LML Silverado Duramax C-Max build thread part 4

[Flyin6]

Then on to a complete oil/filter change

[Flyin6]

The big filter and the oil has been around for some 30,000 miles!

[JR]

How do you go threw airbags like that, is something rubbing?

[Flyin6]

Since Willie is back from his pre-occupation (MrManners over at synthetic motorsports, which he owns,) I got him to send me some fresh stuff

Unexpectently, he sent me 4 gallons of 5W-40 super-duper premium oil. I guess I'll save the Delvac for the John Deeres

[Flyin6]

How do you go threw airbags like that, is something rubbing?

Yep

Sticks and rocks I drive over!

[Flyin6]

So yesterday I was down at the farm

Saw a big ugly storm blowing up

Heard the emregency broadcast system activate...

OK, time to dity-Mau

The gust front hit us before we made it out...Too late

We encountered a tree blown down on the "Road"

The other trees were making big circles and branches were flying around like Hillary's lost emails

I said screw it and drove right over it!

Turned out to be a black locust...You know...The ones with the flame hardened, armor penetrating 4" spikes

Yea, so stuff like that just seems to happen to me all the time

[Flyin6]

Here's the mileage and hours

Still pretty new...

[TexasRedNeck]

Yeah, I came out to find my new Nittos with a slow leak on the driver's rear.  Apparently driving all over the hunting lease trails put something like a weesatch thorn in my tire.  It is a very slow leak to take 2 weeks to get from 70 to 30

[Flyin6]

Yeah, I came out to find my new Nittos with a slow leak on the driver's rear.  Apparently driving all over the hunting lease trails put something like a weesatch thorn in my tire.  It is a very slow leak to take 2 weeks to get from 70 to 30

So far G-T-G,

But, I'm expecting the same

[rpar86]

Dang my truck must have idled for quite a while in its life. I have about double the hours and only 106k on a 10 year old truck.

[Flyin6]

I took too bad pictures, one with no flash and too much camera shake, and the other with a flash and the glare covering the important stuff.

I wanted to show the incredible mileage my truck just got after the "Slick-Willie" (aka, MrManners) oil change.

Yep right there, for everyone to see, 104.3 MPG!

Unbelievable!

Yes, it got one hundred four point three miles per gallon! And I believe in hope and change and am a firm Hillary voter!

What the B&G (blur and glare) actually conceals is 19.3! Almost as unbelievable as the notion that Hillary is not sick or would make a good leader, driving 50 ish mph on country roads to/from the farm it delivered some PDG fuel mileage!

[longball]

What the B&G (blur and glare) actually conceals is 19.3!

That's impressive! My LB7 with 265 BFG and/or 285 Coopers only averaged 17.8 over the last year.


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[KensAuto]

Mine is sad compared to you guys...12.5-13.5 driving to work everyday at mostly 50mph. That's on the 200hp tune from kory.

[JR]

Most of my driving is around town and the mileage is lousy, like Kens.

I am thinking of loading a 120hp tune I have. My normal was a 100hp from Rob, but mileage was never really good and EGTs seem a little high.

[Flyin6]

I have always run with the 150HP deleted tune from H&S. Not just deleted, but no EGR and manifolds and up-pipes as well as a good down pipe and exhaust.

Think about it, I am getting that, well, usually I get high 17's to mid 18's on the same drive, but lately it is getting 19's...But I am doing all that with 4.56 gears and the 35's. That would be roughly approximate to a regular truck driving around at 70MPH.

Something is definitely right with my combo!

Personally I think it has a lot to do with the Isiah 6:8 scripture which I have proudly displayed in the back, I get a natural resistance from things that hold one back which obviously increases the distance you can go!

[Bigdave_185]

I regularly get 18-19 on my lbz with 35's and 410 gears.   My problem is the sound of the duramax motor scream and how much I love it at wot


Raising boys into RealMen!!

[longball]

Do you think the 4.56 gears (coupled with Isiah 6:8 of course) may be the reason for your good mileage? So far as I can tell, getting these pigs moving takes more fuel than maintaining momentum. Years ago, when I lifted and put 35s on my 89 K1500 I thought I would get better mileage because the motor would run at lower rpm while cruising around. Boy was I wrong.


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[Flyin6]

Do you think the 4.56 gears (coupled with Isiah 6:8 of course) may be the reason for your good mileage? So far as I can tell, getting these pigs moving takes more fuel than maintaining momentum. Years ago, when I lifted and put 35s on my 89 K1500 I thought I would get better mileage because the motor would run at lower rpm while cruising around. Boy was I wrong.


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Could be...

But I'm leaning toward righteous living as the root cause

I've been trying to do that with some limited success

Ain't God good!

[JR]

I have 4.56 for mine as 410 seemed a little low, but 4.30s are not there.

Funny how the 35 tire just measures 33 at rest! I was guessing 34.5 or similar and there is still lots of tread.

Yes he is.

[EL TATE]

What the B&G (blur and glare) actually conceals is 19.3!

That's impressive! My LB7 with 265 BFG and/or 285 Coopers only averaged 17.8 over the last year.


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I avg about the same with my 03. 290k now and depending on freeway traffic on a given week she'll get up to 18.3 since I changed the fuel, and air filter and cleaned the MAF.

[EL TATE]

I have 4.56 for mine as 410 seemed a little low, but 4.30s are not there.

Funny how the 35 tire just measures 33 at rest! I was guessing 34.5 or similar and there is still lots of tread.

Yes he is.

Tire height is really relative to the width of the wheel, weight of the vehicle, and the load placed on the tire. a "static height" or unloaded on industry standard wheel, inflated to test pressure levels for 24 hrs is what they are allowed to list the height at. Mounted on a non standard wheel, under load, different air pressure etc will cause the variations you're seeing measuring from the ground to the top of the tread, but the rolling diameter generally remains close to the listed height unless you're running extra wide wheels.

Side note; we're contemplating 4.30 gears in a manner of speaking. 4.44 gears exist in the aftermarket for the 11.5 rear, but not for the front 9.25", and we have seen a better all around "fit" for the taller ratio with 35" tires and Allison 6 speed than the 4.56 for general usage in 2wd applications. Taking that into consideration if there is enough market demand for a ratio we'll create it.

Using the transmission tire and gear calculator on my website, https://www.ringpinion.com/calculators/Calc_RPM.aspx one can add their tire size, gear ratio and vehicle speed to calculate RPM. with 265/70/16 and 3.73 gears, 65mph would generate 1598rpm in 6th. putting 35" tires on would decrease the RPM to 1443, meaning 1-4th gears would be working harder to generate the same amount of torque, explaining the loss of MPG, forcing one to drive like a high school kid, flooring it from a stop just to get up to speed so to speak. A change to 4.11 gears would bring the rpm back up to 1590, only 8rpm off so that would be perfect right? Not really. The tire height change inherently changes the physics of the truck; higher in the air creates more drag, larger tires and wheels weigh more. it'd be as if you were hauling or towing every day with this ratio change. An ideal change would be 100-200 rpm over the stock RPM curve. Currently 4.56's put you at 1764rpm, 166 rpm over stock. 4.30 gears would put you at 1664rpm, 66 rpm over stock. not ideal, but if you live in flat land and drive 85mph everywhere it's a solid choice.

If you want 4.30 gears, call in and request them. request them from distributors too. The more we hear about it, the better chance you have of getting what you want;-)

[EL TATE]

Sorry for DOT'n up your thread there Don; headlights look great! :-[

[JR]

Well Tate, thats why we went with the 4.56 then. On the table soon, playing with tunes again.

What was this thread about???????

[Flyin6]

It used to be about my truck

But who cares...

I'm learning same as all you boneheads

So carry on,

[longball]

The big filter and the oil has been around for some 30,000 miles!

Did I read somewhere you had a UOA done recently? Are yo happy with that setup?


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[Flyin6]

UOA???

[longball]

Sorry, used oil analysis.


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[Flyin6]

Sorry, used oil analysis.


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Yes, I was sending in samples each time the oil counter hit zero.

They kept coming back good. But after 30K, I was just uncomfortable. I purchased some Delvac, but in the end retasked that to tractor oil changes and ordered more Amsoil from Willie. I think I was at 33,000 miles on this oil and the big filter with several quarts added along the way and the small filter changed at interval.

[Sammconn]

I ran my last out to 50k, with a couple UOA along the way.
It was still good, but I made the same call that it was time.

Just doesn't seem 'right' to not change at some point.
I added about 4 quarts along the way to top up FWIW.

Needless to say, I'm very happy with the setup as well.

[TexasRedNeck]

I struggle with gear ratios for a 5sp Allison on 34s. I wish I had spent the money on the six speed upgrade


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[Flyin6]

OK, truck is for sale.
Listed in the classified section with the details...

[JR]

OMG, what are you looking at getting since SD isn't up yet?

[Flyin6]

OMG, what are you looking at getting since SD isn't up yet?

OMG, what are you looking at getting since SD isn't up yet?

Stock power wagon

second hand 12 valve or 24 valve dually

[rpar86]

OK, truck is for sale.
Listed in the classified section with the details...

Boooooo!!!

[cudakidd53]

You should post  "For Sale" to that other site.......

[Flyin6]

You should post  "For Sale" to that other site.......

Mike, I think that ship left the port!

I was really interested because there was employee pricing for the whole month of the October. That pulled the price tag on that truck down to $49K for the average joe, then another $500 for being an ex GI-Joe, and another $1000 discount for being a USAA member.

I was looking at a brand new Powerwagon which was pretty loaded up for $47,500 ish.

Now the only incentive is 12% off sticker for the older 2016 trucks. I lost half the discount.

Remember too, I prayed over this. I think the answer this time was clear. I may want a PW, but in God's timing it is not yet time. I trust his judgement!

Roger that, Chevy on!

[Flyin6]

Had to work on C-Max some today. Yet another Chinaman headlamp bulb burned out. These 50,000 hour bulbs are lasting about 6-8 months and they burn out. Maybe they were supposed to mean to say 50,000 seconds lifespan??

[Flyin6]

I also polished the lenses, restoring them to a like new appearance.

The mini solar cell which had been velcroed to my dash for several years now gave up it's will to live. Not sure why, the red dog never got to it and it was mostly out of harms way, but I pulled and replaced it as well

[Flyin6]

The new one was slightly smaller, much thinner and lighter and makes for a neater installation

[Flyin6]

It basically acts like an always-on trickle charger for those heavy and expensive batteries. I have 6 years on the stock batteries so far and they show no signs of weakening.

[JR]

I got about that out of my 1st set. Now it seems to be 3 years or so, but always covered under warranty so far.

Working on my lights too. New bulbs, little adjusting and polishing.

[Sammconn]

I've always considered 5 years as cranking battery life.
But with the -40's we see it really wears them down.
First time I need to boost, new batteries, which seems to be at the 5 year point for me.

[Flyin6]

I've always considered 5 years as cranking battery life.
But with the -40's we see it really wears them down.
First time I need to boost, new batteries, which seems to be at the 5 year point for me.

From what I have learned about how batteries "Die" it has to do with the charging and discharging which causes a chemical reaction. The results of that reaction is a byproduct which creates a plaque on the lead surfaces. I think I am right about that

So to prevent too much of the big ups and downs, one simply needs only to keep the battery fully charged. The alternator system does a pretty good job of that, however a solar cell or other trickle charger system completes the task, thereby extending battery life.

I know that these days, machines employing ultrasonic shaking can rejuvenate a dead and used up battery to like new condition. The caveat to that is barring no mechanical damage. Automotive batteries are not built all that well on the inside. The plates which are suspended can move just a bit and over time may ground themselves out against the adjacent plate. Should this happen, you're done.

That's why I try to buy batteries designed for commercial heavy equipment like Sarge. With those batteries, the bottom of the plates is set into a bed of epoxy which prevents any movement and allows you to thump into things like big oak trees and not do any damage and realize a long life.

[Sammconn]

I have 6 old 6 volt batteries I rescued from recylcling.
I have some experiments to try with them.
Pending the results I will do a bit of a write up.
Will be May or so before I get there.

But what you have said above Don is correct.

[JR]

This time I got Interstates, we will see.

Will post about the headlights in my thread, not going well.

[Wilbur]

Don do solar panels get beat up in excessive heat? I know that kind of sounds weird as they are made to go in the sun......so I know the panel part itself absorbs the sun and heats up but I wonder if any other parts of the panel (wiring etc.) can't take heat and inside a vehicle might get too hot for them to survive long term? 

[Sammconn]

Don do solar panels get beat up in excessive heat? I know that kind of sounds weird as they are made to go in the sun......so I know the panel part itself absorbs the sun and heats up but I wonder if any other parts of the panel (wiring etc.) can't take heat and inside a vehicle might get too hot for them to survive long term?

I don't know that heat 'hurts' them, but it's likely not best case for them.
They are an electronic device, and as such like cool better.
As the temp of the panel rises, the output drops.

[Flyin6]

Can you believe the LED headlight burned out again?

I can't remember how many bulbs I have been through and what, several sets of HID before that!

OK, I think I can say with a high degree of certainty that this new crap, which is mostly from China is well marketed junk.

This truck has to work. That means many back country runs in the middle of the night. Saturday night the Pre-Rangers and I were driving back from our farm when the bulb quit. Due to the recent windy conditions, the two year dead Ash trees that the ash borer has killed are falling everywhere. That makes lighting more acutely critical than usual. And while tired and sleepy, and towing a trailer, on Kentucky winding country roads that bulb failed again.

Well that was the last straw. I am making a decision for safety and going back to halogen bulbs, albeit good quality "Blue" light bulbs, I am going mainstream. Now with respect to the high beams, not so much. I will keep the crappy LED headlight bulbs in place which are backed up by a two LED flood lights. I am adding to that mix, two 8" HID driving lights. The thought being that I'll run primarily on the high beams and go to lows only in towns or when meeting approaching traffic.

I'm putting this one to bed...For good

[Sammconn]

You've sure had a run of tough luck on headlights.
I don't know what to tell you other than carry on with your plan.

I can't say I've ever seen this many NS bulbs in such short order.

[Flyin6]

I pulled the front end down again today and changed out the headlght bulbs, yet once again.

I had purchased a set of Putco 4400K high output bulbs (Not sure of the wattage) but while collecting the tools for the job, I ran across another box of...LED headlight bulbs!

Hmmm, should I or stick to Plan "A", return to bronze era halogens...???

So I flipped the mental coin and it came up, use and gamble on the LED's until the next failure, then perhaps spring for the expensive HIDs.

So in they went and just like that I was cookin' with bacon grease all over again.