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Dust Buggy

SLOWPOKE693 said:
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+/- 10% is about normal. Are you reading short term or long term fuel trim numbers on the scanner?
Click to expand...
Long term was around 18 at idle.
Short term was around 9 revved 0 at idle.
 
HYDRODYNAMIC said:
Long term was around 18 at idle.
Short term was around 9 revved 0 at idle.
Click to expand...
Short term you don't care. They move fast.
Long term should be 0. They move slowly.

Something is off.

I would suggest cleaning the injectors and putting new plugs if that hasn't been done.
A vaccum leak test with a smoke machine is also a good idea.
 
Looks mighty good! Dumb question, but does the truck tailgate clear the jack??

Recently borrowed a neighbors dump trailer and my tailgate (12’ F250) doesn’t clear the jack handle so that’s what has me curious.
 
ridered3 said:
Looks mighty good! Dumb question, but does the truck tailgate clear the jack??

Recently borrowed a neighbors dump trailer and my tailgate (12’ F250) doesn’t clear the jack handle so that’s what has me curious.
Click to expand...
The tailgate clears the jack but the tailgate lands on the hitch coupler. I could and probably should cut it down as I am not going to use the top bolt holes.
Don’t know if the handle would hit with the gate down. I would just build a smaller handle, would be faster as well.
 
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HYDRODYNAMIC said:
The tailgate clears the jack but the tailgate lands on the hitch coupler. I could and probably should cut it down as I am not going to use the top bolt holes.
Click to expand...
I really like/appreciate that coupler design. Wears out....just toss it and bolt in a new one...plus, it's height adjustable...so you have a ton of options between it and an adjustable drop ball mount; nice for towing with different vehicles or if you have plans to lift/lower the tow rig via larger tires or an actual kit later on.
 
What's your cost all in? I've thought about doing the same thing as my father in law bought the PJ version for $5200 otd and it's a huge disappointment, not to mention only 5200lb axles.

My problem is that I'd want to try and make it extendable so I can haul my crawler and samurai :laughing:
 
HYDRODYNAMIC said:
The tailgate clears the jack but the tailgate lands on the hitch coupler. I could and probably should cut it down as I am not going to use the top bolt holes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response and I misremembered the clearance issue with the neighbors dump trailer. The tailgate cleared the hitch (in theory anyway, but super close either way), but not the adjustable hitch coupler.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
What's your cost all in? I've thought about doing the same thing as my father in law bought the PJ version for $5200 otd and it's a huge disappointment, not to mention only 5200lb axles.

My problem is that I'd want to try and make it extendable so I can haul my crawler and samurai :laughing:
Click to expand...
Crazy what a trailer costs today. I paid $1399 for my 7K rated 6 lug car hauler (2-3500 lb axles...one with trailer brakes) way back in like 2000. For the cost today, I can't see ever buying one again vs. making one. At least that way, you can put in the axle/brake package you want without dropping a huge wad of cash just b/c they're 8 lug (to match the tow rig)....and you can make it stronger and whatever width with the custom features you need/want.
 
Sean said:
Crazy what a trailer costs today. I paid $1399 for my 7K rated 6 lug car hauler (2-3500 lb axles...one with trailer brakes) way back in like 2000. For the cost today, I can't see ever buying one again vs. making one. At least that way, you can put in the axle/brake package you want without dropping a huge wad of cash just b/c they're 8 lug (to match the tow rig)....and you can make it stronger and whatever width with the custom features you need/want.
Click to expand...
Its crazy for sure,
I bought my 2009 no name Abby Manufacturing trailer, new in early 2010 dual axle both with brakes, 10,5k attached ramps, wood deck, for $2150. During covid my son bought a 7k car hauler new for $4700, it was all he could find around here when he was ready to buy.
 
It is crazy. My work bought a 3 axle ~22' tilt deck, nothing too crazy, was like $12k, :barf: the same trailer they had bought 7 or so years ago and it was around $7500.

My 3 axle deck over work trailer is getting long in the tooth and I was thinking about seeing if they wanted to build a new one this winter with a pair of 12k axles. I figured we could kinda do a downsize copy of the trail king 30t trailers we have that are gravity tilt deck over.

Then at the same time, I'll build myself a buggy hauler :laughing:
 
Got the new Flowmaster BDX installed. The Carven was melted down as you can see the glass blocking the perforated tube. Catalytic converter was fine. Sounds about the same as before at idle. The BDX is a better design same as the old Hushpowers I used to have in the old buggy and they worked great. Both are linear flow design.

IMG_6440.jpeg

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Out with the old radiator, making way for the new. Deadline is the local Christmas parade that is usually the first weekend in December.
Trailer is done for now, got it painted right before a big storm rolled in. Need to warranty out a bad tail light and add a toolbox otherwise it’s ready to haul.

IMG_6460.jpeg

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Out of curiosity...what's your deck height from the ground when the trailer is level and what size tire/wheel are you running?
 
New radiator is in.
Switched fans to the Spal 300W brushless surface mounts instead of the drop in ones on the old setup. I didn't have room for a deep shroud as I moved the radiator away from the fuel tank to give it some more air flow room. For the shroud I used a flat .125" aluminum plate with 1/4" counter sunk bolts for the fans so the bolt heads could not touch the core if the shroud was to bend or get smashed. I spaced it off the core .375" with spacers and used EPDM weatherstripping all the way around to seal it. Simple and lazy but works.
Also put in the thermostat delete. The system blead pretty much all on its own. I did put a small Schrader valve up high to purge air which works great. The same location has a return line back to the surge tank. When I went to purge the Schrader it only let out a little air and was pretty much all purged because of the return line.
At idle the system stabilizes around 200* and the fans are barely running. From a foot away I can not hear them over the noise of the engine and exhaust. But I can feel the warm air blowing out the back. Night and day difference in performance using the fans to control the engine temp rather than the thermostat and fans not working together.
Kept the -20 line and fittings and ran some extra to make it across since this radiator is a single pass.
For the price of the oil cooler/radiator and how tuff this kind is, I wouldn't get a custom one ever again. No leaks as it should be and has a warranty.
Power flushed every thing. The block must have been filthy, lots of sediment.

IMG_6478.jpeg

IMG_6477.jpeg
 
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Finally got the trailer done so I had something to drive on.
Test drove it for a little while and everything seems good so far.
Still not happy with the idle when cold and the stumbling around 2000RPM hot or cold.
No codes. No misfires. New plugs, wires, intake gaskets, 02s, fuel pump, and MAF.
Tried stock pedal and C6 pedal both perform the same.
LT fuel trim is still around 20.
It runs great for about the first 5 to 10 seconds when cold then starts to run rough until it warms up.
Only tuner is 1.5 hours away in Bakersfield.

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I'm not a fan of those rotopacks on the outside of the chassis. One flop with a rock in the wrong place and you have a fuel geyser. Same if you drag a rock across it. If you need 10 more gallons of fuel, or whatever those hold, your fuel cell size choice was wrong.
 
SLOWPOKE693 said:
I'm not a fan of those rotopacks on the outside of the chassis. One flop with a rock in the wrong place and you have a fuel geyser. Same if you drag a rock across it. If you need 10 more gallons of fuel, or whatever those hold, your fuel cell size choice was wrong.
Click to expand...
I agree, I would not run them in the rocks. I don’t really care for how they look either. They are easy to take on and off. I would use them on a long easy trip or hauling gas for someone else when I wasn’t in the rocks.
I remember seeing a Rubicon at KOH dripping gas out of the tub with gear all wet and off the bumper onto the ground because they were carrying leaking fuel cans in the back. Not excited about fuel anywhere inside. It should drain out in a safe way if it did leak, that was my reasoning for having the fuel outside the body and away from an ignition source.
That being said many of the SXS guys have RotoPax under their seats. A friend did the NORRA with one under the passenger seat. The other does Baja with one on the roof. That seems sketchy to me. But neither died.
The Goat Built tank is 18 Gal. Which should be enough for most of what I want to do. Last time at Hammers both of the guys I was riding with had the GB tanks so we would be all about the same range. My best guess is 18 is barely enough to do the Rubicon. Dusy Urshim would be around 25 Gal.
Would be great if GB would make a bigger tank. Same height and width just longer so the mounts would still fit.
Clearly I need to find a safe way to haul more fuel.
 
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HYDRODYNAMIC said:
Only tuner is 1.5 hours away in Bakersfield.
Click to expand...
I drove 5+ hours one way to my tuner. It's worth it every time.
Driving an engine that's tuned properly is night and day vs a ****ty tune.

I don't understand why this is a reoccurring thing with IBB-ers.

You had no problem spending hundreds of hours to get the fanciest cooling system on board of this thing, or spend thousands in power steering components to make sure it is nice to drive, but spending time and little money for your engine to run right seems like a chore. :confused:
 
Bebop said:
I drove 5+ hours one way to my tuner. It's worth it every time.
Driving an engine that's tuned properly is night and day vs a ****ty tune.

I don't understand why this is a reoccurring thing with IBB-ers.

You had no problem spending hundreds of hours to get the fanciest cooling system on board of this thing, or spend thousands in power steering components to make sure it is nice to drive, but spending time and little money for your engine to run right seems like a chore. :confused:
Click to expand...
Not just ibb-ers...

I would imagine part of the consternation is the worry that you won't be done paying the tuner, or making the 3 hour trip, it will be perpetually need to be improved or changed.

My neighbor is in this camp, paid for "tune" results aren't impressive for him and know he has to face paying/dealing with said tuner, find new tuner and start over or in his case attempt to learn HP tuners and roll his own. IMO my neighbor doesn't have the ability to roll his own.

My boss is in a similar position with his turbo SBF/Terminator X. He shows me his EFI maps and I probed him some questions regarding how he came with the values and he pounds his chest that he did X,Y etc. and he just knows how to do it. Fast forward to getting the car running and it doesn't. Much ****ing around and he ends up paying a tuner $400 to create him a base file to start from.
It fires right up and runs well but now he needs to "improve" it and he either has to pay tuner more $ or do it himself.
He has not made it better yet...

And he has a wild noise issue on his dome pressure sensor input that prevents his boost controller from working.
That issue is likely a wiring/poor installation problem but the whole thing has been a painful process for him, mostly self inflicted I agree but it is a common occurence.
 
CarterKraft said:
Not just ibb-ers...

I would imagine part of the consternation is the worry that you won't be done paying the tuner, or making the 3 hour trip, it will be perpetually need to be improved or changed.

My neighbor is in this camp, paid for "tune" results aren't impressive for him and know he has to face paying/dealing with said tuner, find new tuner and start over or in his case attempt to learn HP tuners and roll his own. IMO my neighbor doesn't have the ability to roll his own.

My boss is in a similar position with his turbo SBF/Terminator X. He shows me his EFI maps and I probed him some questions regarding how he came with the values and he pounds his chest that he did X,Y etc. and he just knows how to do it. Fast forward to getting the car running and it doesn't. Much ****ing around and he ends up paying a tuner $400 to create him a base file to start from.
It fires right up and runs well but now he needs to "improve" it and he either has to pay tuner more $ or do it himself.
He has not made it better yet...

And he has a wild noise issue on his dome pressure sensor input that prevents his boost controller from working.
That issue is likely a wiring/poor installation problem but the whole thing has been a painful process for him, mostly self inflicted I agree but it is a common occurence.
Click to expand...
All this tells me that people need to:

1) wire and plumb their **** properly... (shocker :homer:)
2) pick a reputable tuner (also shocker)

I can give recommendations, but they probably won't be cheap nor close by.
And if your build isn't wired or plumbed correctly, a tuner can't do anything for you, but tell you to fix your **** and come back when it's done. No miracles there.
 
Adding to this:

CarterKraft said:
My boss is in a similar position with his turbo SBF/Terminator X. [...]he ends up paying a tuner $400 to create him a base file to start from.
Click to expand...
A good tuner will charge around $1000 for a complete tune for a similar setup provided that you bring him a fully functional, no plumbing/wiring issues vehicle. That means working order injectors that are sized properly, no boost leaks, no lines to reroute, no fuel pump that runs out of pressure past 50% throttle, no overheating once stationary and strapped to a dyno, no driveshaft that wants to yeet itself at 100mph etc etc

$400 is a fair price for a start-up tune.

Complete tune would probably take close to a full day of work thus rendering the $1000 price tag fairly cheap when you think about the fixed costs of a dyno etc.
 
HYDRODYNAMIC said:
I agree, I would not run them in the rocks. I don’t really care for how they look either. They are easy to take on and off. I would use them on a long easy trip or hauling gas for someone else when I wasn’t in the rocks.
I remember seeing a Rubicon at KOH dripping gas out of the tub with gear all wet and off the bumper onto the ground because they were carrying leaking fuel cans in the back. Not excited about fuel anywhere inside. It should drain out in a safe way if it did leak, that was my reasoning for having the fuel outside the body and away from an ignition source.
That being said many of the SXS guys have RotoPax under their seats. A friend did the NORRA with one under the passenger seat. The other does Baja with one on the roof. That seems sketchy to me. But neither died.
The Goat Built tank is 18 Gal. Which should be enough for most of what I want to do. Last time at Hammers both of the guys I was riding with had the GB tanks so we would be all about the same range. My best guess is 18 is barely enough to do the Rubicon. Dusy Urshim would be around 25 Gal.
Would be great if GB would make a bigger tank. Same height and width just longer so the mounts would still fit.
Clearly I need to find a safe way to haul more fuel.
Click to expand...
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