Shop Talk

Amp’d 2.0

Flashcal + Amp’d kits just got better with the inclusion of the all-new Amp’d 2.0 Throttle Booster. This dynamic duo has been a top-seller for Superchips for years and for good reason. The Flashcal + Amp’d 2.0 Throttle Booster offers users all the truck feature control they need after a lift and tire install, with the enhanced driving experience from an improved pedal feel.

This excellent package can overcome issues related to more rolling resistance and a speedometer that won’t read accurately anymore. Flashcal + Amp’d 2.0 kits bring back the excitement to driving that newly lifted rig without having to install a “tune.”
(www.superchips.com)

An Easy Shift

These B&M electric shift solenoids from Holley fit Pro Stick, Pro Bandit and Street Bandit shifters. They are built with 5052 aluminum brackets and heavy-duty solenoids to provide positive and consistent 1-2 shifts. The brackets are military specification black anodized with laser engraving for a clean, stealthy appearance and the low amperage draw will cause no charging concerns when the rounds get faster. Quick Release Pins provide for simple installation.
(www.holley.com)

Extension In The Garage

Legacy Flexzilla Retractable Extension Cord Reel mount

Most garages and trailers don’t have enough electric outlets. That means when you need power, you have to dig out an extension cord and stretch it across the floor, creating a tripping hazard. A Legacy Flexzilla Retractable Extension Cord Reel mounts in a central location in your garage and features a swivel mounting bracket so it pivots in the direction of your work. When you reach for the extension cord, it’s closer to your project and suspended above the floor so you don’t trip on it. It’s available in 25-, 50- or 60-foot options.
(www.flexzilla.com)

Safety Up High

Everyone can agree it’s important to have safety measures for falling tools when working. What’s even better is having tools that don’t fall in the first place. To help diesel enthusiasts do their jobs more safely, GEARWRENCH is launching a new class of tethering tools and tether-ready tools.

GEARWRENCH offers a broad line of tether-ready hand tools including ratchets, wrenches, pliers and tethering accessories to retrofit additional hand tools to be tether ready. GEARWRENCH tether-ready ratchets have a patented two-step locking quick-release ratchet design that makes unintentional socket drops virtually impossible. Each tether-ready product offers the same quality of its standard tools but with one of three tethering features: (1) an integrated tether-ready through-hole to easily connect to any tethering system, (2) a D-ring web tether and self-sealing tether tape, or (3) a split ring.
(www.gearwrench.com)

100,000 Cuts

Surpassing 100,000 miles on your truck is cause for celebration. Surpassing 100,000 cuts on your tin snips? That deserves a lifetime achievement award. All you need is a pair of snips that can actually make it that long.

Crescent Wiss has you covered with a new lineup of Crescent Wiss Tinner Snips, designed for maximum cut life and minimal force-to-cut ratio. But the team at Crescent didn’t stop there. They tackled common pain points to make its snips the most comfortable, most durable snips available.

Traditional snips require a great deal of force to make cuts over and over again, causing fatigue to the user and wear-out to the snips. Shorter handles reduce leverage and require more force to cut, while poorly sized handle rings are either too big (causing lack of control) or too small (with no room for gloves). Lastly, drop-forged snips are often heavy and not ideal for belt storage.
(www.crescenttool.com)

T-REX Grilles

front view of T-REX Grille installed on turck

The ZROADZ Series Grilles are a T-REX exclusive original. This package offers up all the features you could want and may become your next favorite modification. Priced to move, ZROADZ Grilles are a quality upgrade at an unbeatable value.

The slim line grille design features one-piece laser-cut construction, an attractive custom repeating pattern and powerful single-row compact LED light bars. The main objective is to offer a full package grille, made in the USA at an unbeatable price that appeals to all budgets.
(www.trexbillet.com)

Custom Interior Material

close view of swatch of DEI’s Universal Upholstery Material

DEI’s Universal Upholstery Material is constructed from black, perforated vinyl and laminated on an open-cell, 1/8-inch foam backing. Extremely lightweight and flexible for easy installation, the material can be used to reduce heat and noise while providing an attractive finished appearance, making it an ideal solution for any diesel truck custom interior project.

The Universal Upholstery Material features a high-quality, leather-look pattern texture, a sound-insulating foam backing and an attractive black finish. It comes in a versatile 54- by 79-inch sheet size that reduces the number of seams on larger projects.
(www.designengineering.com)

CP3 Fuel Injection Pump

One of diesels’ big selling points is the engines last darn near forever with proper maintenance. They’re not indestructible, though. Wear items will eventually give up and go to diesel heaven. When it’s time to replace those parts, Bostech Auto offers diesel components that are remanufactured to, and often better than, OEM specifications and will keep your diesel-powered truck going down the road for many more miles.

When you need to replace your CP3 fuel injection pump, go with Bostech. It remanufactures pumps the right way—cores are completely disassembled, each component is inspected, polished, and certified to meet OEM specifications, then reassembled and flow-tested so it’s ready to run out of the box. Summit Racing has Bostech CP3 pumps for 2004-10 GM 6.6L Duramax and 2003-18 Dodge/RAM 5.9L and 6.7L Cummins engines.
(www.bostechauto.com)

Pedal To The Metal

Bully Dog Thruster Electronic Throttle Enhancer

Ever notice a lag between when you step on the pedal and when the engine actually responds? It’s called “sponge pedal,” and all late-model trucks suffer from it, especially turbocharged ones. But you can put the bark back in your truck with a Bully Dog Thruster Electronic Throttle Enhancer.

The Thruster Electronic Throttle Enhancer plugs in between the vehicle’s pedal position sensor and wiring harness for a fast and easy installation. The “On-the-Fly” control knob provides the ultimate control over pedal sensitivity with a range of 0 percent (stock pedal) to 100 percent (maximum performance increase). And thanks to its waterproof design, the thruster can also be used in off-road vehicles.
(www.bullydog.com)

OTC Steel Jack Stands

Working under a truck without a good set of jack stands is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. OTC Jack Stands are constructed from formed and welded high-strength steel, have self-locking ratchet handles, form-fit saddles and wide bases for stability, and welded footpads that resist sinking into soft ground or asphalt.
(www.otctools.com)

A Bird’s-eye View

At some point, our trucks will require engine work. Instead of straining leg, back and neck muscles leaning over the fender or risking injury by climbing into the engine bay, use a Summit Racing High-Top Creeper. It allows you to reach more areas in the engine bay for extended work periods before painful fatigue sets in. The Creeper can adjust between 45 to 66 inches and can hold up to 400 pounds.
(www.summitracing.com)

Temperature Protection

KBS Coatings' line of XTC Silicone Zinc Primer and XTC Xtreme Temperature Coating

KBS Coatings offers XTC Silicone Zinc Primer and XTC Xtreme Temperature Coating to provide great-looking, durable and long-lasting finishes on exhaust manifolds, headers and exhaust systems. Both are available in aerosol spray can form, and quart, gallon and 5-gallon containers for brushing, rolling, or spray equipment. XTC Silicone Zinc Primer can withstand temperatures over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit and provides incredible rust protection even in high humidity, high condensation and salt air conditions.

The primer functions much like galvanization and locks itself to bare metal surfaces, leaving a matte gray finish that can be used as the finish paint, or as a perfect primed surface for top coating with XTC. XTC is a high temperature and heat-resistant coating that protects metal surfaces operating at 500 to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. With proper preparation, XTC provides outstanding adhesion, film integrity, weathering, thermal shock resistance and is guaranteed not to burn off. XTC is available in 10 unique and great colors, and XTC Clear is available as final coating for any XTC matte color when a gloss finish is desired.
(www.kbs-coatings.com)

Gear Up

Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil is an extreme pressure gear lubricant recommended for conventional drive axles, differentials, non-synchronized transmissions, and power take-off (PTO) units requiring an oil designed for high speed, high load, high torque, and/or high horsepower applications. Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil meets or exceeds API GL-4 and GL-5 requirements.

It has outstanding thermal stability for cleanliness and longer service life, includes special additives that reduce chattering and minimize shock load wear, gives protection from rust and has anti-wear additives protect gear teeth against pitting, spalling and scouring. On top of that, Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil also has excellent load carrying capacity.
(www.valvoline.com)

Snap On

Diesel truck technicians now have greater flexibility when detecting voltage, power, ground and circuit integrity on auto, truck, industrial vehicles, buses, 36 V rail cars with the Snap-on Digital Display Circuit Tester that features interchangeable shanks. The three thread-on compatible options include 6- and 12-inch stainless steel shanks, plus a 2-inch banana jack receiver to reach into smaller, tighter spaces. The receiver can be used with non-intrusive interchangeable circuit tester adaptors.

The tester’s patented, Instinct Clear Handle is comfortable to hold in one hand while leaving the other hand free to jiggle wires, replace fuses or operate switches. This product features a backlit, daylight readable LCD display that provides a “no guess” voltage value of the circuit being measured and LED’s light up to indicate “Green for Ground” or “Red for Power.”
(www.snapon.com)