SLOW build on a 2001 GMC Jimmy

[altoncustomtech 773]

Sweet! Happy you were able to make some positive progress on both fronts Enclosure came out looking awesome & I agree, explaining those pr's should be funny.

 

Thanks man.  It feels good to finally be basking in the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

Box came out looking great! Awesome work. I feel like SSA subs always makes builds look clean for some reason.

 

Thank you, and I agree the SSA subs are great looking drivers.  Even better than that is how they perform.

 

 

sexy box

 

Thank you.

 

 

sorry, haven't read the whole thread, and apologize in advance if this has already been answered/talked about. is that a "speakon" connector or mini air port? that is a sexy box either way

 

That is a Speakon connector.  I like to use them because they're so much easier to connect and disconnect, even when powered, and you don't have to worry about shorts once they're unplugged.  The box will be coming out any time I have to haul something so it's pretty much a necessity.

 

 

Awesome. .. and awesome!

 

Thanks bro.  Your build is looking great too!

[altoncustomtech 773]

Well, so much for the best of intentions.  Pulling the oil pan just far enough to clean the surfaces that were leaking and seal them with RTV should only have taken most of a day, two days tops.  This afternoon I was able to get the pan loose and drop it down the better part of an inch to clean the front up and seal it but of course, with my luck it can't just be that simple.  When the oil pan dropped down the rear part of the gasket stuck to the engine block.  Even though I was successfully able to get it loose without breaking it I can't get it back into the groove in the back of the pan so that the pan can go back into place.  So now I'm going to have to tear apart half of the underside of the front of the truck to get the front axle out of the way so I can drop the entire pan down and out.  Then if there's any luck left at all in my life I can get the gasket back in the groove where it belongs, clean all the surfaces that need RTV on them so it will stick and seal, get the pan back into place without screwing up anything else and then work to get the front end put back together.  What should have taken some hours is now going to take another week or two to complete.

 

 

Yay me.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Okay, a great update!!  Monday I ended up not having to drop the pan to fix the gasket.  When I unbolted the front axle it only fell about 1/2" with the steering bar still in place.  That extra 1/2" afforded me enough room to get the pan down far enough to reach around from the passenger side and get it back in the groove.  Once I was satisfied the gasket was in there good I cleaned up the front of the pan/block/timing cover and siliconed it.  I then put the pan back up in place, torqued it down, and left it sit so the silicone could set up.

 

Yesterday I went out and put the remote oil adapter back on the block and the starter back in.  I put just enough back together to be able to start the truck and check it for leaks.  I started it up and let it warm all the way up to operating temperature, then did some small engine revs and let it sit and idle again for a few more minutes before shutting it back off.

 

I'M BACK IN BUSINESS!!  There wasn't even one drop from the front or the back of the pan!!  Today I'm going to go out there and get all the little stuff attached back to the pan and get the front axle mounted back up.  Then all I have to do is get the hood and the front skid plate back on it and I'm good to go!

[porkchop 304]

Shweeet! !!!!!

[mccleery3 166]

Borat voice "very nice"

[jcarter1885 995]

Nice

[altoncustomtech 773]

Shweeet! !!!!!

 

 

Borat voice "very nice"

 

 

Nice

 

 

 

Thanks guys!  It's not 100% just yet.  There's some issue with the starter that on occasion causes a screech/tapping sound.  It doesn't do it all the time and it goes away after a short period of time.  I found it didn't do it as often when I didn't torque the bolts for the starter as much as they should be.  I'm thinking it needs shims to get the clearance right between it and the flywheel and if so will be the first starter on any vehicle I've owned that had to have them.  If that's not what it is then I'm at a complete and total loss as to what's making the noise.  That little issue along with some little issues it had with the torque converter locking up before the old engine died that's still present and while it's back on the road things aren't perfect.

 

On the audio side, I went ahead and started to prepare the PR's for tuning!

 

[altoncustomtech 773]

Here's the enclosure, PR's and sub with the supplies needed to put it in and get it tuned.  I have a box of washers to go with the bolts.  I can't wait to get this thing tuned and running!

 

 

 

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

The enclosure looks killer!! Thumbs up on birch. I love the way you rabbeted and sandwiched the plexi. As always anything worth doing is worth over-doing.

Good to see you got the motor swapped. Sounds like it was a MFer.

[altoncustomtech 773]

The enclosure looks killer!! Thumbs up on birch. I love the way you rabbeted and sandwiched the plexi. As always anything worth doing is worth over-doing.

Good to see you got the motor swapped. Sounds like it was a MFer.

 

WOW!!  Dude I've not heard from you in what seems like forever!  I hope everything is going well in your neck of the woods.

 

Thank you on the compliments with the enclosure.  It's kind of a painstaking ordeal doing that kind of work with nothing but some simple hand tools, a hope and a prayer but it worked out pretty well I think.  The proof will be in the pudding this afternoon when I hook it up, get it tuned and put some power on it.

 

Yes the motor swap was definitely a MFer from hell.  I'm so glad to have that headache out of the way.

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

Everything is going good here. Finally to the slow season until it snows a little more.

 

You definitely have the knack for making an enclosure a focal point in a build. You kill it as far as building with limited tools. Putty and paint, will make a carpenter what he ain't. 

 

SOOO did you get the sub fired up yesterday?!?!?

[altoncustomtech 773]

Everything is going good here. Finally to the slow season until it snows a little more.

 

You definitely have the knack for making an enclosure a focal point in a build. You kill it as far as building with limited tools. Putty and paint, will make a carpenter what he ain't. 

 

SOOO did you get the sub fired up yesterday?!?!?

 

Sure didn't.  I didn't get time to do it Thursday and Friday, well, it led to the fact that the Jimmy is now down again.  Drove it home Thursday and aside from the quirky stuff with the overdrive on the trans goofin up (which it did before the engine ever got ruined) it seemed just fine.  I drove it into work Friday morning and never noticed an issue and because I went in early and it was very dark outside I didn't notice the problem I had until I was getting ready to leave Friday afternoon.  After I got the sub enclosure loaded in the back of the truck with the stuff to take it home and tune it I went to the drivers door to get in and drive home when I noticed an odd puddle just under the truck below the rocker panel.  I knelt down to look and saw a nice big red puddle all over the underside of the truck from the rear axle to just underneath the transfer case.  ATF was covering the entire underside of the truck of the same area and when I went and checked the level in the trans I found it didn't even register on the dipstick.  At some point during the drive to work Friday morning a seal or something of the sort failed somewhere and it blew all the ATF out of the transmission.  Considering the amount of mess that was still hanging on the bottom of the truck and how low the trans is on fluid I would imagine it happened very close to work or it wouldn't have made it that far.

 

I have a spare transmission that was freshly rebuilt before the engine spun a bearing in a '98 Blazer that I bought for $500 awhile back.  I had originally planned on rebuilding the engine and using it simply as another vehicle/play vehicle and possibly putting a low budget wall into it and other fun stuff like that.  However that plan got shattered when a drunk prick decided it would be fun to use his thirty/ought/six to blast holes in the truck.  He shot right through the worst possible places he could.  The windshield got broken but the worst part is the parts where it should seal have been torn up by bullets so replacing it is useless without doing extensive repairs to the body where the windshield should go and seal.  Bullets went through the dash destroying the instrument cluster, the steering column, the climate controls and through the heater core.  That all happened at some unknown point in time and when I finally found the damage on it where I have it stored at my dad's property where no one was living at the time the entire interior is also ruined due to the weather getting in and animals.  So, the only thing it's good for now is parts from the areas of the truck that weren't damaged by bullets.  

 

So now it looks like I need to pull the trans out of that truck and get it put into the Jimmy before I can do any more driving with it.  I'm contemplating going ahead and getting the PR's tuned while I'm working on that so everything regarding the substage is done and complete.  Then I can turn the PR's back around like they're supposed to be and have it ready to go when the truck is.  I'm also looking for a mechanic that can do the trans swap for me for a reasonable price because I really don't have the time or patience to get that deep into this thing again.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Alright, I couldn't help it. I had some free time at the end of the day today and just couldn't stop myself. I threw my battery charger on the Jimmy, hooked up the sub to the amp and the remote wire so it would turn on and went to tuning the PR's. It took me a little bit to get the hang of it as the process was a first for me but damn does that XCON kick some ass. I'm going to take a small scale to work tomorrow and verify the weight is equal between the two PR's but so far they're tuned down to around 31hz. The sub has amazing impact for a single 10" sub and I've not EVEN begun to get serious about setting the gains and crossover settings yet, only some quick preliminary settings and setup to get it playing. I played some music on it and it belts out lows with great authority off some Jay-Z, has great speed for the fast drums on Disturbed's version of Land of Confusion and can blend well and be subtle and accurate for Journey's Faithfully. Now I really hate the fact the transmission decided to give me a fit cause I could spend a LOT of time playing with and listening to this sub! I've gotta get this thing on the road and trustworthy again!!!!!!



For fun here's a quick pic I grabbed of the sub hooked up and some weights on the PR's.








Nevermind the mess, I've been working out of the truck doing repairs for quite awhile now.

[mccleery3 166]

Lookin sexy back there

[porkchop 304]

Oh my.

Oh my.

So nice

[altoncustomtech 773]

Lookin sexy back there

Oh my.

Oh my.

So nice

 

 

Thanks guys.  There's still so many things that need to happen I feel like I did when the engine first died.  Ben (baglan2014) a member local to me stops by work from time to time to chat about audio and stuff.  I've helped him setup his ICON and BK1300 along with setting him up with a better HU.  He stopped by today and I gave him a little demo of the Jimmy, his first ever of it.  Of course I haven't gotten hardly any of the settings put back on the HU yet, haven't done anything to set the gains on the sub, and I'm not even sure I have the PR's tuned exactly where I want them to be yet but he seemed to be fairly impressed with the performance of the XCON.  I think he also liked the robust midbass performance the Bravox's were giving as well.

 

I can't wait until I get this thing completely road worthy again.  I have the Focal Solid 2 amp to install to run the components active so as to try to improve their lackluster midrange and treble response.  Then if that doesn't do it I've picked up a pair of Dayton RS180-4's, a pair of Aura NS3-193-8A1 3" full rangers (half price sale at Madisound I couldn't pass them up), some old Logitech Z-560 highs that are very similar to the Tang Band W3-926SDF, and I also have some Dayton DC28FT tweeters already on hand, all to try and play with and see what kind of luck I might have running them active to see if I can get closer to the ideal response I'm looking for.  I think my end goal will be with some larger midbass drivers, 8" at least possibly 10", and a full range setup of some kind since there's NO room for kick panel enclosures to get better aiming from mids down low and I can build whatever I want to fit up high.

 

I dunno though, I gotta get the damn thing road worthy first.

[altoncustomtech 773]

I wasn't going to post this up, but my little brother insisted and I figured I would go ahead and share.  Here's a quick little video I took to show him the XCON in action.  I played and played and played with the tuning on the PR's until I got it just where I wanted it.  To facilitate easy tuning I wrapped a small block of wood in paper towels and inserted it in the enclosure (to simulate the airspace the PR's would take up when mounted correctly) and mounted the PR's inverted so I could add and take away weight until I got the tuning just right.  As it is now the PR's are tuned right about 31hz and that little sub can lay it down like no other ten inch I've ever played with before.  When I get more free time I'll permanently mount the PR's but for now it's doing fine as it is.  

 

 

So, here it is the first video of the XCON and matching pair of passive radiators.

 

 

[altoncustomtech 773]

There's still a lot of tuning to be done (gains, crossovers, etc.) but I think it's stellar so far!

[porkchop 304]

Need to come down there and check this out...hope work schedules me there soon.lol

Mike and I was curious. ..how is the "hawk" project going?

[altoncustomtech 773]

I still can't drive the truck, but if you didn't mind traveling over to where I work I'd be glad to show it to you.  If we don't get a chance to show it to you before, I plan on having it up in Indy on more than one occasion next year and hopefully we can get together then.

 

The sub tested out very very well.  My sister is using it right now in her Durango (same enclosure) and is loving it.  It lays out the lows just a little better than the DCON and is just as loud on the power she has.  He's got himself a good driver IMHO but I've not heard anything more from him about it.  I had to give it a break from the van though, the Sundown 2K was going to turn that bad boy inside out, lol.

[porkchop 304]

Nice!

[altoncustomtech 773]

Okay, finally took the time to get the PR's turned around and properly installed.  It looks WAY better this way, lol, as you can see by the pictures.  Now it's time to get that Focal Solid 2 installed so I can start playing with things in the front actively.  It looks as though I'm going to have to just go ahead and make it part of the rest of the amp rack.  I still have LOTS of the stand offs I used to lift the 125.2 over the 1500 so I'm going to just do the same with the Focal.  The difference being, due to it's miniscule size, is that I'm going to have to make a small frame for it to mount to that will then mount to the stand offs lifting and holding it above the 125.2.  Then I'm just going to run the power down and connect it to the XP950 so all I have to run is the RCA's and speaker wires up to the front.

 

Anyway, onto the pics of the enclosure, sub and PR's finally completely finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[porkchop 304]

So nice.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Thanks brother.

 

Still need to get with you sometime on the front stage in your Olds.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Here's a decent little update.  Got the speaker and RCA wires for the Solid 2 ran back to the amp rack.  While I was at it I trimmed some more on the interior panel that hides the wires in hopes that it fits in place a little better than after the last time.  I built a small frame for the Solid 2 to mount to and adapt it to the mounting pattern of the 125.2 while still allowing plenty of ventilation for it.  Then I used the same standoffs to lift the 125.2 up to hold up the frame and got all that mounted.  Now I just need to find some 1/4-20 screws and cut them to the right length to screw into the tapped holes in the frame and mount the Solid 2 down.  Then it's gravy from there hooking up the amp and working on getting it tuned in.

 

 

 

 

 

I designed the amp rack to be secure yet easy to remove in the event I needed to move or remove it for some reason.  That, thankfully, worked like a charm to get this little project underway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the beginnings of the frame for the Solid 2.  I found some 3/16" x 3/4" flat stock in a junk pile here at work.  I cut it to the lengths I needed for the frame and welded them together.  I suck at welding but it should be plenty strong enough for this little job.  Working to make sure it's square and true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All finished welding it up and cleaning up the welds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the frame with the holes drilled that will mount it to the stand offs above the 125.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shot it with some primer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the additional speaker wires and RCA's ran for the Solid 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first of the stand offs for the frame attached to the 125.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got these great and awesome bits that drill, tap and bevel the hole all in one great little bit from GreenLee.  Used the 1/4-20 to drill and tap these all at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the frame ready to be tightened down onto the standoffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, this is basically what it will look like when the Solid 2 is mounted down and into place on the frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All I lack now is the bolts to mount the Solid 2 down to the frame, hooking it up and putting the truck back together, lol.  I can't wait to get to tuning everything.