Propickup Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/93724
TECH Q&A by Austin C. Craig TIE-ROD END FAILURE I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4X4. During the past two years I have broken three outer tie-rod ends while inspecting and servicing gas/oil pump- ing stations. Is there an aftermarket fix for this problem? Jay O'Neal, Ada, Oklahoma Chevy Outer Tie rod end failures have been attributed to the failure of the boot, allow- ing contaminants and moisture inside. The result is corrosion and wear that causes excessive deflection and toe angle changes until eventually the rod end fails. Moog Suspensions has a solution. Unlike the OEM outer tie rod, the Moog tie rod end (# ES3609) features a greaseable design, that uses a premium polychloroprene boot with a special grease relief-valve Moog says is designed to resist intrusion and flush con- tamination out of the socket, preventing corrosion and premature wear. FORD CUMMINS CONVERSION I have a customer who wants us to swap the 6.4L in a 2008 F-350 Super Duty to a 5.9L Cummins. Is there a company that can provide components for us to perform the operation. I am located in Plamondon, Alberta, Canada. That's easy. FordCummins.com, located in Kalispell, Montana, has all the information and parts you need to install the 5.9L Cum- mins in the 2008 F-350. CNG BI-FUEL OPTIONS What is the latest information on bi-fuel options for commercial pickups this year? We plan to replace part of our fl eet in our commercial construction company. Dennit Morris, Las Vegas, NV You are in luck because this year Silverado and Sierra buyers will get a CNG bi-fuel option for commercial pickups developed by IMPCO in Indiana. Ford will also get a bi-fuel CNG option on its 6.2L Super Duty developed by Westport and produced in the company's Plymouth, Michigan facility. 8 PROPICKUP April 2012 Ram also offers CNG direct from the factory in 2013. BLACK OIL OK My 2008 Duramax 6.6L runs great, but soon after every oil change the oil turns black very quickly. Is there a reason for this? Ross Coyle, Clovis, New Mexico Your Duramax uses EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and recirculates a consid- erable amount of its exhaust back into the engine for reburning. The engine oil turning black almost immediately after an oil change is perfectly normal. The reason for EGR is its ability to lower combustion temperatures, therefore reducing harmful NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions to the at- mosphere. The EGR is the manufacturer's response to the EPA's implementation of more stringent emissions regulations on diesel engines. H.O. GM ALTERNATOR We need to step-up the amps from our 2010 Chevy 5.3L alternators. The trucks are having a hard time keeping the bat- teries charged when they sit at idle on road repair jobs with fl ashers and warn- ing lights on. Any suggestions? – Brad Holroyd, Costa Mesa, California Plenty of options out there for high-output alternators. Wrangler Power Products' (wranglerpower.com) 240-amp model is a direct replacement that delivers the same output at idle as the OE version does at high-rpm. Nations Starter & Alternator (nationsstarteralternator.com) and DC Power (dcpowerinc.com.) offer models up to 300-amp. TPMS QUESTION I have a question about one of your recent builds featured in ProPickup. How did you change the computer to accept lower air pressures in the tires you installed on the Ford Super Duty? I am struggling with this issue on one of my work trucks that I am building for off-road situations and was wonder- ing if you could let me know how you solved this annoying issue with the truck. Christopher Jerome, Toms River, New Jersey We don't run tire pressures low enough on our project trucks where they would trip the TPS warning system. We keep the Super Duty's 35s inflated at 55 psi front and 50 psi rear for normal highway/off-road use and 65psi when towing. Should we hit soft sand, we'd drop them down to 30psi. In the past we have run as low as 15psi on ½-ton pickups off-road in sand and serious boulder running. Most TPMS circuits trigger warnings when the pressure drops below 25 percent of the tire pressure indicated on the door placard. One trick we have seen used (but we don't endorse) is placing the factory TPMS sensors in a 6" piece of 2 ½" Schedule 40 PVC pipe that has a cap on one end and a cap on the other with a valve stem in it. Pressurize the TPMS container to whatever pressure is indicated on the door placard (Schedule 40 PVC has an operating pres- sure of 180psi) and slip the container in your glove box or under a seat. The truck's computer doesn't know what the sensors are in – just that they are under pressure. Since the computer only "sees" the pressure is satisfactory no warning lights will go off until the container's pressure drops below that 25 percent threshold. CB INTERFERENCE ISSUES The stock CB in my Silverado is caus- ing interference with the audio of the factory AM/FM radio. Ronnie Hartline, Gainesville, Georgia When you hear CB "feedback" through the radio it's usually becasue the CB's coaxial cable is running across or next to the speaker wires from your AM/FM radio. Simply move them as far apart as possible or reroute the coaxial cable in a different manner. F-250 BATTERY FAILURE I have a problem with the passenger- side battery dying on my 2006 F-250 Power Stroke. I have changed it out twice since I started having the problem, 2 ½ years after I bought the truck. The passenger side battery is the only one I am having a problem with. I don't have any aftermarket accessories on the truck. Is their a solution? Bob Burris, Helena, Montana