[DarthSurplus]

Well, I finally installed the Airdog in my van. It took two of us seven hours of steady work to do the in-tank mods, harpoon, and install the Airdog. This did not count the prep work I did earlier by having a custom mounting bracket fabricated and powder-coated.

Having already installed an Airdog and in-tank kit on my truck, plus having dropped its tank twice, this was an easy and straightforward installation for me. The airdog is located below and slightly forward of the filler neck. This is the only stretch of frame that is smooth and free of hardware sufficient to bolt a ten-inch long flat plate on. Dropping the tank seemed easier on the van than the truck. Perhaps it was because I had driven thirty miles with the low fuel light on, or perhaps it was because I backed the rear wheels up a set of ramps, instead of having it on a lift, or the back axle on a lift, as I had done when I dropped the tank from the truck.

I highly recommend a bone creeper with 5 or 6 inch wheels. The only thing you wish for with one of those is a parking brake! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I intended to take some pictures of my custom bracket, but that part of the program did not work into the schedule. There is a set of 1/2" holes in the frame that is 7.5" apart. They are a little above the center line of the frame rail. The bracket is a box, with a back plate for mounting to the frame, a 3.25" offset from the frame to clear the parking brake cable & yoke, and a 1" drop for the front plate to lower the Airdog away from the body.

Harpooning was a cinch. The vent line is a rubber hose that connects via a swivel connector to a 90 degree elbow formed of 1/2" steel tubing. The tubing is brazed into its place in the circular cover plate. It protruded below the cover plate about 2.25" I cut it off as close as I could with a hacksaw. It used to take 5.5 gallons after shutoff, now it takes1.7 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif I'm an extra-super-happy camper about that!

The wiring was easier, now that I have a butane-powered soldering iron. I mounted the relay to the cable tray in the back of the hood opening, I soldered the black trigger wire to the red/green wire that goes to the top connector of the OEM pump. I tied the relay power to the power box next to the fuse box, and the ground to the groundstrap connection point at the back of the hood opening.

I used a 1/4" amber LED to the left of the steering column in place of the emergency search beacon that came courtesy of the nice folks at Eckstam for a water in fuel light. It's the same kind I put in the truck, so if you search back in my posts you'll (eventually) find a link to it. Or maybe its in my links? I don't remember.

One of the interesting items was the extended return portion of the ITP in-tank kit. It didn't work, because the van's return doesn't point straight forwards, it points left and slightly downward. Also, the van's metal tank is baffled, with a low kind-of-circular wall surrounding the pickup. I made a few bends to the kit's stainless return tube, and tried a few configurations, but I ended up using a length of rubber hose instead. I was willing to try adding some bends to try to clear things, but I didn't think I could un-bend the stainless tubing without cracking it. I used a 1.5" straight piece of the tubing to adapt the OEM orange rubber check valve that had been on the end of the return line to the end of the new, improved, extended return hose.

The airdog made the idle quieter, but didn't seem to do much for mid or high range. Maybe its a little smoother. Also, maybe I don't have all of the air out of the system yet.

In the back of my mind I wonder if this mod is somewhat handicapped by the factory pump/mixer unit. Perhaps I should consider bypassing the pump/mixer with the return line, and send it directly back to the tank. I'm going to ask about it on the 6.0 upgrades and aftermarket.

Dennis, if you're out there, I don't think this kit came with an extra filter like my truck's kit did. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif

 

[DarthSurplus]

I was re-reading my truck airdog installation experience post, and it seems that on my truck, the airdog made the least noticeable sound level difference at idle. Whereas on my van, the airdog makes the most sound difference at idle.

Is this a van thing, a 6.0 thing, or an air leak thing?

I haven't really stomped on it in the van more than once or twice since installing the airdog, so I'm not sure about the vast increase in mid-range smoothness I reported on my 7.3 truck. Maybe it's more like half-vast? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Truck results:

[ QUOTE ]
I had a hard time noticing a difference. At first, of course, there was no difference. Finally, what happened is that the turbo whistle, intake rumble and tire hum started getting louder. I was cruising on the interstate at 70mph. That is when I realized that I was getting air-free fuel, and that it was making a difference. Boost was at 5 psi, which might be 1 psi lower than before. EGTs were still at 700. Frankly, it is still a loud truck, but one of the components of the noise is gone. That is why it can be difficult to notice the difference. The engine still clatters, but the high-pitched sub-component of the clatter is all but gone. My mid-range cackle now encompasses a much smaller range. My AirDog doesn’t resonate my bedside.

I would say that there is somewhere between a 5% and 15% reduction in overall noise level at cruise. The removal of the higher-pitched ranges of clatter noise is mostly perceived as an increase in smoothness. In +40 hp mode, I stomped on it in third gear and let it run to redline three times. Now THAT is where the true difference is! It runs a LOT smoother at high rpms at high load. The reduction in noise level is also more noticeable under these conditions. I cannot say with confidence that the truck is any quieter at idle.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can also report that the airdog has not introduced any noticeable vibration into the interior of the van. In fact, we had a hard time testing the wiring and such because it is so much quieter than the OEM pump/mixer unit.

 

[DarthSurplus]

We have a winner!

My wife noticed how much quieter the van was, both at idle and at cruising speed! That is what I call results! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (She didn't seem all that enthusiastic about the gauges) She was actually pleasantly surprised, claiming that she expected me to incur disaster, ruin something, have to do it over, and still not accomplish anything detectable. Quite the optimist, that girl /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

We spent some time on the highway, and the sound level at 55 to 70 mph is also noticeably reduced.

Also, I had a couple of opportunities to run it through a few gears at WOT. It is DEFINITELY smoother, and the seat-of-the-pants accelerometer says it is quicker than it used to be. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif

 

[BlizzardVan]

What is an airdog? Is it a special pickup or a fancy Air Filter from Fram?

 

[msnunes]

(Noting all of this for future reference -- no matter how much they cost now!)

 

[DarthSurplus]

I have links to most of the mods in my sig. All you have to do is click on the place in my sig that says "Parts Links."

Unfortunately, Dennis is renovating his website, so the link I have to the airdog no longer works. On top of that, Eckstam Worldwide is changing its name. There was another vendor that carried them, but I don't remember which one. I'm in the middle of remodeling two houses and moving, so I hope you'll understand that I can't take the time to find it for you.