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Got my Espar into the truck today

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ventvisors

Lift Kit to clear 35" tires?

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I acquired a new Espar unit from member John Howard. He's (sniff sniff) looking to sell his truck and needed to sell the Espar in its unopened box. I went ahead and purchased it from him and the purchase was very satisfying. No problems either way.
Today I got the call from Mike at Auto Wurks Diesel that he had a no show on a transmission job and the lift was unoccupied. I told him that unfortunately, I just filled up the tank and since the install requires dropping the tank to install the pickup line, I was too little-too late. He told me to come on in and we'll siphon out the fuel and store it in buckets (I removed the anti-roll over ball a while back, so siphoning is not a problem). So I got to the shop by 9am and began the process of the install at 11am. Overall the install is very straightforward. The manual is fantastic and completely illustrates the install right down to the last detail. However, the manual does tell you to remove the pipe plug in the engine block between cyls. 5&6. It is in reality in the cylinder head between cyls 4&5. It also tells you to take the starter out and let it hang. I took a shortcut here and left the starter in its place, seeing no need to remove it. I also did not drain the coolant from the system prior to the install. I carefully worked on that fitting with a plastic cap over it until I could make that the final hose connection. I lost maybe a pint of coolant in the process, definitely better than draining it all together. Beyond that I notice that the fuel filter (canister) required a little skill to fit back into place between the Espar and the throttle linkage. And I also made a modification to the hose that comes off the fitting in the head so that it clears the throttle linkage because if installing it the way they say to do it, you will end up not being able for the linkage to fall back to the idle position. It took some time for the fuel to prime itself into the unit and I wish I siphoned it too in order to speed up this process. It is really neat though and I took my time and put the computer into the glovebox. I finished the install at 630pm and broke from the project for 1 hour for lunch. So 6. 5 hours of labor put this unit in and made me a very happy camper.

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Chris Timochko
AUTO WURKS DIESEL R&D TEAM
1997 5sp 4X4, Espar Heater, A. W. D. HX40 turbo, ATS 3pc Manifold, BD 4" Brake, Marine Compression, A. W. D. Custom Tuned Injection Pump, A. W. D. Intercooler, A. W. D. 370B Injection Nozzles, Delivery Valves, Governor & AFC Spring Kit, Psychotty Air, A. W. D. Water Injection, NOS Diesel Kit, A. W. D. 6" Chrome Exhaust System, BD No Smoke Valet Switch, McLeod Dual Disc Clutch, Mag-Hytec Rear Cover, Cummins Chrome Kit, Optima Red Tops, Hadley Bully Horns, Hurst Line Loc, Goodyear Wrangler AT/S 305/70/16s.
 
I had to lower the tank to access the unused outlet on the fuel pickup on the top of the tank. This is okay if you have about 1/4 tank or less in it, but I had a full 35 gallons of fuel in it and it was just good practice to drain the tank before I lowered it. I could've taken the bed off too, but this seemed to be the lesser of two evils.

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Chris Timochko
AUTO WURKS DIESEL R&D TEAM
1997 5sp 4X4, Espar Heater, A. W. D. HX40 turbo, ATS 3pc Manifold, BD 4" Brake, Marine Compression, A. W. D. Custom Tuned Injection Pump, A. W. D. Intercooler, A. W. D. 370B Injection Nozzles, Delivery Valves, Governor & AFC Spring Kit, Psychotty Air, A. W. D. Water Injection, NOS Diesel Kit, A. W. D. 6" Chrome Exhaust System, BD No Smoke Valet Switch, McLeod Dual Disc Clutch, Mag-Hytec Rear Cover, Cummins Chrome Kit, Optima Red Tops, Hadley Bully Horns, Hurst Line Loc, Goodyear Wrangler AT/S 305/70/16s.
 
Outstanding! I ordered mine 10 days ago & anxiously awaiting its arrival. I don't have a shop as nice as Mike's, oh well. I had him time the truck a couple months ago... great job!

Andy Raiha

96/2500/4x4/4. 10/5sp/ext cab
 
Enjoy your ESPAR, I love mine!!

FYI WARNING: Don't forget to turn the blower control to it's low setting when you leave the truck. I made the mistake once of leaving it on high when I parked the truck. The ESPAR tried to protect the truck and did shut itself off once the voltage dropped, however once two batteries are sucked down and then the truck is allowed to get cold you are in DEEP DOODOO! A gas vehicle probably could have survived my mistake, but not our diesels. I turned on the key and listened to the fuel pump running at a sick speed. . the wait to start light got into a wild cycle as the ECM must have been shutting down/restarting as the manifold heater sucked too much juice. I tried to skip the wait to start and got the starter to cough a few times... . Finally I had to suffer the shame of having the wife's 91 suburban jump the green monster

I am looking into some kind of isolator so that only one battery is 'exposed' to the ESPAR voltage drain. NOTE: the drain is really just the power needed to run the RAM's cab heater.



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99' SB 4x4 : DDI's, HOT PE, SPA dual gauge, ESPAR, Line-X OTR, Ladder bars, AMSOIL, etc (GPS,Cell,CB,... . )
 
Fired it up this morning for 40 minutes and the truck was already warm inside. Drove it two blocks to get a haircut and let it run for the 45 or so minutes while I was inside and the intake heater Wait To Start light did the summertime flash on and off. Pretty neat. This baby really is an excellent investment. #ad
#ad


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Chris Timochko
AUTO WURKS DIESEL R&D TEAM
1997 5sp 4X4, Espar Heater, A. W. D. HX40 turbo, ATS 3pc Manifold, BD 4" Brake, Marine Compression, A. W. D. Custom Tuned Injection Pump, A. W. D. Intercooler, A. W. D. 370B Injection Nozzles, Delivery Valves, Governor & AFC Spring Kit, Psychotty Air, A. W. D. Water Injection, NOS Diesel Kit, A. W. D. 6" Chrome Exhaust System, BD No Smoke Valet Switch, McLeod Dual Disc Clutch, Mag-Hytec Rear Cover, Cummins Chrome Kit, Optima Red Tops, Hadley Bully Horns, Hurst Line Loc, Goodyear Wrangler AT/S 305/70/16s.
 
David_VT,

Try marine supplies for your isolator... A common item on boats. They frequently have 2,3 or more batteries & usually separate starting circuits from aux circuits. I am sure they have the PFM box you describe.

Andy Raiha

96/2500/4. 10/5sp/ex cab/4x4
 
Dumb question. What's an ESPAR?


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'97 Ram,automatic,3. 54 limited-slip, 4x4,smoothie,BD fuel plate,Prime-Loc.
 
Dumb question. What's an ESPAR?

An itty-bitty diesel-fired furnace, that pre-heats your engine block, or can add supplemental heat when it is too cold for the engine to keep you warm just idling. A few have commented on the jet engine noise, but everyone who has one absolutely loves it. Go to http:\\www.espar.com for more information.
 
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