You're going to poop glitter when you get it completed and notice the difference.
You're going to poop glitter when you get it completed and notice the difference.
II 60HP STICKS, II 33% CP3, II S464 2ND GEN SWAP, FASS 165 TITANIUM SIGNATURE SERIES, AFE INTAKE HORN, S&B FILTER, 5" TURBO BACK, ALPHAREX HEAD LIGHTS, 38X13.5X20 RAZOR M/T, MOTO METAL RIMS, 6" LA LIFT KIT, COMPLET MM3 KIT, BUILT TRANSMISSION, 6 BOLT REDHEAD STEERING BOX
Ha ha, I can't wait.
My downpipe is on its way; it shipped today.
I got a thermal zero turbo blanket ordered tonight.
It's getting close.
Oh, one other experience I had was with the coolant plugs.
I put the o-rings on the coolant plugs and installed them, only to find out the o-rings bulged out.
So I backed them off and called Smeding and found out they went to a crush washer style now.
They said it should still be fine without them.
I added liquid high temp thread sealant, so hopefully, it doesn't leak.
If so, I gotta get the washers.
Alright guys I got an update from last night as I was going to post it last night but I was exhausted.
I will start with the oem manifold. Make sure you PB blast those suckers trust me.
I had the lower rear one strip on me and it took me a good amount of time getting it off but thankfully I did.
Then I got the new manifold on with the exhaust housing attached.
That went very smoothly, and yes, the manifold is extremely heavy.
Next, hook up the oil drain line to the middle section of the turbo (aka compressor), so you don't have to fight to get it on upside down.
Clock the turbo at the 12 and 6 positions for the oil and feed line as I actually let my oil drain line hang below before putting it in the block, so when I pre-oiled the turbo, I could see that the oil in the turbo was draining call it OCD, but I did it for piece of mind.
Once I confirmed everything was good, I hooked the lines up.
I will say that when I was pre-oiling the turbo, at first, the oil wouldn't go down because of an air pocket I saw a bubble up in the oil but kept spinning the wheel, and it went.
Then came the fun, and I say oh, so fun part of the intercooler piping.
If there was a moment out of all of it where I had to talk to Jesus that was it.
I first tried putting the boot on first and then lining everything up, only to have it fit right up against my oil filter with the clamp on.
I fought forever trying to get a half-inch or quarter-inch and couldn't for the life of me get it no matter how hard I twisted, pulled, and pushed.
So after struggling forever, I pulled it off and hooked the intercooler pipe up to the turbo first then believe it or not found a way to wrestle the boot on the pipe and intercooler from underneath which was also extremely difficult but I got it.
The one thing about that method was I locked the turbo housing, so it didn't shift back toward my oil filter.
Everything was sealed perfectly at all the flanges with no kinks.
I checked the turbo wheel for any binding or noises, and it was perfect and spun beautifully.
I just gotta get the intake and sensors on, and I may throw my S&B filter on from my old intake till the same size new one arrives.
My downpipe should be here tomorrow according to the tracking.
I may try to rig my old 5-inch down pipe on there just so I can start it where it is for a few minutes obviously not moving it.
I don't know if that's a good idea, but I can't start it without anything, or I will have hot exhaust gases into my firewall.
As far as the AC lines go they were extremely easy to move and were the least of my issues.
Overall so far, I am extremely happy with how things have gone, and I feel the hardest part is over.
I will say Ricky and Smeding Diesel have been awesome, once again, he has always been a phone call away when I have a question.
I would tell him hey man it's the pain in the** calling again and he would simply say that's what we are here for man call anytime you got a question.
That kind of support means alot to me, thanks, everyone.
Thanks for the layout, man!
You'll enjoy it.
II 60HP STICKS, II 33% CP3, II S464 2ND GEN SWAP, FASS 165 TITANIUM SIGNATURE SERIES, AFE INTAKE HORN, S&B FILTER, 5" TURBO BACK, ALPHAREX HEAD LIGHTS, 38X13.5X20 RAZOR M/T, MOTO METAL RIMS, 6" LA LIFT KIT, COMPLET MM3 KIT, BUILT TRANSMISSION, 6 BOLT REDHEAD STEERING BOX
Alright, I got all my parts last night from UPS and finished up the truck, and took it for a drive.
All I can say is WOW, it DRIVES and SOUNDS amazing!!!!
The truck is nothing like it was before, and I call it a working man's version of a Hellcat with its unique sound.
I'm not saying it's a hellcat or sounds like one, but its uniqueness reminds me of my old Challenger Hellcat.
I love having the G56 paired with it.
You go to shift and get into the next gear, and it feels like the boost is right where you left off from the previous gear keeping you pinned to the seat.
As for the sound, I will tell you I am a combat vet with hearing aids, and this thing is LOUD, especially 2300 RPMa and above but man, does it sound amazing.
I currently have the 4-inch downpipe hooked up to my 5-inch strait pipe.
Now I had to run out to a diesel shop in Asheville to get exhaust clamps, and I will say this not trying to ruffle any feathers here, but give my own opinion as I respect others, and by all means, feel free to post it and tell me your opinion.
I won't name the shop, but when I went in and told them which kit I installed, they immediately said, "hope your turbo doesn't blow up," as I looked at all their trophies with guess what Smedings competition.
As I said before, I respected his opinion and found out he didn't install the kits that failed, but they happened to fail on his dyno.
So I won't lie; I called Smeding and said hey, this was my experience with a local shop.
Can I ask you your opinion on what they said.
It went very well, and personally, I believe installs can be done wrong, and other things can happen out of Smedings control for the turbos to fail.
They have been extremely helpful and knowledgeable to me, and every part I had looked very well made.
Look, I love all the 2nd gen kits I see and won't knock any of them as I am glad there are some around still with all the EPA bulls**t.
So I guess I will leave that conversation like this.
I can't say anything bad until I have an issue with what I have installed.
If something happens, I will be the first to post it here and be 100 percent honest about what transpires, but so far, I am thrilled. I welcome all opinions after all our hobbies fading fast and everyone and company should stick together in my opinion.
Now I save the best for last, and sorry for my rant.
The man, the myth, the legend that is DRD LOL.
Man, this truck wouldn't be complete without your tuning, and I can't say enough how impressed and happy I am.
You literally transformed my truck, and it wouldn't run right without your knowledge I appreciate it, and I thank you.
Keep doing the work you do and keep diesels free, Merica.
I will get some more pictures for everyone today of my finished product.
I will also keep everyone up to date on the setup and if I have any issues.
Feel free to leave your comments and opinions, thanks, everyone.
P.S. I DID POOP GLITTER
Yeah, you won't find many people in the professional diesel performance industry that have good things to say about Smeding.
They chose to copy other parts, manifolds, intercoolers, etc., instead of doing any R&D of their own.
Their turbos blow up left and right since they use Chinese center cartridges for their turbos.
The only thing good I can say about them is they will send you a new turbo when you call them and tell them it’s blown up without too much hesitation.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's crazy I don't understand how they stay in business so long if turbos keep blowing up. But hey I guess time will tell with mine and if it does I will get a borg warner. Smeding is also now the official national turbo supplier for the 2023 NHRDA by the way. If stuffs blowing up there shouldn't be that kind of sponsorship in my opinion.
Here are some final pictures. Hopefully it doesn't have to come off anytime soon. I will keep you all informed.
20230203_144335.jpg
20230203_144344.jpg
Being in the industry I’ve found sponsorships and official “parts supplier” has nothing to do with quality and more to do with who you know or what percentage you are giving them.
They have huge mark up margins, their steed speed copy is not much cheaper than an actual steed speed but is made with much cheaper overseas material.
There’s a reason you won’t see any smeding turbos on trucks at ucc or odss or really any big sanctioned competitions.
Don’t take this wrong I’m not trying to bash your turbo choice at all just giving my experience and opinion.
Hopefully it stays together.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That looks awesome man!! Thanks for the writeup.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500, G56, 6.7, CC, 4x4
2016 RAM 3500 4x4 Laramie Crew Cab ,G56
Bookmarks