Build Tacoma 4500 build

Malburg114 said:
I’ve gone through 3 or 4 10lb spools already lol. Done a few side projects but not many. And there’s still a lot of welding left


I’ve never used the stick function (don’t know how) and I tried to learn tig on it but ended up grabbing a miller tig welder (still don’t know how to tig weld 😂). The auto settings kind of suck. I use them as a base. Take the voltage and the wire speed and subtract 100 from the wire speed and it seems to weld good. The auto settings push to much wire for my liking. I had to replace the torch and liner a year or two ago and went to a 15ft lead which is nice.
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I have a Miller MM215 as well. I’m definitely not a fan of the auto settings either. I’ve only done MIG on mine. However, I did recently buy a Primeweld TIG 325x. It was a great price new and it’s an AC/DC machine, so I can weld aluminum, and it has a lot of adjustability. I was himming and hawing over the prices of Miller TIG welders, that’s why I went with the Primeweld. If that welders sucks then I’ll be pissed for wasting money..
 
McBastard79 said:
I have a Miller MM215 as well. I’m definitely not a fan of the auto settings either. I’ve only done MIG on mine. However, I did recently buy a Primeweld TIG 325x. It was a great price new and it’s an AC/DC machine, so I can weld aluminum, and it has a lot of adjustability. I was himming and hawing over the prices of Miller TIG welders, that’s why I went with the Primeweld. If that welders sucks then I’ll be pissed for wasting money..
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McBastard79 said:
Shock looks dam close to the tire.
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I tried to teach myself tig a few years ago and never was able to pick it up and I don’t know anyone local who’s willing to come teach me. I’ll try again here soon as I know I’ll have some aluminum stuff I need done.

I’ll bend the upper brackets in a 1/2 to get some more clearance. Once it’s on 37s it shouldn’t be an issue but just to be sure.
 
Malburg114 said:
I tried to teach myself tig a few years ago and never was able to pick it up and I don’t know anyone local who’s willing to come teach me. I’ll try again here soon as I know I’ll have some aluminum stuff I need done.

I’ll bend the upper brackets in a 1/2 to get some more clearance. Once it’s on 37s it shouldn’t be an issue but just to be sure.
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I’m in bumfuck Montana, and just started ruining metal with the TIG machine. I’m close to being happy with my results after nearly a whole T tank. I’ve come to the conclusion that a water cooled torch would be worth the money since I’ve got blisters on my fingers from holding onto the damn thing at 200a. It did have me looking at the MM255 sitting right next to me thinking "dude, I could just pulse spray this **** and be done". But the point is to learn a new skill while building something cool.

Multipass has been my solution, here’s a root pass on my trailing arms. The other side I tried to do in a single pass and it was ****ed.
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You can see the progression pretty well here. Back piece is the first TIG welds on thick material and boy did I cook it 🤣.
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Don’t be afraid to suck at something new. It’s fun.
 
I'm finding the more I tig, the more it becomes apparent the prep and design work of the parts really plays into the ability to make nice welds.
 
mobil1syn said:
tig needs to be multi pass unless its under .090 and design parts with open corners, makes life significantly easier.
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Had the "huh, that's like way easier" moment doing the root pass on this trailing arm.

Pops runs a machine shop for aerospace/semi conductor industries and had words of encouragement like "I've hammered bird **** cleaner than that", "the recyclers must love you" and "you wouldn't want to work for me". 🤣
 
DocRamsay said:
I’m in bumfuck Montana, and just started ruining metal with the TIG machine. I’m close to being happy with my results after nearly a whole T tank. I’ve come to the conclusion that a water cooled torch would be worth the money since I’ve got blisters on my fingers from holding onto the damn thing at 200a. It did have me looking at the MM255 sitting right next to me thinking "dude, I could just pulse spray this **** and be done". But the point is to learn a new skill while building something cool.

Multipass has been my solution, here’s a root pass on my trailing arms. The other side I tried to do in a single pass and it was ****ed.
IMG_6067.jpeg


You can see the progression pretty well here. Back piece is the first TIG welds on thick material and boy did I cook it 🤣.
IMG_5565.jpeg


Don’t be afraid to suck at something new. It’s fun.
Click to expand...
Way better than I can do! Interwebs and Instagram welders only post their best welds. I’m going to try and learn again. I have a bunch of coupons, filler and tungsten’s just need to sit down and do it. Maybe once I get this thing rolling and I’m at the point of needing aluminum or something tig welded I’ll work on it again. Seeing yours is motivation nonetheless.
 
Malburg114 said:
Way better than I can do! Interwebs and Instagram welders only post their best welds. I’m going to try and learn again. I have a bunch of coupons, filler and tungsten’s just need to sit down and do it. Maybe once I get this thing rolling and I’m at the point of needing aluminum or something tig welded I’ll work on it again. Seeing yours is motivation nonetheless.
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And seeing your progress on your taco is motivation for me to keep going on mine!

For me, I learn best by getting some hood time and just ****ing up and trying new things. I got wrapped up in settings and prep and this and that, really it was just repetition. Also learned that I can't listen to podcasts and TIG, has to be music, otherwise ADHD takes over and I stop focusing on the welds.
 
Spent yesterday messing with the rear shocks. I didn’t like how much they were angled in so moved the lower mounts in 2.5” which made a big difference. Spent the rest of the day getting the upper mounts to fit.

Before
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After
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Spent today putting the truck at ride height so I can cycle the rear. Threw a tire on the front and extremely happy with the overall look etc. 116.5 ish wheelbase. 22.5 to the bottom of the subframe. 27” to the bottom of the body seam under the doors. 7.5” of uptravel in the front and 8.5” in the rear. Overall I think it has a great look and stance.
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Wasn’t feeling great the last 2 weeks but finally got a few days in the garage. Got most the rear frame welded and a lot of the cage that I could easily get to. Then started on the sheet metal. Trying to get the cab enclosed so I can pull the cab and finish welding the cage
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So at the point I’d like to order everything to finish the steering and stuck on what size pump and pulley I need. I’ve reached out to radial dynamics and waiting for a response. Was pretty set on using them till I saw their prices which seems to have gone way up but may be my only option for a tc pump with enough flow

Planned on using a goat built accessory bracket and probably the 4421 for the ps and alternator but open to options

What’s the best way to calculate how many gallons per minute and psi I need for the system and pulley size?

The servo and ram are all -6 fittings so planned to run -6 for everything including the return with an inline fin and plate cooler with a fan. And then either -10 or -12 for the feed from the resivor to the pump.

And what’s more common for water pump spacing on an ls. Truck -3 spacing or corvette -1 spacing?
 
The big brains on here convinced me to go with #6 lines for pressure, #10 for return lines and #12 for the feed line.
That way the return has no resistance in its way back to the reservoir. Added benefit of holding a few more drops of oil.

Truck spacing is probably the most common, but you need to make sure you have the room for it if things are tight.
Corvette spacing is really tight, and limits you on what accessories will fit where.
F-body spacing seems to be the best of both worlds but is used much less for some reason.
 
gt1guy said:
The big brains on here convinced me to go with #6 lines for pressure, #10 for return lines and #12 for the feed line.
That way the return has no resistance in its way back to the reservoir. Added benefit of holding a few more drops of oil.

Truck spacing is probably the most common, but you need to make sure you have the room for it if things are tight.
Corvette spacing is really tight, and limits you on what accessories will fit where.
F-body spacing seems to be the best of both worlds but is used much less for some reason.
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Eric from radial dynamics got back to me and recommended similar. But -8 for returns so I’ll probably go that route.

I had plans to use truck spacing but wasn’t sure what was more popular. I built it with plenty of room in the front for accessories and mounting stuff especially with a rear radiator.
 
Radial dynamics is some good ****, yea it's expensive bur Eric posts tons of tech on here, on podcasts and seems like a good dude, so I'll drop money with him. I have his res (badass), pressure valve thing, and will probably get a pump from him when my psc takes a **** for the above reason.
 
Slander said:
Radial dynamics is some good ****, yea it's expensive bur Eric posts tons of tech on here, on podcasts and seems like a good dude, so I'll drop money with him. I have his res (badass), pressure valve thing, and will probably get a pump from him when my psc takes a **** for the above reason.
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I have one of their pumps on my other truck, and while just the trail series pumps they offered at the time it was a good upgrade and they where great to work with. I plan to use their pump and filter but not sure I can swing the cost of the reservoir at double the psc one but we will see.
 
Malburg114 said:
So at the point I’d like to order everything to finish the steering and stuck on what size pump and pulley I need. I’ve reached out to radial dynamics and waiting for a response. Was pretty set on using them till I saw their prices which seems to have gone way up but may be my only option for a tc pump with enough flow
Click to expand...
Yeah...pumps went from $525 to $750. Wish I'd bought a couple more prior to the 2 jumps in price.
 
Malburg114 said:
I have one of their pumps on my other truck, and while just the trail series pumps they offered at the time it was a good upgrade and they where great to work with. I plan to use their pump and filter but not sure I can swing the cost of the reservoir at double the psc one but we will see.
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The res is pretty awesome, I totally drained my powersteering system 3 times in one day on the trail, and it made bleeding it a non event. Just fill it, let it run for a min and peel out.
 
What’s the standard for an air filter on an ls? I searched and read the one thread which had good suggestions but still looking for more input. Plan is the intake under the hood as the cab is a lot smaller than I planned. I may be able to squeeze something under the center console/between the seats but that depends on shifter location and other things.

Is ump still the standard and what size for a 450hp ls at the crank? Everyone seems to like the paper filters from Donaldson and if that works what size/length should I be looking at. I can always make an enclosure for it but sometimes I’m time and money ahead buying something like ump
 
Malburg114 said:
What’s the standard for an air filter on an ls? I searched and read the one thread which had good suggestions but still looking for more input. Plan is the intake under the hood as the cab is a lot smaller than I planned. I may be able to squeeze something under the center console/between the seats but that depends on shifter location and other things.

Is ump still the standard and what size for a 450hp ls at the crank? Everyone seems to like the paper filters from Donaldson and if that works what size/length should I be looking at. I can always make an enclosure for it but sometimes I’m time and money ahead buying something like ump
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I've been doing a lot of research on filters and there aren't a ton of good options. Ill summarize:

Umps - The largest Ump (10925) which is 10" diameter and 17" long is only able to flow enough for like 400ish HP. Most of the big cars (Campbells) run dual umps. And that isn't even considering once the filter starts getting full.

K&N Cone Style - They flow enough, but I wouldn't consider them because of how much dust and particles they let through into your engine.

I would highly suggest a paper filter as they work so much better. Spend some time going through this catalog and look at your options.

https://www.donaldson.com/content/d...0027-ENG/Air-Intake-Systems-Product-Guide.pdf

In my current 4500 car I am running a C105004 which is 10.5" Diameter and 10.5" Long. It flows 500 cfm at 6" H20 of vacuum or 620 at 8". Higher the vacuum the harder the engine works to get air. There are different ideas about what vacuum value you should use to decide your filter and I felt like 6" to 8" was reasonable. My 6.2L engine at 6500 RPM with VE of 0.9 needs 640 cfm. So this filter is slightly on the not big enough side, but I couldn't fit any bigger.

On the new car, I am planning to go to a powercore filter which flows a lot more, with a lot smaller filters. These are the style of filters that the duramax and powerstroke use. Donaldson makes some really nice housings that even have centrifugal pre filters to remove like 70-80% of the dust from the air before it even reaches the filter. These are a little pricy for me, so I am probably going to use a powerstroke filter and add a precleaner. I have already been working on the design of it and have been putting it through some fluid dynamics programs to see if it will flow enough. My goal is 6" or shorter for the centrifugal filter.

Donaldson doesn't advertise the flow of the duramax and powerstroke filters, but I used the other powercore filters that they have information posted for and created some spreadsheets and charts to estimate what they can flow based on area and volume of the filter. Based on my estimations, the powerstroke filter should flow 684 CFM at 6" or 777 CFM at 8". So plenty of flow, as well as an off the shelf filter that any parts house should have. I will need to make adapters for either side of the filter, but that shouldn't be too hard.
 
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