1996 GMC 5-speed

[Barry Donovan]

playing with obd2 data

---

my first data transfer to my pc. A bit overdue for what I do..
I have a new o2 sensor, spotted the shape of the hex being unique, remembering it is hollow inside..so I am waiting on the o2 sensor tool instead.

All this rumbling of the chassis could be the recent fuel suck.
beyond bad o2..
I guess it does have a knock sensor. Glad I have this sitting around for a few days.

Read Codes P0140 $10 O2 Sensor Circuit No Activity Detected Bank 1 Sensor 2 Live Data Number of DTCs stored in this ECU	1
Fuel system 1 status	CL
Fuel System 2 status	CL
Calculated LOAD Value(%)	2.7
Engine Coolant Temperature(¡£C)	66
Short Term Fuel Trim -Bank 1(%)	0.8
Long Term Fuel Trim - Bank 1(%)	-3.1
Short Term Fuel Trim -Bank 2(%)	-2.3
Long Term Fuel Trim - Bank 2(%)	-3.1
Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure(kPa)	32.0
Engine RPM(rpm)	712
Vehicle Speed Sensor(km/h)	0
Ignition Timing Advanece for #1 Cylinder(¡£)	-17.5
Intake Air Temperature(¡£C)	24
Air Flow Rate from Mass Air Flow(g/s)	6.18
Absolute Throttle Position(%)	0.0
Location of Oxygen SensorsB1S123-B2S1---
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 1(V)	0.590
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 1(%)	0.8
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 2(V)	0.465
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 2(%)	N/A
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 3(V)	0.665
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 3(%)	99.2
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 2-Sensor 1(V)	0.825
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 2-Sensor 1(%)	-2.3
OBD requirements to which vehicle is designed	OBD

[Barry Donovan]

spit the monster

---

159 am..
finally cool enough to open a window.

the truck enters it so fast I back away. It knows its master...hundred feet away in the lot outside.
I thought my sube was an animal to 12 pounds of weld on the chassis. That used to chase me for hundreds of yards. This truck takes the cake.

I knew I changed it in a big way. 350k miles to add to the equation. Let those ions of hell go free.. this one will be a chunk of content american iron soon.
I am looking forward to how much more locomotive density it gains.

maybe this 305 will sound like a 3208 cat now...as it echoes through valleys of this delicate french land.

the bed is literally self morphing back to the very young panel it is..as I was taught it would. Makes my day. I liked it for looking good. This 18 foot long beast is literally within 1/16th of an american inch..both sides.
I was listening to a show on toyota tacoma framing for their little trucks, and have concluded, even manufacture goes free with thoughts ideas and changes in the transition from front to back.

I am going to add to uprights for this gmc in the C rails under bed..will show where when it is done. Just a thin 1/8th flat bar that will be owned by the frames upper and lower signals...a notch cutout for wiring.

For now, trying to clean this off in the driveway with no water, and only using simple green. I had a pile of dead lead looking color coming off on the clean rag. I did not forget that about these chores on the steel railed vehicles after welding... I think all the years of battery climbing off the rails was the theory, hard telling. The bed was removed to weld, so cannot blame smoke or whatever from welding.. I like the old battery theory.

It is the ions stuff, positive and negatives changing to the stuff we make going back to content. psi for this one has a few more tight spots..from the front poly cab mount, to the back... and all the cross sills to the very end.

[Barry Donovan]

cross sill weight totals

---

found a cool way to get the weights... I used stuff so common I found it first try, weight by foot.
angle, flat and rectangle.
the rectangle gave the weight exact by the onlinemetals.com purchase.

53.968 pounds is added...this includes the fuel tank cover frame in the bed.
3+ pounds of mig wire, some of that flies.

it was on the high side of my first guess..
closer to 55 pounds...maybe a little more.

I can smell that settling in, now 4 days later. At night the primer is just starting to fill the parking lot...2 days later.
I can almost taste the metal when that dewpoint of this swampy place settles in real fast at sundown.
Tomorrow is first longer ride, with a new o2 sensor.

Something I remember from way back when..enough steel changed used to pummel the rochesters into fuel flooding everywhere. Crazy frequency. The injection thus far is at 10mpg or less, and that is with a bad o2. I ponder the knock sensor is getting tricked.

I hope this dials in soon.

I just watched a chain making video.

you are only as strong as your weakest link.

that is the mistake with these trucks... they need the bed to hold the frame until the frame is holding a load. Impression is a majority the other way in opinion. Real shame..they go to junk because of it.


the bed delete trucks, gm is offering that again in the near future. This means they are confident with the tail rails again.
This one, like decades before it... needs the bed to be real. Glad to see the option coming around.

[Barry Donovan]

stuck o2

---

tried all the tricks but this one, glad to find it. I have half inch drive tooling welded robust enough to crack 176 foot pounds..and beyond. 176 is just an axle nut. I have stood on my version of chrome moly welded with a 4 foot pipe..it wiggles japan every time.

Looks rather young under there, so will give this a go.

The cold start today, been 2 days or so. day 5 after welding the sills. It is finally doing what I thought would happen. the little 305 is a lot more tugboat, full strokin. the work down to 750 rpm from 8 or 900 is not stumbling the whole truck.
leaning this out a few points on short term fuel trim... will be even better.

going to pause for breakfast.. tackle the o2. I knew to run it for abit, get some heat going.. did not budge. That spot is getting blasted by 5000 cc at the merge.. lets stick an o2 sensor in it. One of the dumb things by midgets with engineering degrees.

update:



here is the old o2 sensor.
this required my half inch breaker, a 7/8ths for air guns... a pipe, and both feet. 1/4 turn at a time.

feeling the threads of y-pipe with new o2... something went wrong with this old one, bizarre. The y-pipe is not only healthy, the threads are clean.
the threads on the o2 side are melted with something. The new one went in, and knew only to go to the point that locks it, and not all the way in.
Sure enough, that is where it ended. Its as if the end of the hole in the y-pipe is not meant to take this all the way. This must have had one strong tool to put it in the first place.

going to reset codes, see if any wires got bothered. o2 good, pcm is sending volts..the rest could only be a ground. But getting ahead of myself, have not given the initial reset.. came in for a drink of water. This as as close to 400 foot pounds I never want to feel again.

update2
up and running, I knew it was fixed after full warm. This one sends the oldest version of a vortec growl. Some know what that sound is. 5k rpm I let off..it was willing to go more. The idle is that of a well kept escalade.. whispering.

Being my throttle foot is smarter than computers, I can trigger a po420 code on purpose in 5th gear and 1000 rpm. That is the cat below threshold trigger.

so...other than my own foot hack, it is fixed, just need to keep a maxiscan in the truck with me to reset random.

Number of DTCs stored in this ECU 0
Fuel system 1 statusOL
Fuel System 2 statusOL
Calculated LOAD Value(%)74.9
Engine Coolant Temperature(¡£C)84
Short Term Fuel Trim -Bank 1(%)0.0
Long Term Fuel Trim - Bank 1(%)4.7
Short Term Fuel Trim -Bank 2(%)0.0
Long Term Fuel Trim - Bank 2(%)3.1
Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure(kPa)97.0
Engine RPM(rpm) 4130
Vehicle Speed Sensor(km/h)116
Ignition Timing Advanece for #1 Cylinder(¡£)-33.5
Intake Air Temperature(¡£C)32
Air Flow Rate from Mass Air Flow(g/s)23.12
Absolute Throttle Position(%)0.0
Location of Oxygen SensorsB1S123-B2S1---
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 1(V)0.850
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 1(%)0.0
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 2(V)0.850
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 2(%)N/A
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 3(V)0.895
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 3(%)99.2
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 2-Sensor 1(V)0.850
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 2-Sensor 1(%)0.0
OBD requirements to which vehicle is designedOBD

the fix is more volts from the sensor that was reading bad. I'll have to remember that. snsors may not be broken, just volts start fading away from the internal generator they have.

..and lastly, the fuel is right back into the 20s mpg.

[DanStokes]

Heat the poo out of it. If you lack Oxy-Acetylene just run a bead around the base with your welder (quality of the weld is insignificant) then get right after it with your magic wrench. Use anti-seize upon reinstall but DON'T get it on the sensor. Many replacement sensors come pre-lubed.

Never mind - upon rereading I see you got it out. Good for you!

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

Heat the poo out of it. If you lack Oxy-Acetylene just run a bead around the base with your welder (quality of the weld is insignificant) then get right after it with your magic wrench. Use anti-seize upon reinstall but DON'T get it on the sensor. Many replacement sensors come pre-lubed.

Never mind - upon rereading I see you got it out. Good for you!

Dan

When arms are outdone, two good legs are useful.
whatever works.

I had a railroad tie as a wheel chock, truck was moving all around.

I noticed the y-pipe was young, maybe this is robot installed sensors. That type of lock stuff looks like solder. Way unnecessary. All o2 have a taper fit, and come shipped with a gentle version right on the threads. I stopped at an accurate guess of 50 foot pounds... still way overdone even on reinstall.

I am ready for next time.

Another interesting note seen in live data, when one o2 reads low, there are two more getting robbed. That is how fuel changed by 10mpg less for this aging vortec.

Still very clever. I like it a lot.
the po420 may have been me and my tinkering with the pcm and maxiscan hooked up. I/M readiness codes.

I have not gone down the road yet with it unhooked. It gets noticably more responsive. It is fast no matter what mode it is in, but this leaning out is most impressive. Would not expect it from 250hp...that slippery 5 speed takes it over the top of fun.

I truly smiled out loud by myself.

when I idle through the little town, it says 25mph... by the time the 40mph goes by I am at 75. Brings back 25+ year old memories.

[Barry Donovan]

p0420

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I did find an incurable trigger..and that is ok. Young y-pipe, smooth throttle, max rpm in the 5k, and fuel at 18-22..
there is no errors. Very sweet runtime. Even in this slop weather we have had for several weeks.. and only getting worse.

p0420 is a bad cat, or insufficient catalyst.
the CEL with the new led has to be removed, one of my two maxiscans and random checking will have to get codes that way. My own discipline.

the 5 speed manual v8, after lugging below 2k rpm for the miles I do.. can trigger a cat code. No cure, I can do it on purpose.
upon experimenting I simulated driving an automatic..this means stay above 5200 rpm for all gears to actually feel like they are doing something.
just kidding . .. almost.


2200 rpm and lugging is the trigger. There must be a lack of program for the 5 speeds equations. automatics simply downshift when they lug that low..the manual is up to me and my diesel rpm brain.

anyway...
I have a real case of CEL to unplug. I am very impressed with my first obd2, it is helpful. Not to mention near perfect at 19 years old. It is even fast for this truck, with four less fuses than an automatic gets.

hair trigger. No pun.

update:

they do not change cats unless its so obvious that code reading is not even necessary. Along with a cat that went too far in a lean condition (high temp meltdown), the last o2 sensor after it does not stand a chance. So, the last o2 aft of cat is actually a helper to a diagnosis. Aft o2 still running is not a sign aof a cat too lean. That last o2 will die before cat for sure.

The other thing is the literal change in o2 sensors. if the y-pipe that looks young on my truck is genuine gm new old stock... that is another source of losing pairs of o2 sensors. A new o2 will not be like its old other half.

Beyond throttle, factory specs on fuel mileage, take off smoothness etc. I did find a fault with obd2 of 1996. Still awesome. I will always like it of course.

Another big one to look for, see how close the engine runs to the factory 195F. I am finally seeing a 186F nominal in the middle of summer at all work conditions, loaded or unloaded. That new o2 has done that since first run. It used to be 170...and still had a beautiful heater. Close it was, but todays o2 is better.

Some must remember 70s and 80s versions going bad..No code needed at all. It is the same today. I won't babble symptoms.
this one is young, engine runtime is fantastic.

so then it narrows down to what tells you the cat is bad.
I got one new o2 sensor being compared to an older one aft of the cat. ECM makes a bad decision computing outcome of the two.
Temps will raise due to leaning out on a fast fresh o2 going leaner and cleaner.
looking at stable volts on all four o2 sensors tells me the ecm is literally being a hair triggered asshole.
I bet too lean shows up because it runs perfect. Of course cat is not doing anything then.. morons.

I could pair that older aft cat o2 sensor up with a twin to the one I just bought.. odds are light will go out.

Companies like subaru literally reflashed the ecm to make that dumbass code go away. What I am going through is just one of the reasons. A boxer could float a gas for days...
anyway.
I may get another o2 sensor from the same place. Better off just unhooking the light.
in fact, that is just what I am going to do.

if it isn't broken don't fix it.
Now my own rule of thumb for just this old GM obd2 is narrowed to one sentence..

if manual, go manual.
This is reference to SES or CEL or MIL or whatever other lack of universal calls that annoying light on the dash. Pull codes myself. I am not done with the scanner computers, just beginning. I wonder how far a civilian can go to get a real fancy one. Maxiscan does good, but they go much further with other brands.

Chore complete. Check codes manual for the manual.


I gutted the little copper connections to use them to hold the empty spot in the dash plugin.

Now at 42 LED bulbs, and 2 more removed...
I put the led for check gauges and battery.


I actually removed one of the cargo lamps too, removed copper connects for bulbs..
Very fast circuits now. Hardly using anything.
I had to put high beam back to regular, it was so bright it hurt, as led. like a laser. Nice dash, complete.
tuning it in to just right is complete.

[Barry Donovan]

battery dash light to led

---

I have not smelled an odor like that until thinking of one of those 12v wall transformers I overloaded.

holy crap.

How did that little bulb swapped to led do all that?
I know bat light acknowledges when the alternator is on its own and charging..the gmc has a little red battery and battery written underneath it.
Without engine running, key on all the way, it just stays on of course. I swapped that and the check gauges light to led, just for that reason. They run off the battery.
First start it gave a series of flickers before going out, engine running.
Does that every time.. very fast flickers, too fast to count, then it goes out...then engine up and running.

A diode light acknowledging a diode alternator?

just another mystery...
Stomped something quite large out of that circuit no doubt...ittly bitty bat light.

[Barry Donovan]

frame plan

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finding photos from the web. this is not my truck..1995 holes are different than 1996.

I know these break to lack of spans between the rails, all else is easy defined.
bad cab mounts on torsion suspension also gets the back end before anything else.. common sense.

lack of cross sills takes the whole damn thing at any moment at any piece of it.
hence I went monster with it. Poly cab mounts is just a compliment to the bed front cross sill.
yes, the first one under the bed owns the cab width.

This again is just a truck that would look like mine. the 1996 and the cab split to bed has a large elaborate welded overlapping masterpiece.. looks nothing like this one in photo. In fact, this break here must be the reason my 1996 is as robust as it is. My brother broke his 1990 the long way on driver side.. 3/4 ton chevy, torsion suspension. Tail end is the only continuing threat for trucks today..and even then, cross sills does a miracle, and ther eis updates since 1996 making them even stronger.

I found this one and almost puked. The most confident looking part of the rails on modern rigs. This one was labeled light duty 2500. obviously pre 1996.

I was pondering one span inbetween the rear shock mounts, sure enough a photo of a newer duramax frame has one built in, and is still allowing the bed to float on the middle sill.

So that is a goal I am going to humor.
I feel it is bouncing right between cab and bed right now... hope it is my imagination. if not, the owner of the violent break above still fixed what you see in photo. Welding and a plan can do anything.
here is the link for that

once gaining straightness, bounce follows..that is the spring of the thing gm created. Wait it out on new signals, been 7 days thus far, gaining confidence. Easy indicators ... hefty throttle, feel out the squat. My own is fun as hell. Front end up in symmetry.

both banks are fueled proper, old trucks need to slam the right rear.

Stopped treating this like a wimp, went down a road called the medford road. I witnessed death there in a car wreck..odds were quite high to encounter that timing. Very quiet out there, easy going. My first days on my new drivers license in 1987.. I had grandmas jeep cherokee out there. first year fuel injected. A lot my cars have seen that road. My 1974 ford f100..on and on. I love that road. Not my road to be depressed in, it is a favorite. Lo and behold over the ribs of dirt that used to bounce my 79 all the way to the right and left back and an animal.. this one stays put. what I thought was the tail end of the frame bouncing the whole bed in the mirror is the cab poly mounts doing their job more than anything.

This thing is a gem. Simply going to restore the tire hanger, tail end...
and I got my cat engine yellow paint ready to go, when it is done.

At the end of the trail, another something I could not do 25 years ago, after looking at the hills and feeling the air and silence..pondering war, life, death, and a family never had. 1990. Just bumps and knowing I was out their on my own. Meeting pavement again, 16 miles to the highway. 0 to 70 with a bellow and whining noise I would not have had even in my imagination back then... in mere seconds.

going home.

[Barry Donovan]

aside from being the state in america bordering only one other state..
there is some one of a kind events with the weather. The coldest being one of them...but then to the aching head of old nordics, a flip in the summer.. a climate people sail to bermuda for.

I speak of bermuda high pressure, that is the dream for tourists if they should be here. Sometimes that high pressure leaves a tropical whiff of moisture.
the backwards wind. No real forecast.


this is the time for anything playing with composites, like epoxy, glue or plastics to gain the inventors fairy tale it came from...even fresh paint likes this once.

This year is a blessing for the type of structure weld I completed . That was during a heatwave, now I need panels to morph to the big guts of framing underneath them. This weather now is just right for that.

Got it all within 2 weeks, no predictions. Lucky I guess. Once the chill comes through, welding stops. No need for candy cane version of steel.

Come 28 below in this town, 10% humidity... wind shreaking, all while the sun is out...

I'll get another photo. People choose to forget, it is that shocking to the system, memory chooses to forget.
Imagine a monolithic patina ironed truck from the north? I cannot. I still think there is a factual path in there to make one however...


tip: quit blaming salt. I started there.

edit:
even more rare than this wind direction, air mass..
the temps just climbed a few degrees, and there is thunder.
Most get a cool down for a thunderstorm. This one smells like a hurricane coming.
That is how backwards this weather pattern is. Not very common.

I love this stuff. Never a dull place.

edit2

now 12am... it is still hanging on. some continental flow not getting in, and that tropical "it" off to the east, real warm version kicking stuff backwards at maine. Just thundered and lightning again.. about 7 hours or more now. Absolutely amazing.

[Barry Donovan]

old bed bolt

---

got some abs sensors today, front wheels. Kinda wet with tropical rain, will wait to install. Odors of weld are gone after the first 12 hours of the unique rain that is not common here. Seems to be clearing out now, and glad it came. No quench can do what that does...by god.

Checking the oil, this one uses none. I pay attention to colors on the dipstick as the billet filter will be shredding common iron block carbons in a way it has never had...a micron level across stainless mesh that never had its way. I also hit 5k rpm fr the first time, wanted to check for bearing colors. This one is a good engine. Sure enough, oil is darker.. the young mobil 1. No gas wash smell like old ones used to get when fuel dipped to 10mpg for a time. This one does not seem bothered at all by the bad o2 spell.

looking things over under the bed daily, see what takes a slight twist or strain in the perfect straight edges I created.

This is turning out to be one nice truck.




Popped the hood and found this sitting on top of the radiator shroud. Even after the fast take-offs, back roads, turning bouncing and pouncing...just sitting there. One content truck. like a bench in a well built garage.

Upon taking bed off, this old original bolt of the front cross sill by the gas tank, way up front..the one I made tougher than ever. This was not attached to the cross sill, just locked into its spot of 19 years. I used a cutoff wheel after bed was removed.

it is good to pause, resize things...allow it to seem as big as it is. This allows details for the bigger chores complete. I forget to do that on my way to my version of finished. Getting better at it. I go large whether I like it or not..it is just built in. That is why I talk at a hot rod forum.

..and another trick for abs that does not give a code to maxiscan tools.
turning key on you will here a pump noise near the underhood computer.
that is the abs motoring. light on or off in the dash, this truck makes that check it when key first on.
this helps narrow down to the most common fix, usually wheel sensors.

I am under the impression this may have gotten a finger of ground lightning that pummeled this place violently some weeks back...
Going with the flow. Welding and changing density is an attracter as well as deflector. Wheels are an exit for a lot of frequency... sensors are right there ready to fail miserably.

[Barry Donovan]

speed sensor part1

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got driver side front speed sensor in. ABS light now half dimmed

good news.. rotor is young, so are the pads. Verified tires are shot, nothing bent. The more good news... the sensor was so old, it looks like it may only be the second repair in 19 years. Rusted brackets, bolts exfoliated, they had been in that long. Timken brand name... the one on the right. The new one has more magnet...on the left. I did find a timken speed sensor for these, being sold for 3/4 ton .. and specifically 5.7 on up. I wonder why. Todays replacement is just like original, a little flat bar of softer looking magnet. Rockauto does not even have timken speed sensors. Glad I got these cheap.

The abs light is now half dimmed. Maybe that is their sarcasm for half repaired.
I only swapped one in for today...
this was not easy. No flex at all in the chassis lifting up the tire under the A-arm. I am standing on my 1984 monte carlo jack gaining one click at a time. Very heavy to lift a truck with a 12 foot wheelbase as a non-forgiving brick.

the other good luck...
I only have two allen sockets in my toolbox, just for my subaru. As odds have it, one fits the gm caliper, the other fits the speed sensor.
I ended up using an allen wrench after bending plate out of the way to to get to sensor.

After seeing how old this was.. I am only doing one today. Strange rain from tropical storm "it" still plopping warm rain bombs random.I may wait for air gun at a garage for the next one.
Off to clean my beautiful "giant" hands.

I found an interesting internet post, same problem, but on a 1999. Guy came back a year and a half later.. light still dim, no abs codes. Checked by professionals.
A reply claims the abs module itself. Now my code kicked on with a hurst shifter, so a grounding loop/bleed on such a tiny circuit does make sense. My first intuition. The word diode back then was as precise as an exploding space shuttle. Will swap the other side anyway. Go from there. Can live with the half dim light. The module keeps working, same for the post I just read.

the other common sense for this is knowing the hurst realigned forks in the tranny. This means bearings must have moved on the shaft in microns at a minimum. The speed sensor in the transfer should really be the culprit, by misalignment. I simply started with the wheel speed sensors.

I like this abs, it is fast..and it did do something freakish circus act in a bad situation, saved my life. Did not expect it. I was hanging on for old school life. The transfer sensor is a bit more money.. but they are getting cheaper all the time. Getting ahead of myself.. try the other side sensor first.

I am appreciating this v8 on a day like today..as I did winter. I had forgotten already just how wet that tropical stuff is. The iron 8 simply warms up and has its way. My subaru would be 40 miles to bangor and still burping something. When this v8 is in 12mpg mode, there is no sign of outside weather.. but with good o2 sensing and constantly self tuning, one can get a reminder of the past as it is trying to keep 14.7 to 1 or close to it. The outside weather trying to interrupt in its subtle ways. Always wins. Love the v8.

edit:

I forgot something on this subject...

• poisoned brake fluid can be the electrical bleed. I'll have to remember that. It is not exactly beautiful clear stuff in the reservoir.my subaru triggered a low fluid light to 20 year old fluid, while full. This one is 19...a possible solution.
• The other is literally magnetizing iron along the wires path. this one is at 350 k miles.
• For some odd reason, there was a round magnet sensor on a slotted groove reluctor... does not make sense.
• The hurst is fresh unanodized meat in an area that does looping.. the top of the tranny. I won't babble, but it is an amazing physics spot for any machine. Even with two big frame rails and a lot of air going across it.
• This abs may have been hit or miss for years, not even able to trigger codes if it had to.
• I am reviving everything with painted fender well by the computer,
• removed electric trailer brake gadget completely ..
• 53 pounds of steel added, no poly -epoxy games on tin.. plain jane open steel (doeper ground for chassis gadgets).
• rear under carriage tire removed...
• 42 led bulbs swapped in for the old tig weld bulbs.(40 amp gain)
• poly cab mounts is a huge gain for sensitive things, nitrile anything in maine is like a bomb waiting to kill babies and grandmas....and chevrolets.

Create the hair trigger and watch it all dim away..
this will be a good one, already fresh and younger than ever.



an old saying...
Just gotta sharpen the sensors. Stay alert.

[Barry Donovan]

the tire thump

---

stiffening the chassis is a huge win..
but I clearly remember trucks with tire chunks missing, bent wheels, growling bearings to the point of camber gain...
bent axles..sway bars, cv joints, frames, beds, cabs leaning cracked frames

..and no wobble in the steering at all.

I was putting the tire back on, I do all six lugs by hand tire iron. Found two of the six needed a little more than the others.

problem fixed. Mistorqued by air gun I presume. left a rotor wobble. This truck does not care if it has a series of belts broken.
Am liking this more and more as time goes along.

An update on the abs... it can only be front sensors, as speedo still works. The 1996 has a "drac" to allow speedo to work off of VSS (vehicle speed sensor) and cruise control.
the last oddity is not getting any codes at all. Gaining ground (no pun) might get the little maxiscan to work as advertised. All obd2 and abs combo should pull codes for this 1996.

pouring rain, rain hardly seen here, very warm, foggy misty 12 inches per minute. rain so hard the wipers are doing nothing. Going up rte 16 to milo, there is a long straight..this loaded pete was coming at me sending water flying twice as high as the truck, and just as far off to the sides.. looking like it weighed the 120,000 pounds it is. Cab rocking, logs pouncing...
A scene I had seen nowhere before moving here. Cannot find my camera cord for the dash camera...

The pickup does very good, no hydroplane. This weather even makes a poly cab mount bounce. Just right. Moving the frame to new numbers is easy in this weather. Will finish it up this weekend.
Got a battery for the code reader...did nothing to retrieve abs, worth a try. That light is sure on its way out anyway. One more sensor to go. Just going to treat this like a 1988 kelsey hayes without the shortcuts for the lamp. Real shame, it is supposed to be 16 pin connectable.

Oh well. The tough truck is worth it. They only get older as they get older. No blips, burps, coughs nothing... drenching apocalypse rain. I love it. I do remember these things going mushy, almost uncomfortable in weather like this..even the 3/4 tons. This one has some very nice rails. The tire wobble is not fixed.. must have been my imagination.

LT rated tread of my brand name choice is approaching a $1200 chore... and going ahead with it. I have reason now to believe the front cv stuff may be 3/4 ton like the transfer. I do not even know how to determine it. This leaves the diffs as the only half ton stuff. Mix and match by the canadian plant that built it. I guess I am supposed to be able to get to the front sensors without removing anything... but no.. it is a big fat cv. Peculiar like the rear drive shaft.

[Barry Donovan]

kumho road venture atp

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120S



with a LOT of browsing, finally came up with these.

1. I do not want knobs buzzing my brain.. they do nothing for me on I-95 or a mud trail for that matter. Biggest hoax ever: "mud" tires
2. I needed the 3400 pound sidewall of LT
3. the highest speed rating that goes with LT is the letter "S". This is ten times faster than a p rated letter T. Sick world we live in.




here is the normal looking tread.

this will be sooner than later. About $700 in all.. that is mounting and install included.
Did not know I'd be ready for these this soon. Good old GMC was tougher and straighter than I thought..


lt265/75/16 120S

The 120S has my fancy. Imagine silent as a mouse too..5500 pounds sailing along at 90 with cruise control on and 24mpg.
it's like a nerds revenge against subarus.

edit:

found a site that listed my factory alloy wheels all the way to the k3500 as oem install. I guess the LT question is answered.

you know what sold me on the kumho? that rotted 6 lug steelie has an LT kumho mounted.. must have been a decade or more dangling underneath the truck. It still has air in it... while the wheel is junk..
They must be serious about tires. "if it cannot outlast steel, it is worthless" they say.

something I remember about the squatting under rated gmc of the past ... the LT rated tire is a 3 inch free lift kit up front, and about 1.5 in the back. This one and it current stance will not be recognized.. the p rated is squatting that badly.

I know to keep them at 60psi... not the full 80. That is reserved for max towing on a 3/4 ton scale, I won't ever be there. In fact not even 3/4 ton use the whole 80, very rough for them.

4 of the road venture atp on the way. I am hoping to relax into the autumn.. this is the summer push right now. My subaru was many times worse..this is a pleasure in comparison. Real answers for things needing to be tougher...and I have nly had this for 6 months. I was figuring at least a year to get back towards factory. this one is already twice over that in half the time.

0 to 70-80-90, it is simply comical. I must get this one formally recorded. I busted up the p ratings even further..just by throttle.

when the fuel shot up past the 22mpg I was in awe of already...towing a boat or not made hardly any difference. I am just sold. Give this one the best I can.

This is as close to 3/4 ton as I ever want to get. I skip from comfy half ton, to one ton rails... 3/4 ton is a weird game...unless 8 lug and proven diff changes, frame changes. I like the heavy half ton concept. This one is actually bigger than gm's old school version of heavy half ton.

[Barry Donovan]

tires on the way

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the weight of these "monsters". very good. The other decision for these was remembering a steel 24.5 tractor trailer wheel and old tire still attached...
the bed of the oem pickup could not hold it without sagging, almost ripped the tailgate off rolling it up into the bed...and then the pickup's tires squatted right out of sight.

that was my first lesson in needing LT tires, I was 15 years old. The joke was, the junk tire on the old rig was still tons stronger than all four of the tires hauling it to junk.

The right side sensor is now swapped. The old one in photo has two melted points on the sheathing. Did not know that was even meltable. One odd lugnut on the wheel. The calipers sliding pins are too tight. Added some grease, gentle torqued it back together. rotors and pads young.. so the stickiness is just a telltale sign of things to come, still working. May get slippery anyway, I added grease to wherever it accepted it in the sliding pins and 2 bolts, put it back together. Valvoline 450F synthetic stuff. Expansion of pressures may push it into tight spots. All these chores are coming back to me...very old chores.



And this old pin is cockeyed..brackets were rusted like the driver side. Something did happen to this sensor. Light still is not out in the dash, don't know what to do next. All sensors are working.

Since my last time..must be 2 decades or more, grease has improved, poly everything, cable sheathing, temperature limits increased.. on and on. It is a pleasure to tackle this stuff today.

the new sensors reason for being so cheap: the brackets to fit gm spots was not on one of them. Made my own out of nonmagnetic, non rustable thin titanium sheet. Yes I said titanium.

A followup:

went for a longer ride, something is stiffer in the front end. ABS light is still on as half dimmed, but those sensors coming on line sure do something strong. even with wobbly oblong shredded tires, it is very stable. I am assuming ABS on line goes through brake pads a lot sooner.. as if it be feeling the pressures out at all times.

looking forward to the new tires.

when I feel enthused about ABS again, I'll go for the transfer case sensor to swap out.

The 1999 thread I found has this as a final answer 1 year ago. the thread was 2 years long.

Bad ABS module. Lamp driver circuit has a slight short to it I would suspect... assuming you checked all your grounds and such.....

I am tempted to take it apart myself, add a new circuit board, smothered in 2 part urethane.
pump works. Another thing I remember about these kelsey hayes... those golf tee looking divets frozen solid.. stuck with chemicals.

The last thing I remember about the kelsey hayes... disabling the wole damn insane thing and forget about it.
not ready to do that yet.