adeluca73's Build - 2014 POWER WAGON SLT - FLAME RED TWO TONE

[adeluca73]

Look what just arrived from Danny at DOR. This thing is massive & heavy & just over the top ridiculous HD steel, & the hardware is no joke. I'll have to have a 2nd set of hands or a floor jack to hold this thing in place during installation, wow!

[14PowerWaggy]

Look what just arrived from Danny at DOR. This thing is massive & heavy & just over the top ridiculous HD steel, & the hardware is no joke. I'll have to have a 2nd set of hands or a floor jack to hold this thing in place during installation, wow!

Subscribed... I ordered one from Synergy, because it didn't say it wouldn't fit a power wagon, but it wouldn't fit a power wagon... Curious to see how you like that one...

[gun45boat]

Well, let's see, it's cast, yes, but from an engineering perspective, high-strength nodular iron is a type of reinforced ductile iron, whose iron structure is infused with spheroidal graphite and quenched--the composition of the graphite (the quality of it's spheroidal shape) determines the matrix structure which set the material properties, and then the quenching properties set the hardness--it's the birnell hardness rating that's more important than the yield strength, and this type of nodular iron is built to take hits. This isn't a load bearing piece, it needs to facilitate radative and conductive heat transfer of the hot gear fluid, and protect from intrusions. In the few months it's been on, I have bashed it a few times already. No cracks, a few scuffs and a little ding along the fastner edge, but nothing major. But I don't live out west, YET, so we'll see once I retire from the military and move west...

True,,, I will make sure to have 3 quarts of Gear lube and some Duck tape when we wheel Moab

I do like the way they did the drain and fill plugs though

[Reloaderguy]

Look what just arrived from Danny at DOR. This thing is massive & heavy & just over the top ridiculous HD steel, & the hardware is no joke. I'll have to have a 2nd set of hands or a floor jack to hold this thing in place during installation, wow!

Oooh, I've been eyeing one of those.

[adeluca73]

MOD: steering Box Brace
VENOR: DOR (Danny Gaston)
COST: $150 + Shipping
TIME: 2Hr all in
DIfficulty: Light-Moderate

Installed the DOR brace yesterday. Used the base auto hobby shop because they have more tools, & more importantly lifts, so I'm not laying on my back! The install is pretty straight forward, but I recommend completely dropping the sway bar on both sides. If you just back out the passenger side bolts, there really isn't much room to fanagle that 12lb brace over top and then underneath the sway bar. Using an impact makes zipping the bolts in way faster when you're holding the weight of the sway bar & brace with one hand. Also the sector shaft calls for 185ft-lbf torque, but the hobby shop didn't have a 44mm or 1.75" socket, & most of you probably don't I'd guess, my biggest is 37mm & 1 3/8", so I had to use a giant crescent to take off the Pittman arm bolt & tighten the sector shaft extension, which means I was guessing on the torque number.

I put the sway bar through the back of the brace, bungeed then together & lifted the sway bar in place, zipped in passenger side sway bar bushing bolts ½ way, then started the steering box bolt so everything & all weight was being supported by something, then used the ole dead blow persuader to alight the brace holes with the drivers side frame sway bushing holes & with the sway bar itself, started one bolt, aligned for the other, then loosely mounted the shaft bearing race, & stated tightening & torquing in order. Also greased the bearing shaft & hit all bolts with silver anti-seize.

Overall, I honestly don't feel any difference in steering precision, stiffness, or any other basic driver feedback mechanism right now. And it might feel a tad looser than before installed the brace & not sure why either.

[Colibri]

Strange about the steering feel, I have no experience with the one sided stabilizer but my regular one made a noticeable difference. I hope you get the looseness figured out soon. Soooo much nicer working on a lift eh?

[adeluca73]

Thanks Colibri...lifts do make life easier! I'm not sure why the steering hasn't tightened up w/ the brace. You're right, most I've looked into tie the gear box into both frame rails to provide lateral stiffness in both directions, Danny claims that induces unnecessary lateral loads into the gear box & is more detrimental, & thus that's why he has decided on the one sided brace. The only thing I can try is to tighten up the sector shaft extension more and see how that goes.

[adeluca73]

Minor update:

Ordered Phillips Hi intensity 5500K (white) colored LED's for the CHMCL (cargo lights) and for the Back-up lamps.

The Cargo LED's were about $10 for 2. The back-up lights were about $30ish for two. Use the auto bulb finder here:

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/applicati ... gmain.aspx

to get the bulb numbers for each type, the search on Amazon for those numbers.

Overall, yes, there was improvement, a lot, eh, maybe enough to justify the cost of the upgrade....

[adeluca73]

So this mod has been a long time coming. I've wanted to dump that resonator can the 1st week I brought my PW home. I ordered the mufflex replacement muffler within the 1st month, and almost had the shop cut off the resonator and dump the exhaust just aft the spare. I chickened out because I was terrified of driving around in a red neck mobile that was unbearably loud and screamed A-hole on board. Plus in my ehh, 40's, having to blast the radio so I don't hear my exhaust droning on isn't particularly palatable, so I held off. I drug that can pretty bad on the last excursion and decided I'd live with the audible consequences.

Well, all that fuss was for not. It's no louder at all on the highway, can't tell any difference on cruise at 50, 55, 60, 65 or 70. Drove 50 miles with the can removed this weekend, and about the only noticeable difference was on initial start up and acceleration between 20-40mph it's definitely louder, but not terrible. If you're considering it---do it.

[Will]

Minor update:

Ordered Phillips Hi intensity 5500K (white) colored LED's for the CHMCL (cargo lights) and for the Back-up lamps.

The Cargo LED's were about $10 for 2. The back-up lights were about $30ish for two. Use the auto bulb finder here:

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/applicati ... gmain.aspx

to get the bulb numbers for each type, the search on Amazon for those numbers.

Overall, yes, there was improvement, a lot, eh, maybe enough to justify the cost of the upgrade....

I'm still rocking the el cheapo led light under my hitch, I've drug it through mud and across a log and it's still working fine. As bright as my headlights on low.
http://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/vie ... erse+light

[gun45boat]

Great job. Looks great...

[adeluca73]

Minor update:

Ordered Phillips Hi intensity 5500K (white) colored LED's for the CHMCL (cargo lights) and for the Back-up lamps.

The Cargo LED's were about $10 for 2. The back-up lights were about $30ish for two. Use the auto bulb finder here:

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/applicati ... gmain.aspx

to get the bulb numbers for each type, the search on Amazon for those numbers.

Overall, yes, there was improvement, a lot, eh, maybe enough to justify the cost of the upgrade....

I'm still rocking the el cheapo led light under my hitch, I've drug it through mud and across a log and it's still working fine. As bright as my headlights on low.
http://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/vie ... erse+light

I have an el cheapo back up light that plugs into the trailer wiring harness, it's bright, portable, cheap!

Blazer C8020 Back-Up / Utility Light - White , $15.

[Reloaderguy]

Thanks Colibri...lifts do make life easier! I'm not sure why the steering hasn't tightened up w/ the brace. You're right, most I've looked into tie the gear box into both frame rails to provide lateral stiffness in both directions, Danny claims that induces unnecessary lateral loads into the gear box & is more detrimental, & thus that's why he has decided on the one sided brace. The only thing I can try is to tighten up the sector shaft extension more and see how that goes.

Were you able to get the steering sorted out? I'm trying to decide if the DOR brace is worth the risk or if I should just dump the smart bar for a Thuren torsion bar with HBS brace.

[Colibri]

The single biggest improvement I have ever made to my truck was ditching the smartbar for a torsion style. It smoothed out the front end considerably

[Will]

The single biggest improvement I have ever made to my truck was ditching the smartbar for a torsion style. It smoothed out the front end considerably

I wish you'd quit talking about that. I swear mine sways more with the dumb sway bar completely removed than it did when it was on and manually disconnected, must be in my head and I can't swing the price of Dons right now.

[Colibri]

Hahahaha sorry will! I'll keep it zipped from now on

[adeluca73]

Thanks Colibri...lifts do make life easier! I'm not sure why the steering hasn't tightened up w/ the brace. You're right, most I've looked into tie the gear box into both frame rails to provide lateral stiffness in both directions, Danny claims that induces unnecessary lateral loads into the gear box & is more detrimental, & thus that's why he has decided on the one sided brace. The only thing I can try is to tighten up the sector shaft extension more and see how that goes.

Were you able to get the steering sorted out? I'm trying to decide if the DOR brace is worth the risk or if I should just dump the smart bar for a Thuren torsion bar with HBS brace.

I did. I had to loosen everything, pull the bearing race off, retorqued the sector shaft, recentered the endlinks & then tighten it all up again & seems to have gotten better now.

[Reloaderguy]

Thanks Colibri...lifts do make life easier! I'm not sure why the steering hasn't tightened up w/ the brace. You're right, most I've looked into tie the gear box into both frame rails to provide lateral stiffness in both directions, Danny claims that induces unnecessary lateral loads into the gear box & is more detrimental, & thus that's why he has decided on the one sided brace. The only thing I can try is to tighten up the sector shaft extension more and see how that goes.

Were you able to get the steering sorted out? I'm trying to decide if the DOR brace is worth the risk or if I should just dump the smart bar for a Thuren torsion bar with HBS brace.

I did. I had to loosen everything, pull the bearing race off, retorqued the sector shaft, recentered the endlinks & then tighten it all up again & seems to have gotten better now.

I bet one of these would help. http://www.toolschest.com/mstl31578.html

[adeluca73]

Link doesn't work, but if it's Torque Wrenchs--I have 4: 10in-lb to 250 ft-lb . I dont have a 6" deep 44mm socket though & that's what you'd need to set the sector shaft extension to 185 ft-lb, so I used a 3" crescent with a 2' pipe on the end and yanked like hell.

[Will]

Hahahaha sorry will! I'll keep it zipped from now on

Thought about this again messing with the factory one today...I want new coils, shackles and the swaybar, holding out on tires...

[adeluca73]

Hahahaha sorry will! I'll keep it zipped from now on

Thought about this again messing with the factory one today...I want new coils, shackles and the swaybar, holding out on tires...

Expensive lust (list) you got there Will

[Reloaderguy]

Link doesn't work, but if it's Torque Wrenchs--I have 4: 10in-lb to 250 ft-lb . I dont have a 6" deep 44mm socket though & that's what you'd need to set the sector shaft extension to 185 ft-lb, so I used a 3" crescent with a 2' pipe on the end and yanked like hell.

Link works for me but is a 1 7/8" crows foot. You can get them in 44mm too.

[Black Pearl]

Love the White Knuckle sliders. Driving out to pick mine up tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe its my middle age crisis but I love the red. It just is so bold.
Nice rig

[adeluca73]

Link doesn't work, but if it's Torque Wrenchs--I have 4: 10in-lb to 250 ft-lb . I dont have a 6" deep 44mm socket though & that's what you'd need to set the sector shaft extension to 185 ft-lb, so I used a 3" crescent with a 2' pipe on the end and yanked like hell.

Link works for me but is a 1 7/8" crows foot. You can get them in 44mm too.

Ha, yes I do, first time I've seen those. Would have to adjust/recalculate the torque based on the centerline length of the extension.

[Black Pearl]

Just drove out and picked up my White Knuckle sliders in Apple Valley Ca. Those guys are gnarly. Crazy how much steel is in that place! Funky little off the path thing...And then the doors open up and its like holy crap!
I was in and out with some stories on how they got on the map in 15 min.
Natilie on the phone was very helpful and extreme knowledgeable.
Cant wait till they are on!!!