Today I also added 50 horsepower to my survival rig set up. I didn't actually add any horsepower to my duramax, but to the thing that could be on the trailer behind it!
Purchased a John Deere 825 Gator in olive drab and black. No shine on it at all. I ordered the fox off road shocks, the high performance exhaust and all the armor they sell. I also outfitted it with all their lights, aluminum (black) wheels, and a couple other things.
I have owned a gator for quite awhile. I also own a 850D diesel gator that will run on anything, goes like a banschee cross country and will start and run on liquid chicken grease. I don't know if I'll keep the diesel, but right now I'm thinking of keeping them both, and making the 825 a tactical scout vehicle for quickie runs to town across varying cross country routes.






Quote:
Originally Posted by FC5452

"...... did that bullet help those tie rod ends any?"

 

Couldn't bring myself to actually pull the trigger. Last time I did that sort of thing it cost me a computer (for real!)

Resting back on the ground, here's what it looks like prior to alignment:

Also, I took some measurments of the suspension to see how much movement I am getting. Bottom line is NOT MUCH!
Sitting on the ground the shock shows 3.5" extension. Jacking up on the frame until the wheel hangs freely, the shock extends to 5" (Pathetic!! 1.5" droop!)
I then jacked the truck up under the lower control arm until the tire was 6" off the ground. I measured the shock to have exactly the same 3.5" of shaft exposed! W H A T???? No up travel? Now I know when you load it up with say, hitting a bump, you are going to get some more travel, but so far I would rate this stiff suspension as a third a point less than awful!
I started looking for bind points and several were immediately noticeable. First the stock UCA bushings are super stiff and flex ver little. I had to really force the stock UCA to move at all even when disconnected from the spindle. When I loosened up the bushing bolts, it freed right up! So the Cognito UCA will fix that.
The stocker is limited down big time by that droop stop protrusion from the frame. At some future point mine will have a date with a saw!
It seems the sway bar is really holding things up as well, so that is going to get some attention. NExt the tie rods don't have all that much more down travel before the angle maxes out. I'm going after the lower bump stops tomorrow, removing about an inch from them.
Hold it, I hear something from the garage...It's a voice... "free at last, free at last, free at last!

Next we are going to get into the new Rare Parts tie rods. The news is going to be mixed for me at least, and I discovered a problem that no one a=over at Rare Parts or Holton, for that matter could have forseen.
Note: PAY ATTENTION: These replacement tie rods are designed to replace stock tie rod assemblies. They may or possibly may not fit a non stock, lifted application. I discovered that they will not fit the Fabtech spindle, at least not yet, but I have a plan!
I started by pulling off the stocker then did a good side by side. See any differences?





If you answered that the Rare parts tie rod assembly is much beefier, you would be correct. Stock is .690" in diameter, where as the Rare parts is a full 1". Yep, thats .310 more diameter to yank on before impending doom.

If you also answered that the Rare parts is too long, again, you would be correct! Now here is where it gets confusing. I had previously removed 3/8" from the factory tie rod IAW Fabtech's installation instructions. Measuring it all out the Rare Parts tie rod was exactly 1" too long. If you subtract the 3/8" from the total length, the rare parts tie rod would still be 5/8" too long.

That is pretty easy to fix, simply cut 1" off of both the sleeve and the stud end of the tie rod and bolt it in like it never happened. That's what I decided to do.

Looks good. Those rails are factory?

Bobby, I've had a couple come in with cracks by the steering gear box....is that the stiffeners on your list? if not, maybe look into something for the gear box. I just used plate I had, but I'm sure they make something specific for them.

All right boys and girls, off to another modification. Today I will be installing the Cognito upper control arms (UCA) and start to install the Rare parts tie rods. Once you get into the writeup, you'll see why I just started and am not finished yet.

So first we begin by removing the wheels, placing the beast on sturdy jack stands and pulling off the factory arms.




Removal is straight forward and the loss of blood vs actual work acomplished ratio is pretty good, actually excellent, rivalling a great shave with a new razor blade!

The factory arms are no match for the mighty Cognito parts!

I test drove the truck for about 30 minutes. The speedometer was almost dead on and not so much as a check engine light. The various pictures show the closeness of the GPS speed with the speedo speed.
This is a great mod. I owe Holton at Alligator a debt of gratitude for making this possible. He supplies me the parts at great prices and is always calling to check up on the install and following up. Just today, he called again to check if I was happy with the EGR delete mod, which I am overjoyed with.
This truck is just running great now!

Today, I installed the Hypertech speedometer inline calibration unit.
There has always been a question as to whether this unit is compatible with H&S tuning. When I called to discuss it with the H&S folks, mum was the word. Nobody knew anything.
Left out in the cold as we who have different tire sizes are with the H&S inability to calibrate for the change we have had to contend with an inaccurate speedo.
Well, I am happy to report we no longer have a problem! The Hypertech unit works seamlessly with the H&S tuner!
It is a simple install which I will detail in the next few posts.
First you install the CD into your computer, attach the module with the USB to micro usb cable and do the calibration. I calibrated my speedometer for both tire size change and a gear change.
Later testing showed accuracy in the plus to minus 1 mph range. That's plenty good enough to consider accurate. I tested the speedo reading to my GPS speed and found all speeds to be within 1 to 1.5 mph from creeping along up to 80 mph!
Here's what comes in the box, plus the CD:


Begin by removing the left and right trom pieces. They pop out carefully (Ashley) using a broad blade pry bar.





Pry very carefully! (Ashley)


Next remove the 4 screws holding in the cluster trim piece and remove it

OK back to the build, at least for awhile
Just got the next batch of parts in.
Here are the Rare Parts Heavy duty tie rod assemblies
and
The Cognito upper control arms with a ball joint




Next is the gear oil for the rear axle and an oil sample kit I picked up from Willie (MrManners)




There are a couple more parts as well, including the hypertech speedo calibrator and a cool billet set of sway bar end links.

Welcome....oh boy, now we have 2 Nates!

Leave it (as far as ratios go). You'll have plenty of torque to push those tires while maintaining mileage....which is hugely important when fuel reserves become a precious commodity.

But, I have little experience when it comes to the strength of dodge axles after adding power.....maybe they're known for becoming metal splinters when you step on the fuel lever, IDK.

I finished the EGR delete today
I picked up where I left off yesterday first finishing tieing off the water bypass hoses and properly securing them to prevent chaffing.

With that complete it was time to install the Alligator Diesel block off plate that Holton supplied which is an easy task with everything out of the way.





Reusing the old gaskets and bolts, it is a simple install taking only a couple minutes.
That plate measured .260" in thickness so we're looking at 1/4" plate steel nicely powder coated.
For some reason the plate looks black in the photo, but it is silver spotted over black, a unique finish to say the least.



Next the turbo intake elbow goes on


Then the silver "S" pipe
...and everything else.
I refilled the approximately 1.5 quarts of Dexi-cool radiator fluid, checked everything and fired it up
To get the small bolt into the mount under the butterfly valve I came up with this technique. That's one of the bolts you can't really see. This technique worked just fine

Next I tackled the first of two water lines. The firewall connection is now connected to a coolant pipe coming up from the engine block right beside the turbo. Taking the supplied "L" pipe which has two different diameters, I trimmed it to fit, silicone sprayed the nipples and slid it home and clamped it tightly.






Next the front to passenger side smaller diameter but longer hose was fastened in place




I removed the unused 9th injector nozzle and supply line from near where the hard line attaches to the actual injector which sits on the valve cover in a cradle. I want to get rid of the injector as well, but for now this is as far as I am going for now


This is what the engine bay looks like at the moment, along with all the parts removed that will not be reused, and the truck sitting helplessly in the garage for another night.

First, thanks Ashley, sometimes that's all it takes!

OK, let's get on with day 2 of the EGR delete.
After 9 hours the first day and 8 fatiguing hard, hard hours the second I am still not done.
Unequivocally this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done on this truck. It rivals or surpasses almost anything memory can serve up. This delete is definately not for the timid. It is world class hard, period!

So knowing that I had to tackle those feel only bolts I started with removal of the remaining heat shield. There is one covering the EGR portion of the passenger up pipe and one over the turbo exhaust side.


I thought the best way to tackle the hard stuff was the hardest stuff first. In retrospect I still don't know which was the hardest, with each bolt removed feeling like a hard won victory. The up pipe has three bolts securing it to the back of the EGR cooler assembly. If you look carefully in the picture you can just barely see my ratchet buried way up inside the firewall. You can't see the botl head, you just have to find it by feel. I used a mirror to look at it first to give me a general idea where to hunt. You can only get one of the three from below


Moving top side you now can loosen and remove the remaining two flange bolts. Next remove all of the EGR cooler mount bolts and the remaining rubber coolant lines. This precise tool helps with getting stuff out of the way!

When everything is disconnected a little movement can be had. The whole big heavy coolant filled L shaped cooler comes out as one unit.





Then all at once the truck lets out a sigh of relief and the massive thing is free. I remounted it semi permanently on the floor!
Along with the cooler assembly the aft mount comes out as well.

Next the actual heat shield is removed



With the heat shield out of there the down pipe remaining sensor and V-band can be removed. I actually removed the down pipe with the heat shield still attached by persuading it downward with a length of steel pipe and a rubber mallet.



Back to the top side, I went after the rubber coolant lines, disconnecting and removing them as well.




More hose removal:





I noticed that not very much dexi-cool anti freeze actually leaks when removing all this stuff so the mess is not too much to handle.
Here's a shot of the bed of the truck which is serving as temporary parts storage. It's filling up! Most of the rusty iron stuff will not be reused!

Update time gentlemens                                                                                               (2334)
(I know gentlemens is not proper, but I's using it anyway)
(I know I's is improper as well!)

Holton sent me this really cool looking block off plate. I will say that powder coating has gotten much better!
I haven't been able to get started on the EGR delete this week yet because of a rash of appointments and prior commitments. I think I am going to have to rent a car so that the truck can be down over a few days while I grab an hour here and there to get this stuff installed.
I ordered a bunch more stuff today so the projects are still coming at a good rate.
I will be installing the EGR block off
Then I decided to install an AMP Research step. However in keeping with my "fix everything even if it works fine" approach. I am going to modify the step. I plan to plate the underside with 3/16" steel to allow it to scrape ofer Kias and Daewoos and construct a steel support structure that the step can fold up against that will support the vehicle weight.
I finally decided to go with the electric step instead of my proposed rock rail/step system after suffering from a significant hearing loss in my right ear. That's the ear closest to my wife!
I also purchased the Cognito upper control arm, and Holton was able to source me some Rare parts tie rods which just came out as well. THe idea here will be to increase the front suspension travel. All those parts will allow significantly more droop-out.
Holton sold me some neat front sway bar end links which are super beefy.
Finally, I stepped up to the plate and purchased the Hypertech speedo in line calibrator. No one can tell me if it will work with the H&S XT Pro I run, so I'm going have to be the guinnie pig. At least when I get that sucker installed, we will finally know for sure.
Lastly I didn't order them yet, but I am looking at either some exhaust manifolds and up pipes or H2O/Methanol injection to keep things safe.
So that's the plan for the fall.
Oh
Forgot to mention
Road Armor finished the new rear bumper build minus the frame brackets. They will be shipping that to me and I'll finally be bolting that puppy on!
YIPPEE
So lots of good stuff on the horizion as long as I don't get lazy and slow down even more! 

                                                                                                             (2288)
Holton from Alligator called me last night when he got my email about the missing block off plate.
He's a good guy who cares about his customers and stuff exactly like this shows it.
He is sending me a coated block off plate 2nd day, so I'll have it by Friday

Here's some photos of what the EGR delete looks like
Missing are 4 hose clamps and the block off plate.
Of course the down pipe is a part of my installation since it will have to come out anyway, then why not replace it with the good stuff.






Quote:
Originally Posted by L****
"What is the hose for in the 2nd post?"

First of all, my caveat
I have not installed this before and am no expert, in fact I am yet to reach novice status.
However
Over several conversations with Holton at Alligator who worked on development of this kit, with what I have and will shortly receive (the actual block off plate) can completely eliminate the EGR system. Those rubber hoses must (Speculation) be a part of the re-route of engine coolant that used to go to the EGR coolers, which have or will shortly find their way to the scrap metal recycler. You actually remove all that stuff in lieu of just blocking off and retaining the now unused components.

Posted by Guyton:
on the LMLs there's 2 coolant lines, one for the 1st cooler and one for the 2nd cooler. the blue line is for the 2nd cooler when it gets removed. the larger black line is for the first one that resembles the LMM EGR cooler if you was to delete it, almost the same as the LMMs but still way different.

as for your plate Don, you'll have it tomorrow buddy.


Quote:
Originally Posted by KensAuto 
"so you delete both coolers with the kit? that would sure free up some space!

and don, is that an 'uppipe' in the pic? u said something about a down pipe...or is that just part of the delete kit "

Yes, Ken you completely remove both coolers
And
Yes that is the supplied up pipe, passenger side
I mentioned a down pipe, because I will be removing the stocker and replacing it with the Alligator pipe at the same time, since I would have to remove it anyway.
The down pipe is not included in the kit, but something I've had for a month or so awaiting install.

Quote:
Originally Posted by D********
"Great read... Next chapter? "



Not chapter, but story. here it is:

Finally out of training it wasn’t long before I started flying actual missions as a BMQ (basic mission qualified) co-pilot. Eager to get me on the schedule more to give relief to some of his pilots who were being over worked, than to give me actual experience I would fly a ten day training support mission in Florida for some of our Navy friends. They trained all the time the same as we did and had a team wanting to play in the Eglin Air Force Base ranges.

I would be flying with an experienced crew in a new CH-47D Chinook under the command of a Vietnam veteran, a CW4. I have to switch up the names so I’ll try to find suitable ones, however you guys actually in these stories know who you were. OK, so let’s call this guy “Bill.” To the real you, I hope you approve, and I do this out of respect for your privacy.

Bill had been in the 160th since the day it formed from a single CH-47 company in the 101st. I believe at that time we were still technically a part of the 101st Airborne as we were yet to be assigned to and come under the direct command of 1st SOCOM, or First Special Operations Command. In my earliest days in the 160th we sewed 101st screaming eagle patches to the left shoulder of our dress greens and maybe our BDU’s (Battle dress uniform) but to be honest changes were coming fast and I am not 100% sure of that.
Anyway A company of the 159th Aviation Regiment kept its name from the days it was created in Vietnam, the “Pachyderms.” I’m sure about that, because someone way back then had some Vietnamese carve a pachyderm head bust out of a chunk of very dense and heavy teak wood. That sculpture adorned the desk of the company commander of the pachyderms and on occasion would actually be hand carried on the morning PT three to four mile runs. Ask me how I know about that!

Outside the door of the barracks building where the company also had its headquarters offices was a woven rubber welcome mat that didn’t say “welcome”. On it instead was emblazoned the phrase “Pachyderms, tougher than woodpecker lips!” That simple phrase often haunted me. I realized wood peckers don’t actually have lips, but I used to speculate about just how hard their beaks might be. Then I’d get to thinking if it was possible for a wood pecker to suffer from a concussion from all that pecking? That led me to think about how their brains might actually be suspended within their skulls? Perhaps by elastic chords, or in a vicious liquid, I mean how exactly did all that work? Weird, but I’m thinking about it right now!

OK, back to the mission, navy guys, training, OK, here we go. We were to meet up with this team of navy surfer dudes at Hulbert field, home of Air Force Special Operations. It is located along the scenic Florida coast right beside Destin and Panama city. I was going to have some fun finally. I was dreaming of flying, and getting some beach time in, it was going to be good!

We packed up early one morning into our Chinook which was fitted with two 600 gallon internal fuel tanks. With all that gas, we would be able to take off from Ft. Campbell and fly all the way to Florida, nonstop. We did so during the morning and into the early afternoon cruising across the US of A at 300 to 500 feet along a predetermined route which we followed exactly.

Arriving there we parked the aircraft on the hazardous cargo ramp at Hulbert, found our Buick Regal rental car, packed up our personal belongings and headed off to the hotel. Operations had reserved us rooms at the Howard Johnsons, or Ho-Jo’s. As we carried our bags inside I noted Bill as having two duffle bags instead of my single bag. I nodded toward the heavier and bulkier second bag and Bill said “It’s my “B” bag.” Oh, B-bag hugh, I hadn’t brought any B, C or D or any other letter bag. I guess I missed that one during training. “Bill, what’s a “B” bag?” “Tell me you didn’t bring one? You don’t have it with you? What if we get deployed from here? Dammed new guys!” Hmmm seemed I hadn’t learned my lesson yet, note to self: Do not speak until having first been spoken to!
We checked in, Bill and I got single rooms, but the two crew chiefs were rooming together. They dumped their bags and disappeared. Bill told me to come to his room after I settled in. I assumed it was for the butt chewing to continue, and I was correct.
The room was cheesy, sorry, Mr. Ho-Jo. I stuffed my clothing into some drawers and in the closet and went next door and knocked. “Enter” so I did.

Bill was dressed in what I would describe as a black Ninja suit! I was a bit surprised, not knowing what to think of these Night Stalkers yet, a group which I considered myself a part of only by the thinnest of threads. “B” bag, it’s what you need if we get deployed to go to war. You carry it with you whenever you go somewhere. Has your weapon, ammo, uniforms, stuff like that.” “Weapon? I asked. Surely I shouldn’t have missed that, I was supposed to bring a weapon? “You don’t have a weapon?” “Err, no, no one told me.” “No one told you that you are supposed to buy your weapons and carry them with you?” “Err, no, I have to buy a weapon, what kind?” Bill flipped open the bag and handed me both halves of a Car-15 assault rifle which I stared at dumbfounded. “And one of these,” he dug a little deeper and pulled out a modified .45 automatic pistol. To my mounting surprise I watched him pull out a drop leg holster, put it on and drop the .45 into it. He then picked up the Car-15 which I had laid on the bed and fitted it together snapping the two pins home. He threw the weapon over his shoulder and adjusted it to cross to one side with the muzzle down and the butt stock sticking out beside his ear.

These night stalker dudes are one weird lot, I was thinking as he donned a black hood. Yep, ninja, that’s the look he was going for. OK, for those of you who think this is a fantastic fabrication, well only the second part of that statement is true. This all really happened. Think that’s it? Sorry to disappoint, but this story gets better!

Bill moves over to the window of his second story room at the smallish balcony and railing. My face must have been twisted up in one of those “what the heck” expressions as he slowly opened the sliding door. I noted it opened with a rump-rump-rump sound. One of the rollers must have had a flat spot. I watched with utter fascination as he moved out into the early evening light and peered over the aluminum railing. “They’re next door.” “What, who is next door” I inquired somewhat dumbfounded by this unfolding scene. Bill jumped up and over the railing and clung to the outside, with the weapon swinging outward. At that exact moment, as I moved over to lean on the railing, I watched an elderly gentleman in a huge Cadillac pull into the parking spot one floor below where Bill was hanging. I could see that the gentleman was looking up through his windshield at the ninja hanging on the side of the building. I saw him place the gear shift back into reverse and watched him back out and leave. Good move I thought.

“Go knock on their door.” I focused back to the crazy conversation Bill and I was having. “The crew chiefs, they are rooming next door. Knock on the door, and when they answer it, I’ll come in from the balcony.” What, are you serious, you want to attack the crew chiefs?” “Not attack them, just give them a good scare.”

Since I was a new guy and no one felt compelled to talk to new guys, of course no one had briefed me on the antics of brother Bill here. But I would later learn plenty. I later found out that he often did this and on one occasion had interrupted a crew chief and a local girl in the middle of the throws of passion! But this was now, I didn’t know, so I just went along with it. “OK, give me a second” I said as I left.

I gave it about a three count and began knocking. The voice inside asked “Who is it?” “It’s Harward” A moment later the door started to open then I heard a crash and Bill screaming “Down on the floor, get on your face, N O W!” I watched the spectacle. The sergeant at the door was on his face in the entryway to his room as commanded. The other sergeant a more senior staff sergeant was laying flat on the bed with a huge bottle of Jack Daniels resting on his chest, thumb covering the mouth of the bottle. Bill stood over him all ninja’d up pointing that Car-15 carbine at the staff sergeants face. Both sergeants were saying don’t shoot sir, don’t shoot. What I thought was a gag carried a bit too far was actually much more. Bill a veteran from Vietnam with some baggage from that war would lapse into his Huey Cav days back in “the Nam” on occasion and had everyone pretty nervous. Would this the time he might lose it and drill these gooks, err that’s right, crew chiefs full of holes by mistake? That was one of those surreal moments in my early life as a night stalker. These guys were actually really crazy, it wasn’t just rumor!

The next couple days we were supposed to support the surfer dudes doing whatever they wanted. The first morning when we drove back out to the hot cargo pad to meet them, Bill says watch this. He is driving. The crew chiefs are in the back seat and I am in the front, right side. Bill guns it and yanks the steering wheel setting up a power slide on the grass covered white sand. The surfer dudes were standing all alongside the Chinook and are watching our approach. Bill slides the Buick up to about 50 feet from where they are standing, throws open his door and rolls out on the ground opposite of the car from them. The crew chiefs actually looked scared and I just watched in amazement yet again. Bill comes up from behind the left fender with his hands raised as if he is holding a weapon. He makes mock recoil gestures as he goes from surfer dude to surfer dude. All the while this is happening they didn’t budge, not one flinch of any muscle. Hmmm cool customers, these surfer dudes. They still didn’t move at all as Bill walked up to one of them and shook his hand. All of them were wearing Oakley sunglasses just like all of us. No one else on that base wore Oakley’s so we secret agents weren’t all that secret in retrospect.

We made a critical mistake that day. We departed with half of their team, leaving the other half on the ground. I would learn later on,that, that was not a good choice, but hey I was new to these Night Stalkers and surfer dude communities.

The mission was to fly them at altitude over a drop zone and let them jump out of the back. We were up pretty high requiring me to wear an oxygen mask. We flew toward the drop coordinates and was looking at a pretty big thunder storm which appeared to be right over the DZ. Bill called the jump master up into the cockpit pointing out the thunderstorm. The surfer dude told us to fly to the coordinates, then turn the green light on and he and his team would go!
I was actually flying and I think that guy just told Ninja Joe here to fly into a thunder storm! You don’t have to be an officer, a college graduate, a pilot or anything else to know not to fly into thunder storms. It’s one of those things right up there with sticking your face in fire!You know what thunderstorms and hail do to your car sometimes? OK, well, it’s ten times worse on the airplane when flying into one of those things. “Bill you really want to go into that storm? We can’t do that, right?” “I’ve flown Chinooks for a long time, we’ll be OK!” “You sure, are you sure you want to do this?” “Two point five miles.” “What? I asked “”two point three miles, that’s how far to the drop point.” He flipped the red light on and In the mirror I could see the surfer dudes lining up at the back end. I was looking out the windscreen at an impossibly tall wall of violence right in front of us that I couldn’t see into a single foot.

Three, two, one, Wham! We were in and started to be slammed around by all the turbulence going on inside that vertical airborne volcano. “Point three, point two, point one, go, jump, jump jump,” Bill said as he flipped the green light one. Like one big fishing net full of tuna, then just sort of poured out the back end of our aircraft, then they were gone!

Get us out of here, he yelled now directing all his attention to me as a sergeant said, “Jumpers away, aft clear, ramp coming up” I’m sure he was worried about being thrown out the back end. I placed the aircraft in a standard rate left turn, now flying on instruments. In a quick minute (less than a New York minute) we popped out the side of that monstrosity. Bill said circle around. Let’s see if we can see them. Continuing left back toward hell, all I could see was a column of cloud extending from the ground upward a couple of million feet. “Anyone see anything?” Bill asked. “See what sir, a couple of our rotor blades or some of the fuselage that got ripped off?”

“Very funny guys, one four one.” “What, are you talking to me.” I asked as I finished thanking the Lord for just saving my life. “Turn to one four one degrees, your heading back to Hulbert field” Bill said, let’s go back and get the second group. Eglin approach Army copter 2-4-3-4-1 is a single Chinook one four thousand, twenty miles north west inbound for landing Hulbert.” Taking a moment to turn around and look aft, I immediately saw the staff sergeant standing in the narrow companionway and staring at me. We locked eyes for a second. He shook his head side to side and nodded toward Bill. He wasn’t a happy camper. Ditto, neither was I, although being new to the game I was ignorant to the fact that I had been in serious danger. Contrarily, these guys had been living with it for some time.

We flared on the runway near the end and landed. Using a ground taxi minimizes the super strong rotor blast the Chinook produces. We taxied back to the hot cargo pad and shut down. Only one of the surfer dudes was standing there. I overheard the conversation between him and Bill. It seems the team we let off in the middle of that thunder storm had been scattered all over hell and back and had lost most of their equipment. They were not injured, but the guys who had been here had rushed off to try to find and pick them up. That would be it for us for the day’s flying.

After helping the crew chiefs tie down and service the aircraft we grabbed our day bags, mine still containing a sandwich I had made from the breakfast layout, and headed toward the parking lot where the Buick was.

Remember I had mentioned why you never leave your car unattended with half a team of Navy surfer dudes standing around? What we walked up on was not exactly what I’d call a car. Well it was a car in pure terms of mass, weight, approximate shape and the ability to transport people, but only barely. They had jumped up and down on the roof until it was all caved in. They had also smashed in the trunk lid, which no longer worked and the hood. All three depressions were holding water from a thunderstorm which had passed overhead there earlier. The hub caps were kicked in and the grill was missing, we later found that.

Peering inside we discovered that everything that could be quickly removed, had been. We found out later that all those things like door handles, switches, radio, lights and yes, the grill were buried. Buried you ask? Ah yes, after final disassembly of the interior and parts of the exterior, they had placed all the parts inside of the car. Then they had filled the front and back seats of the car about 1/3 of the way up with popcorn!

While taking inventory of the totaled wreck of our rental car, we noticed a few of the surfer dudes standing nearby. All of them were motionless but had the same silly smile which the Oakley’s only partially masked. Not to be beaten, Bill tried to unlock and open the door. That was difficult since the door handles were gone, so one of the sergeants using a screwdriver, wiggled the mechanisms inside the holes where the door handles used to be and got all four doors open. Without saying a word or acknowledging the wreckage at all, Bill climbed in crunching down heavily on the pop corn as he wiggled, or rather burrowed down into the cornels and looked around for the ignition switch. It was hanging out of it’s hole by the wires. Using the skill of a master thief, by holding the cylinder with one hand, he got the key in and cranked the car, which started! Ah, cool, I thought, they left us the engine. While I brushed some corn off the seat and sat in the front seat, my knees came up to about chin height. The popcorn was preventing me from lowering my legs. A couple of Air Force airmen walked by just about then, both starring at the wreckage and at us. One said, “Nice car!” then the other, “Clown car, Barnum and Bailey circus must be in town.”

We all squeezed into the car and Bill drove off, all without saying a word or looking anywhere except for straight forward. We scored big points with the surfer dudes who thought it was cool that we had kept our cool through that little ordeal and had never said a single word about it.

After getting back to the hotel, we went to work removing the pop corn and reinstalling most of the parts. The crew chiefs, thought, that the grill ought to remain in our possession as a trophy and in memory of the event. Bill thought about turning in the car to get a new one, but since we had pushed the roof out far enough to actually use the thing for transportation, we did, He and the Sergeants decided to turn in the car as the last thing we did. That’s what we did a week or so later. By the time we landed back at Campbell, National rental car company had already called reporting that our rental car had been vandalized and was totaled. Captain Bellows wanted to talk about that as well. All in all, a single rental car is not too bad of a price to pay for some good joint Army/surfer dude training wouldn’t you say?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Higher Caliber 
........"Now I need to see this mod that I inspired Don, That way I can rip mine out and re-do it the right way! "

All right I'll post it up
Inspired by the good thinking of Mr. Higher Caliber, I had been carrying the flashlight and extra mag in the console. He, however had a great idea, so I just moved the location somewhat and added it as well. So with full credit going to it's rightful owner and acknowledging that I DID SHAMELESSLY COPY HIS IDEA, here goes:

Using some old duty magazine holders, I cut off the tops and drilled 6 holes into the backing, then installed 6 sheet metal screws


I'm using the exact same concept because it is a good one and we both apparently roll the same way. I will be keeping a spare 15 shot Glock 19 magazine and a surefire flashlight in this holder


I differ from the earlier installation only in location and with regard to the type of pouch. Not sure but The one I used may be an "Uncle MIke" double glock mag belt pouch. I never wore all that crap on a belt, mine was always MOLLEE installed in my vest somewhere so this sucker survived in good shape from the Baghdad and Kandahar days.
Here's where it will be going:


Actually after I thought about it some It would work better if I angled it toward me, so that is what I ended up doing.
TO install the pouch(s), I first removed the plastic trim piece from under the console lid:


Then by laying the plastic piece on the bench and press firmly, I screwed in the 6 sheet metal screws. Afterward, using forces approximating subducting continents, I cut off the screws nearly flush with wire cutters.



When I closed the lid, I realized there is a reason we measure twice and cut once. The pouch interfered a little bit at one corner with the console, so I trimmed it to fit and reinstalled the trim to the console lid.



Nothing really to see here, other than showing that the lid actually closes once again

Here's one of Don's CIEMR's from the CMAX build, 9-08-12: (it's so long, I had to split it into 2 posts!)

I woke up thinking about this thing that follows and decided to write a short essay on the subject.
I call it, "Who Cares?"
Who Cares?
All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Take a moment and think about that. We are going to talk about that for a few minutes
We are probably living in the last days of any form of free America with virtually everything in shambles but we don’t seem to be willing to do anything about it, who cares?
Our moral compass is so far out of whack that most people don’t have a clue about what is right and what is wrong. The bible says we can live according to its rules or we can create laws. Two years ago I believe we wrote around 100,000 laws in America, nuff said! People seem to only loosely follow the laws and only because they are sometimes caught for breaking them and held accountable. So where, exactly, is the self control and morals in any of that? What happens when suddenly the people who enforce those laws are not around any longer? Mayhem?? Most likely, and all because for some reason we no longer have a clue about what is right and wrong or we don’t care. Look at New Orleans after Katrina. Did people work vigorously to help one another? Or did we see the same rioting, stealing, and crime we see with every event of this sort in population centers? I was disquested by that, but the language coming out of mayor down there, and out of the actions of the people of the ninth ward, the welfare, crime and drug ridden part of town.
I can’t imagine my father’s generation doing things like that, although to a lesser degree I know it did happen on occasion. But a much higher percentage of them would simply admit they had a problem, dig in their soles and start working. Back then they didn’t have much. An old Savage Stevens 12 gage double barrel twelve gage sitting in my gun case once provided food for my father’s childhood family in the form of squirrels and most anything else for that matter. That’s all they could do, to put meat on the table! They didn’t have the time to complain, they simply did. Those folks weren’t fat either, and I suspect it was because they worked, as in actually did something.
Then I think about a recent visit to the local mall. Know what I saw? Morbidly obese teens and twenty something’s wallowing all over, wearing ugly clothes, dyed hair, displaying tattoos, and with just an air of disorder about them. But they were shopping! They were spending money, probably someone else’s money or buying on credit. For all of these gigantic people I saw, I saw only a fraction of what I would call more normal kids, the kind I see in Sunday school and church.
That made me think about our society as a whole and about the ratios. You didn’t see most of the “church kids” because, well they weren’t there. I wonder what they were doing? I knew what mine were doing. First homework, then 20 minutes of reading, then chores, then they would get some free time. They learned to work through everything they have to do so they can “Earn” that precious free time. Then there were these human blivets, what were they doing other than existing, I mean give me a break, but what can a three hundred pound child do? Were they future surgeons who I might have to rely onsomeday to remove a cancerous tumor thereby saving my life? Personally, I really doubt it.
Isn’t that how the welfare society appears as well? Isn’t it a growing number of non contributing people who are solely dependent on the efforts of a dwindling number of workers and doers for their subsidence? And where exactly are their parents? There is no way on God’s green earth I would ever allow my children to turn out like these people. Allow them to get that fat, I mean you think the parents would have noticed about a hundred pounds ago! Would I ever allow my kids to dye their hair pink? The simple redneck answer is NO, of course not. But I’m not stopping with accepting the argument for kids to have free expression! Anybody with any sense what so ever knows that is bull and a cop out to actual parenting. I mean looking at it from an intellectual standpoint, what is to be gained by dyeing your hair pink? Camouflage? No probably not. Give one a better chance at getting a job or getting into a better school, nope don’t think so. In my mind if something doesn’t make sense it’s just a bad idea or a stupid one, either choice, take your pick. Frankly in a morbid way I am thankful for all these idiots wallowing around aimlessly because unlike a culture like, say, the fiercely competitive one in Japan, there are so many fewer folks for me and my kids to actually have to compete with. They have deselected themselves from most good jobs, and a promising future and have also opened themselves to the seedy and criminal element of society which will devour the vast majority of them. For a lot of them reality will set in at age twenty eight when they finally wake up near the end of serving a jail sustenance only to realize they want to change but that all their best years have been wasted and now they have this huge ball and chain around their neck to be carried the rest of their lives.
I don’t mean to demonize fat people, not at all, I myself currently carry some extra weight that I struggle with during my daily workouts, but I’m trying, and that’s the point. I have something inside me that tells me that something is just not right, and motivates me to do something about it.
I remember a day when I was flying commercial jets and had a trip up to Binghamton, New York. Flying a 70 seat regional jet, we were full coming out of there on a shorter runway than I liked. While I was sitting up front sipping my nasty coffee and working out the weight and balance form, the gate manager steps into the horsepit and says, “I can’t fit all of them!” Confused I asked, “You trying to load more than 70?” “No, we have a full boat at 70 but they won’t fit, you’ll have to do something.” OK, I just didn’t understand, did I have some seats that broke, seat belts not working, something like that? Nope wasn’t that at all, we had about eight “giant people” the ones who take up two seats instead of one.
I looked over the confusion in the back and told the gate manager to handle it, but do it quickly; I wanted to make our scheduled take off time. He simply said he wasn’t going to do anything and walked off the plane. OK, there is a problem in itself, a lack of moral courage (cultivated by our PC world) to do the right thing. He should have seen these three foot wide people and told them there wouldn’t be enough room for them. Or charge them for two seats where they could sit comfortably, either way. So the task fell to me, so I made my way to the back where one giant person was taking up two seats and the other passenger was standing with a hopeless expression on his face.
I don’t know what they are eating in New York but on that flight we had used up every extra seat belt extender and the gate had given up all of theirs as well! I asked the giant woman if she could collect herself somehow into her seat. She said the plane should have bigger seats. I answered flatly that they are industry standard for standard size people. She said she couldn’t and seemed done with the matter. I am and always have been a person who can see clarity and I can make a decision with no problem. So I told her if she or anyone else on that plane that couldn’t actually fit in their seats would have to get off. That’s what I did, I kicked all of them off.
Later during the takeoff, I performed what we call a maximum performance takeoff, That means instead of smoothly rolling the throttles on, you stand on the brakes, then push the engines up to full thrust. You hesitate while the engines build thrust and when the N1 needles settle “into the carrots” you let the brakes go and rocket away. It’s about like popping the clutch in a SS Camaro while revving the engine. The slugginess of that takeoff roll told me instantly we were carrying a few extra thousand pounds of weight, no doubt in the body mass of those well fed New Yorkers.
This is just one of our problems, the fact that America is fat. I’ll say it because it’s the truth. But you know what I think is a deeper problem? I think it’s the fact that we got that way! Now if we know being overweight makes life more difficult, shortens lifespan, costs more over a lifetime, makes you ugly and has no benefit, then why would a rational person allow it to happen? I think it could bethe loss of self control, ignorance and, a lack of personal courage to face up to one’s shortcomings.
I think these are only a couple of the obvious symptoms of a society in moral decay and on the verge of collapse. I think things like God being booed at the Democratic convention is a huge indicator of just how far we are removed from a state of goodness and righteousness. We care more about how Arab Americans may feel threatened by the Christian faith than we care about the vast majority of actual Christian citizens. I am not one to mince words, so it’s easy for me. I don’t care how much the Arab Americans are offended by my faith. If you come to a country that was created by Christians for Christians to openly and freely practice their beliefs, then how exactly is it, that you expect your Muslim practices to fit in with the fabric of the non Muslim society? Man in my view you’d have to be pretty stupid to expect anything other than problems.
But in my military mind if you still persist in pressing for accommodation of your Muslim beliefs, then there must be a something else going on, and (wake up America) there is. The mention of God was removed from the platform of the Democratic Party through an accommodation process called being politically correct. More than being polite, being politically correct, turns, well bends and stretches facts to mean something altogether different. Then after some time with this new understanding of basic truths, people get confused and the stronger opposing elements steer and vector the masses to gain political, social, and moral ground. But the process is perverted against the truth and therefore destined to be evil, by definition and is set on a course to some bitter climax, and all because people allowed it to happen, Who Cares? Herman Gobles, the propaganda minister for Hitler in the 1930’s had a name for these people. He privately called them “Useful idiots!”
Perhaps the problems with America are just too big to face. There is truth in that statement. I once read a study that might explain what is going on with us. Psychologists surveyed a few thousand people living downstream from a dam which was in danger of failing. Three miles downstream the residents were very worried. Homes were for sale, some residents had moved and everywhere preparations were underway for a possible flood. Anxiety attacks, heart problems and the like were occurring at a much higher rate than the norm........

I actually did another install yesterday, given the ease of the lights. I'll post that one up in a day or so.
I built some cool work platforms that hug the tires of the truck and have you standing about beltline to top of fender. I built them with a 15 degree splayed leg setup so they would be super stable. I figure with the way I'm banging myself up lately, I needed to incorporate a little safety into the follow on projects. We seem to be digging deeper and deeper into this build. Not long before I'll be doing stuff inside the frame at this rate! You know, come to think of it, inside the frame would be a good place to store some more fuel...hmmm...


Quote:
Originally Posted by Higher Caliber
"What are your plans for mounting your spare or spare*s*?"

That is going to be one cool project!
It all hinges on the Road Armor bumper build.
I have been in contact with the folks down there and our bumper is actually going to be built today for the first time. Yep, today. It won't be long before I have it and bolt it up.
They know what I plan to do with it and are good with it.
I am going to build a swing away rear tire carrier. I plan to mount the spare up high along with a fuel can and water can rack. I am going to support all that weight on that excellent road armor piece. Again, we have discussed how much weight I am hanging off the bumper and from where and the engineer there feels it will be GTG. I will probably get a tiny bit anal and reinforce it even more.
Now There is a problem with the carrier.
I don't know exactly where to position it.
You see, if I add the tactical topper project onto the truck, I can build it in close to the tailgate.
However if I decide to add a larger camper, the collapsible roof type, then I might have to space it out aft a tad bit to accomodate. I am still considering plans to upgrade to a unit where I could go anywhere off grid for awhile and hunker down while all of you figure out who survives and who goes on to, well, just goes on!

OK, now for the back up lights.
We will be installing LED's with both rear focusing light and radial illumination into the stock location.
Here's the new LED's:


Two screws are all that hold the tail light lens assembly in place. Remove them, then with the lens balanced precariously on the lip, pull out the stock bulb.




Old and new side by side


Now reverse the procedure



And here you go. a mini rear defense photon torpedo!



....Just finished my night drive. THise 55W HIDs are amazing. 6000K is the perfect temp as well. Very clear clean crisp white light. Good cutoff as well. An approaching driver will have to get pretty close, probably less than 50 feet before the light might cause problems. No one at all flashed their lights at me, and oddly enough I was getting flashed when driving with my stock halogens!
The back up lights are many times more light output than what I had based on overall scene illumination. Those are the overall best bargain of the day for less than $16 and that much extra light.
The interior dome light is overkill. Definitely no areas not brightly lit when those map lights are on.
All in all, this was a great mod. I think I'll go farther and install the LED's in the bed illumination light and maybe add some to the underhood and in some other places....

 Quote:
Originally Posted by f*******
"I'm assuming you mean Retro-Solutions.net, as retrolighting.com isn't a site?

Also, I'm searching what I presume to be the place you got these from. I'm guessing either you got a deal or swapped the price of the festoon bulbs and the backup LEDs, because the listed price is $40, not $16. What am I missing? For $16, it's a no-brainer."

Wow, I got that one all turned around!
You're correct on just about everything
The company is Retro solutions
The back up bulbs are $39.99
The dome lights are $11.99

I Stand corrected!

Sticking the HID's in at the moment...
Darned company didn't send me any instructions, have to hunt the net for some. Who knows, might have a good fire before the night's over!......

.....Success!
No fires, smoke, leaks, minor loss of blood and skin, but all in all the HID's fired up instantly!
OK so for today we will discuss the installation of 55W high performance super duper HID headlight replacement. Then after all that you'll see LED tail lights and dome lights going in.
I ordered all of this stuff on some of your recomendations, and I'd have to say, am quite pleased with the cost, quality, bang for the buck, and ease of installation.
Here's what I purchased from RetroLighting.com:



Unknowingly, I purchased a wiring harness without realizing one already came supplied with the 55W HID's. THe harness allows you to pull voltage directly from the batteries.
I decided to remove the radiator bulkhead cover and the front grill. The use of these 90 degree needle nose makes the front grill removal a snap!



The headlight assemblies are held in place with 3-10mm bolts shown here:




With the headlight assembly loose, wiggle it forward and out, then remove the top lamp which is the low beam, assuming that is the bulb you are replacing.
The HID bulb is taller and thinner and enclosed within a plastic shipping container.




The HID bulb is simply pushed and turned back into place. Next you will have to start hooking up the harness and the ballast after it is mounted.




I mounted the ballasts to the core support gussets at the north east and north west corners. I secured them with a couple of stainless screws and nylon lock nuts .



With the ballasts securely mounted, I drilled another hole, then sanded the area around it and bolted my ground wire to the stud. I did that for each ballast. There are a few connections to make and they are not idiot proof, so pay attention. I got lucky and got it right on the first attempt. ONce everything is plugged together, I taped the exposed unused plug, zip tied everything securely and zip tied the right headlight harness under the radiator guard as shown.



A simple turn of the headlight knob produced these results
These are HID's in the 6000K heat range which produces a cool white light with just a hint of blue, much the same as my driving lights.

Man, you guys were having a party on my thread last night! Sorry I missed it. As for the sleep, plenty of time to do that when you're dead. As for the tallieban, well, in a crazy way I'd like to be out there chasing them across those hills. Mostly though I just turned a lot of jet gas into noise and wind. Now I do miss just flying along and for no reason at all, shouldering the M4 and squeezing off a few bursts just to see if I could hit a rock or something doing 130 knots at 1000 feet. Funny but at that speed and altitude you have to aim something like 20 feet or more behind your target, not in front of it as with bird hunting. Did I ever tell you guys about the day I was messing with a gunner over this lake in Iraq?

Funny as all get out.
He was new, his first flight with this battle hardened group of airborne warriors. Well north of Baghdad on this training mission we threw a blue 5 gallon plastic drum into the water to serve as a target. flying along at 300 feet at about 60 knots in a slow pass by the target I watched him squeeze off a few shots which were hitting past the target a few feet.
On the next pass the rounds were on target...he had figured out that he needed to aim behind the target since it was stationary and we were moving.
So on the next turn I increased the speed to around 90. Again I watched as the rounds splashed past the drum again. I knew I had him when he muttered a curse word over the intercom and I saw him sling the empty magazine out into space!
The next run he had made the adjustment and again the rounds were on target...cool, and I knew I had a big fish on the line, time for some fun.
The next run I slowly crept up to about 105 knots and increased my altitude to about 500 feet. Once again the bullets splashed a good 5-10 feet past the target and this time I get a good "" over the intercom. That's when I start piping in, "Yo dude, what's up, you're not consistient, now let's see some rounds on target!" I get a "Sure, I'm trying, I don't understand what's happening!" I reply, "Well I do, you claim you were once a good gun, but today you suck, that's what I understand!" I have to cover my mic so he can't hear me laughing!
So on the next run I approach at 90 knots at about 300 feet and as he is shooting I bump to 500 feet and slow to about 60 knots. Watching his shot group, I'd say the only safe spot down there was in the immediate vicinity of the drum! He got mad and threw his empty mag down at the drum. I quickly interjected, "Hmmm, best shot so far and you didn't use your rifle."
This was when the other pilot figured out what I was doing and started in as well. "You know don, with this guy, maybe we should just issue him a box of rocks, seems he's better with them than the weapon!" THen I ask a question." Say dude, you were in the military, right?" That was answered with a deafening silence.
THat day was day one of new gunner try out. Most of these guys were ex-rangers, SF and Seals. THey knew their stuff. Another Night Stalker was flying in the left seat with me, and these guys had worked with us in the green machine. They wouldn't dare say anything to us, knowing our history (Which is somewhat fable, somewhat folk lore, and somewhat true).
You see, the thing we had to do is to see which one of these knuckleheads would be able to seamlessly integrate into the flight crew and which ones were Rambo's. THe latter does not work. So in Special Operations fashion, we were psychologically loading him up and seeing if he would give up.
THis one was a bit angry but he never gave up. Later on I and others would spend hours with him teaching him how to drive tacks from 300 feet while in a break over a target, but for now, I just wanted to see if I wanted to go "downtown" with this guy.
THe next maneuver was a killer. We would fly directly over the target at 1,500 feet then do a crazy sprilling dive over and around it. We would purposly take the aircraft way out of trim so that the wind blast would be right in his face instead of streamlining past. The bank angle was crazy, so I had to fly while looking over my shoulder so that he wouldn't perforate my rotor blades. As we entered this death spiril I heard the guy open up with controlled single shots. I steepened the dive into something I'm sure he had never seen and frankly only a very few helicopters could safely do. But in our mighty little bird, well, just move the stick. If you can stand it, so can the machine. At the bottom after a couple sickening turns, he had reloaded and as he started a mag dump, I did a hard pull out and the rotor blades bit hard. The "G's" built but he kept shooting. Then his stomach also did a dump. Admist the fierse flapping of those poor abused blades, the screaming engine, the crushing push in the seat and the snap roll to the opposite side this guy was puking all over himself, his weapon, and my aircraft and still pouring out fire on that blue drum.
Did we hire him? Darn right we did. When we came back, I landed at Liberty LZ right next to the US embassy near a garden hose. I told him to wash himself and the aircraft off, slapped him on the back and welcomed him to our crew. I wasn't the guy doing the hiring, but after all that, I knew this gunner was a keeper.
BTW, that rant was all coffee inspired...On this Yuban kick lately. THat stuff gets ya goin'

Quote:
Originally Posted by G****** D****
"Thought of something you might like and it is not an expensive mod. I added all of the Retro Solutions LED lights for my interior (front map lights and dome lights) as well as the 5 watt reverse lights. It's like having your headlights on in reverse. I can see backing up my driveway at night and have 155 window tint.

Just a thought for you. "

I'll look into it!
Danka! ......

Quote:
Originally Posted by Armalite
"The back up lights are a definite help over the factory lights. Love mine. I'm not so sure you will want the interior lights though. I have them and they are crazy bright. Wont go well with the NVG's you're planning on running." 

Well, I won't use nods all the time, just when I need them.
Wierd thing about those devices, They can't see blue green light. If those bulbs could be tuned to that frequency, then on a dimmer they would give low illumination to the areas you wanted to see looking under the nods, and not reflect off the windshield at all.
Now, conversly even a tiny bit of red light will wipe you out. THat light will put such a glare on the windshield that you can't see anything!

.......Oh, and an update on pieces parts:
Holton out at Alligator has shipped the EGR delete kit, it's enroute.
I will be eliminating the coolers, up-pipe, EGR motor and who knows what else. THat should clean up things nicely making it more ready for the twins...there I go day dreaming again.
I am also going to replace that downpipe, so everyone can anticipate more accident prone injury inducing parts changing for the better. I think I'll set aside 2 days for that one!
Finally, the initial data I am getting from the Edge CTS is about what I expected except that the EGT's aren't as high as I suspected. Today under a short full throttle 3 second stab, the motor hit 922F and 20 something psi boost. It all seems low, but I'm not sure the thing is actually reading the probe I installed.
I think I will follow the advice of several members now and make double sure my device is updated on the computer while linked to the fusion software.


.......I went to the site and looked at the back up lights. I can't find them. If I'm correct I need a replacement for a 3047 bulb but I'm not finding that number for the B/U's
I'm betting I have that number wrong, what part number or factory bulb are you showing? .....

.......Quote:
Originally Posted by G****** D****** 
"Bulb # 3156 is what you will need. Here is a link to the thread. It has the number in the first post. There is also a link to the Sylvania site in this thread that talks about part numbers for other bulbs. I haven't looked, but wouldn't be surprised at all if you could get different colored interior lights.

My map lights and dome lights are 212-2 and I got the 6 led version instead of the the 3. Works great and very clean light. I also put the 194 license plate bulbs in. That may not be the effect you are going for though. I just figured when I replaced mine, I would do them all and get the cleanest light I could. Love it on mine, but they are bright.

Super Bright LED Reverse Bulbs! "

Thanks for the info!