Quote:
Originally Posted by gumby79
Hows the congregated plastick handling the summer and road speed?
|
It handled better than i thought. There was enough gap between the cab and it to let heat out. And with the (albiet not as much as i shouldve.) bracing i did to hold up the middle it kept up. Alittle sag in spots but nothing bad. The corrugations helped the most probably.
Anyway. Remember when i said i would have my handy dandy welder back in the pickup but laterally rather than longitudinaly? Ya that totally diddnt happen. I had one day off and the first tractor blew a hose a few days before, the next one diddnt have big enough pampers to lift it and the 3rd one took till 6 that afternoon. So much for plans.
And ive worked 84hrs a week since my last post. But. I got 3 whole days off!
And its going to be spent not working on getting the welder the way i want it. Bummer, but working nonstop has put a ton of my "need to do's" on the back burner.
Now. Economy related. So far, with the welder in the bed, on the highway at 55-60, with a/c, im getting 12ish to the gallon. But my city economy is now about as good as a space shuttle. Ive been able to keep it above 10 but only just.
The problem, as we allready know, is the pond water and asbestos that connects the engine to the transfercase. Ive been shifting it manually (as little controls that i have) to get as much heat to the ground. But getting to speed is the main problem. Once the torque converter locks up ive got solid acceleration from 35mph at 1500 ish od/off. And 50mph at 1400rpm od/locked. But, its sitting around 25, shift at 3000rpm taking off from a stop. Ive pulled back the shift cable some but its still just a sloppy t/c and just gets worse mpg at higher revs in a higher gear. I know it doesnt make sense, but at 40 mph, od on (t/c locks at 50) its actually 200 rpms lower in od/off/tc locked, with far better acceleration vs. Pedal input.
Simply put. This transmission sucks. I cant wait to blow it up.
So. The manual swap has been daunting in finding an actual transmission. My less than $500 budget has been completely blown away by not actually finding any transmissions for that price. The word "diesel" gets thrown around and then it costs way more, for the same transmission.
So really im just going to have to suck it up and pay the $1500 tag for a rebuilt box. I really wanted to get a used box so i could (maybe) get a new 5th gear made that was overdriven a tad more. But that requires more googling.
Ive thought about a big ol 4 speed and an overdrive unit, but would cost more than really necessary. But would be compatible with my subliminal ideas of making stupid amounts of torque with this engine. Wich, my ideas there are to just bump up the compression a touch, stock cam and roller rockers, thinner piston rings and ditch most of the engine driven accessories. I know its been brought up before on this thread, but some deepcycles and a few hundred watts of slim solar on the roof should run things just fine. My nighttime driving is usually just during the winter when the sun is on the other side of the planet, and otherwise ive allready converted all my lights to led. I would have to do the math on how many watts has been saved, but you should know that a one ton has more lights than really should be necessary.
Anyway. I dont know how things are going to play out. But im hoping that ill have a new(ish) transmission to slap into this hog by thanksgiving. Wich means it will probably more like new years. But with all this work, cash for the project is showing its face and maybe ill have enough to get things where i want em.
Oh. And the air springs i put into the back. Awesome ride quality.
