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Old 06-25-2012, 10:56 AM   #121
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Re: The Roach Motel

Jeez, You are doing better than I am. All I have to do to forget what I was doing is to stop for lunch

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Old 06-25-2012, 04:48 PM   #122
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Re: The Roach Motel

it's called alzhiermers....
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Old 06-25-2012, 08:12 PM   #123
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Re: The Roach Motel

Could you remember to explain what alzhiemers is to me--I can't seem to remember.
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Old 06-25-2012, 09:46 PM   #124
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Re: The Roach Motel

Sorry, i forgot
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Old 07-01-2012, 09:52 PM   #125
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Re: The Roach Motel

The weekend trip went swimmingly. Roachie never missed a beat and averaged about 13 mpg at 65 mph which is about 3 mpg more than I was expecting. I purposely didn't do any drafting so we could get an accurate baseline but next trip we'll slip in behind some 18 wheelers and see how much better the mileage gets. We did our 425 mile round trip on just a bit more than 1/2 tank. I'm pretty geeked about the mileage we got.

That Powerstroke diesel sure is impressive on our rolling Michigan hills. Once it got up into overdrive it didn't feel the need to downshift more than once or twice - with a little more throttle it just bulled up the hill in top gear.

We did have a couple of small issues. The wind kept blowing my driver-side mirrors back toward me and I couldn't get the pinch bolt tight enough to stop it. The motor mount on our Fantastic Vent broke and banged like mad on every bump and several of my cobbled up window screens came loose as we drove down the expressway. Otherwise it was a very successful coming out.

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Old 07-01-2012, 10:04 PM   #126
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Re: The Roach Motel

Roachie did real good. That is fantastic MPG. Glad you had a good trip--any more pics etc.?
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Old 07-02-2012, 05:54 PM   #127
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Re: The Roach Motel

Well, the camp is in mid Michigan on 40 acres surounded on 4 sides by federal land. We almost never see anyone else out there. There's usually 10 or 12 of us up there so there's always something going on. The kids ride 4-wheelers and horse around and the adults work on stuff around the camp. On Memorial Day we split about 5 cords of firewood which was great fun. Isn't it great that we're adults now and can do whatever we want?

This is a panorama shot of the camp. It's likely put us off traditional campgrounds forever.



Here's me and my little niece.



Here she is on her first bike ride. She crashed in a heap shortly after I took the shot but she was geeked about finally mastering the bike without training wheels.



All things considered it's a great place to be.
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Old 07-02-2012, 07:21 PM   #128
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Re: The Roach Motel

Fabulous campsite! And you seem to be doing it proud. Life is good.
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Old 07-02-2012, 08:02 PM   #129
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Re: The Roach Motel

really nice site!
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Old 07-02-2012, 10:01 PM   #130
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Re: The Roach Motel

Many thanks for the personal pics! Looks like all had a fine time!
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Old 07-03-2012, 09:10 AM   #131
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Re: The Roach Motel

Had a look at the Fantastic Vent last night. The motor mount had broken and the flexing also broke the motor mounting tabs. I called Fantastic Vent this morning and they're replacing both the mount and the motor for the cost of shipping. I can't say enough about the company. Fantastic customer service considering I'm not the original owner of the vent.
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Old 07-03-2012, 09:46 AM   #132
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Re: The Roach Motel

its a good reason to buy any fantastic fan ... they shipped a whole new fan to the neighbor behind me when his stopped working in his s/s trailer.
also works for broken mac, snap-on tools u buy on eBay....
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Old 07-03-2012, 11:57 AM   #133
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Re: The Roach Motel

Was a fellow here in town a few years back that made a good living picking up beat up & busted Craftsman tools from junk shops and the like, swapping them for new, and then selling them at a discount. All totally legal.
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Old 07-03-2012, 10:11 PM   #134
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Re: The Roach Motel

Word of advice-get an EGT gauge! I found out the hard way. "Wow-this Powerstroke pulls the hills on cruise control like nuthin' " cost me an engine. Set at 65mph, a couple mile very steep incline-it went right up. Problem was it was running on 7 cylinders afterwards.
when I put in my new motor, I put a gauge pod on my A pillar-EGT-boost-trans temp. My 1st break in trip taking it purposely easy, you could see the egt go way hi on the hills. Reading all the Ford diesel fourms, 1150* is all you want to get. Set on cruise, you could shoot to 1300 with just 12 psi boost. If I foot drive it to hold the egt at 1150, I'm cresting some hills at 55.
A problem is lack of room in the van to fit an intercooler-like the pick ups have stock.
I may be a bit heavier-and I dunno how the rolling hills of Mich. compare to the mountians of Vt.-but just beware-you can ask too much from the motor.
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Old 07-03-2012, 11:45 PM   #135
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Re: The Roach Motel

If a diesel, an EGT gauge is essential and should be minded religiously. And there are volumes about just where the probe should be located. Before the turbo, after the turbo, cylinder #6, etc. Best bet is to do some homework (search the web) regarding your specific engine.
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Old 07-05-2012, 10:31 AM   #136
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Re: The Roach Motel

Good info guys, I'll look into it. My cruise control doesn't work so that's out of the mix at least.

Given the same MPH, do you see higher exhaust temps at higher RPMs (downshifted) climbing hills or at lower RPMs but in overdrive? Mine seemed happy to stay in overdrive on most hills and I'd just give it a bit more throttle to maintain my speed. It only downshifted to third (still at relatively low RPM) on the steepest hill we encountered which was maybe a half-mile long.

At least I know not to hammer it on long hills.

Edit: When I rebuilt the turbocharger I also removed that exhaust backpressure valve behind the turbo, so I'm thinking that should allow the hot gasses to flow a bit more freely.
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Old 07-05-2012, 01:57 PM   #137
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Re: The Roach Motel

Hey Roach --- if you are referring to the "wastegate" you might want to check with the engine manufacturer. Some engines are happy as a clam with or without one, and others rely heavily on the wastegate to protect the engine. The two main functions are to regulate boost and prevent excess pressure in the engine...with the side benefit being reducing lagtime in the turbos' spool-up. Some hot rod diesel tuners play with them only to minimize lag and pump stuff through at crazy rates, but their combinations are totally different than an over-the-road rig. Plus...they fully expect their engines to turn into IED's at some point in competition due to pushing all the limits.
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Old 07-05-2012, 06:37 PM   #138
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Re: The Roach Motel

I removed mine as well.
On the Ford, Its not a waste gate-allowing excess boost to be bled off-its an exhaust brake-computered controlled to flip shut to help braking-on the exhaust out side. Google "ebpv removal". They are known for blowing out seals + pissing out major amounts of oil.
What I see looking at the boost gauge + egt gauge, its being under the heavy load that makes the boost-which makes the heat. (or technically- its the other way around expanding hot gasses spin the turbo faster). The downshift drops the boost.
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Old 07-05-2012, 08:56 PM   #139
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Re: The Roach Motel

From what I read, the F series pickup diesels have the wastegate controller but he E series vans don't. The vans also have no intercooler and have been de-tuned as a result.

Sdwarf - That's interesting. I was thinking that the downshift would cause higher turbo RPMs meaning higher boost pressures. So much to learn about these beasts.

I'll remember to cancel overdrive on long hills.
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Old 07-05-2012, 09:34 PM   #140
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Re: The Roach Motel

You guys are scaring me to death!

The only other IC turbo I have had was in a Chrysler and I flat blew that puppy up! Hopefully my Isuzu ICTD will have better mann ers
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