It's been an extremely busy couple of months, but I feel like I post this every time I make a post after a break hahaha. Ever since getting the new engine in the truck, it has been a rollercoaster ride. The truck spent a month at a supposedly well respected dyno/tuning shop according to some forums and reviews but I had a horrible experience. They started off with bricking the original 06 computer, so I found an 04 computer down the street. We then decided to bench tune it to prevent bricking another computer but of course they didn't have a bench harness
so I buy a cheap one off amazon. Then they tell me its not working on the bench either. Turns out it was due to HP Tuners requiring 5 amps instead of the 1 amp that the power supply output, so I went up there and wired it to a battery for them. Finally after getting the new computer tuned they tell me the truck loses throttle after a lap or two around the shop. So I found out the 06 throttle module doesn't work with the 04 computer and proceeded to pick one up from someone parting out a tahoe, went tot the shop an put it in and drove the truck down the highway. So FINALLY a month later and a week and a half before Ouray FSJ invasion I got the truck back. For whatever reason the 04 computer does not recognize when the compressor kicks on and wont idle up so the shop increased the idle RPM to keep it from dying until I figure that out. Other than that the truck runs good. So I spent the month of June driving 40 minutes to the tuning shop multiple times a week to fix my own truck hoping to have it ready for CO and ended up having no time to get it ready for the trip. I made a last minute decision to borrow my brothers Tacoma for the trip and had a great time. Now It's time to get back to work on the truck.
Upon getting the truck back and driving it longer distances I noticed it was running hotter than the L33 was ~ 230 on the highway. So I went ahead and threw in an aluminum radiator. Then I realized the Volvo fan relay wasn't energizing the high speed on the electric fan so I added a separate relay to activate the high speed and it is running cooler ~ 220 in the afternoons in traffic.
One of the other Issues I wanted to resolve before Ouray was the rear brakes locking up before the front. This issue was actually present since I did the brakes but never realized it until this year during some hard braking situations. I do have the disc/disc proportion valve but the truck would send the majority of breaking power to the rear calipers and cause the rear to slide. I installed an adjustable proportion valve on the rear brake line, and after what I'm sure was annoying to my neighborhood
, I got the breaking power to the front and the truck stopping in a straight line.
In preparation for the trip I borrowed the 8000lb winch on a receiver carrier from my dads tractor but didn't have time to wire it up. New wiring installed with a quick connect. He also gave me the ARB lights off his JK that he never got around to installing. They're bolted up to the factory top bolt hole but still need to be wired up.