Recent Posts

1

Suburbans / Re: New truck in the drive

« Last post by Dr_Snooz on Today at 10:22:00 AM »

The cheap jack on the cheap press blew a seal and bled out as I was pressing in the new lug studs. Now I'm not recommending it, but when you're fractions of an inch away from finished, you do what must be done.



Yeah.

From the colossally oversized jack, to the lopsided galvanized pipe supporting the axle shaft at the bottom, to the jack that doesn't quite line up with the reinforced push point at the top, that's all kinds of wrong. God help anyone nearby if that mess blows apart under load. Namely me. The good news is that I finished the job without a trip to ER.

A new jack is on the way.

2

Welcome / Re: ‘87 swb step side BBC -new member first post.

« Last post by JohnnyPopper on September 25, 2023, 06:41:01 PM »

Welcome from SoCal San Diego!

Search for a program on this site called PIXresizer

It will shrink them to workable sizes.

3

Body, Glass & Paint / Re: Vent window glass setting rubber

« Last post by VileZambonie on September 25, 2023, 06:31:51 PM »

Heat the rubbers in hot water or sunlight and use sil-glyde. You may get arthritis too

4

73-87 Chevy & GMC Trucks / 10 bolt axle help

« Last post by 1989bmw535i on September 25, 2023, 05:31:31 PM »

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but I had a question, I have a 1976 chevy k20 and I'm wanting to put some new ball joints and wheel bearings in the front axle, to my knowledge they didn't put 10b's in these trucks till 1977.5? Just trying to figure out what parts I need because napa can't figure out if the parts are for a 10b or a Dana 44... thanks! P.S. I was told the truck was rebuilt a while ago and I'm sure they swapped axles around...

5

Fuel Systems and Drivability / Re: water in gas tank

« Last post by bd on September 25, 2023, 09:09:00 AM »

Coming along nicely!

6

Fuel Systems and Drivability / Re: water in gas tank

« Last post by plow_truck on September 25, 2023, 04:02:41 AM »

so the new steel tank came and I was able to install it over the weekend. I ended up getting the "spectra Premium" GM1B steel tank. Note that this was under the 1984 model year. After a bit of searching it seems that 1979-80 use a 1.38 od filler neck  on the tank and the later years use a 1.75 od filler neck. Since my truck is a flatbed and since the connection to the tank was pretty rough I replaced this rubber, the clamps and hardware too.

Anyway putting the new tank on isn't so bad. It took a while and when I was under there I became aware that exhaust hangers were broken so I replaced 4x exhaust hangers too...

Its too bad that the tank cannot be drained completely without removal. What I'm thinking is that if the seal ring fails again you really need to drop the tank to clean it thoroughly since the most the sending unit will pump out leaves about a gallon in the tank. Of course all the water is at the bottom so need to make sure you get rid of this.

Prior to running the engine:
I put 6 gallons of gas in the tank.
I made sure to clean out the carb with the same process as earlier and it was again full of water.
I cleaned out the gas lines by disconnecting the fuel line from the carb and putting it into a gas can, then turning the motor for about 15 seconds.

Once the fuel line was reconnected she started right up and ran fine. Sadly the radiator sprung a leak when she was idling... so thats next up.

7

Suburbans / Re: New truck in the drive

« Last post by Dr_Snooz on September 24, 2023, 08:35:23 PM »

Speaking of the prop valve, I understand the prop valve sits above the rear axle. If so, what's that giant cast iron contraption under the fan shroud?

8

Suburbans / Re: New truck in the drive

« Last post by Dr_Snooz on September 24, 2023, 08:29:52 PM »

My inexperience and a cheap press turned into a chipped pinion tooth. Sigh. Pinion setup is critical to a successful build, and impossible to correct without a complete teardown. I knew it would be difficult. I read 2 different manuals, multiple discussion threads and watched a half dozen YouTube vids, but still got to pay to learn a lesson the hard way.

I called the guys at East Coast Gear again for another ring and pinion. They also had some setup bearings and good advice that made the next attempt look like this.





For those who don't know, those grey circles in the center of the tooth face indicate that the pinion shims are perfect.

The next task was getting the pinion bearing preload set by crushing the crush sleeve. As I've already indicated, that's no small task. I went to Harbor Freight, got their longest breaker bar and their biggest pipe wrench. Then I went to Big Orange for some 10' lengths of pipe. It made crushing that sleeve really easy, even for my skinny punk nephews.

A test fit of the new disc brakes looks great!



I got this kit from lugnut4x4.com. So far it looks good. I still need to buy a new prop valve though.

I'm hoping to get this thing rolling again this week. Wish me well.

9

Body, Glass & Paint / Re: Vent window glass setting rubber

« Last post by Mr Diesel on September 24, 2023, 08:18:41 PM »

I have yet to replace these, but anytime I have trouble fitting rubber parts I lubricate it with Dawn dish soap. Very slippery but washes away with water afterwards. Not sure if that will help you.

10

Body, Glass & Paint / Re: Vent window glass setting rubber

« Last post by MY1978 on September 24, 2023, 06:28:52 PM »

Agh!!!  Good luck with that.  My vents, for what ever reason was one 2-piece and one one-piece with tabs.  Not sure why.  I now have several vent window seals that I cannot use.  I got so frustrated I paid the price and sent it off to Precision and had them rebuild them.  They did a great job and was worth the price to avoid the headache. https://www.prp.com/