New tune in. 18 PSI. 1057 HP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZwSL-UBaOI

 

A picture of my friends ford almost finished, lift is done, everything is good as far as that goes just needs some new shocks, and a set of 36-38's vs. the 40's on it, oh yea this is his daily driver so it will be on road during the day and the dirt at night with some mudding when we get bored

 

That truck was built on payday. Take it to the dealer, it should still be under warranty.

 

"Dear bigslick050,

Congratulations, your photo has WON!!! Your photo received enough votes to be placed in this year's 2011 Dodge Trucks Calendar."

I just got this email....I am going in the 2011 officially licensed calendar! I am very excited for next year now!

Also congrats to acsamples and kellyrj....I am pretty sure they also won a spot in the calendar!

DF reppin' our block!

 

No way Slick for real???! NIIIIICCCEEE!!! You deserve it though, wicked stable ya got there


Autographed copies for yer 'family'???

 

Lucky me, I get to spend most of today hanging around at Auto Gear Service of Las Vegas. I'll drive away with my new transmission and a transfer case saver installed, but damn... I'm not good at being idle. And I'm not good at feeling comfortable with someone else wrenching on my truck, even if it is a reputable shop. So I'm taking along the netbook and four DVD's to watch... I hope they have a power outlet I can reach.

If this works out as well as I hope it does, it will be the third time in my life that I've had a good experience with a shop. Or third and fourth, since I'll have to consider the experience with PATC a good one even though my trans was three weeks in coming thanks to a part backorder. I got a peek at the transmission yesterday down at the shop, but all I could really see is that it's painted black. Cue the Rolling Stones.

Wish me luck!

 

liking this truck, offroad package and has an extended cab. and about 30xxx less miles than mine ..
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/2027289409.html

 

Did I say I'd be driving away from the shop? Silly me. I caught a ride from one of the guys you might talk to if you call to order parts. Helluva nice guy, and very knowledgeable, Shep is. (So is Dave, but he didn't give me a ride home.) Busy all darn day, too. Drivetrain.com does a brisk business. And just about the sweetest Hudson Hornet you ever saw pulled up this morning for a new ring & pinion -- it belongs to the service manager (IIRC) of Arlen Ness Las Vegas. It's not concours but it's beautiful, and has a twin turbo small block tucked under the hood. They say he actually drives it, takes it on the freeway and on road trips regularly. I wouldn't.

The truck is still in the bay... apparently those six standard hours were nowhere near enough on the clock for the guy who's doing it. Who for some reason totally forgot my explanation of the remote ATF filter that's to replace the anti-drainback check valve... right around lunchtime another mechanic came in to explain that the one working on my truck was stuck because the block-off plate for the engine oil filter wasn't in the box. Later on, the explanation for the removed engine oil filter was that it had to come off to permit access to some bolt... for a transmission replacement?

I'm not casting aspersions, but I am a bit concerned.

So, tomorrow they'll replace the CAD vacuum lines that broke on their nickel, and finish up, and pick me up to go get my truck back. For the moment, all's well. I went in being not too thrilled to let another man futz around with my truck and the $3300 transmission going into it, so I was already primed to be twitchy about the job.

Time will tell.

 

Are you kidding? A twin turbo Hornet? I'd freaking drive that as much as I could!



Whaddya think? This bumper from this truck:


On this truck?

 

You might -- me, I'd know how much it cost and how much that investment is at risk driving around here in the mook capital of the planet.

I doubt it'd line up at all. The styling is nice, though.

So far, Drive Line Service is solidly in third place and bucking for second most disappointing and enraging experience with mechanics I've ever had. If my new PATC Mega Viper goes up in smoke, they'll hit first place by a wide margin.

First they stretched a six or seven hour job out to around 14 and counting. Okay, I can accept this. Sometimes things aren't as easy as they should be. I'm only paying for eight hours (for trans R&R, Transfer Case Saver install, and remote ATF filter install). Shep gave me a ride home last night, and sent their driver to pick me up today. Good enough.

That they broke the CAD vacuum lines at the transfer case end, well, that stuff happens.

That their techs apparently have lost the temperature sender for my AutoMeter transmission temperature gauge, as long as they either find it or replace it, I can accept.

That they assured me that my crankcase would be topped up after they put the engine oil filter back on (why was it removed?) and I had to check it and get Shep to bring out a quart, well, okay, that I can accept.

That the remote filter was installed in the return line from the auxiliary cooler to the pan after I very clearly explained to two different techs that it should go in place of the check ball line, in the only line that connects from the transmission to the radiator, that I can overlook as long as they fix it tomorrow, on day three of this fustercluck.

That they first broke the TV cable then misadjusted it, eh, stuff happens. I adjusted it myself on the way home. No worries.

That they installed the remote filter with the fluid flow backwards so the anti-drainback valve was forced closed and I discovered it when my Trans Temp light came on, at what I assume was a temperature high enough to cook the ATF and form varnish? That, friends and neighbors, I cannot accept. I had $3500 invested in that Mega Viper by the time it landed on their doorstep, and in under a half hour of run time it was overheated because some clown either got or stayed careless or stupid or both.

I should have checked it before I drove away, surely I should have, but dammit I shouldn't have had to check it. The fixture is clearly marked with "In" on one port and "Out" on the other. I'd expect a tech to either know or look up the direction of flow of the ATF cooling circuit. Transmission -> radiator -> auxiliary cooler -> transmission pan. Always. Always always.

I'm going to try to talk them into replacing the ATF in the morning when they go in to fix what they fouled up today. Even if they make it right, I wouldn't recommend that anyone trust their wrench monkeys -- to buy parts, sure, hit drivetrain.com and/or call to talk to some very knowledgeable people. Just don't let their techs anywhere near your truck.