Tag: dodge pickup

D100 Build: A/C & Heater Hoses

I mounted the drier on the driver side inner fender, near the front. It’s tucked out of the way and offers an easy route for the -6 hose coming out of the condenser.
Doing the robot.
I don’t have any of the hoses tied together yet, but this will be the route they’ll take. Missing from this photo is the heater hose from the water pump.

 

II Much makes these handy anodized aluminum adapters to go from #10 heater hose to -10 EZ-Clip. I used a small section of rubber hose off the water pump, and then will use the Vintage Air reduced diameter hose to match the A/C hoses.
Check out the YouTube video on how to make the connections. It’s really, really easy!
The II Much bulkhead system is one of my favourite parts on this whole truck. I have one more hose to run, then I’ll be able to install the hose separators to really clean it up. It’s designed to fit the EZ Clip hoses, so you’ll have to decide whether you want to run normal heater hose from the water pump & intake up to the bulkhead, then use the adapters to switch to EZ Clip and go through the bulkhead, or run EZ Clip hose all the way from the evaporator to the engine. If you do the latter (my method), keep in mind that the heater control valve needs to be plumbed in the line coming from the intake, but the valve is designed to use normal heater hose. You’ll need to use an adapter before the control valve to convert from -10 to standard heater hose.
I thought there was going to be a fair bit of room under the dash! Get everything mounted that could possibly be an interference point. You can see the charge port on the -10 hose – check with the people who will be charging your system to see if they are ok with having one charge port inside the vehicle and one in the engine compartment.

Here’s a video showing the process of making a connection with the EZ-Clip system:

 

D100 Build, Article 4: Rear Bump Stops

I always appreciate a good “reusal” of parts to either change their intended function, or to keep their original function but in a slightly different way. Using body trim tastefully from one model on a different car comes to mind. The reused part needs to fit the theme, however, and not merely look like it was used because it was 8:45 on a Sunday night, and the auto parts store workers were on strike.

In removing the original leaf spring rear suspension on the Sweptline, I ended up taking the bump stops off the frame too. They weren’t lined up with axle centerline, and I decided I could use the space outside the rails where they were sticking out. Also, they were going to be in the space I needed to remove for step notch clearance. I like the piece itself; just not where it was mounted.

After the notches were installed, I started to think about bump stops and remembered I still had the originals, so I cleaned them up, made a few tweaks, and present them to you now!

You can see where the bump stop on the outside of the rail would interfere with the area to be cut out for axle clearance.
I felt the rubber was a bit too hard, so I added (er- took away?) some holes to let the material collapse a bit.
Surprised bump stop is surprised.
The bump stop will be contacting the axle instead of the leaf spring, and since the bracket holding it to the frame was lower than the actual rubber, I had to trim it.
I also cut a little notch in the frame edge of the bracket for water drainage. The sandblaster really cleaned them up, including the rubber!

I won’t be installing them until I have the truck sitting with the Shockwaves fully collapsed so I know where it actually needs to be. They’ll be welded to the inside of the frame rails on the step notch.

If you need new bump stops, Energy Suspension has a bunch of options. Check out this reseller’s listing (I find it easier to search than the official website): http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/universal-bump-stops-shock-eyes.asp