Free mods

[guamboyeli]

Anyone know any "free mods" that you can do to these truck... anything from mechanical to aesthetic???

[noahwins]

None of these are exactly free but they're inexpensive:

Since you live in Vegas, you can do the coolant bypass mod because your carb won't get the icing effect in winter.

-Light port matching
-Cut off the snake exhaust pipe that goes over the axle past the muffler and install a turndown for a little less exhaust restriction
-Delete the cat if emissions allows it
-Pull the middle leaf and cut off half a coil to lower the truck a few inches
-Upgrade all of the bushings to Energy Suspension urethane
-Buy the $12 Pitman arm rebuild kit on RockAuto.com to clean up steering slop
-If you lower the truck, delete the load sensing brake proportioning valve and install a manual proportioning valve
-Block off the EGR and plug the air pump if emissions allows it
-Delete the air cleaner preheater hose and thermostat
-Home Depot alcohol/water injection sprayer and advance timing a bit
-Home Depot sound deaden the entire cab, doors, firewall, roof
-Upgrade the clutch

[pennyman1]

that is the idler arm rebuild kit for steering slop - the pitman arm is not rebuildable. Do not pull out the thermostat on the motor.

[noahwins]

The thermostat on the air cleaner -- preheater system.

[pennyman1]

just wanted to clarify that for a newbie - didn't want to it to cause confusion.

[guamboyeli]

None of these are exactly free but they're inexpensive:

Since you live in Vegas, you can do the coolant bypass mod because your carb won't get the icing effect in winter.

-Light port matching
-Cut off the snake exhaust pipe that goes over the axle past the muffler and install a turndown for a little less exhaust restriction
-Delete the cat if emissions allows it
-Pull the middle leaf and cut off half a coil to lower the truck a few inches
-Upgrade all of the bushings to Energy Suspension urethane
-Buy the $12 Pitman arm rebuild kit on RockAuto.com to clean up steering slop
-If you lower the truck, delete the load sensing brake proportioning valve and install a manual proportioning valve
-Block off the EGR and plug the air pump if emissions allows it
-Delete the air cleaner preheater hose and thermostat
-Home Depot alcohol/water injection sprayer and advance timing a bit
-Home Depot sound deaden the entire cab, doors, firewall, roof
-Upgrade the clutch


these are some good ones... but im confused on some of them
like what is the coolant bypass mod???
where can i find the brake proportioning valve on the truck???

[Merrill]

It's right behind the gas tank above the axle.

[D-nifty]

Great thread, reminds me to swap out my old cracked bushings, but does a water injection system make sense for a non-forced induction engine/normally aspirated engine? Or is a water spraying system something else entirely?

[geezer101]

Water/methanol spraying will only have a marginal impact on engine performance as it is used for tuning assistance (it allows more aggressive tuning by staving off detonation). There is a point where water/methanol injection begins to work against the engine as it tries to extinguish the combustion flame. It will keep the combustion chamber and piston top super clean though! Now I would be warned against some of the "low buck" mods. Cutting springs is one of the worst things you can do to your suspension (next to taking a gas torch to them and squashing them which is just inviting your ass to be handed to you). Shortening the length of your exhaust system will kill off torque a little.

I'll add a few el cheapo mods that work. Lengthening your intake pipe to the air filter will ramp up torque. And if you can get away with it, get rid of the EGR crap on your engine (this has been suggested already but this ridiculous attempt of lowering emissions barely had any impact other than screw up engine tuning). Here's one that will stir the natives - don't go by the book when tuning your engine. There are so many variables in engine timing that pointing a timing light at the bottom pulley is really going in blind. First, regap your plugs by closing them up an extra 0.5mm. If you are a fool for old school and you know how to adjust your dwell angle, drop your dwell to 38-39 degrees (strictly for breaker points ignition). Ramp your rpm to about 2,000 (where you start developing torque under driving conditions) and try adjusting your distributor with the engine running to find the sweet spot, then back it off a smidge (the engine rpm will jump when you hit the mark). The engine isn't under load so it's not pulling full vacuum on the ignition advance. It will be nice and punchy and will stay in tune longer. Static tuning the engine at idle misses the mark as you don't drive around at 900 rpm.

[LSR Mike]

whole bunch of stuff aimed at Eclipse and Talon's with 4G63's but most apply's to the 4G64, just use some imagination..:-)


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