Mods - Help me choose
 

Hello everyone, been offline for a while. been busy

anyways, i was looking at several modifications i would like to do to my 08 3500HD CC Dually.

1. Lift with larger tires. i only want to lift it about 4" so i was thinking of getting a 6ish inch lift and adjusting the t-bars till the CV joints where straight. then putting on larger tires. being a dually this task becomes harder. i like the look of 33"s but i dont want to go with something two skinny. then there is the problem with needing spacers. i was thinking of trying out 265/70/17s with spacers. not sure if 265s will be two small with a 4" lift. input here would be nice

2. built transmission. since i am in california Mike L is the only way to go. i had my 04 LB7 done by him and it hasn't ever let me down. i think i will stick with him. i put a transgo jr. kit in this transmission and it seems to be holding up great so far. i am probably running around 450-475HP right now. i dont really want to upgrade the transmission till this one starts crying uncle, which may or may not start shortly after mod #1 or 2

3. compound turbos. i so far have not found a kit that i like as i would like to keep the coolant tank and battery (if possible) in its stock location. i have seen some photos on the net of people that have done it and i think it may be possible with the LMM. i can weld good and have some tools, etc so i was thinking of just building my setup. the issue is finding all of the small odds and ends, fittings, flanges, etc and taking the truck off the road till i finish

my question is that since i can only afford to pay for one of these mods about once per year, what sequence would you do and any input or suggestions on them?

for any questions that may be asked. i do my own Efi Live tuning so i can dial in the mods myself. i am planing to limit my HP to about 600 so i can try and keep the engine together reasonably long. i don't do too much towing, maybe 8-10K every few month a couple hundred miles at the most. i will at the same time usually load the bed with 5-6K lbs while towing. so far the truck runs great like this.

alright fire away.

Personal bump

hey man go check this guy out DealsWheels if you decide on 1. he hooked me up with 6 315/75R16 MTs which is a 34.8 tall 11.2 wide and a lift and other stuff hes kinda sponsoring me and his prices are unbeatable man so i would do 1. then 2. then 3. :rocking: get a 4" lift and then a set of 20" fuel dually wheels they are 8.75 wide look best imo with a 275/60R20 its a 35 tall 12.5 wide and looks great on duallys

Thanks i will check them out.

I was thinking of more like what Nor-Cal Nick did to his truck when he had stock rims. I think he used 295s. I dont want to go too big. I want to be able to tow heavy without struggling too much and sinking a lot of money into broken parts. I want a larger tire size that complaints the truck but can still take it to the drag strip or pulling events. 315s look great but start to loose on other departments

Here is some photos of Nor-Cal Nick's truck

quiet in here,

crickets chirp, chirp, chirp

:y::ww::waiting2:

ARB locker
 

So i put my ARB locker in Friday. Just finished plumbing it in and getting all of the electrical hooked up.

Got the free compressor with the deal. Wired that one in too. Now i have both the viair and ARB filling the tank. Dont know if i will keep them both but for now...

I didn't use the switchs from ARB. Instead i repurposed two factory buttons. Found on ebay a button setup that had buttons for some options my truck doesn't come with and used those. Now it looks stock and no one would even notice.

I tried it out last night on a section of my lawn where when trying to drive up it i have to use 4wd as it is slippery and the wheels just slip. I tried it out in 2wd and of course slipped when driving up the slight incline. Then pushed the button to engage the locker and it drove right up no problem.

Happy as can be.

Now i just need to put the front one in. I will likely wait until I do the lift and digging into the front already

Here are some pictures of the old G80 that never seemed to work and the buttons i rigged up

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...3e8cdaef46.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...2d4f3f2c48.jpg




https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...e9f60a5941.jpg


Tapped into the back to attach the wires and power the button lights

To touch on the Twin turbo subject, most twin turbo kits on the market will provide a different coolant tank and a battery relocation kit due to the tight quarters in the engine compartment.

thanks. that was a part that i am still thinking about. i have no problem moving the batteries. i was thinking of maybe moving the coolant tank to ware the driver side battery is now. hmm.

still trying to figure out how to keep my emissions junk still attached. grid heater, EGR, PCV, etc. they may be "broken" but still intact :w2:

i know some kits for the LML keep the emissions equipment in place so i think it should be possible with the LMM. its a California thing :argh:

i am just not too sure about spending 3 grand on a kit when i can get the S475 for less then $1000. the rest of the kit surly cant be more then $2k worth of parts. most if the parts on the list i think i can source and fabricate myself.

i am thinking of trying to build something like this
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...c17b924ae0.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...6b32e55608.jpg

or maybe even this. of course not triple turbos but tucking it up in the wheel well.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...793e44f066.jpg

if i cant make any of that happen then i may just bite the bullet and get their kit
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...dce91bb11a.jpg

hey did your truck come with a factory locker? 11.5 inch ring gear? if so i need one!!

Most duramaxs come with the G80 locker. Check your glove box sticker and see if it show G80. If so you have the locker. That doesn't mean it works, ha ha. Like mine it didn't seem to do a dam thing. I think the wrong fluid/additive was used so the clutchs couldn't engage.

The only company I have heard of doing an emission complaint LML kit would be Duramaxtuner. I'm sure doing something like you said keeping everfything intact on a LMM would work! If you have the ability to fabricate and weld doing your own kit would be an avenue to go down. If you end up doing it provide pics!

Thanks. That the same company i heard of too.

I am thinking of contacting one of the manufacturers and maybe getting a part or two and fabbing up the rest. The oil line and turbo mounting bracket are easy. The exhaust is a little harder and the cold side the hardest as it will be the most visible. I have all of the tools to weld steel but not aluminum. Seems like many make their cold side out of aluminum, so i couldn't get one of those if i wanted to. I was thinking of modifying one to mount the turbo in a little different spot.

I will definitely take some pictures if i do this. It will likely be a year or more out as i will need to save up for it all.

so, i did another little mod to my truck yesterday.

i relocated the fuel filter and added another one in parallel to the stock one for double the life and less resistance to fuel flow.

mounted. now i need to plumb them in
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...66a66e926f.jpg

hooked the fuel lines to the original location and ran them down to the filters now mounted on the frame
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...78ebd9bb6c.jpg

removed the stock filter housing. now i have more room under the hood. and maybe a mounting point for a turbo:choochoo:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...0e37315dd0.jpg

in the process i mounted a 1/4 ball valve to the bleed port on the filter housing to make bleeding the air out so much easier. they should be like this from the factory
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...b289c9ea87.jpg

all plumbed in. now i just need to clean it up
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...67d6b4218d.jpg

should make changing the filter so much easier and less messy. i just need to get me some of those water-in-filter sensor delete plugs

what do you think?

you can bleed out the air up to those filters, but if your fuel has drained out you still have to suck up all the fuel from the filters up out to the cp3 pump which is a good length of fuel that has to be sucked up whenever u change out the filters. are you running a lift pump now? that looks like a real pain to prime those filters no using the primers on the top as well since they are right there.

your filters will also last a little bit longer by adding a pump since their service life is also dependent on the amount of restriction they have using a lift pump will allow you to use your filters longer since fuel is being pushed though them and they are no longer usable whenever your fuel pressure drops below threshold under a load.

by the looks of it it looks light u mounted those on the passenger side too

yep, passenger side. because of the old filter location and where the fuel lines were, it was easiest to mount them there.

yes i have a lift pump. Raptor 160. (need to update my signature) makes priming a breeze. in the photo with the ball valve it has a push in tubing fitting. i have a short length of tubing running down the side between the filters. i place a pail under the tubing and open the ball valve. i then turn on the lift pump and a few seconds later all if the air is out. truck starts the first time.

if each filter is supposed to last 20k miles and i have two of them and a lift pump i think i could get 50~60k miles between changes. i will likely change it long before that but getting stuck on the side of the road with bad fuel may be the thing of the past :choochoo:

next thing is to install a fuel pressure gauge in line after the filters

or just wait for the reduced engine power and change filter massage in the DIC :tttt:
how reliable are those things anyways. i did change the filter life in the tune so it wouldn't go off prematurely unless it actuality got plugged up

a gauge would be nice though

it would be super easy to install since you already have enough free hose available. i recommend an electronic gauge.

im more partial to analog gauges. i am thinking something liquid filled.

McMaster carr part number 38545K17 looks good. i can probably connect it to the test port next to the alternator.

a digital gauge would be nice if it recorded the minimum and maximum readings. if i could find one cheap that did that i would go that rout.

the sending unit is electric. the readout will still be analog. it just leaves out having to bleed out the system and run a line of fuel inside the cab.

it also allows you to monitor the pressure in the cab under a load to calculate filter restriction

and how does one find said unit?:tu:

Autometer or Isspro

wow, those are some fancy gauges casting a lot of coin:rake:

i think i will skip that for now, i am sill trying to save up for the important things like:

transmission
tires
Lift
Ice cream sandwich
Turbo
Mahle Monotherms
Rods
AF Cam
Injectors
etc

after i get all of my items and completely broke then i will make the cheaper list if items to get:s:

ice cream sammich is much important

its amazing how many forget that in their builds:argh:

:danny:

update, got the lift kit and tires installed :jump:

here are some photos. tires are Nitto Dura Grappler. very nice riding. didn't even get them balanced yet and they have no vibrations that i can feel. i dropped the pressure down to 50 psi all the way around when empty and they don't bulge or show. may try 40~45 psi. i will need to see how they wear. these tires have a load rating of 128, that is some serious waight :choochoo:

hauling them to the tire shop
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...e4b6c3fa11.jpg

close up of the tread
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...7341d79330.jpg

tire size
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...f0f08819ea.jpg

tires stick out a little. it looks worse than it really is. i am thinking of trying to install some fender flairs, but as there doesn't seem to be any made for a dually i may have to modify some to fit
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...22b2de5e2e.jpg

gap between tires with my 2 inch spacer
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...d7ad36626b.jpg

tires installed
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...f83caa8375.jpg

this is one you guys, and gals, should like. m18 x 1.5 wheel studs. long enough that the spacer doesn't need to be bolted on separately. install first wheel, slip on spacer, put outside wheel on and torque nuts down. i am also using Disc-Lock
Locking nuts (http://www.disc-lock.com/assets/pdf/...ocking_nut.pdf)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...83a4b4457a.jpg

also, as mentioned earlier. i put a lift on. it is a cognito 4-6. i have it as low as it will go right now for good CV angles
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...2acf64e02e.jpg

here is how she looks now :police:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...f9ef2a6de6.jpg

i also did a little steering mod. i ground a little off of the pitman arm where it would hit the frame and put some washers behind the steering box. as it seems that the steering box can turn a bit more to the left, i moved it out from the frame a little to give the right just a little bit more help. then with grinding the pitman arm it can now rotate all the way left and right without the pitman arm hitting anything. then just center the steering linkage and enjoy the better turning radius. that is of course your spindles aren't hitting the stops
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...19ee3a43d6.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.die...ccdf7366c2.jpg


i hope you enjoyed

additional update,

just put in 4.56 Yukon gears in the rear diff. still need to do the front so i can use fwd. drives great, need to tweak the shift points but seems pretty good right now. no ABS lights so far after making the updates in Efi Live

sorry for not doing any photo documentation on this, was running short on time and was having enough trouble getting the pinion bearings on and off. i wrestled with just getting the pinion out for almost a whole day

anyways, i will see if i can get some photos of the front diff when i start that

well, no photos of the front diff. only had the weekend to do it myself in the driveway. cumbersome little bugger.

works great, no noise. still breaking in the gears so no spirited driving :baby:

now i just need to come up with a front drive shaft that can tolerate higher angles and the torque of a diesel. hmm, what about modifying a front CV axle?