Lift Me Up
The next addition was an AirDog II 4G lift pump. We knew we wanted better fuel delivery for this project, and AirDog has served us well in the past, so we went with the 4G model. It helps to maintain correct injection timing, eliminate spray pattern disruption, and allows a full power stroke and a complete burn. Some of its benefits include increased fuel economy, power output, and torque; longer injector life; improved throttle response; optimized engine performance; and finally, it overcomes loss of power at higher altitudes, which is very important for us. Also, AirDog’s run a lot quieter than some other brands we’ve come across, which is a nice bonus.
Torque It Up
Next up, we knew that going off-road requires a little more power than normal. Rather than replace the transmission, we opted to change out the stock torque converter for one with a little more oomph. Enter Diamond T Enterprises. This is a sub-brand of KT Performance, so you know it’s built to handle anything. The particular one we chose is a triple-disk converter rated for up to 650hp, which is a fair bit more than we’ll see with this truck. It’s designed to improve acceleration, pulling power, and overall efficiency. Diamond T keeps all of the original parts together during the re-manufacturing process to ensure all of the components match. Finally, it comes with a lifetime non-transferable warranty for defects in material and workmanship. We can’t wait to really dig into the dirt and see how well it handles.
Take A Breather
After installing the S&B intake a while back, we knew that we needed to complete the process of getting the truck to breathe better, so it was time for a new exhaust system. Diamond Eye is one of the most trusted names in that field, so we knew we had to go with them. We got a four-inch turbo-back, single side exit exhaust system designed specifically for off-roading applications. The heavy-duty aluminized steel offers an increase of up to 18hp and 28 lb/ft of torque, which in turn gives more pulling power and much improved throttle response. It also drops exhaust gas temperature by up to 200 degrees, thanks to the spiral louvered high flow muffler, the fully mandrel bent tubing, and the minimal bend degree angles.
Finally, no project truck would be complete without a new turbo, and nobody does it better than Sinister Diesel. We chose a Powermax Series 3 turbo. The Series 3 has a unique lightweight 64mm GSX compressor wheel and longer blades to increase airflow. It also can handle extremely heavy tuning and fueling and injector upgrades and is capable of gains up to 200hp, which is good for us! It’s a fantastic-looking piece of hardware, too, with Sinister’s signature blue powder coat. It’s too bad its position in the engine is kid of tucked away below other engine parts, because it looks great.
At this point we need to give a huge shout out to Matt Rosenberg at Rosenberg Automotive and Diesel in Lewisville, ID. Matt has been a huge help to us for a lot of builds over the years, and he always does stellar work. He helped us out tremendously to get the lift pump, torque converter, exhaust, and turbo installed. We truly couldn’t have done it without him.
Project Dirt Toy runs great now and, when coupled with the Diamond Eye exhaust and S&B intake (not to mention everything else that’s been done to the engine), we can’t believe the difference in the truck’s performance. It’s just about ready to live up to the Diesel Tech name. But we’ve still got a little bit left to do, so check back next time and see how well this old pig cleans up.