Treating the Sickness

Diesel Fever

• Its highly contagious, deadly to budgets and Prius's.

• Symptoms include face-splitting smiles, acute hearing adjustment allowing for identification of all makes and models of diesel engine by sound alone, posturing to other drivers, sensitive ego, leaving clouds of sulfurous smoke in one's wake, crude stereotyping by vehicle, snobbish better-than-you attitude toward all non-diesel burning motors, and generally voids warranties, where applicable. It also can cause impulse, big-ticket purchases, evasive behavior, and exaggerated story telling. Over-protective behavior toward the subject's truck is usually the first sign, followed shortly by giving inanimate objects names and personalities.
• Currently there is no known cure, though the disease does not appear to be terminal. It is manageable through sound-therapy, as well as providing the subject with access to lots of open road, heavy equipment to haul and a large truck-related shopping spree. It is advised, however, to limit the shopping to one project at a time, as some subjects have suffered fatal reactions to diesel related stimuli overload.

I have it. I try to keep it under control. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?

I bought an S&B Intake for my '97 7.3l Powerstroke, Young, today. It won't be here for about two weeks, but... well I'm already drooling over exhaust systems. I'm having a hard time choosing between the 5" and the 4" DiamondEye systems. I can't seem to find the 5" without a cat, which is somewhat frustrating. I am however, leaning toward the 4" and replace the DiamondEye muffler with an AeroTurbine Resonated muffler. Price range, I can get the 4" kit for $267, plus spend $179 on the muffler... comes out to about the same price for a 5" system, sans AeroTurbine.

Any ways, just wrestling with myself on it. Don't have the slack money to spend right now any ways, seeing as I just coughed up $300 for the S&B kit. I can't wait for that to get here.

Meantime, I cleaned the engine compartments up on the trucks today. Used Simple Green. Great stuff that, except I need to get after Young again. He's freaking filthy. Beastin wasn't too bad to start with, and cleaned up rather nice. Haven't touched Peppy. I'll have to get some more Simple Green before I do that, though I don't think he's too filthy to start with.


In other news, Leonidas won the 3D Saturday with an 18.171. $119 check, and man, oh, man was it a nice, clean run. If we can keep making them like that, and just add the speed... He's going to be untouchable.