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5 Ton 290 Big Cam Swap

ryanaubra

Member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
206
1
18
Location
Freeport, FL
I am bobbing this one because i already have a couple 6x6 already. I just wanted to make a giant 4x4. Thanks for checking it out. i will post video soon. Had a few setbacks here lately due to the flu!!! Getting back on her this week though. Let me know if i can help.
 

ryanaubra

Member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
206
1
18
Location
Freeport, FL
I got back on track with my sickness and finally got her going. We took a step back from the motor and got to the bobbing - which was the easy part.
In a nutshell, all you need is the right spring kit, a tape measure, and definitely, most definitely a mag drill. The one thing that you have to pay attention to is which axle has the ABS sensor on it!!! I sold the rear locker to a SS member a while back and of course, took it out of the rear axle. So, by default i put the front axle in the truck. Needless to say, i ended up pulling the sensor and drum off the rear axle and will be swapping it out. In the mean tie i pulled the 3A fuse under the dash and and it runs fine. I know there will be some of you reading this that will tell me that is a bad idea and I am going to crash and burn on the road. I know. It is not road worthy yet and i will have the sensor swapped out before i hit the road.

For those of you thinking of doing the spring swap, don't waste your time with using the rear spring kit like Suprman is selling. The longer smaller leaf pack rides soooooo smooth. I will be adding them to the front on one of the next phases of the job.

Setting up the rear suspension was extremely easy once all of the old stuff was out of the way. I did have some issues with clearance over the rear brakes, so I fabricated a 4" spring block out of 1/2" plate to get the clearance needed. Using a laser, i set the axle up using the front axle as the benchmark. That way, if the frame was tweaked or bent, at least the two axles were aligned with each other. Luckily, once I checked the axles, measured a few points from the back of the frame, rivets, and cross member and checked them on both sides. They turned out to be the same.

I bolted the springs, mounts, shackles, etc. on the axles and set the axle in place where i had made the marks. I used a mag-drill and drilled through the existing holes in the mounts and installed new 5/8" grade 8 bolts. On the rear mount, the holes were only 1/2", so i clamped them in place drilled them out to 5/8". Can't hurt to have too much bolt! I had some good pics of the whole deal but i accidentally deleted them. If anyone wants some pics of how it was done, i will do my best to re-create.

Once the suspension was complete, we got back on the motor. We installed a straight 5" exhaust and man does it sound good. It is surprisingly quiet inside the cab. I still have a few finishing touches, but it is pretty much complete. next comes the roll cage and seats. I'll be back....
 

ColtRice17

New member
66
0
0
Location
Tulsa, Oklahoma
I will say, that I really wanted to turbo my 250, but the more I drive it the smoother it shifts and it runs great, I may go turbo later on but my idea for the cross over is exactly to a "T" what you have done. good job. my question is why just one big turbo instead of two smaller ones? yes it would be more work but wouldn't that produce more low rpm torque? your truck looks and sounds great thanks for sharing I look forward to more in the future.
 

ryanaubra

Member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
206
1
18
Location
Freeport, FL
I thought about the twin turbo setup, but this being my first rodeo with this swap, I figured i would go bolt-on as much as possible. Customization and tricking out will come later i am sure. It is in my nature to never be satisfied with one particular setup when i can go bigger. One thing i did find out is that replacing the oil that the military uses in the transmission and power steering with true ATF makes a HUGE difference in the shifting and steering on the truck - especially the shifting. It is considerably smoother and you don't get the lag/jerk in downshift to first when you come to a stop like you normally do.
 

ColtRice17

New member
66
0
0
Location
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ok I understand. I am the same way. Runs great! Naw now its time for more improvements. Haha. is there a chance you can duplicate that crossover? I would buy one from you. My trans shifted down 2-1 really hard but I've driven it every day for the last 2 weeks to and from work and its getting smoother and oddly enough feels like its accelerating faster. Might be me idk.
 

ColtRice17

New member
66
0
0
Location
Tulsa, Oklahoma
I am trying to find a few more parts and am working on a better intake and exhaust manifold to run 2 or more smaller turbo's on. Just a lot of time in auto CAD and I don't get much time off of work.
 
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