The Cat Doctor
Last week I talked the boss into having the overhead run on the RattleStar.
He's never had anything done to the truck other than oil - filter changes and a few clutches.
Over time I have replaced a few items and chased down a few electrical problems.
I even had a 6 row radiator built and installed since I absolutely hate having to back out of the throttle because she's getting hot.
We live in the desert...
Sure it gets hot.
But if everything is working as it should, you won't have that problem.
If it's not wright, get bit fixed.
I don't buy the lame excuse about her running a little hot so go easy on her when I'm working 10-15 hrs a day.
Since the valve covers have never been off, I went in to get her checked out.
Ron T owns The Cat Doctor in Fontana, Ca.
He only works on Cats and was referred to me by my good friend
Mark Garcia.
When I first went down to Ron's shop, one of the first things his mechanic asked me was if I wanted more power
That's my kind of mechanic :notworthy
I made an appointment for the following Monday which gave me time to install a pyrometer.
No pyrometer... no tune up.... no power.
The valves were way off so we set them tight.
I had the governor checked and set.
The high idle and torque were set. (5 turns ea.)
Finally, the timing was checked, repaired and re-set.
Now....
I've been in and driven some fairly fast/strong rigs before.
But this tune up was insane
I mean, I had more power than I could use.
That's why I went with a OR6051 turbo.
This truck is like a rocket now.
There's no more mashing the pedal to the floor.
And no need to drop gears where I once had to drop down to 8th or 7th.
Where I once made almost 17 psi. of boost, I now make 30+ with the larger turbo.
I need a different gauge that goes above 30 psi.
Power?
until I run her on a dyno, who knows?
I'm assured by the mechanic that I'm putting a minium of 400-450 to the ground.
Those #'s were before I changed to the larger turbo.
The object now is to not break anything and to see if I can increase my fuel mileage.