j.fonder

hey brian, i hope you don't mind the thread hi-jack, but just wanted to follow up on the wiring portion of this in case anyone else is following along.

after doing some reading i found that 90s Volvo's had a 2 speed fan control relay. so i went to the yard and picked one up.

wires from right to left
RED - 12vdc from battery (via 60 amp fuse)
GRN/ORG - LOW side ground (to my dash toggle)
BRN/YLW - HIGH side ground (to thermo switch)
GRN - LOW to fan
RED - HIGH to fan
BLACK (under my thumb) - Ground


and a video of how it works as demonstrated with some wires and bulbs. this shows that when you have the LOW switched on, if the thermo switch closes and kicks on HIGH, it automatically kills the LOW. but when the HIGH kicks back off, the LOW will kick back on.
http://vid62.photobucket.com/albums/...psphlbn28d.mp4

thrashingcows

High jack away....

thrashingcows

Got on the Hwy today to and from work...mirrors don't rattle or shake at all. Actually I think they are more stable then the old OEM power units.

mknittle

we know they are made better.

thrashingcows

Well I have been wanting a canopy of some sort for the crewcab. Did not really want a solid/hard shell unit, but what else was there....well one day I happened across a Tacoma with a canopy called a Softopper. So I searched to their website and knew this is what I was looking for. So finally a week or so ago I ordered one up...with the wife's blessing....Thanks Hon!

Picked it up last Sunday, and took about 90 min to install it.

Pics...

thrashingcows

Their claims of folding and unfolding it in under 5 minutes is true. I was helping my Mother move on Sunday, and this worked great. All the small boxes and stuff inside the canopy for the first load, then the second load was big mattresses and furniture etc. So I just folded it forward and had a box with 90% of it's previous room!









Couldn't be happier!

dan123dbl

Cool! I saw one of those a while ago and wanted one too. Really like being able to fold it away. Instead I bought the old man canopy for $100

CE_TX

Love the canopy.

How is the quality and fit?

thrashingcows

Thanks!

The quality is great, and made in the USA! And it fits well. Just need to tweak it a little to clear the cargo light sticking 2" off the back of the cab....when I got to fold it forward. Other then that I am very pleased with it.

j.fonder

I love when Canadians get excited about something being Made in the USA. Boosts my patriotic ego.

MrFusion

That pretty sweet! I saw one on a truck locally the other day and wondered what it was. I like that it is convertible. One of the things I hated about the high rise topper I had on my 95 CTD was that I couldn't use the bed for big stuff or use a crane to put stuff in the bed.

thrashingcows

I ran out today to pick up a mattress set for my daughter...pouring rain out....slid the mattresses into the bed, sealed it up and away I went. Got home with no water getting onto the mattresses. Still get a little at the corners, and from the bed pockets...but that "could" be sealed up if I wanted to go that far. But keeping 95+% of the water out of the bed is fine with me.

And being able to use the bed for tall, or top loaded freight when required is a very nice option.

thrashingcows

Last week I turned in my fuel screw on full turn...can't say I'm not liking it.

thrashingcows

After converting to HB on Ol' Patches I had noticed that the fluid has a heck of a lot hotter then it used to be when it was just running through the PS box.

So I decided I wanted to put some sort of fluid cooler on it. Lots of after market products available, but Being the cheap bugger I am I went to the wrecker and crawled around all kinds of vehicle until I found a cooler on a early 2000-ish Dodge mini van I thought might work...$15! The cooler is for the Crack and Peanut steering system, and is mounted in the sub frame under the front floor boards of the mini van.

I have had this for a couple months and from time to time I would try and find a place to mount it. Well I finally came up with a spot I was happy with, so I got it installed the other day.

I first had to drill out the lower mounting point....used my step drill to take it out to about 5/8 I guess?



Then I removed the upper bolt for the PS/Vacuum pump unit, and installed the cooler there.





Then plumbed it up. I did find that it was easier to install the hoses with the cooler removed. I put on about 12" pieces of 3/8" PS hose, and then re-installed the cooler.

thrashingcows

Obviously you will have to bleed/prime the PS system again. I jacked up the front end and turn the wheels back and forth with the engine off...SLOWLY...for about 10 cycles (LH to RH and back).

Only issue I had was I changed the orientation of the Hydroboost fluid flow. It used to be the side line on the "T" connection and would come in on the straight line from teh PS box...so I guess the fluid flow was reduced?

Anyway since I had to re-plumb everything on the return line circuit it was easier to have the fluid flow straight through and have the PS box coming in from the side. What this did was lower my brake pedal and cause my brake lights to stay on.

Now when I shut the motor off, and loose Hyd pressure, the brake pedal actually rises. I just re-adjusted the brake light switch and all is well.

I just got back from a 24 hours run...1000+ miles and the cooler works great....even better then I had hoped to be honest. The lines are now only warm, hot screaming hot to the touch.