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Last Updated: 8/27/2010
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The coldest temperature reported here
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For the most part, this website details the enjoyment I get out of working and modding my Dodge Durango while transforming it into my ultimate personal exploration vehicle in The Garage.
The Ultimate Durango Project featured here on the SnowDigger.com website, was designed to create a well- rounded extraordinarily vehicle capable of meeting a wide variety of transportation needs, from running everyday errands to serving as a rolling base for adventures trips in the harsh winter conditions found here in the Michigan UP, and yet still has to offer all the amenities you'd expect to find in a luxury SUV.
A capable Survival vehicle with excellent around-town maneuverability,
serious road and off-road capability for the short summers but especially
for the long winters in snow and ice.
You can read all about this project here.
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The first generation Dodge Durango equipped with Chryslers 5.9l Magnum V-8, the project vehicle has an excellent all-wheel-drive system which can be switched to four wheel-drive on the fly! |
There is also a bit about the travels I did with my family and a few other interesting stories. Hopefully you will find some inspiration from my experiences.
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Stay
if you like, leave if you must, enjoy while you're here.
In
any case, thanks for stopping by!
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What's new at SnowDigger?
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08-27-2010 Garage Extension continues!
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The plan is simple, extend the garage by 8 feet, insulate everything the best as possible, get some decent electricity into it, a wall heater connected to the houses natural gas line for the winter, a water pipe for a small sink, shelfs, a work bench and new doors. Eight feet may doesn't seem to be a lot for some of you, but trust me if you have worked with the space currently existing in there, it will feel like a world of space.
Continued: Preparing the section by laying some rebar for the concrete pad was done in less than an hour. Now we just had to wait for the concrete truck to show.
It was the hottest afternoon we had in a long time and the concrete finally arrived here at 3pm on Friday.We worked the remaining afternoon to get it done and the surface smooth.
Now, the concrete pad is finally in and all the L-bolts are in place as well. These are responsible for holding the bottom 2x4 wood pieces in place.
Well, that's were we at for the moment!
Soon we will be building up the new portion of the garage and insulating it in it's entire to the best of our ability for the winter. Stay tuned! Read the entire story here!
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08-06-2010 Injectors and aluminum fuel rails for a starving Magnum!
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I have made so many upgrades to my Magnum engine and now it is starving for fuel. As soon as I hit the pedal and reach above 4000 rpm, I can feel that the engine just needs more fuel. I run still on the OEM injectors with the engine now producing close to 500 hp on the crank.
After some lengthy chats with a few guys which really do know their stuff about engines (one of the guys is a repeat contender in the Engine Masters Challenge) and pretty much everyone came to the same conclusion that I need larger injectors! |
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The OEM Bosch 19 lbs. injectors currently running in the engine will be taken out and I'll be switching over to 24 lbs. injectors and plan on machining some nice aluminum fuel rail billets to match while I am at it.I may also have to deal again with a re-program/adjustment of the PCM but hope I can push this a few month until my budget recovers. Although the project is planned for September, I will start the page as soon as I have all the parts gathered which are needed for this conversion. Stay tuned, you can read all about it in the Garage section very soon!
07-29-2010 Window Regulator/Motor issue fixed!
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When jumping back into the Durango after sitting out on the lake enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon last weekend, it happened, closing the driver door and without touching anything, the window just went down without any warning and wouldn't work anymore at all. Not cool!
After getting home and short of trying about anything I could think of, I came to the conclusion that this wasn't fixable without ordering a new part. Well, today the part arrived a day ahead of schedule and it was such an unbelievable easy fix that it was done within an hour. You can read all about it here. |
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06-01-2010 - P0455 Fixed!
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Well, turned out to be a U shaped hose at the charcoal canister which is located under the truck just a bit behind the driver side door. It had a large rip right there were it goes onto the plastic tubing of the canister.
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It has been fixed with the help of the little expert next to me in the picture :-)
Replacing the part including jacking the truck up, clearing the code, and cleaning up afterwards all done in under an hours time. Read all about it here. |
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05-29-2010 - P0455 for the weekend!
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My Check Engine Light (CEL) in the Durango came on yesterday. After pulling the code with my OBD-II reader, it turned out to be a P0455 which is a leak in the Evaporative Emission Control System. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend. |
05-25-2010 - The verdict is in about the E3 Spark Plugs
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Are the E3 Spark Plugs worth buying? Did they improve engine performance?
Well, the verdict is finally in after a 500 mile test and you can read all about it on the E3 spark plug install page inside the Garage section. |
04-30-2010 - The E3 Spark Plugs are installed
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The E3 Spark Plug installation was quick and painless. To battle the heat, I have choosen to install one heat range colder plugs for my performance engine then it was recommended by Dodge for the stock engine. Read all about it here in the Garage section. |
04-27-2010 - The LED Backup Lights Project is finally done!
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Check out the finished installation of the LED Backup Lights from Etrailer.com
Completely wired up with many new project pictures. Ready to light the night, or are they? Read what I think about them! |
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