Little Red Turbo Creeper

That is a little odd. I'm inclined to believe that's more due to tuning than it is to general underhood temps. I'm not sure if my truck is heavier or not, but I am pushing it around on 35s and I've held it pinned at 8 and 9 PSI up mountain passes for 5 to 10 miles without going over 200°. But when I'm heavy in boost like that I'm anywhere from 11.3 to 10.8 AFR.

What's your AFR while you're pulling a grade?

 

I don't remember honestly. I'll have to repeat it and see

 

Someday I'll put the truck on a scale, But it's not done getting heavier.

The AFR's are also going to be off to a degree until I get the drivers side manifold back off and machine the V band flange.
While I do that I will take the downpipe and have it ceracoated by the shop that did the rest of the turbo kit.

My intentions are to heat wrap the downpipe after it's coated to protect everything it's close to. I also want to see if I can get more adhesive thermal barrier on the firewall, the OEM stuff is getting a little weathered.
Getting my fender skirts back on might also help with the air circulation.

If tuning is the issue I'll have to get serious about a Haltech.

It's just a big juggling act of a hundred things I want to do with the truck, what ones need to be addressed first, and finding the courage in my wallet to do so.

 

so much for going up the canyon to check the AFR's. while the truck was warming up after work yesterday the guage shut off and doesn't want to turn back on. looks like I smashed the ground wire when I reinstalled the kick panel after adding the crotch vent so I'll start with that and see where it goes.

 

Guage is back on, time for a quick trip up the canyon. Although I do expect it to stay slightly cooler this time since it's a cool humid 72° outside vs the dry 100° it was in July

 

Okay so the guage is definitely still acting funny, there must be a short in there somewhere. The AFR usually fluctuates between high 13's and low 15's at idle and now it's bouncing back and forth between 7 and 22. It shut off a couple more times on me but I enjoyed my drive anyway the coolant temp never got above 185° while pulling grades between 4 and 8% . Air intake temp was ranging between 66° and 58°.
It really felt lovely up there in the rain

I ventured off the road down some paths that I have been wanting to explore and took a couple pictures. Mostly of random mushrooms that seem to be in an abundance from the wet winter and recent heavy rains










I don't think this one is a mushroom

If only I knew what mushrooms were edible
But let's be real I don't like mushrooms 99% of the time.

 

I forgot I had a glass table top in the back of the truck from yesterday. Happy to say it's still in one piece.

 

That's an odd thing to take on adventures

 

Never know when you might need to set up a coffee table in the woods

 

While in the woods....

 

I just imagined that little guy behind the computer writing a book titled While in the Woods
So figured I should at least post a little more of how it went while in the woods. I went expecting to go half way up the canyon, watch some numbers on the guages and come right back to the house. Seeing as it was going to be a super "quick trip" I didn't bother to change out of my gym shorts, T shirt, and sketchers (idiot, I was basically wearing the same thing when I got into trouble on the mountains 10 years ago). At the last stop light before the canyon road I noticed the AFR guage was acting funny and I wasn't going to be getting any good information out of it but the boost was reading correctly and I had just twisted the manual boost controller up another 5 clicks before leaving the house.

Engine sitting nice and warmed up ready to go.

Shortly after leaving town when the speed limit started bumping up I put my foot in it and watch the boost guage peak at 4.4psi new personal best. I've been really conservative and was happy to treat myself to a tiny bit more pressure since the cam plug has been resolved.

It seemed like no time at all before I passed the spot I pulled off the road to let the truck cool down the last time I attempted this canyon. The truck was running smooth and I blew past spots to turn around climbing higher and higher into the dense fog and light rain, enjoying the opportunity to run my Diode Dynamics Fog lights without feeling like a total Bro. Before long I passed the 9,910ft summit sign and kept driving. The next landmark I set in my head was a dirt road I've passed a handful of times while going to and from destinations.


Of course as soon as I get off the hwy I learned I had multiple choices to explore. I went right in the direction of the road I knew existed already knowing I was going to have to explore them all eventually.

I was taking full advantage of the window visors to let in the cool crisp mountain air in and keep the bulk of the rain out.

I took a detour on one of the side paths out of curiosity and feeling confident I wouldn't block any traffic stopped and took a couple updated pictures of the truck

Shortly after taking this picture i came to my first minor hiccup in the road.

Casualty of the wind and soft ground?
It's funny how sometimes the smallest obstacle can turn you around.
I thought about moving this log out of the way and untimely decided it wasn't worth getting my cotton socks wet and this little trail was getting soupy so id rather not chew it up when I could just explore in a different direction.

That different direction ended up being very enjoyable and not without it's own dead falls momentarily slowing my already 4Lo Slow pace

There was a half decent puddle going around a corner that had a broken evergreen hanging out into the road that made it a little more exciting, these little 1st Gens are great for that. I'd probably have a nice pin stripe on the passenger side if I was in a 2nd or 3rd gen. Going back through the puddle on the way home is the only thing my dash cam recorded all day.

I think this tree may have been introduced to some electricity at some point

Not far after that the road ended by opening up to a nice meadow where I found a small pocket of cell service and let me wife know what time I should be home and when to be concerned if I was not


Spicy Thai Curry really hits the spot on those cooler wet days and the owners of my favorite spot just got back from a 2 months trip in Thailand so I didn't stick around for too long. I think I'll be back soon, maybe with a tent and some company. Maybe even a functional AFR guage

 

Got the truck cleaned up.


Experimented with the A pillar guage mount for the AFR/Boost guage and wired it in better.

Failed successfully at installing it to the A pillar.
I think my wife will appreciate the guage not being taped to the glove box shining right in her face. I'll still have to wire up the dimmer for it at some point.


And finally took it up the road and left it at a buddy's shop for some "preventative maintenance"

 

FYI I've been told you shouldn't wrap pipes that have been ceramic coated. Only uncoated piping.

 

I think It was discussed when I first found the TURBO BS Thread. I guess I had just already planned on getting the downpipe coated because it was included in the pricing when I had the rest done. I think after I ordered the wrap I was already feeling like it might just be easier not to worry about getting it too and from the coating shop without a vehicle so that helps make the decision easier

 

Went out to Fabn801 for some quality work not far from home. If any of you are familiar with W.E. Rock you've probably seen his buggy or a number of the rock lizards he's build

Bumper hoop.

Mounting tabs for the IC. I ended up getting lucky and found new bolts with the same thread pattern as the IC mounts at the local habit for humanity ReStore (thay have tons of new hardware).

Last but not least I got some custom Rock Sliders welded on

Gettin after it



More importantly I got to play with the Shop dog, even brought a new ball for the occasion.

I'm not in the way if I'm busy playing with the dog right?


Did a little more painting once I got home to finish the mounting tabs and bumper hoop.


I'm really happy with how everything turned out. The hoop sits at the perfect height for the bro lights in the grill and I can see exactly where my bumper is while trying to park at the grocery store.

 

Functional aesthetics. I like it. And the dog liked the ball.

 

Went on another short adventure. Pulled some light hills in the afternoon sun and the coolant temps got up to 210°f again but dropped to about 185°f after cranking the heat up in the cab for a minute or two.

This guy seemed "Crane"ky at first But I believe it's a Great Blue Heron



My old hound thought she was going to get this turkey vulture

Lucky for the bird she's not very fast anymore (and knows better).

You can see a little piece of this guy's lunch still in it's beak

Sandpiper

Whit-faced Ibis

Lots of hungry creatures along the waters edge, ourselves included.


I've been wanting an awning on the truck for a while and talked to the Wife a little more about it today

Weather was super calm all afternoon but it turned windy in a hurry

Oooh poo check out that action shot



I think my wife may have been using jedi powers

We quickly started removing the canopy from the frame, rolling it up so the wind wouldn't take off with it completely. didn't see any new dents but there is a paint mark on the roof by the 3rd brake light that might buff out.

Next time I'll be more specific about wanting an awning "on the truck"


Oh and while removing some bait off a hook our other dog nipped at a wasp and hit my fishing rod sending a hook right into my thumb

to end it all we sat and watching a distant thunderstorm dancing across the western skyline as the final rays of light dwindled into a blanket of stars.

10/10 would do it again

 

What an adventure.

 

Little bit of painting today


Trusty tiny pocket knife for the win

This little blade retains it's edge very well and is a staple of my EDC