I dont usually post but I have to because even though your post was about you having a hard time with your goodies, it was very entertaining. I enjoyed all the pics that explained what you were saying haha, good sh*t.

 

great story and pictures. i'm glad you don't have any damage from the overheating. a blown head gasket or cracked head would have cost some bucks.

after all the laughing is over - the moral of the story is - when you know its wrong - don't do it. wait on the right parts no matter how long it takes. you could have saved yourself the second teardown and the potential damage of the coolant in the oil.

i'm curious about the RR. if you're just grandpa'ing around at 1600-2000 rpm, does the truck have any more seat of the pants torque over stock, where it can actually accelerate up a hill instead of wimping out.

 

SRV my man, that's all I do- grandpa around... I'm aiming for low end torque for towing and getting her moving without gunning the hades out of it.. It's not exactly accurate to say I don't like to run WFO every once in a while (and with the bike gone, and summer closing ending jetski season- I have to have something that can go fast or several ladies I know might catch up to me..)- anyway-

I've put about 120 miles on it since last night.. (oil was changed, and was barely visible on the stick and clear in the pan- as clear as oil gets anyway).. I don't know what to think of any performance gains yet.. It does seem stronger for sure, but I don't know if that's actual or not.. What I did notice, is a slow steady climb from 0-60ish is smoother w/less strain.. I don't know if that helps you or not, but that's all I can confirm right now.

the 4.56's are going to make it a monster on low end.. I have 3.92's in there now... That, with a newly rebuilt performance tranny and shift kit is where I fully expect to feel major performance gains.. Understand though, my idea of performance is rolling 75mph on the highway with #6k behind me and not feeling like I'm trying to drag Oprah out of a ditch..

I have death flashes.. I had a slightly blown plenum.. I had aging plugs/wires and likely 30k on the air filter.. That has changed (except for the flash)- it would be hard to say where the gains I'm seeing are from. The tuner (when it finally gets here) will be interesting to kinda tie it all together. I'll be happy to do a complete write up including silly pictures when it's all done and I have a good feel for what I've gained..