Hello all. Well I finished up the new exhaust, and had the weather so I drove around base a bit to make sure all was good. This was also the first few miles on the new fron rims and tires, so I wanted to ensure they were sat as well. As far as the shifting is going, well Im learning, I have no problem going up, just downshifting is taking work. Plus only driving on base, the speed limit is only 35mph, so depending who is on police duty......lol. I have a question about the shift selector though, how free should the selector switch flip from low to direct? Hope everyone has a safe holiday.

Stephen

Stephen - what a great video! Your truck sounds excellent with the new exhaust system. The downshifting will take time to learn as every truck likes something a little different. Try to remember how much each gear ratio (ie: 4th to 5th) changes the tach going up, say a 500 rpm drop, then with the truck being downshifted you would need to raise the engine rpm the same amount before pulling the stick into the next lower gear. Keep trying and you'll get it. Don't worry about the gear teeth, Roadrangers are tough. The shift knob splitter valve should move from one position to another with very little effort and have a slight click as it snaps into the new position. There are rebuild kits available, but try this first. Bleed the air system down to zero and take the big screw out of the center of the knob to remove the cover and expose the o ring and ports. clean everything and lube the moving parts with a good quality silicone grease. If you have to you can use Vasoline but silicone will allow the o ring to live longer. Sorry I was busy when you called the other night, please try again anytime! Stan

Stan, yea, thats what I wanted to try with the shifter, just open it up and see if it was just gunk. I'll get more vids up as I take em. I'll try giving you a call tomorrow.

stephen

Hi Stephen
Your truck really sounds good.
Like Stan said about shifting watch your tack 500 RPM up or down.
I noticed that the end of your ride you are going downhill that's where you have to be careful.
The truck will have a tendency to pick up speed and make it harder to downshift.
If you feel yourself picking up speed wait a little longer before you downshift allowing yourself a few extra RPM. Grinding a gear up shifting is not that bad.
But missing a gear downshifting that could be a problem it’s not good
You are doing a great job you really came a long way with your project.
Keep up the good work Tony

Nice to hear the 2 stroke . If I remember correctly the 8V-71 series Detroits operating range was from 1700 to 2100 or 2150 RPM. The fuel sqeezer Detroits had a different operating range Hi-Torque lower RPM. Remember after about 50 to 75 miles to check the lugs on the tires you replaced. They will usually seat some by then. As you are driving slow with no load or shovloin the coal to it there may be no seating. It is a good idea with the spoke type wheels to check them every so often if truck is run every day. Do not over tighten as you can pull the threads out of the hub. Then you have to heli-coil it. I know you probably want to keep the noise level down on base but the Detroits were meant to operate at the top of their operating range.Keep up the good work. Joe D.