02' LB7 Tow Pig Build

[Bdsankey]

Brad hurry up and get this thing going . I can't wait to hear how awesome the first tow report is, this ones got me excited about updating my old turd. I've been procrastinating about updating the valley charger on mine the last 4 years. Just been dealing with the o'l-lagasaurus-rex since all it does it haul a trailer a 4-5 times a year and an occasional spirited rip. I've waited to long because almost all the pedestals are obsolete. Really only thing easy to get anymore is the PPE one, the Fleece and Turbonetics ones are gone . Curious to see how the drive pressures will be over 3000rpm, I'm probably going to get the same valley charger you have. Just trying to decide if I want to plan on adding a gate or not just incase, or if just go up on the turbine size but don't want to loose any low end since I'm at 5500ft+ all the time. I need to get the cooler towing package and figure out a way to build a totally enclosed air box. The air box deal is a real deal breaker on these twin trucks when it's hot out. It's almost impossible to keep the IAT's decent, mines usually 20-30 degrees over ambient while towing. I haul around 18k with mine, 37ft 5th wheel with a 20ft enclosed trailer behind it with a SXS in it.

My plan, if drive pressure is too high, is to run a borg internally gated housing. Borg does have a dual-ported (IE still divided) internally gated housing that can be made to really flow a TON of air if needed with simple port work.

I've used a few DP Customs billet pedestals with the integrated gate port. I've been happy with them as well but they are pricey.

 

[1FastBrick]

I can't wait to hear your opinion on the cam....

 

[rcr1978]

Is the cam supposed to be a good one? I have the same one if Brad's got the Wagler Stg1 except alt fire, mines a 2017-18 version if they have changed a little. My truck was down for 2-3 years so wasn't sure on a comparable since it had been to long. It ran pretty good with the stock valley twin setup, lost a ton of low end with the current valley setup though. Would have kept the stocker but it said later, wastegate busted the flapper off.

I seen that DP customs pedestal, nice deal but pricey looks to be the best though. I was considering a PPE and adding the gated pedestal spacer if needed, but on the fence. really wanted a Fleece or Turbonetics one, I thought I heard the old gated pedestals had to small of opening/gate setup thought to.

 

[1FastBrick]

Is the cam supposed to be a good one? I have the same one if Brad's got the Wagler Stg1 except alt fire, mines a 2017-18 version if they have changed a little. My truck was down for 2-3 years so wasn't sure on a comparable since it had been to long. It ran pretty good with the stock valley twin setup, lost a ton of low end with the current valley setup though. Would have kept the stocker but it said later, wastegate busted the flapper off.

I seen that DP customs pedestal, nice deal but pricey looks to be the best though. I was considering a PPE and adding the gated pedestal spacer if needed, but on the fence. really wanted a Fleece or Turbonetics one, I thought I heard the old gated pedestals had to small of opening/gate setup thought to.

I have the same exact cam Brad has. Wagler Stage 1 standard firing order. I put it on a cam doctor to get the specs since they didn't provide an actual cam card. They sent me a card that was supposed to match but I don't think they sent the correct one.

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[PureHybrid]

I have the same exact cam Brad has. Wagler Stage 1 standard firing order. I put it on a cam doctor to get the specs since they didn't provide an actual cam card. They sent me a card that was supposed to match but I don't think they sent the correct one.

View attachment 117789-

What does the cam card say? It seems like the intake lobe wasn't measure correctly, that's a huge duration split between .006" lift and the .020" lift

 

[Bdsankey]

Is the cam supposed to be a good one? I have the same one if Brad's got the Wagler Stg1 except alt fire, mines a 2017-18 version if they have changed a little. My truck was down for 2-3 years so wasn't sure on a comparable since it had been to long. It ran pretty good with the stock valley twin setup, lost a ton of low end with the current valley setup though. Would have kept the stocker but it said later, wastegate busted the flapper off.

I have the normal firing order cam. I'm of the school of thought that the crank has had how many millions of firing cycles to cold work it to that pattern, I don't want to change it now. On a new crank I always push for AF cams.

I'm not a big fan of Wagler overall but when they had this sale ($300 a few years back, 2019/2020) I couldn't pass it up as keying the stock cam is usually $100-$150. The thought process was it can't be worse than the stock LBZ cam I was going to use.

I seen that DP customs pedestal, nice deal but pricey looks to be the best though. I was considering a PPE and adding the gated pedestal spacer if needed, but on the fence. really wanted a Fleece or Turbonetics one, I thought I heard the old gated pedestals had to small of opening/gate setup thought to.

I would be running Daman's pedestal but the problem is that it moves the turbo toward the driver side to clear the gate port and LB7 clamshells. This isn't a problem for someone building their own kit but for me it's a deal breaker as it means remaking all my piping. Going with the gated Borg housing I have to adjust my crossover pipe and that's it.

The 364.5/68 and 480/96 pair very well together in my experience. I've got that setup on a few different trucks and have been very very happy which is why mine went this way air wise.

 

[1FastBrick]

What does the cam card say? It seems like the intake lobe wasn't measure correctly, that's a huge duration split between .006" lift and the .020" lift

The cam measuring device did not have a duramax specific follower on it. It was only .750 I believe. I have purchased a 24MM follower from Audie Technologies for the machine.

I have an appointment to try again on Friday. This time we will use the correct follower and set the machine with the proper specs. If the machine wasn't 6k, I would buy my own... they are extremely accurate. I will be measuring the other stock cams I currently have as well, but that's a different thread.

 

[Bdsankey]

Still plugging along on this project. There has been some developments and setbacks but the progress remains about the same which is sad.

Updates:
1) I have gone from Dynomite Diesel (DDP) SAC100% to their 150% after 30-45 seconds of run time. Why? My father needed some larger injectors for his 2002 SBE compound build than his SAC45% so it made sense to put these 100% in is truck. The "NLB7-200" sheet is the 100%, the "NLB7-300" is the new 150%.

Comparing the new set to my old body modded Exergy 250% in my LLY, these 150% flow a touch more at 160mpa/1350us so it should fit the bill just right. My LLY did ~87X/17XX at 1565us/180mpa so that gives me hope these are properly sized.

2) @imdaman15 released his killer new billet LB7 fuel distribution block at UCC 2024. This will allow LB7 owners to easily run the late style relief, late style sensor, and easily run dual pumps in a central location. Once these are available I'll be putting one on this truck to make my life easier.

3) I'm in process of replumbing the return fuel system to be neater and done out of AN lines.

4) I found some interesting fittings that should allow me to overcome the stupid 6AN 90deg and 6AN>8AN expander fitting I have currently feeding the Exergy 12mm and feed it directly with 8AN. FICM has always been planned to be dry but I will be putting a heat blanket over it as well as running a turbine blanket.

 

[1FastBrick]

About time... J/K!!!

 

[Bdsankey]

Here's some pictures of @imdaman15's LB7 distribution block. These are posted with his consent as this was soft launched at UCC 2024.

This allows the late-style relief and late-style sensor to be used. To be clear, this is a prototype and not production representative. The production models will have a plug where the cap currently is. I'm going to be running an LBZ sensor (2000 bar/29ksi) and a single stage aftermarket LLY/LBZ/LMM/6.7L Cummins relief (2200 bar/32ksi).