New truck in the drive

[Dr_Snooz]

I haven't done much on the war wagon lately. I'm busy replacing my roof, which is much, much harder work. Phew!

I discovered some ghost numbers on the truck, indicating that it used to be a fleet truck.



That sparked my curiosity, so I began digging. The CarFax (which wasn't very helpful) shows that the truck originally came from Strawberry Valley, CA. That's within the boundary of the Las Plumas Nat'l Forest. I'm tempted to assume that the truck used to be in the Forest Service, but I've never seen a beige Forest Service truck.

Anyone have any conjectures?

[Dr_Snooz]

My trans leak has gotten so bad I stopped driving it. We dropped the trans to have a look at the torque converter seal. It was leaking, which didn't come as much surprise. The surprise came when my nephew said, "Hey, I think the pump is leaking too." I didn't want to hear that, but he was right. So we popped the pump out and resealed it.



My thinking is that if seals are failing on the outside, it won't be long before they fail on the inside, potentially leaving me stranded. I should rebuild the whole trans, but I need it to hold out a little while longer.

The rear main was leaking also, necessitating removal of the flexplate. After removal, I tapped on a freeze plug, which immediately started leaking. So those got replaced also.



I bought a new torque converter cover to protect everything. The truck came without one.



And I'll add one of these, though I don't expect it to add any life to the current trans. Still, it will be good for whatever new transmission I eventually get.

[Dr_Snooz]

Any suggestions for removing the ugly growth hanging below my truck?



Bear in mind this is California, so the routing has to remain roughly the same as factory.

[JohnnyPopper]

Growth? What page do you see it in?

[Mike81K10]

It looks like your freeze plug is leaking because a brass plug was not used. The metal ones rust out. I would think about replacing all of them if the rest is not brass.

[Dr_Snooz]

Growth? What page do you see it in?

Pic link is broken  .

My exhaust Y-pipe hangs down too low, and is always in the way. I'm replacing the entire exhaust soon and want to route it better (without angering the smog nazis). I'll put the new system together with V-band clamps so I can remove sections when I need to work on stuff. It's my first exhaust and that's my only clever idea. I'm open to more.

[Dr_Snooz]

It looks like your freeze plug is leaking because a brass plug was not used. The metal ones rust out. I would think about replacing all of them if the rest is not brass.

Thanks! That's the plan.

[Dr_Snooz]

We're back on the road, and I think my leak is finally licked!

[Dr_Snooz]

This guy asking about his transmission:

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=39737.0

[Dr_Snooz]

And his exhaust:

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=39738.0

[Dr_Snooz]

It's July, and with triple-digit temps stretching as far as the eye can see, I decided to fix my AC. Thus, I went to O'Reilly, strode boldly to the counter and declared, "I'm going to fix my AC and I don't care what it costs!" Well, the guy got so excited, he tried to charge me for 2 compressors.

It prefigured the fate of the project.

The "new" compressor from Four Seasons sounded like it was full of ball bearings upon first start.

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmykSvd_9WdWhOMKCkqif6BxDmqUbw?e=WoQJZO

And shot trash all through my freshly cleaned system.



So my morning's work, a can of flush, a bottle of oil, a new orifice tube, a can of freon and a new accumulator all went into the trash. I've had 3 of these "new" compressors, and all are complete garbage. Take them out of the box and throw them directly into the trash to save yourself the aggravation.

We made a mad dash an hour into town to buy a reman AC Delco compressor before the stores all closed. Got back and realized I forgot to get an accumulator. Gave up for the night in disgust.

Today's another day.

Another 105F day.

[Shifty]

Until you change your condenser, and flush the peepee out of your evaporator core, it won't matter what brand you go with, they all suck.  Contact Alan Grove, buy adapter brackets, and mount a Sanden on and be done with it.  You'll need to do new hoses, but that's a good thing since your originals are not a barrier hose that is suited for r134a, and the originals will hold a bunch of the metal particles as well. 

[Dr_Snooz]

You're right. And thank you. The GM compressor was wrecked out of the box also.

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmykSvd_9WdWhOMKCkqif6BxDmqUbw?e=Tt3Sb8
(link to my OneDrive acct)

So noisy everyone in the house came running out. I don't know why AC always turns into a year's long war of attrition. I'll definitely do the Sanden upgrade.

[Dr_Snooz]

Until you change your condenser

Out of curiosity, why do I need to change the condenser?

[Shifty]

Until you change your condenser

Out of curiosity, why do I need to change the condenser?

Yours will be full of the very doo-doo you see in your orifice tube, though not as concentrated, and it's near impossible to get it to flush-out, even with the good (read: expensive) Dura-141.  (two quarts of flush that won't do the job cost more than a new condenser), and the serpentine r134a has a higher fin-count (more efficient) than the original plate and fin r12 style.  R134a will have higher head pressures, and really want for good cooling.