Correct.

 

OK, I am going to ask an opinion here. Got the A pillar panel off of the truck and I am getting ready to mount the gauge pod to it and I find that the speaker hump on the original panel will interfere with the gauge pod overlay. I call tech support and they tell me I have to shave the original speaker area down to mount the pod. This truck is all original and pristine on the inside, do I just go ahead and c ut the original panel or do I go out and get a non speaker panel to mount the gauge pod to? Keep in mind I have a trip coming up on the 27th and this has to be done and proofed before that. I am only thinking if I ever sell the truck I might want to take the gauges out and have it all stock. Are those panels expensive to replace?

Rick

 

You're not the first one to feel this way. Lots of people weren't happy about chopping up their pristine OEM pillar so they would either buy another aftermarket one or get one from a junk yard so they could leave theirs alone and, just as you said, put it back if they ever decided to take the gauges out. I too felt this way but came to the conclusion that 1) I didn't want to buy another pillar unless I had too and if it was that big of a deal then I could simply get one from the dealer. 2) after all the work I went through there was no way I was going to take any gauge out. I still despise having to do anything with my gauges since it involves tearing everything apart again. And 3) by the time I ever get another truck, the gauges will be outdated and I'll be looking into the newest and the coolest setup. So if you're asking my "opinion", I'd say just go ahead and do what you need to get your new aftermarket pillar skin to fit on top of your OEM pillar. At first it will feel wrong but you'll find yourself engulfed getting everything to be perfect. The only heads up I can say is to make sure the new skin sets in the right position on top of the OEM pillar so that the new skin speaker bump will clear the dash panel. I got lucky because I had them all mounted together and went to put the dash panel back in place only to find I had only about 1/8" to spare before they were touching. THAT WOULD HAVE ANGERED ME TERRIBLY if the dash panel touched or didn't fit because of the speaker. So measure and re-measure and check and recheck before securing anything.

 

I shoved it in there without the stock one behind it and it is a really snug fit. I think for this trip I am going to just do that and then look in the yards for a used one. Just looking at what would have to be cut to fit flush looks like a lot of the pillar will be cut out including one of the supports that goes against to roof pillar. I need to have it hooked up and checked out this weekend so I will let you know which way I go. I agree that I will probably never take the gauges out but funny as it may sound that is one of the reasons I bought this truck. No gauges meant the owner was not into hotrodding it. By the way, I stopped by his house the other day and he had found the original window sticker and sales brochure which he gave to me. The sticker was never even put on the window since he had spacial ordered it. 35 Grand in 98!!!!!!!!

Rick

 

Could you post up a pic of your gauges? Would like to see how it came out for you. I felt the same way about my pillar. So, I just drilled a small hole. then ran in a nice screw with a cover.

 

I will see if I can get some pics as I go along, I am sort of pressed for time. I will be working on it tomorrow. Did you use the original pillar cover under yours? I figured I could use just the gauge pod without the original under it if I could get a couple of screws in the pillar. The problem is the ones that would have to go parralell to the windshield would be almost impossible to drill in. When I bought the gauge pod I was under the impression that it was a direct replacement, not a cover.

Rick

 

Yes, sorry I did. I forgot to mention in the last post.

 

OK Katoom, I have some gauge data for you. I am more confused now than before. I do not have the pyro hooked up yet because I could not find my **** 1/8" tap, any of a dozen I have!

WOT accelerating at around 50 MPH I have 25 lbs. boost and 8 lbs. fuel pressure. Boost drops off a bit as speed comes up and load levels off. Still have the flat spot right before each shift and at about 60-65 at WOT. Fuel pressure never goes below 8#. I know you are going to say that is to low but as long as there is positive pressure then there is ample supply for the power needed. I am not saying I should not have more for bypass cooling, I know that. What I have should not affect performance. The confusing part is how am I getting 25 lbs. of boost on a bone stock engine? And why the flat spot unless it is defueling.
I will have the pyro hooked up tomorrow after I go out and buy a couple more taps to loose.

Rick

 

Well you're right, I am going to say that your fuel pressure is to low. Yes, not low enough to cause a loss in stock performance but also I'm very interested to know what the idle and cruise FP is. I'll tackle that topic more when you tell me what those are.

And yes, your boost is WAY to high for a stock truck. You either unknowingly have mild injectors, a mild timing box like an Edge EZ (but you'd see it or something plugged in the MAP sensor), or you have a boost fooling elbow on the turbo. When you were checking stuff and you took off the brass wastegate boost elbow, did you notice the size of the hole in it? A stock elbow looks like any brass hardware store fitting but a boost increasing elbow has a very tiny hole in it. And given your out of the ordinary high boost.....without an electronic boost fooler your ECM has to be defueling which could definitely cause a loss in performance. Are you COMPLETELY sure that the truck is stock?

As for the boost leveling off, thats normal as long as its only dropping a couple psi or so. We'll know more when you get the pyrometer hooked up.

 

I am positive this truck has never been modified. This guy was a stickler for keeping things original. I did not pull the elbow but maybe I will today since I will be right there. No J hook or anything attached to the MAP. The whistle that originally started this post is gone, I figured it was a loose hose or a small hole that has temporarily sealed itself from my prodding but here is another angle. Could it be the waste gate diaphragm that was making the noise and now it is torn? I would think if the waste gate was not working I would be blowing boots off from the pressure. The fuel pressure at idle is around 14 and at steady cruise it is 12. I noticed something this morning that I had seen mentioned in the past, when the grids are on drawing the voltage down the pressure drops quite a bit. I obviously does not take much of a drop in voltage to slow that pump down. I am thinking of putting a relay in the line to draw power directly from the battery and use the original wire to trigger the solenoid. I will replace the fuel filter today and see if that changes anything, I doubt it since that filter only has about 12,000 miles on it but filters are cheap. I saw a add. for a big line from pump to VP and the add said that it would raise the fuel pressure. I do not understand the thinking behind that. If the original line was restrictive that would raise the pressure and if you go to a bigger line, less restriction, then the pressure will drop. Pressure is a product of flow against restriction, no restriction = no pressure. I don't care how big the pump is. Now I could see how that would work if the restrictive line was the one coming from the tank to the pump. I have had the line off with the pump running and I can tell you that there is no way in hell that this engine can use the volume of fuel that the pump is putting out.

Rick

 

Rick: If you have a calibrated air pressure gauge (tire filler that is accurate) you should verify your boost gauge against it- simpy apply 20psi of pressure to the gauge line and take a look at the gauge. Sometimes they are out of whack out of the box....
Your truck should have the rubber hose to the wastegate actuator.. IIRC.
You can remove the hose from the elbow on the compressor and get 20-25 psi there- and you should see your wastegate start to move, or hear the air escaping.
You should be able to do those 2 things with a tire filler with a ball filling adapter in a couple of minutes..

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

Thanks Alpine, I will put it on the list. I was coming home with the tap to put in my pyro and something did not sound right. I look at the boost and the best I could get is 15. Found the top clamp on the right hand lower hose off. Now I think I know where the whistle that started this whole thread was coming from, a just barely loose boot. I will get that back together and get the pyro in and see what happens. One thong I have noticed even before the gauges is the vibration of the boost. You can feel it through the hoses and I can see it on the gauge.

Rick

 

Rick..... Didn't we go over this many posts ago? I said to fully inspect the wastegate and the wastegate actuator hose to make sure that everything there was in good working condition or, yes, a wastegate thats not working right will allow for more boost or less boost. In your case, to much boost. You even thought that maybe the wastegate actuator hose could be possibly cracked or rotten since you've found other cracked rubber hoses. So this time.....make sure all is well before moving on looking at other stuff.

Dont change the fuel filter yet either. Do one thing at a time or you wont know what thing you did was right or wrong. Plus changing the fuel filter will allow air in the fuel system and cause more reasons for concern as your fuel pressure will read strange until all the air is purged out, which could take a day or two. Yes your fuel pressure is to low for my taste but again, it wont affect performance. Should it be raised?.....yes but thats another topic. As for voltage affecting FP, absolutely it will. When the grids cycle then the huge voltage drop will reduce power to the fuel pump and cause the FP to drop as well. The situation will be aggravated the weaker the fuel pump is too. These trucks need good batteries or the charging system works harder than it should.

I believe you that your truck is stock too, and has always been stock. Especially now with this recent wastegate issue find.

Glad to see you found a loose boost boot too. That accounts for the noise but not the increased boost problem.

As for fuel pressure increasing with larger fuel line..... I know what you're saying but I'll try to explain why it works. Pressure and volume have no relation. You can have one without the other. The restrictive OEM fuel lines dont flow enough volume so when you increase the throttle the volume is quickly reduced and and the pressure drops. Increase the size of the fuel line and you increase the volume and reserve of fuel. With larger lines, when you increase throttle then there is more fuel on demand so the pressure doesn't drop as much. Thats a real basic way to look at it too.

 

OK, All gauges in and operating. I did check the hose to the wastegate a while ago and it is fine, no cracks and nice and flexible. I guess I forgot to mention it.
WOT from about 10 MPH, Boost 23-24, Fuel 8lbs., Exhaust 875 max.
Cruise at 60 MPH, Boost 4-5, fuel 12lbs., exhaust 500-600.
Idle fuel 12-14.

At cruise at 60 I saw something strange with the Fuel pressure. It was steady at 10 and then it jumped to 14 and then starting bouncing between 12 to 15 with a couple of spikes to 18. ??????????????????? Road conditions were normal for NJ, BUMPY! Aerated fuel maybe? It did settle back down after about a minute.

I did get the boot clamp back on and tightened, I had checked them before by trying to move them and none moved so I figured they were tight. After this one fell off I went over all of them with the wrench and found several that were not as tight as I think they should be.

The sounds are all fine now and I think I have solved the original screaming issue but my concern now is the fall off of power at WOT. I would not worry except it is falling off at around 50-55 mph. This could be because the truck is empty, I am putting the camper on this afternoon if I have time so it will have a 4000 lb. load in it then.

I appreciate your sticking with me through this whole deal.

Rick

 

So you did or did not check the wastegate actuator to make sure its holding pressure? That will explain the increase in boost. And the over boost is an issue. You need to figure out why you're making so much boost because your ECM definitely could be defueling.

All other readings look great and completely normal. Except for your erratic fuel pressure readings. How did you hook up the fuel pressure gauge and is it electric or mechanical? What source did you come off of and did you use a snubber? Did you change that fuel filter because air in the fuel system could be affecting the gauge like I said it would.

These engines arent high RPM either so for HP to drop off is normal. Keeping it in the meat of the torque and these trucks feel strangely fast. You're stock too so you have no idea what a truck with a mild timing/fueling box feels like. Add a box and you'll be shocked how impressive the power is. Thats why they call adding HP goodies being bit by the bug.