Vanilla Gorilla: 2017 Power Wagon build

[marshal]

SITREP:

we discovered without the help of Nitro, whom the gears were ordered directly from, that there is a carrier break on the front locker at 4.56, which requires a 3/16 spacer for the ring gear since the pinion is significantly smaller. I would like to point out that several people messaged me on here and on instagram, cautioning me on the size of the pinion on the 5.13's and how much weaker it is. Yes, it is smaller - but you're an idiot if you think it matters on axles this big. The front pinion is still over 3" wide at the base and the rear pinion weighs almost 15lbs by itself.

So the spacer put us in a bind, because it had to be ordered mid tear down. Also was faced with an issue with the 11.8 carrier bearings. the bearings on the 11.5/11.8 are SO LARGE that my shop didn't have a bearing clamshell that would fit it. The bearings are larger than that of a Dana 80, and as such my whole differential was serviced and had new bearings installed courtesy of Kenworth of Louisville

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

here is the massive bearing puller needed to get the carrier bearings off

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

new bearings

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

also confirmed my suspensions that the rear locker also includes a helical style limited slip. you can just make out the gears inside the carrier in this photo

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

the spacer arrived today and we were able to get the front diff set up and a good pattern on the drive and coast sides of the front ring. Finishing up the rear on monday and then the truck is mine again

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[Explorerinil]

Looks good! Nitro makes the best gears in my opinion, you may get some whine at break in, I did, it went away at 1000 miles or so.

 

[Explorerinil]

realized i had a lot to update since expo east.

Pulled the MT's and beadlocks off for the winter and threw on the new AT3w's
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

got the GFC tent on and was ready to go for Expo East
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

im sure everyone has seen the photos of east by now, but this pretty much describes the whole thing

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

It was a great time, despite everything. Loved seeing my friends and making new ones. Came home and got the truck cleaned up

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr
Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

really really happy with the At3w's. they're super quiet, smooth and they have had fantastic rain traction so far. Im hoping it snows so i can mess around with the severe snow rating and see how well they work.

more than likely going to be ordering a set of RamRunner 3" bulge fenders for the front from Fiberwerx, and removing the snorkel

How are the AT’s wearing? Still like them? What psi are u running?

 

[marshal]

Looks good! Nitro makes the best gears in my opinion, you may get some whine at break in, I did, it went away at 1000 miles or so.

How are the AT’s wearing? Still like them? What psi are u running?

Yeah they howl like a turbine, but it’s not bad. Getting smoother as they wear in. So far I’m extremely pleased, I feel like I have 425 horsepower again. I’m seeing a 1mpg improvement over average. 70mph is right at 2000rpm.

I haven’t had the chance to do a 0-60 yet due to rain and the gears breaking in still, but I’m thinking it’s a 7 second truck now even with the 37s and 650lbs of added gear

AT's are wearing great, they have about 15,000 miles on them now with one rotation and everything has been solid so far. Based on the wear, id say they're 50,000 mile tires

 

[Explorerinil]

Yeah they howl like a turbine, but it’s not bad. Getting smoother as they wear in. So far I’m extremely pleased, I feel like I have 425 horsepower again. I’m seeing a 1mpg improvement over average. 70mph is right at 2000rpm.

I haven’t had the chance to do a 0-60 yet due to rain and the gears breaking in still, but I’m thinking it’s a 7 second truck now even with the 37s and 650lbs of added gear

AT's are wearing great, they have about 15,000 miles on them now with one rotation and everything has been solid so far. Based on the wear, id say they're 50,000 mile tires

Thanks for the review on the tires. Great to hear about your gears, seams like that is probably the right combo on a power wagon. What oil are you going to use? I’m running Amsoil sever gear, I hear good things about redline also.

 

[marshal]

Thanks for the review on the tires. Great to hear about your gears, seams like that is probably the right combo on a power wagon. What oil are you going to use? I’m running Amsoil sever gear, I hear good things about redline also.

my shop uses Lucas oils, so they'll be putting that in - full synth. i dont really care, synthetic gear oil is synthetic gear oil IMO

 

[marshal]

Couple updates:

First off - the gears are great. I absolutely love them. Im turning 2000 RPM at 70 and have seen about a 1mpg increase over what i was previously experiencing. The load on the engine is significantly less and it is using MDS a lot more frequently on the highway, which is good.

second - i unfortunately had to cancel my order with Fiberwerx. my fenders arrived at the end of February finally, but they were damaged. Talking with Fiberwerx it was determined that the molds used were tired and worn out and needed to be replaced. They needed a truck there in order to make new molds. Through a series of events, they haven't been able to get a truck in to make new molds and as such, i cant wait any longer and decided to just start over. I will say Fiberwerx has been a delight to work with and their customer service rep Travis is great as well. At this point im considering just ordering a new steel fender for the passenger side and getting it painted.

third - I have a set of Falken's new 38.5x13.50R17 Wildpeak MT coming that I need to figure out how to fit. I want to order a set of Lewis Built arms, but i need some more cash to make this happen.

 

[1pieceatatime]

third - I have a set of Falken's new 38.5x13.50R17 Wildpeak MT coming that I need to figure out how to fit. I want to order a set of Lewis Built arms, but i need some more cash to make this happen.

No rest for the wicked!

 

[Explorerinil]

Couple updates:

First off - the gears are great. I absolutely love them. Im turning 2000 RPM at 70 and have seen about a 1mpg increase over what i was previously experiencing. The load on the engine is significantly less and it is using MDS a lot more frequently on the highway, which is good.

second - i unfortunately had to cancel my order with Fiberwerx. my fenders arrived at the end of February finally, but they were damaged. Talking with Fiberwerx it was determined that the molds used were tired and worn out and needed to be replaced. They needed a truck there in order to make new molds. Through a series of events, they haven't been able to get a truck in to make new molds and as such, i cant wait any longer and decided to just start over. I will say Fiberwerx has been a delight to work with and their customer service rep Travis is great as well. At this point im considering just ordering a new steel fender for the passenger side and getting it painted.

third - I have a set of Falken's new 38.5x13.50R17 Wildpeak MT coming that I need to figure out how to fit. I want to order a set of Lewis Built arms, but i need some more cash to make this happen.

Did you sell your TR beadlocks? I bet you could sell your current falken tires on this site.

 

[ttengineer]

Those Lewis Built arms appear to be a great solution to potential issues if you wheel hard. But does anyone have any experience with them? It sounds like they will accommodate an axle forward adjustment in the AEV and Synergy kits.


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[marshal]

Did you sell your TR beadlocks? I bet you could sell your current falken tires on this site.

nope. everyone who messaged me about them was a bunch of 19 year old bros who wanted some sick rims for their Silverado hooptie for $600. I have a brand new set of 37" MT's for sale on the classifieds.

Those Lewis Built arms appear to be a great solution to potential issues if you wheel hard. But does anyone have any experience with them? It sounds like they will accommodate an axle forward adjustment in the AEV and Synergy kits.


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I havent seen anyone use them yet, but the engineering is sound. Johnny Joints and FK rod ends are used extensively in the custom market, and I have used them many times myself. By using the 2.5" Johnny joint on the frame side, you have access to the full 3" shank for adjustability, so in theory you should be able to push the axle forward further than what AEV and poly both do, without the sacrifice of ground clearance

 

[marshal]

SITREP:

I took a chance and ordered the Edge Pulsar external/inline ECM having seen it discussed a few times on them internets and installed it. Impressions are that its $499 price tag is only worthwhile for its performance setting. The Economy setting I haven't gotten to use on a long road trip, but mixed city driving has returned no changes. The performance setting on the other hand, remaps the throttle, shift points, VCT and advances the spark pretty significantly and it feels like the truck lost 2000lbs. 0-60 times had a mild improvement (you're still trying to get 8000lbs to move), but the real improvement was the drive quality overall and makes the truck quite fun to drive despite its weight.

second, I got my hands on a set of Falken 38x13.50R17 tires. Breaking from Falken's tradition of undersizing their tires like BFG does, these 38's are actually 38.5" tall and are a significant increase over my 37's

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

so how am I going to fit these? I had to order the Lewis built arms as well and fingers crossed they'll be here in time for me to get them on, and get the truck aligned before I head out to Airzona in a months time.

 

[Inline6]

nice looking tire, may be my next go to for the ram.

 

[ttengineer]

Really eager to see the Lewis built arms and your thoughts once they are installed.


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[marshal]

Really eager to see the Lewis built arms and your thoughts once they are installed.


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was chatting with Lewis Built and told him my plans for the arms. he's going to pull the bungs for the Johnny Joints out a little bit and to get me some extra length since I'll be pushing the front axle forward. cool to know the guy making your radius arms is on the same page as you