- Finally the snorkel modification is done. http://ow.ly/1C4aX Impressed with the added performance. #
- What's the best coat for a front bumper? Rhino Linings, Rocker guard, Powder coating or just normal paint? #
- Stripped down the front bumper and cut of the unnecessary brackets. Going to sandblast it soon. Can't wait to mount the new HID lights. #
- New 2.5" stainless steel side exhaust: http://ow.ly/1zOJi #
- Received our Lightforce Striker 170 HID fog lights today. Looking forward to test them out. Anything you would recommend for installation? #
Monthly Archive for April, 2010
This modification took quite a bit of time. Back in February I received a package from Taiwan with all the parts, but it took till last week to finish it. Mainly because I was not happy how the snorkel suppose to be connected to the air intake. First the pipe on the snorkel had a too small diameter for my taste and second the intake on the air canister was facing in the wrong direction. Either you would need to use a long hose (as it came with the set) or you need to weld a new pipe on the canister. I decided to do latter.
The air canister has now a straight 3″ stainless steel pipe on it as well as the snorkel a modified 3″ PVC adaptor from HomeDepot. Also the bottom of the snorkel is now filled with expandable construction glue which should avoid any air turbulence. The connection between snorkel and air canister is a 3″ blower rubber hose from Green Line. The brackets on the body are out of stainless steel. The van has now also an K & N long life air-filter (p/n 4810) instead of the paper filter to have extra good airflow.
So far I’m really impressed with the difference, the vehicle feels for sure more powerful and the engine temperature dropped down quite a bit too. Specially at highway speed the cold air gets really forced into the intake. One disadvantage (for now) is the regularly releasing pressure gate due the increased boost/power. Not really a problem if you just back off a bit. I’m going to fix that in the next few weeks though.
Thanks to my friends David & Jay for helping me out on this mod.
This week I removed the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and fabricated two blocking plates. Apparently it should increase the fuel economy, reduces the wear in the engine and eliminates one possible reason of any black smoke issues (knock on wood, we don’t have them yet)
Wikipedia has also something interesting to say about this modification:
EGR deletion in diesel engines is considered justifiable by a wide range of people, including the environmentally conscious. Although deleting the EGR system results in increased NOx level hydrocarbon emissions, Particulates, Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide are drastically reduced. Furthermore, EGR deletion results in an increase in fuel economy as high as 25%. Exhaust gas recirculated back into the cylinders adds wear-inducing contaminants and causes an increase engine oil acidity, which can result in an inefficient, poorly running engine. The increased level of soot also creates the need for diesel particulate filters to prevent environmental contamination.
A nice side effect is to have more space in the engine for future projects as well as the best spot (pre turbo) to mount a sensor for the Pyrometer gauge. The top blocking plate is out of 1/4 inch aluminum and the bottom plate is 1/4 inch solid steel, because it’s mounted on the hot engine block.
I also cleaned all disconnected pipes and fittings from 16 years exhaust soot.
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