a wide range automotive to PC power supply. They handle the crazy environment of an automobile. A 12 volt charging system is not 12 volt only...it can range fron 10 to almost 16 volts. I researched it, and delt with the trial and error of this subject. I ended up with a:"WIDE RANGE 12volt POWER SUPPLY". Once I got one of those...I have hade zero troughble. You will imagine the cold morning start up...got defroster, heater, head lights, seat warmers, etc...what is your Alternatoe doing? Putting out 14.8 to 15.3 volts...if you do not have a wide range power supply...it will do one of a few things: be damaged, just not work till the range is in the area of operation, get excited as it fries and take a few other componets with it. I use a 10 volt to 27 volt wide range power supply...it will auto regulate what ever input it gets to 12 volts with in this range. It is not heat, or cold senitive. In some cases it is SMART. It will have a feature that will alow your PC to auto sleep, and auto shut down incase of too much battery drain. Some people like to sleep mode the car PC cuz it is ready to go faster the next time they want to use the vehicle. I do not sleep any of my PCs...I hate sleep mode for speed reasons...but that is a personal taste...on of these units is the ticket to happy mobile computing. I got mine on E-BAY $40...a good deal in my book.

Good Luck, and fun time await you!!!
anytime youneed help...hit me up again. Love to help!

 

[01EXP5.0]

Thanks for all the sources I knew of a few of them but you had a lot I had never heard of. Also great point on the power supply I totaly forgot about the wide range of voltage the alternator produces that one would have likely caused me some frustration. It will likely be a little while before I get started found out today we start training our replacements next month so I need to spend all of my free time looking for another job and saving all of my money to pay rent or to plan my move back to Kentucky. But I will hollar at you when I get started I really appreciate the input. Also a cool fairly inexpensive source for pc parts is www.microcenter.com they actually have a store about 20 miles from my apartment and it's my favorite stop. But thanks again I will be talking to you more about this. Also if there is anything I can ever help you with let me know. I used to sell parts for everything cars-trucks-boats-tractors-lawn equipment-atv's-heavy equipment-you name it I have sold parts for it we specialized in the hard to find stuff. I do all my own work and I know a thing or two about pc's. If you ever need help in any of these areas hit me up I would be glad to help. Sorry if this post seems off I'm really tired and about to crash gotta be go back to work at 3 am. Thanks again.

 

[ShadyGrady]

NO Problem, I will add you as a friend, I wish you best wishes in your job situation...I am in a similar boat...I retire from mil in a few months...I also looking for job. WE WILL FIND THEM!!!
Good luck and we will find each other when we need...till then hold on Sir...Good comes to good people...you are one of them!!!

 

[01EXP5.0]

Thanks for the best wishes and I wish you luck as well, this economy has put the hurt on everyone. From what I can tell, you seem like a well rounded and talented person I don't expect you will have much trouble finding a job. I also appreciate the compliment I had no idea what a great person I was going to meet when I commented on this thread. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Also, I tried to add you as a friend I received the message : Friend Requested so I think it worked. ( I didn’t even know you could do that, lol )

 

[ShadyGrady]

I too am green to what and how to do things in this site, but it is a great place to get good info, and share what ya know if ya want...I LOVE this site...all the people are very respectful, and polite...just what the DR. ordered!don't forget GOV work...they need folks who do what you do. They don't lay off...and you can advance/move about with-in the company...www.usajobs.gov