1996 GMC 5-speed

[Barry Donovan]

still learning this truck

---

I recently got my first cellphone with touch screen.
this is great news as my fingers have calmed enough to be useful.
I had problems for years.

I am the guy that locked up the touch screen at the checkout just by touching it.




now with gps app I found my speed is off by 5-7. Just as I thought.
I am thinking , as first guessed, this truck had some kind of lift and 35s somewhere in it past. Someone porgrammed the speedo part.
the clues were the wimpy rear end, weak ubolt and spring combo..the mismatched rubber part of cab mounts require that the cab be up off the frame.
the way the cross sills stressed out.. etc.


the recent weld on my floor was not the result from inside out as first thought..It was outside in. that also needed bigger tires than I am running (I am factory in photo) I went for a quick ride in the rain last night.. the new metal patch was damp.
my roads lean, so driver side front does send it to the outer floor area... not like a bigger tire would (another hint this was setup as lifted) but the clues are there.

glad to get this done before winter again.
Better than ever

I also sized the transfer drain wrong. it is 30mm. got that on the way too.
I serviced hundreds of these...could not remember the transfer size.

anyway, the last hint of old explosive pussing smelly ATF is in the transfer.. truck will have none after I drain and refill. I may even do a combo of the expensive synchromesh and synthetic ATF. I have sailed in the 70s mph for hours in 4x4. This truck is incredibly smooth any mode. Want to stay nice to the old chain and gears.

[Barry Donovan]

outer floor pan, cab mount area

---

did not like my chilly start. Even a new tensioner needs to bounce a new belt.
transmission making the autumn cool sounds.
no frame work today.


opted to cut the fancy little shapes that conform to A-pillar etc. I had the outer channel for rocker all done already. That is stainless steel.

this photo is low grade, cellphone.. but you can see some of the curves.

the bit of swiss cheese that was there, I noticed no change after welding in some sheet.
gave some extra and overlaps.. I don't like gm's design in this area. Passenger side is ok forever.. driver side is many many times the fatigue. including weight of steering column, many more door slams.
my foot rests right where i welded today.

etc etc
the hvac possibly works a bit better.. but it was already good in to 24 below. A/C saves my life.

onto winter.
still did not install inner floor pan.
still in the exact shape it was when I bought it. stianless sheets over it a couple of years now.
a nice day ahead into the chill.. might get in there.

going to remove seat entirely for that one.

[Barry Donovan]

summer is over

---

can't complain. been almost a good year.

this is the 11pm temps.
dawn should be chilly.

was going to plasma some front spring hanger rivets plate and get some bolts in..
but it is a delay until next june. I don't like snapping frame rails unless temps are 60 at night, and warm all day.



the more time I have alone... the more i learn about myself.
been 25 years for that.
ancestry.com has boldly gone into more details of DNA and origins.

through all this babble. half of me is med sea, the other half the cold north atlantic.

being new england born and raised.. even old acadian and native (1%) mixed in.
I am truly a southern man at... DNA. not sure about heart yet,

EDIT: low was 35F
could still put in new floor pan. cold sheet metal is no bother on tack welds.. body on frame.

[Barry Donovan]

butt implants removed!

---

back to the skinny ass I am.

the valve stem drama returned this morning, finally had enough.
sullivans tire in brewer maine took me in.

he told me one stud broke on the spacers and he can remove them.
he did not like them.

I agreed. i don't like them either.
this truck is too heavy.

it explains the random lug loosening events with no explanation.

truck is back to being rather quick..these two spacers weight about 12 pounds.

in the closet they go.

3 new valve stems, balanced, pressure check.. and a life and deth problem removed...
46 bucks.
today was a good day.

dropped some weight, skinny butt..
now only 5518 pounds cruisin down the highway.

[Barry Donovan]

cam lock delta pro box

---

looking over little things now
one side latch did not work on my delta pro. Bought it cheap did not care.. still had one side working to open it



looking it over someone put a good latch in upside down



took 3 minutes to get that back in correct orientation.
you can change locks out on these very easy.. lost keys would be a nuisance.
must be a trick for that too.

I am putting in one more fish plate on my frame, decided to convert the heavy front hangers to bolts for future experiments ..
am beyond half ton now, may as well continue the confidence.

should be doing that this weekend.
where this next chore is not a structural repair, just an addition.. am not concerned about outside temps.
going for symmetry, as left side has the monster welded plate at the hanger. Want to even stresses out.
nothing to notice, almost 2 years.. but steel has its own timer.
got to think ahead.



yesterday on I-95.. in matter of 3 miles.. 6 lug nuts loose. Rear left wheel. had neighbor with me.
pulled into a harbor freight parking lot and tightened. No errors, just decided to physics it's way to loose.

I joked it must have been an earthquake

I saw new jersey in the news this morning, registered a 3.1

here comes the "gentle' autumn.

[Barry Donovan]

I play with my valve stem !

---

Barry, our youngest son is a Discount Tire store manager. They don't mount tires w/o new valves - it's figured right in the quote. So no clue why you don't have new ones in there.

Dan

the ones in the tires are plenty pliable, the 80psi version..and then i finally remembered the final trick.
I used my leatherman and grabbed the stem and wrestled 90 degrees each way with a soap water tell tale at the root.

finally won. it only took 3 or 4 tries each wheel.

back to 55psi all around.
there is one that needed no help..the same stem as the others.
another hint I had no old errors.

ready to go.
I love the subtle 10ply church organ howl.
it reveals 5528 pounds a little more truthfully.

[DanStokes]

Barry, our youngest son is a Discount Tire store manager. They don't mount tires w/o new valves - it's figured right in the quote. So no clue why you don't have new ones in there.

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

pb blaster.. since 1957!

---

I found a puff of very fine cloud come out when I wiggled the valve stem
oxide.

what digs at oxide ..?
pb blaster. why not.
sprayed a shot right at valve stems and wiggled them around.

2 of the 3 leakers slowed down to near stopped.
one tire left being very stubborn.

not sure but all still might need to be taken down to up my mounting bill to near 200 dollars.

that was very nice of VIP to treat me like a 3 striped crew chief and charge me an inflation price of the future..

80psi tires and valve stems.. its only life and death.
why would a high priced tire mounting place check those? that would be crazy!

anyway.. spilled a drop.. just one drop on the wheels.
back to the 1996 satin shine they came from.
cleaned the wheels with very light coat of pb blaster.

the dullness is oxide after all. dirty up the white rags I was using.
I'll laugh if they stay shiny.

at least I did something pretty.



another trick I have..
I do not mention I was out here in the woods in the 1980s very often.
the old alloy wheels exposed gain oxide, that is a given. The valve stems got my own pliable inspection, deemed to be good,.
I remembered a trick an old logger did with toilet paper and brake fluid.. as long as the wheel design was permitting.
tuck that into the area of valve stem and brake fluid creates an action to swell the rubber.

where I have 80spi stems, still very flexible.. I know it i just oxide. But worth a try anyway.

I am only 10 miles form a garage that can fix this.. just being stubborn as we used to be in the past.

they are running3 to 5 days and still aired up at 25 psi or so.. but that is down from 55.
just need to get that creepy crawling dribble leakers to stay put

[Barry Donovan]

steel man and a paint prep cleaner

---

its only been 32 years since i first attacked one of my maine masterpieces of rust bubbled dribbling acid dump site infested road kill glory.


saw this on the shelf and gave it a try some months ago.


lo and behold.. it was just what I was missing.
I do metal work.. all the nasty areas.long welds, fancy shapes.
all my paint work looks like i did it in a dirt driveway

well... because I did

rust is not rust to me..Rust is fatique and/or chemistry.

no matter how much is grinded sanded or brushed.. it needs a final before slathering on the 10 for 3 dollar flat black spray cans of Sema winning fame.


wanted to share this tip. it actually worked.
and when you clean a bubbly area you know is good steel.. the cheap paint is almost soaking into the metal that is cleaned with this, you can see the paint taking over contently.

made me happy.


the other mistake just by chance purchase was this fantastic filler
not sure if this is the exact version, but same company and colors anyway

I still have a spot in the driveway that never failed since May.
we have even had snow, hurricane water and heatwaves into upper 90s.

onto winter 25.

[Barry Donovan]

valve stems and autumn

---

strangely warm. went to parts store and got some rocker guard..satin black with primer sealer.
I don't think those cans do much... but then again. I cannot remember all 1500+ days of maine with this either.

I dare call it the the toughest vehicle I have ever known.

I scrubbed rockers and corners with some advice on the "paint prep can".... and gave some light coats.

this truck's engine does not even have a tick.
the high frequency of electrons moving... the tugboat SBC iron engine sound that keeps these famous...
and it does not even have the old dinosaur SBC plugs. It has been running the LS spark plugs for a couple of years.
It takes away from the idle a bit. this old 305 cares more about the throttle anyway.


the valve stems have slowed way down the small leak. Lo and behold my kumhos did the same thing.
several weeks to dial in.
that is good news. Did not want to mess with them.

there is two versions of valve stem for passenger

65, and 80 psi.
As it turns out my intuition was correct. if you have valve stems with metal showing.. those are most often 80.
I only refer to O'reillys part shelf for the answer.

o'reilly's also had an all metal version, 120psi. It is tempting.. but you have to tighten a nut. I don't trust that one.

since 2009 here, I have mentally rambled here at times at my keyboard..still 3 finger typing...
and wanted to share that I have an appeal meeting for the V.A. october 9th. I should be more enthused...as it has been 24 years line of duty disabled, without the actual formality that goes with it.
Regardless of the outcome (I am expected to be disappointed) I gave my effort.
I remember something I have said and it still stands:
"I do not mind being a curse."

not my problem . I am what they created..


got the 28mm socket on the way for the transfer case plugs..I am going for the latest version of transfer case fluid. it really is just a synthetic ATF.. but it is evolution.

[Barry Donovan]

pig on the lipstick

---

blended in the running drooling new fender paint job I slathered on more than a year ago.
I left it dull.. knowing I'd have to sand it and give another coat of gloss clear.
I got the gloss part.. but the sloppy mess is till there.
oh well.
can't really tell from here.. but i notice it.



pulled into my walking spot and saw the odom hit 384 exactly.

lots of wind, heading to low 40s F.
This may be the winter I take off without a plan.
my prediction, it is stuff of nightmares.

[Barry Donovan]

25th badge of beautiness

---

Called in to garage today, as september 3rd is around the bend. That is hopefully the end of the emergency declarations.

he said if you can get here within an hour, I'll check the brake and get this going.
so I drove my normal speed to the city and got it done.

the delay by law has also bumped my sticker to august. it was in May before this.


since buying the truck it has bumped from frigid february (near impossible)
inspections to march, april, may.. now august.

Looking over my next project on this.. I found some interesting 10+ inch wide mobile home steel from a tongue of a 16x50 (very heavy mobile home)
going to experiment with that spring grade steel. I just moved the montserous piece around today with a bucket of a kubota.. feeling it out

looking forward to using it for something.
fancy shapes with a plasma cutter.

sat outside for 28 years, not rusted.

onto winter.
Am going to find a high grade oil labelled for transfer cases, rid the atf... as I fight with atf for reasons unknown apparently.. That will get a swap of fluids before winter.

Good job, Barry! It always feels good to help.

Dan

[DanStokes]

Good job, Barry! It always feels good to help.

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

peterbilt clamp, nissan titan and harbor freight

---

these 3 things were meant to be together.

I welded up my neighbors step for his nissan titan
Today he was wondering if i could change out the broken brackets and mount the step.

the harbor freight electric impact is very impressive. I verified by trying to loosen cab mount bolts on the nissan with a breaker .. 2 foot bar. No go.
got my little generator out and the chicago electric gun..
Out it came smoking. I mean the bolt, not the gun. If that isn't 1000 foot pounds it must be at least 400.

the middle bracket was missing something. I hoard nuts bolts, clamps, scrap pieces of metal. always looking like a garbage bin at times.
I found dads leftover clamp from the ten gallon antifreeze dump at an Irving adventure last year.. or is that 2 years ago.
bond the middle bracket of the step with that tractor trailer radiator clamp.

my old neighbor can get in and out of his truck now. I put the things away, closed my toolbox and remembered why I carry what i do with satisfaction.
Days like today.

my dreams of being a mechanic are long gone. Too much reality mixed in with it. Can only work til you can't.
I envisioned the gathering of things that come out of nowhere at the right time to get something together...and it still happens.

Part of keeping this chevy is helping others. He offered some cash for helping.. I will oblige.

[Barry Donovan]

VIP old town maine

---

I have never paid 84 dollars for bare wheels and 4 tires sitting next to them.. just to be mounted and balanced.

found my air leaks today.. 3 of the 4 valve stems, (not the core) are leaking.

the cost was so expensive, I don't even want to go back and show them.



I am aware of the degassing routine, alloy wheels that sat out a long time obviously in a shed/basment.. they had no oxides. A basement odor.. That is just a deflate fully and go at it again...might take several times. I liked my classic wheels growing up. keystones and cragars. Strange routines to keep things going fresh.

But this time its actual errors.
I'll keep driving around, it may squeeze out the little micron pebbles and seal themselves. if a steel wheel does this, it needs to be torn down and fixed. alloy is different.
In one of the deflates i'll wiggle the stem around too.
20 years old is this trucks newest wheels after all. Glad they are in great shape. I cleaned the beads myself.
did not need much effort. that part is just fine anyway.