Hey all - just wanted to drop a few more MPI install tips on ya. Ted
(or someone) asked me for more info on the possibility of not having to
do any grinding on the A/C compressor and bracket for clearing the
thermostat housing. Here's the skinny on that and another great tip for
you planning to do the install at a later date.
First off - about the clearance grinding - the reason grinding is
necessary is because the housings that everyone has been using extends
straight up giving the top radiator hose a place to attach. When I did
my install - after noticing that a Chevy thermostat housing was not only
cheaper but also better made (thicker) and had a built-in O-ring - I
used it instead. It worked perfectly without even having to use a
gasket. I did use a small dab of sealant between the thermostat and the
MPI intake mostly because there is no recess in the intake to allow
centering of the thermostat. The sealant held it in place while I
bolted in the housing with the O-ring in the housing taking care of
sealing between the housing and both the thermostat and the intake.
With more than 2500 miles on the odometer since the install - there is
not even a hint of a leak there. So this basically establishes that a
Chevy thermostat housing is an adequate substitute for the (straight-up
only) mopar piece. Since we can use a Chevy thermostat housing - I
noticed that the Chevy housings come in many, many different styles
ranging from 90 degree hose attachment angles to 45 degree and even full
360 degree swivel types. There is also a "low-profile" design. I'm
pretty sure that almost any of these designs - anything but straight up
- will allow the install to be completed without any clearance grinding
at all. I'm going to purchase one soon to test this theory - will keep
everyone posted. And yes - I know that its too late for one of my
trucks but I still have another "virgin" one 8-).
Next tip concerns the critical intake sealing issue. One thing that
might help here is to do the following: using four of the bolts that
came out of the old intake (cant be reused - gotta trash them anyway) -
cut the heads off with a dremel or whatever and then use a grinding
stone to round off the area where the cut was made. This will provide
you with four home-made locating "dowels" or "pins" that can be threaded
into the block about a half inch in the four corners to allow a perfect
seating of the new intake onto the prepped surfaces. It will also
ensure that the gaskets don't move while lining up the holes. After you
have started a few of the new bolts - you can remove the temporary
"locators" with a pair of pliers or vise grips. To make removal easier
- just cut a slit across the tops and you now have a slot for a
screwdriver 8-). Cool tip huh?
Lastly - a few things I noticed relating to performance: At first - I
thought there was little or no loss of low-end torque after the
install. I was very pleased with the performance. I am still mostly
pleased because the thing just comes alive around 3-4000rpm BUT after
doing several comparison test drives with my other (bone stock) truck -
there is indeed a noticeable drop in low end torque. Not sure if it is
also related to my slightly larger TB bores, or the 1000cfm air filter
I'm using on my modded truck or what - but it is surprisingly
noticeable. Luckily I have the ability to run both trucks for the
ultimate in comparison. I used to think the stock configuration pulled
strong in the 3-4000rpm range but after experiencing both (back-to-back)
- the stock configuration seems to get real doggy (compared to the MPI
one) in the 3-4000rpm range. Kind of a catch-22 situation. For running
the eighth mile or shorter - I would almost prefer the stock
configuration due to the extra low-end. Any more than that and theres
no question that the MPI wins every time. Now I'm forced to do things
(like gears, stall converter, shift kit, etc) to keep the rpms up in the
modded truck. Looks like the factory made a good choice of power range
to birth our trucks with.
Just my $0.02 - Latr,
Shane
ps - I'll try to get these extra tips on my install pages to help keep
them all in one place.
-- '96 IndyRam-HisIndy-MPI/TB/Pulleys/Coil/Wires/CompTAs '96 IndyRam-HerIndy-numbered(#142)"Track Truck" '74 Triple-Black Dodge Challenger Rallye 360 home-brew EFI R&D vehicle '68 Black Corvette Convertible 427 (For Sale)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:50:11 EDT