Ouch! What's the cylinder wall look like?

The rest of the build looks great! Can't wait to see this thing done.

 

The cylinder wall surprisingly didn't look terrible. Scarred a bit, but not like I would've expected seeing the piston looking like that. Would've definitely needed a small bore, but a re-usable core nonetheless.

Figured while I'm waiting on the plenum repair kit to come in, may as well try the kegger mod. Started it last night, but I've got to pick up a better grinding bit. The regular grinding stones just get caked up with the aluminum, rendering the bit pretty much useless. I'll post up a pic once it's all done. Once the plenum kit is in tho, just gotta prime the engine, slap the intake mani, throttle body, and distributor on and we're ready to start gettin this thing back in the truck.

Then it's just figuring out the electric fan. Probably gonna go with the Mark VIII fan, but a bit apprehensive with people commenting how loud it is. But I think I definitely want to go overkill with the budget stroker kit and the occasional mild towing and long highway drives for work.

 

Question:

Do I need to pick up a 180A high output alternator to run the Mark VIII fan? I've read at least a dozen threads on this now, and haven't come to a definitive conclusion. Some say the Dakota DEFINITELY needs one with it, others say the stock alternator hold up just fine.

 

I run the Mk8 with a stock alternator no problem on the V6. If you look on my crash thread, one of the last pages I took detailed picture of how it mounts in. For electrical, I just used the factory fan pigtails and switched a 70 amp relay with them, had SCT turn it on at 190 with a 180 stat. You could use an external tap-in stat as well if you wanted. The fan pulls every bit of 100 amps to start but about 50 to run I think. Yes it is loud, but it gets the job done, and I can list off several things that are louder.

The fan uses 10 gauge wire, the relay I used has 3/8" quick connect terminals. All the info you need should be in any posts I've made. I made a topic directly for the fan install itself, and the last pages of my crash thread has pics and details.

 

Looking good! I have my trans built and motor apart, I will be calling campbell next week! Do you have your heads yet?

 

I've ordered some Aluma-Cut carbide burr bits to finish grinding the intake mani runners. Hopefully with the right bit I'll be able to get it done pretty fast. Then I can prime the engine, get the mani installed and the motor back in the truck. Shooting to be back on the road by the 20th if I can get an electric fan picked up by this week.

Thank you sir, I'll have to find that thread and read thru it. My local pull-it yard only has the earlier year Mk8's in their yard which, to my findings, have lower cfm ratings. I'll check the lot out by my fiancee's place since I'm over there quite a bit. If I can't find a good one locally or on eBay, I think I'll go with a dual set up of Perma-Cool 19112's. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prm-19112/overview/ Should be good for near 6,000 cfms at 20A with the static pressure of 3 coils in front of it after I fab up a shroud for them. A little pricier than I was wanting to go, but should definitely keep me in good shape for when I do tow.


Campbell's had a better price for the stroker kit - mostly because they use Eagle cranks. Hughes sais they won't sell them anymore (Eagle cast cranks) because they've had several break in the past. I've always had good experience with Eagle products though so I went with the Campbell's kit. Hopefully I won't regret it.

The heads came in about a week after I ordered them from Hughes. $800 for a pair of pre-assembled heads that flow a bit more than stock is a great deal in my opinion. I'll tell ya, Hughes has been pretty awesome to deal with. They've helped me out with tons of info thruout my build. Prices seem pretty fair (though I have eBay'd and used parted what I could). Last bit I'll need from them is a tune with the SCT.

 

Alright, ordered a Mark VIII fan. On to finding a good 2 speed wiring diagram and the parts list for the wiring portion.

 

Don't commit until you have the fan in hand.

Long story short, there are 2 Mk8 fans. One has a 2 speed motor with 3 leads, one has a 1 speed motor with 3 leads.

The 2 speed motor has 2 physical speeds- one positive wire and 2 grounds I believe.

The 1 speed motor also has one positive and 2 grounds I believe. HOWEVER, on the OEM, one ground went to ground (Full speed) and the other was pulsed by the computer for low speed.

I have a 1 speed motor.

How to check: Take an ohm meter, and check between the 2 black wires. 1 speed will show no ohms (short), 2 speed should show resistance.

1 speed: Any black to blue/green will be 0.x ohms
2 speed: One black (high speed) should be 0.x ohms, other black(low) will be 1.x ohms I believe.

(I forget the exact numbers)

For my case, I took the 2 wires going to the stock E-fan (condenser fan), put quick connects on it, and use them to switch a 70 amp relay (link below). I have a 10 gauge hot lead going from battery, through a 100 amp MAXI fuse and holder, to one position (3/8 QC) of the relay, and then the blue/green #10 of the fan to the other position (also 3/8 QC). Then I have one black wire grounded to the passenger fender, and the other looped up out of the way with tape over it.

relay I am using: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...Y/O2n67wK93Q==

 

I was definitely gonna check it before I commit. Fan should be here tomorrow. I don't have a stock e-fan tho. To my knowledge they came out later than my year. I do have the trans cooler for the towing package. But only fan I've got is the bulky clutch fan.

 

Finished modifying the intake manifold last night. Forgot to snap pics until after I installed the Hughes plenum repair kit and already stretched the bolts :/ But got to looking at the stock injectors afterwards and some of them look to be in pretty bad shape. They may be the original OEM ones for all I know?

Question: Would the factory injectors be sufficient for the 390? I've only got a mild/street cam going in the engine. From what I could find, they're 24lb injectors from factory (99 5.2L 4x4 sport). I can get a set cheap brand OE replacements for about $230. A set of nicer Delphi's or similar will run about $400. Hughes has sets of Accel injectors ranging from 21lb-32lb for roughly $300.