Author Topic: New truck in the drive  (Read 17617 times)

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2017, 12:10:57 PM »
Yeah bro. Cali has gone full crazy in the last few months. And I mean bat-guano, rubber-room, California is a beautiful state, but it's time for a house cleaning.

Anyway, the Suburban has new shoes.


(Sagging in back because the old rims are still back there)



After all the work I did on the tank, it sprang a leak. I bought a patch kit, thinking I'd be clever, only to learn that it had been patched before. The work I did raising and lowering the tank flexed the patch and it broke. So there's a new tank now.



The brakes were a mess too. The booster had a leak, and the master cylinder sagged at stops. That's all new now.



I also replaced the starter and battery.



The exhaust is the next big mess to fix. Both manifolds are cracked. The cat is 27 years old and noticeably tired. The piping is dented, mashed and holey all over and hangs well into harm's way.



There is also a broken bracket that allows the tailpipe to rub on the gas tank (Yikes!). In this case, I demonstrated my mastery of hillybilly jury-rig repairs to correct it.



To top it all off, I have a head gasket leak that occasionally blows all the coolant out of the expansion tank into the engine compartment. LOL

Fortunately, the engine runs smooth and strong with good oil pressure. It's only about 100k miles old. The trans shifts well with no slipping. The 4x works great for pulling heavy trailers of firewood over muddy mountain trails. It drove great for the 8 hour trip I made to the Bay Area last month. It gets 13 MPG. And the family all considers it a treat to go for a ride in the Suburban too, even though it often smells of mildew and rat pee (I'm working on it, okay?).

All in all, a great truck and getting better, albeit slowly.

I'll leave off with some gratuitous triggering for the haters.

« Last Edit: February 11, 2017, 12:45:52 PM by Irish_Alley »
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2017, 12:39:40 PM »
Couple questions too:

1. I tightened the front wheel bearings exactly as the GM service manual says, yet the shop mentioned that they were too loose when I took it in. Should I follow the manual or is there a better way?

2. I have a slight rub with the new tires. It's only on the passenger side because the fender on the driver side has been bashed well out of the way. Is there a recommended way to fix this? Angle-grinder? 5# sledge? Another rock crawling incident?
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2017, 12:47:35 PM »
i would follow the manual inner nut is 50 ft lbs and outer is 160
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2017, 07:23:57 PM »
I mean the adjusting nut. The manual says to back off until it's loose. Then it's like another 1/4 turn before you can engage the lock, which leaves it pretty sloppy by the time you're done. I'll pull it apart again to see how I can tighten it up.
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #19 on: February 11, 2017, 07:58:11 PM »
is that from our manual?
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #20 on: February 12, 2017, 11:20:08 PM »
Yeah, it's the GM '89 RGVP Service Manual. I lifted it up today and couldn't really feel any undue slop in the bearings. I think the shop was just looking for extra work. So whatever.

While I had it up, I swapped out the front center caps. The jokers at the tire shop covered up my manual locking hubs. LOL. Hey, at least they locked the hubs before covering them though! I put my old rusty center caps back on and I feel better now. It was too shiny the other way.  ;-)

Another unrelated question. I have a high speed vibration that picks up when I get much over 55 and continues as I go faster. I've checked U-joints for slop, replaced the tires and wheels and checked the wheel bearings for excessive play but I can't figure it out. There is zero vibration coming through the steering wheel, so I assume it's coming from the rear. The rear diff pinion seal is leaking, but that's all the clues I have. Anyone have some ideas for me?
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2017, 09:24:53 AM »
Think I figured out the vibration. The transfer case is super old and was salvaged from the scrap yard. I have a hard clunk when I shift into reverse, indicating the chain is stretched. As I understand it, if the chain stretches far enough, it hits the side of the case, causing a vibration. That's my working hypothesis at this point. Anyone have any input on that?
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #22 on: June 27, 2023, 09:53:12 PM »
Hey, my old thread is still around! Wow, has it been 6 years? The Suburban developed a coolant leak from bad freeze plugs, so I parked it for a while. Used car prices spiked and it started to look a lot like a pile of money in my yard, so I fixed it with the intention to sell it. Now I can't bear to let it go. Here's what it looks like today.



Everywhere I go, people LOVE the Suburban. They stop me in the Wal-Mart parking lot to exclaim, "Love your war wagon!" The guys at the car wash give it the thumbs up when I go through. Kids at the grocery store pass and say, "Mom, look at the old truck!" To which Mom responds, "That's a Suburban!" I used to drive a big beautiful BMW and no one cared, but they sure love this beater.

The freeze plugs were all easy to access, fortunately.



I rebuilt the transfer case and replaced the chain. Which fixed my driveline vibration. Yay!



The repair was a struggle. I don't have a garage, so everything got done on a table in the sun and the dust. I had to wait for parts, during which time I lost parts, and had to wait again for more parts. I worked on it piecemeal as I was able, then wrapped everything in garbage bags while I waited. It works, fortunately, but leaks. Is it possible to buy one of these new?

I also replaced my cracked manifolds.



When I went to buy them, I could only find them for the right side. I got the left side from eBay. Fortunately, it doesn't differ much from the branded one I bought from Rock. The new manifolds are cast iron, like the old, but I'm guessing they don't flow as well. You can decide for yourself...





They might only be temporary. The exhaust system is really sad, and I will have to replace it all soon. I consider it my justification for buying a MIG welder and learning to DIY.

The project will include the extravagantly expensive CA mandated cat too, currently $700 on Rock. Ouch. I'm surprised I passed my last smog. The exhaust is super stinky. I think CA is hitting the wall with its smog nonsense. These old cars require special equipment and training to test properly. The shops don't want to spend the money, so stuff just gets waved through? I'm not sure, but I won't complain.

I also replaced the timing chain. Some of you might remember that my beloved '86 Crew Cab, affectionately known as "Chester," expired on the side of the road after a timing chain failure bent all the valves. It sat forlorn in my yard for 10 years until I sold it recently. I really didn't want a repeat performance on this truck so I just replaced it as a maintenance item. The chain was floppy, but there was no noticeable gear wear, which is what sank Chester.



My booster failed, again. I don't know why. Anyway, it's new. AGAIN.



Most importantly, I replaced the steering gear. The old one had so much slop it was a safety issue. I adjusted it a couple times and while it helped temporarily, every drive was a white-knuckled adventure.



Wow! What a difference with the new one! My drive last night was sublime. I should have done this years ago, and I would have, if they weren't so very expensive. That's a new unit from Lares BTW and it works great! Very tight with no issues.

You'll notice I'm writing dates on everything because my speedo is broken. I tried a junkyard replacement which didn't work any better. Anyone know where I can get a new one? I don't want digital, and that, um, "other place" has them on back order for another 10 months. I might just mount an old Android in the cab and use it instead.

I thought I had a head gasket leak because I kept finding coolant around my coolant reservoir cap. Turns out that the cap is just missing the seal, allowing coolant to slosh out. Awesome!

I still need to fix the AC. Not sure what's wrong there, but I'm not getting any pressure on the high side, even though I replaced the orifice tube.

There is also a box of pre-cut tint sitting here beside me. It's going to be 106 deg. this weekend, so I better get after it quick!
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #23 on: June 27, 2023, 10:14:10 PM »
Oh, and I forgot that I replaced the headlights with H4s from Hella. The old headlights were another safety issue. I could hardly see where I was going. I used a conversion harness from eBay, which melted almost immediately, so I built my own and threw the eBay one away. The new headlights are, pardon the pun, night and day. I'm so glad I have them.
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline JohnnyPopper

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #24 on: July 04, 2023, 06:25:54 PM »
Great Project!

A few weeks ago at the beach twice some teenagers were giving me thumbs up!

Gotta love the squares!
1957 Apache 3100 235 Inline 6, 3 on the tree
1973 C-20, 3+3 454 4BBL TH400  Water Injection
1978 K-10, 350 4BBL TH350 NP203 M.M. Part time Kit/Hubs
1980 C-10 under construction

Offline Shifty

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #25 on: July 05, 2023, 09:52:40 AM »
Friggin awesome brother!  I get the same reaction driving the Big Blue Beast, while folk don't give the Corvette a second glance. 
87 V20 Standard Cab Longbed (current)

87 R30 3+3 Longbed (days of yore)

98 C2500 ext cab longbed

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #26 on: August 26, 2023, 10:40:53 AM »
I made a rookie mistake. The pinion seal on my rear axle was leaking. I have an air gun, and not much sense, so I jumped in without reading the manual. Turns out there are some very critical steps you need to take before removing the pinion nut if you don't want to disassemble the rear axle. I did not take those steps. Sigh.

I discovered pitting on my pinion bearing when I pulled the diff:




Which led to this (my brother-in-law doing me a solid):




Then this:




The drums were out of spec, which means I had to beat them apart, which broke a lot of hardware.

So I ordered up some bachelor windchimes (AKA a rear disc conversion kit):




Then, one of these for some reason:




Yeah. Dr_Snooz has been a busy boy.

1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #27 on: August 26, 2023, 10:47:08 AM »
I got the LSD from East Coast Gear for less than half what Summit wants. If you've been LSD shopping for your 14-bolt semi-floater, definitely grab this one.

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/c-287534-gears-install-kits-carriers-spider-gears-general-motors-gm-9-5-14-bolt-lockers-posis.html

I had open diffs front and rear, which makes me feel silly, and I'm already this far, so might as well go all the way.
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Offline Dr_Snooz

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #28 on: August 26, 2023, 10:53:55 AM »
I pulled the old pinion before measuring pinion depth. Another rookie mistake. I'm replacing the ring gear and pinion. I hope I can put the old pinion back, with the old crush collar, and get an accurate pinion depth measurement to work from. Is that a fantasy?

I've read the manual now, plus some forum posts and a few YT videos. Hopefully I won't make any more stupid mistakes.
1989 Chevy Suburban V-2500, 5.7L, TH400

1990 Chevy C-3500 Ext. Cab, 7.4L, 3L80

2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT 4WD, 4.8L, 4L60

Online bd

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Re: New truck in the drive
« Reply #29 on: August 26, 2023, 12:12:02 PM »
Stupid mistakes are what make life interesting and add to the adventure!  They are also the mothers of experience, often culminating with, "If only I had known that beforehand."  Prereading a manual helps, but in and of itself is not foolproof.  Sometimes you just wind up with broken pieces and smashed fingers.  All you can do is forge forward.  Nice upgrades...   8)
Rich
It's difficult to know just how much you don't know until you know it.
In other words... if people learn by making mistakes, by now I should know just about everything!!!
87 R10 Silverado Fleetside 355 MPFI 700R4 3.42 Locker (aka Rusty, aka Mater)