Hi Steve, making progress by getting the Vin in the PCM, nice work.

As for the ABS, i don't know if this is all correct what i'm going to say.

I thought the PCM looks at the ABS module to find if it has 2 wheel or 4 wheel ABS, and sets itself.
Could it be you have a defect ABS Sensor ? or even a defect brake light switch ?
Can you scan for codes on ABS, and could you check them with live data on the scan tool ?
if you can, you could rule them out, or find a faulty one ?

Just some thoughts, don't know this for sure.

Keep up the good work Steve.

 

There were codes in the abs module that i cleared. It occured to me that the problem could be the ecu itself. Need to look at the schematics to see how the abs sensors are monitored. The lights came with this ecu, they were out prior to the initial hpt download that erased the original ecu. Will see what happens with the reconditioned ecu next. Will order it soon.

 

Good thing i saw your post. I was about to pick up the HPT to get started. any updates?

 

No update, I have an email out to tech support with a question regarding no VIN read during the read and have not heard back yet.

If you want to get a jump on power now, this is my setup (which has given it a huge bump in power)

• 70mm TB
• Airaid intake tube with turning vane installed (have pic if needed, the turning vane made a noticeable difference)
• Expanded intake manifold capacity, what I call the potato launcher mod (gave a huge bump in power)
• Wrapped heater core pipes over manifold
• Wrapped fuel injector rails
• Wrapped intake tube
• 2.5" exhaust dump attached to airbox (currently disabled and closed for mpg's)

If I cannot get it tuned, the above mods have added enough power to keep me happy. Moreso then any canned tuner (superchips, hypetech etc) has on any other GAS powered engine I have worked on. MPG's have gone from 15's on the commute up to 18~19 depending on how I'm driving.








The turning vane mod...
Here is the intake tube, note the 90* bend...




turning vane I created (still need to go back and finalize this). Note that the airaid tube has an expansion chamber of sorts in front of the TB and the coupler to the TB is a reducer. There is no way for the vane to get past the TB if it were to come loose... which it has not in the ~12-15k miles I've put on it.



installed



Potato launcher mod, simple 1.5" diameter pvc tube plumbed into the brake booster line and 2nd on tapped off vacuum port on intake manifold







All in all these mods have brought in a lot of power down in the 1500-3000 rpm range, where I use it daily. Last night I did a new mod and built a baffle of sorts in the air box. The goal here is to make the flow into the air filter laminar to reduce turbulence. This mod does work but it does not have the bang for the buck (cost me time since I had material already) as the potato launcher mod (PLM). The plm gave an immediate SOTP bump in power.


Coming up for me next is an '03 intake manifold with its shorter runners and soon to be insulated bottom half and a set of 12 hole injectors. Need to clean the injectors before the install which I may be able to get to Labor day weekend.

 

Should also note that I have dragged my feet on this and need a 2nd ECU in hand (need to buy a refurbed one) before I attempt another HPT download, cant have this truck down for any reason.

 

Forgive me for asking but how does the potato launcher mod work? And what intake manifold are you running on your truck? Also, how are you determining that the flow will be laminar in the air box?

thank you for the replay and the pics, my truck is bone stock rn. Looking to pick up some HO cams this weekend with a HO intake. I’ll send some pics once I get ahold of them

edit: not a mechanical engineer but a chemical/process eng

 

Also, what do the different intakes do in terms of performance. I’ve seen a lot of conflicting info on which is the best/pros and cons of the different years lol. Does the fuel line not have a problem staying cool once heat soak happens? And other than making the fuel more dense, what was the goal with heat wrapping it fuel rail? Not trying to be rude, just very curious

 

the potato launcher was originally intended to smooth out the intake manifold variations on the fly. Meaning if you look at the MAP signal it is fluctuating like crazy. The idea was to give the manifold more "reserve" so to speak to smooth out the MAP signal. It did just that and brought power along with it. I ended up experimenting further with different tube lengths and concluded that for my setup (as it was at the time) a 15" section & a 9" section worked best for power from 1500 to ~3500 rpms. If I went too big on the 2nd piece, there was a condition that made the engine a slug, mainly at longer WOT conditions. Gears are another issue for that slug condition... I have 3.55's and am running 265/76/16's, E rated at that, heavy boat anchors. If I went to the 3.92's it would have higher RPMs and the conditions that made it a slug may not be present.

The current intake manifold is the original one with the longest runners. There was a change starting in '03 that leveraged the '02 HO design to a point, runner lengths are the same. Using the '03 is the next best thing over the '02 HO manifold and it was easy to find in the wrecking yard ($35 bux for it). What I expect is better performance up past ~3500-3800 rpms, this will however hurt the bottom end a tad (my expectation however others have stated in threads that they felt a bump on the bottom end...I find that hard to believe though).

The flow in the airbox is not yet ideal, the 1st stab at it gave me just 2 vertical pieces under the filter. What it did do was to eliminate the growl that the engine had which I now believe to be turbulence in the air box. Power went up some by the SOTP feel but not a huge amount... but still noticeable. This is day #1 with it and with it being the 1st version, I see the benefit and will make a better one down the road. Here is the thread that opened the eyes... (1) Cheap performance bump | Cummins Diesel Forum (cumminsforum.com) That is the other truck I have, a diesel modded for daily driving & mpg's. What I did there led me to try the turning vane on the inside of the airaid tube. The turning vane prior to the compressor wheel gave a good bump in power compared to without (I tested 3 different setups that day, oem intake tube w/o turning vane, then with vane and a thing called a TAG (turbo air guide)).

Cooler fuel will give a bump in bottom & mid range power. When I first learned it was to solve a pinging problem back in 2001 or so on a chipped bmw I had. Ended up with a cooler up front and inuslated lines and have done those modifications ever since... except for the fuel cooler on the current Dak, not willing to risk fuel at the front of the truck now. Heat soak kills power, keeping everything as cool as you can get it prevents the losses that occur due to the heat.

And no rudeness taken, thats how we learn... ask questions, do research and experiment/implement...

more info on intake manifolds & runner lengths.
Dyno Testing FAST’s New Adjustable Intake Runner System (motortrend.com)

 

What type of exhaust wrap should I use material wise? I’ve been thinking about wrapping my coolant lines that go over the intake for some time. Gets bloody hot in the engine bay even on cold days. Did you see higher engine temps as a result of wrapping parts of the cooling system? I still have the clutch fan on and will probably keep it for now but I’d be worried about over heating things if the stock system struggles lol

 

I use this but any will do if its exhaust wrap... I found that the 2 lines under the intake tube were contributing to the overall intake manifold increase in temps. Between that plus the wrap on the intake tube and the 1.5" tubes temps sit approx 20~22*f above ambient. That is still how which is why I plan to do the bottom side of the '03 intake manifold. Airram (not sure of his name) has commented that it is good for 10~15 hp that is lost due to heat soak... (power not lost...). I run a 180*f stat in mine and use 5w-30 Royal Purple oil with Hot Shots Stiction Eliminator in the oil. The HSSE keeps the internals clean and presumably max flow thru the oil galleys.

Exhaust Heat Wrap - Heat Shield Wrap | Heatshield Products

You may also be interested in this thread... Preventing the 4.7 Snot in the Oil Fill tube - DodgeForum.com I have eliminated the snot in there with the wrap and going back to the original style cap that does not have the divider in it.

FWIW, I've had mine for about 2 years now and have 28k on it since getting it. I strived to address the issues that have plagued some owners so I dont have the same issues. The snot in the fill tube was one of them, oil issues with bearings is another (I believe the HSSE will help with this... no oil starvation inside).