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  • last adjustments
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    found some lug nut caps for the bottom of ubolts, cheap.
    Today I opted to loosen them up, and it was with ease being so fresh installed...
    thumped with a mallot the hellwig to aligned. sure enough, it went right in to fill the little gap at the yellow arrow in photo. Still leanring as I go, this truck is heavy enough to need the same nut tightened on the other leaf spring, but on the outside of the hellwig ubolt.

    I have never seen this stance on this year of truck. Very sharp looking truck.

    Tightening back up got some creaks all the way to front cross sill. This truck was begging for rear spring.
    I also got a look at where these crack like candy in half between the bed and cab, this one has the color of the new pavement right up the road from me inside the C rail on passenger side..
    This tells me paint chores need to get done. Densifying gentle..great time to feed the thief with a paint.
    The middle bed sill is also up against the little rubber feet I gave it, staying dynamical as gm wanted. The weld patch driver side is deeply embedded, it looks like it was needed now, and not just a plate scabbed on.
    Very nice ride.

    A bit of grumble like a cold tractor trailer around 50mph this morning.. using the brand new road to feel this out. it subsided before thermostat opened, as I tried to repeat it.
    Felt like a yoke grumble, distance must be changing between shaft and tranny...pinion angle coming to life.

    This is much stronger than the strong it already was.
    I am very impressed with how tough this stayed with complete disregard for all the chores underneath. The previous owners really did their part, it inspired me to go this far with steel and extras.
    One generation prior is in the junk yard for the same neglect. My first stretch and align was a 1979 chevy that hauled a 2000 pound tractor in the back (suzue diesel with bucket attached, up over the cab). It did survive. That was my first personal lessons on how far the c rail can go. That was a heavy half ton. Coil spring up front and a long wheel base.

    this one literally feels and sounds like a tractor trailer in comparison. the same cold grumble this morning.. I almost laughed out loud.

    edit:
    my mistake..
    my first lessons are my dads rigs. We hauled a 60 foot beam once, all steel, with a little wheelbase cabover. Incredible lesson on steel..that one ride. All leaf spring too. Old school heavy duty steel hauling.
    steel has a memory like me. I don't forget it.

    the first frost is coming though, for this place, it is not a wild stab . Exactly just in time for all the steel maneuvres..now I just sit back.
    A very interesting event is the supermoon eclipse this weekend. This truck at 19 years was not even born yet for the last event. these apply changes to everything known to us puny humans that may not even notice them.
    I am referring to steel of course. A new event for the memories.

    and hellwig does indeed have its own modern website. I must have downloaded outdated instructions from...who knows what century. I thought 9/16ths had to be at 45 foot pounds...glad I ignored that.
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    I mentioned the need to go beyond 100 foot pounds on the new ubolts, and then check a few days later.Sure enough, it was in the real instructions..modern print.

    Going beyond will just find it hovering at 90 to 100 anyway eventually. This type of tighten has a bottom out, very hard.. there is no real torque value but tight being necessary.
    Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 25, 2015, 11:57 AM.
    Previously boxer3main
    the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

    Comment


    • the real quench

      in a hot desert, throwing ice water in your face will still need someone to find your dead body....

      ..because it did nothing.

      Steel is the same. Quench theories and I go back to my first welding..almost 10 years ago now.
      50+ pounds of mig wire later, and two mig welding machines...
      The best steel I ever made was waiting until fall, after a long summer of welding a chassis. Click image for larger version

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      This truck is added to my own myths and legends of steel repair, being the first of the new modern runtimes turning 20 this year (multiport obd2) and having the last generation small block..and wimpy tail ends on the c-rails. Classic and new all at the same time.
      An inspiration is book value. I guess they call this one club coupe. I always assumed extended cab.
      This one is at 5000. I paid 2500 plus a small tax, drove it home. Maybe 1100 into it. If to ever need to get over bad foreign steel...

      just grab at a truck. dodge , ford, gmc... it doesn't matter. It will come back around like a real quench on weldable american...better than expected.
      Call the quench a squeeze of reality.. feeling more like a lovable hug.

      I may take in another before I am done.

      Unlike the subaru because of the supermoon eclipse within a month after the chores..it will add to the densifying...a signature I will not notice, will you?
      A 33 year interval for this type of eclipse. Changing 19 years of wiggling, creaking, twisting, bouncing, swaying, and effeminate butt tickling (some people like that).
      This one will be different whether any of us like it or not.
      As of now, the past two morning have dipped to 40, sun already on the thermistor..it may have been colder.
      To stand behind this truck aches the lower jaw, rumbling its way to a new life.
      Straight as can be..with a classic non invading touch of positive rake on a 141.5 inch wheelbase.

      it is now ready for "quench"..gods version.

      The subaru BTW is my other 10 geared wonder, in the miracles of steel. Got a look at the stainless rockers on that one today. The welds morphed within a year..very active region at the b-pillar. It looks as if to be 1000 years content, smoothed over.
      Not just my reward, I may be selling it soon, too cheap of course.
      I'd like to get one last rear quarter on, also stainless. the passenger side is stopped in time...added the stainless last year.

      edit:
      this one is at 142.5..and a good eye can see the wheel favors the back of the well. I blamed towing..but that number is actually written. 1 inch different than other places. It could be the 1425 pound springs flatten out some. 3/4 ton will keep an arch..shrink up an inch.

      I also noticed we are being the cold spot of the nation for this freak moon spell coming.

      an interesting set of facts:
      it will be the closest perigee full moon eclipse for this century.
      the last one to get this close was 1897.
      the skies will be a northern version of crystal clear...

      Does the perigee Moon effect the length of totality? It’s an interesting question. Several factors come into play that are worth considering for Sunday night’s eclipse. First, the Moon moves a bit faster near perigee as per Kepler’s second law of motion. Second, the Moon is a shade larger in apparent size, 34’ versus 29’ near apogee. Lastly, the conic section of the Earth’s shadow or umbra is a bit larger closer in; you can fit three Moons side-by-side across the umbra around 400,000 kilometers out from the Earth. Sunday night’s perigee occurs 65 minutes after Full Moon at 2:52 UT/10:52 PM EDT. Perigee Sunday night is 356,876 kilometers distant, the closest for 2015 by just 115 kilometers, and just under 500 kilometers short of the closest perigee that can occur. This is, however, the closest perigee time-wise to lunar totality for the 21st century; you have to go all the way back to 1897 to find one closer, at just four minutes apart.
      Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 26, 2015, 08:31 AM.
      Previously boxer3main
      the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

      Comment


      • dei high temp exhaust paint
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        painted the y-pipe and cat, gave the rest to the frame, very light coat on the frame.
        the paint needs a burn in, and I am idling it up some underhood until the puff of the paint sets in.
        when paint calls for a burn in, sometimes molecular does the same job. The frame took it right in. I only did external, and a little bit inside by muffler, and on the inside near gas tank.

        I look at the back, in random intervals, in the bright sun on the warm day...
        heavy little puffs of fog, falling to the ground. Little peculiar random puffs.. I kept idle up until it stopped. engne running perfecty mind you..it uses no fluids, does not even sputter at any speed.


        The nuke event was indeed the truck itself...
        the devil must have been stuck inside the cat.
        That is a 305 event that has never left me. The 350 never did it.
        The modern chemistry from DEI sure is a can of whoopass.. took just minutes to change the thermal value of the cat. That is also the only code that keeps reappearing for the obd2 check...
        it may be gone for good now.

        To verify all was good, drove another 40 miles home to an increase of 5mpg...pleasant surprise.
        very quiet right now..and it was damn quiet before the y-pipe paint. Gave it the first throttle romping to 3k rpm to the floor...
        incredible. This truck with dual exhaust would hang me. I throttled up and over what I assumed to be just a hill... it takes off fast enough to leave you climbing up out of the seat on the downside of the hill...never got that from a truck. Very fun. Getting to the point... the DEI paint sends it further and hotter to the back, where it belongs. Not to mention the leaner reading o2 must be keeping for the computer.

        The wobble brakes on, turned out to be very easy to diagnose. I simply applied ebrake on the new road this evening. Definitely the rear. This sat with ebrake very hard set in single digits F with a subaru dangling behind it...after getting brakes good and warm for the tow.
        I bent both of them. I have done that to other vehicles..still learning to go easy on the ebrake.
        the right hub looks a bit purple. this must be from when the frame being out whack with the cross sills. Nothing to keep it straight for some years. Very tough setup to stay straight at the axles.

        The PO did mention some rear end work, I bet they swapped it out.

        I guess the hubs are that old anyway.

        So that will sum this up...
        two new hubs, maybe a whole rear brake kit while I am in there.


        the other indicator for a monster in the cat..the exhaust is aiming right at my subarus new rear quarter..and it is annihilated. Just a couple years old. I guess toxic and heavy was in the mix as well.Maybe mercury or other Maine stuff kids drink at the public schools, with their lunch time plutonium sulfur milk.

        A funny thing. From the back underneath, one can see the tailpipe, and the muffler attached. I had always assumed the y-pipe was right nearby, up into the engine.
        I am looking at it from the other end today...
        holy cow. its like a 4 foot leap from the end of the cat, just to get to the muffler.

        127 feet of exhaust under there.
        I won't open it, my lessons are well learned. Keep it hot..
        A last thing to notice, and this is very smooth already...the handling changed a little bit. the torsion bar must have been accepting heat , cat is not far away from it.

        one can of high temp paint. did wonders.

        on the molecular note, my attempt at being a nerd..
        aluminum is found near silica and iron. If it were not for iron, aluminum would not exist. Silica is the more common version surrounding baurite (aluminum) that is found near the tropics. Earth revealed itself the commonplace and history.. that to find iron and aluminum needs the cold north. Fill the gap with your own conclusions. So, with frame in a molecular cool down, this means voids are created.. big amp drop to all the new LED lamps as a bonus...activity reducing is just another activity to play around with.

        The paint sticks. This shade of offset silver on the gloss black truck. Very nice. I have seen these rails in chevy orange engine paint, also high temp.. those are old school gurus that knew what they were doing. I went a little bit differently, same idea.


        for fluid consumption..there is one small leak, it is at the oil filter connection to the block. I do not know there is a cure for that, a tip from my quick lube days. As long as it is in a drop form, let it go.
        there is two relief valves constantly at battle, a long 4-6 foot loop to oil cooler and back, plus the resistance of a filter. Not a very smart gasket setup.. but, keeping it to just a drip is good.

        the billet filter with stainless mesh is about the best option, it never fights.

        odometer hit 349k miles, I changed the oil at 346, and spilled some out of the filter. This left me half a quart down back then.

        it now is just needing the whole quart... 3000 miles later.

        full speed ahead. this one is a gem.
        Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 26, 2015, 04:17 PM.
        Previously boxer3main
        the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

        Comment


        • gem

          I am looking through the most stolen vehicles in america..

          not sure where the honda stuff comes from. As they are useless in every way possible..
          maybe insurance attempts?

          article must be fraudulent somehow...

          I see trucks is #1 overall.. especially gmc/chevy.
          From the 1999 grille onward...
          gonna get kifed.

          I'll keep the old style...and the newer engine whispering.
          At 121 mph.. it is just gaining even more air and keeps climbing.

          Shhh. Don't tell anybody.
          I have never had a vehicle this common...
          ever. Click image for larger version

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          The quick splash of the exhaust paint. The flakes ypu see are either factory or someone elses attempt at a paint. this still has factory paint visible all over the place. the top right is my welded stainless rocker seam..stuff is meant to smash it. The 420 code has not come back today... this paint on the cat may have actually done the trick. If anyone knows what the SFJ is, the internet is concentrated on stolen hondas...can't find any info.


          Another reason for gem as the title...
          when the cold squeezes after my summer pile of welding rubble, I typically choke on oxides for days.
          That began after my time with airplanes.. I still leave a grey layer on the shower walls.
          not exactly to be confused for an organic pig...
          This truck has no sign of puffing anything at anybody. The cat cleansed itself yesterday to one layer of exhaust paint..
          that was another amazing.
          I am actually enjoying the sweet dew of autumn in the mornings...the slight head and teeth pain that has never left is a bit easier to cope with.

          went for a long wilderness walk today.. my left leg is really not up to it. I am hoping I got two miles in.
          I found where the hemlocks continued to grow, as big as hardwoods.. they are near the tall maples and the beech, and yellow birch. I could not help but stop and stare..it is within my lifetime, that maine has extincted them. I had a dream when I was young to build in a grove of such a place, there is always a brook nearby that cannot flood...the sensitive trees are the tattle tale of the land.

          Click image for larger version

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          I also found some moose poop. When I am not taking photos of cars, something space weather related...
          it is usually animal dung.


          No more cars for me... it is trucks here on out... outer space and animal dung.
          Although I am missing the smell of a good diesel warming up..
          the thump to life that rumbles this quiet place, I used to love that.

          I am thinking of the nv4500 cummins combo. They must be out there...falling apart to somebody's fairy tale that steel lasts forever, and dodge D200s hold them up.

          I'll change the front bumper if it needs it.
          The v8 in the first of the duramax/powerstokes..
          something not content local. Don't see much of them. I am standing back from those for the time being.

          meanwhile this one is setup for the winter. I left one seam at the right rear cab corner..the cat episode yesterday reveals why previous owners did not simply button it up. Should be good to go after one more cold season.
          Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 27, 2015, 11:56 AM.
          Previously boxer3main
          the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

          Comment


          • supermoon and my chest
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            My truck had a nuclear event a few weeks back, I called it a black hole. ( A chrome bolt disappeared.) What is stranger than that? My subaru did something similar..
            The two similar factors are working at the center of the vehicles. the subaru was a center mounted bolt on the rear end, the truck was simply placing the bolt on the center seat console.
            I mentioned in another post, I awoke the next day with scratches on my chest, fanning out from the middle of my chest bone.
            That took a week to go away.
            Today I awoke to scratches again...this time only half my chest.
            The chain is broken.
            I am thanking the supermoon. life is good.

            mysteries of the universe contain us puny people... scaring big mouth runts that never try.

            made a simple video , as the sky was vivid last night..
            my camera is from the last century, 1982 of the last supermoon technology.
            it is actually an expensive mpeg2 from 2007..but times change fast.


            silliness like extra terrestrial events and nukes that could kill us all aside..
            I adjusted the driver side wiper linkage today, got a look in the wiper bay...like brand new. That is one good thing about this place, the wipers bays will last 4500 to 8000 years....on the 2 cent primer the factory gave it. A .25 inch 115000 psi frame on the other hand... real oddity.

            Sitting on the hood to get a stubborn screw out of the bezel under wipers, I hood a dent pop sound. Ignored it. Got off the hood and the only dent up front is now gone. Looks nice.
            I moved the whole cab, the rad supports revealed it...the little denters need to find their way. This one must have been in the ice storm of 98... that weight load and wiper slip..last time I saw that was a big ice storm.

            a content gmc again, now with aligned wipers.
            Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 28, 2015, 08:12 AM.
            Previously boxer3main
            the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

            Comment


            • front cross sill

              finalizing this already, looking at small piles of rubble left over.

              I have concluded:
              the front 3/4 of this truck, beyond the bed's front cross sill, is some kinda special. This at 19 is doing what trucks do at 10...and those miles, keeping measurements to less than .25...astounding.
              I thought the frame was a fat 3/16ths, simply heavy and differenced. Looking though LMC catalog, I found the S and F and J individual may be the 6.5 diesels and 454. This truck was made different for the manual tranny, they increased spline count on the transfer. Might mean frame as well. I was taught as a boy..look for bad cab mounts, and cross sills...that is the keeper to repair and build. Ignore the back ends beyond aft of the front shackle of the rear springs...those died in all versions, scabbed patched , even hacked out and started over.
              this truck had all of them ingredients.

              I also find in the cathode anode games..this pulverized its own tail end, and simply feeds iron on all the way up to back of cab. Never seen that before. Looking over another potential truck to buy is a 98 automatic...instead of bumps it has divots.
              yet another big difference between auto and manual.. the manual must be a thief guiding to the front, the automatic is a bomb in every direction but itself.

              ..all catalysts have a monster eventually. this one is young, but proved already it needs a heat wrap for my locale..at least on the y-pipe feeding it.

              ..all the trucks need LED tail, and GMC should have LED all the way aroundin the parking...fancy blinker routine they have.

              ...storms on their way, every vehicle I have owned leans or squats. Barometer, pressures, who knows.. This one does nothing but fatten p-rated sidewalls down sideways. I fell inlove with that one fact. Finally seeing the sun after 3 days of ice slop, that is what this truck had to reveal.


              I further decided.. I will only seek manual transmissions, unless it is a suburban.
              All else is normal repairs.


              Only a guess for now... but those diesel frames, never saw one broken. Reminds me of this freak gas version I took on with just one sideways photograph on craigslist as the selling point to my good eye...

              anyway...Ode to manual tranny.

              opted to measure and weigh the front cross sill piece left over. Click image for larger version

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              8 inches, by 3 by 2..
              and 3 pounds...
              1/8th inch thick exactly.
              for 64 inches, multiply times 8...
              24 pounds.
              I was off by 2 pounds...thought it was 22 via shipping label and guessing.

              If to wonder how a molecular disappearing act can take place...
              beam between two c-rails that had their wimpy wiggling way for a decade and see what happens. I enjoy these chores, will always get trucks cheaply. People are afraid of what I did to this one... its called steel work...and they park their own for the silly reasons.

              Now go pay 45000 dollars for one...

              I grabbed this GMC by the backbone, that is a strong step one for the classics. In fact, that is how they show up on the manufacturing line..the main crossmember is the only big tie in to hold the rails together in the back. The bed and springs and axle and cab and bumper etc are the finalizer, working in percentages of the overall chore.

              The front cross sill.. that is an arguable piece to make very strong. Every c-rail with a dump body has a strong front sill with a head ache rack..
              and what did pickups get?

              A sheet metal wimp is what they got.

              To add 24 pounds where a piece of crap sheet metal was by factory...
              This changed the whole trucks integrity in a proper way.
              Just one full box beam.

              If to remember the chores on this one...
              I will remember the front cross sill first...and the rounded edges staying nice to the thermal changes throughout a year. The rest was the same old chores.

              The internet is like a gate that allowed free thinking to an exact piece. I found this at onlinemetals.com, and they are great about dropping steel price to aid in shipping. Very worth a sale.

              in one evening, this place can gain 18 inches of snow, an inch of rain, topped off with ice in a northwest arctic wind as the subtropical storm leaves in january. I have dug in with a shovel already standing in the bed...
              well over 1000 pounds in the back. I am staying rest assured this time. Funny enough, the truck never went below level suspension. The backbone is quite strong for this one..I knew to respect it even further.

              Some real rain coming, I am already in a locale that is 200% of normal this year. Looking at 4 or more inches. when the trees are done growing, and this rain comes through..it is very bad. Say goodbye to 50% of vehicles I see go by on this nice autumn day.. by the end of march.
              As it is ,a walk in the driveway is the odor of an aluminum engine and ATF having a problem and with antifreeze...

              let the hell begin.

              I awoke to my own yelp echoing to silence last night. I had a nightmare. I cannot recall the last time that happened...I never lose the facts of how bad things can get. A blank nightmare. There is a change in my veterans status..
              maybe the frosting called bullshit is getting to the cake of decay.
              I still have a thought, even flat broke..some crazyass trip in a gmc to another place, charging cards until accounts drained. Left for dead in a warmer place is just that...better than the cold.

              I do have a traumatized motivation... but it is spoken. I like to talk. The more I think I am dying, the more I realize I am among the last standing. It is very scary.
              Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 29, 2015, 06:54 AM.
              Previously boxer3main
              the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

              Comment


              • heavy rain
                I have seen 5 inches over 2 days here..
                but that was a record never seen again. Click image for larger version

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                This locale is a sweet spot, we get fairly close now to the forecast, as they finally caught onto it some years ago.

                Today the truck had a strangely cracked window gutter on the extra cab..broke way too easy yesterday.

                trying to shrink between c and b pillar is my best guess. Plastic must be old.
                So I removed those..

                on intuition, I check the tire crossmember randomly. The bottom connects are cracked driver side, all else is the beast I built. Adding the hellwig, I know it squared up passenger side rear leaf..this means a roll has to square into the crazy tail ends of the frame. As tire crossmember takes up top and bottom..it has to take the headache of my demands.

                I learned with my 1979...it will reweld itself. not going to fuss much over this. Amazing spot...just another one. this truck has more than one..the whole rails, both of them, very springy. They do not want to die, we have to make that happen.

                The shock mount is indeed compressed to my weld. that is an awesome win... tens of thousands of psi.
                Between you and I, the back connection for the cross member.. I think I skipped over it concentrating on the tire frame itself. Can't find my signature big booger weld there...Of course, my method of madness is quite intentional. I am sure I did though..

                One more weld for that, as the shrinking twister to demanding exact measure should be all done. I have no need to move anything now, so it should be dialed in to one last weld. I may not even get to it until next summer...let some 30 below get it first.

                These are very hard measures I am playing with...in fact, the crossmember still looks welded, one has to have a light in there and look real close to a certain steel wiggle. The top rivets are still doing their job..., and the 4 on passenger side, upper and lower. Its like a 3 legged box but with 8 legs. the new cross sill, the spans between the two rails...very strong anyway.
                the tire member may have actually shrunk itself, I painted it cat yellow.

                Was expecting these things, especially after hearing the b-pillar "undent" itself from the inside on the day of welding...passenger side. That was more than a month ago. I knew there was a hard earned measure coming back in a good way.
                That is also the one that broke its bolt, the cab mount under c and b pillar, very back mount passenger side when trying to add the poly..could not get it out of there.

                Responded nicely, and taking weeks to finalize. That is real steel. If that dialed in right away... I would not be treating this nicely. In fact, I'd be quite upset. Good density takes some time to earn a change. It shows PSI is still in place in important areas.

                I have my subaru down to taking a year.. cannot get much harder than that. The GMC C-rails are actually a pace inbetween, as they are their own animal. Faster than a subaru, slower than a tractor trailer.

                looks good, feels rugged to drive, ready for many inches of rain. No doubt a double or more over factory...I am ready.
                Went for a ride in the first of the tropical misty drops, very heavy..even needs defrost. I am quite humbled. I am coming off of 18 years of little subaru. This is my first autumn into winter with the vehicle I knew I needed and wanted. I even stayed hiding in the city.

                Just the sound of the new LT tread in the rain, streams going across the road are nothing...
                you know there is 5000 pounds going with you. It is actually my first time in the rain since finishing it for this year. Steering is stout, I am in control.Creating the 200 foot fog behind it at 60mph on these back roads.
                Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 29, 2015, 05:04 PM.
                Previously boxer3main
                the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                Comment


                • testing in the rain
                  update:
                  this usually goes at the end of a post..
                  airbag light is out, it is a blessing to find others posts on the internet. quick wiggle on the rotten cover, light back out. So, will be refurbishing that with stainless steel. Driver side is brand new...those are easier to find for some odd reason, a previous owner must have paid big bucks for that one.
                  (This trucks record is that genuine and costly)
                  A very old memory kicked in to see the dome light dimly lit after shutting door..this means vehicle is drenched. (I think that is a gm secret.)
                  my very first road going car, a delta88, it did this too after big rain...and my monte carlos.
                  watched it slowly rheostat its way out...a tattle tale dome light.

                  this also hints for me to wiggle stuff around related to ABS, find bleeder...that light will go out when I find it. there is no codes, it all works...yet light is half lit. This truck has no errors.. hard to believe. I'll keep digging.

                  A huge conquering with my own goals, the 100% parking lamp circuit as LED. Dash, everything..ALL of it is LED. A blessing in this rain.


                  Click image for larger version

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                  never had this truck in the heavy rain. I have actually never seen this much rain in maine. Trigger a nuke, this is what happens...and I thought subarus were fun for shaking the world up. Hurricane hokin? it is going to have its eye over lagrange maine... my gmc in the middle.
                  one hokin big hurricane.

                  Went for a ride. Very confident, does not spit sputter.. volts stay good.
                  I had it in the cold slushy stuff..but that is not thorough like this rain. that stuff mutilates rocker panels like a hammer. This truck shreds the real rain into a contrail. Love the weight.
                  As far as I can tell for now, it loves to use fuel in the rain..
                  This time is also the first wind since winter..between the sway bar end link fix, tough tires, cross sills, hellwig springs and new ubolts.. it is a tank in the wind. I really like this one.

                  I triggered air bag light, and know which sensors it is..they are terrible looking.
                  . Would love to know a trick for that, other than finding used sensors. Cannot find new.
                  I found both front ones in front of wheels getting smashed to death are both badly corroded.


                  I am really liking that truck sitting out there...
                  the bad brake drums really show their colors in this stuff, the brakes get very grippy.. a cross between autumn leaf juice and the rain. Very cleansing. Even the brake drums get it.
                  Needless to say welds are clean, no oxides from grinding.

                  Will seek a way to stop air bags entirely. I am actually terrified of them.

                  of course there is millions out there with corrosion, found one has the same problem as me..rain.
                  a reply from a technician is to simply unhook them. it will leave the light on, and be useless in a head on collision.
                  I guess they are encased in a rubber compound, might be salvageable.

                  This was a perfect candidate for the 5k project thread..cost into, and value out of..undoubtable no matter who looks at it.
                  I am not even at $4500 yet. Maybe they make high grade rear drums...will look around. Would love some hefty ones.

                  update:
                  this is not the same as the first update before the post to read that the update applies to. This is the latest update for that update.

                  the rain is finally done, official total is claiming 5.42 inches.
                  Click image for larger version

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                  found a used sensor on ebay, the only one..and it is an exact part number. this truck has 2 part numbers for this, both being sold as the same (verified at a gm dealer - parts website), thought it was cool to try the other one for the same part. Obviously did not die like the other one.

                  I got the odor of heavy salt, so heavy, that I got a headache just for touching it. I will not attempt to refurbish the outer cover..it is a bomb.
                  My roads lean, the wheel has to aim right at it...all the other sensors are still writing legible, and like the abs and pcm, the checks when key on are fast acting, no errors. Worth the 25 bucks. Now I may wrap this one in giant heatshrink, or stainless...while it is beautiful.

                  Best time to get that chore in..

                  will get a picture of the old one..it does not make sense at all to see it...very bad condition. All steel surrounding the sensor is in good shape. the old one had a serious problem with chemical.
                  Last edited by Barry Donovan; September 30, 2015, 05:51 PM.
                  Previously boxer3main
                  the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                  Comment


                  • refurbish air bag sensor

                    its like a hurricane is coming...my vehicles let me know.
                    I opted to take the battery eaten air bag sensor into the house, scrape off the metal and recover with 304 stainless, and metal tape. Click image for larger version

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                    Here is a shot before taking off somebody's zip tie special fix. Click image for larger version

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                    old cover removed, this is part way to getting right down to the good clean surface. Rubber was good...all metal was bad except for the base of it. I found that tip at another forum. the battery side of truck has a straight shot down to air bag sensor..it was not the tire splashing after all. Click image for larger version

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                    cleaned up. One stainless steel piece to go around the whole thing, keeping it wide, hand rolling edges as a locker..and finally sealing it with metal tape even further. I could smell the chain broken...stainless is famous for that. Click image for larger version

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                    I rolled stainless in a way to act as a clamp when the sensor is bolted back on..tighten it down, to tighten the stainless...to tighten the sensor.
                    I liked this so much I am not putting in my new one on the way.

                    tested out ok.
                    Truck is very crisp and powerful and defined this morning after driving in the rain yesterday..will make a routine of that.

                    Click image for larger version

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                    Mmmm. Good eating. Iron rubble in a bowl.
                    Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 1, 2015, 07:02 AM.
                    Previously boxer3main
                    the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                    Comment


                    • front air bag sensors - followup

                      well, of course I cannot do one chore without a mystery big enough to split atoms..attract hurricanes and cause earthquakes. Click image for larger version

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                      this did something mysterious, the stainless cover for passenger side, and anti-magnet metallic tape. Click image for larger version

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                      So I got the driver side as well. This one was in good shape to begin with..simply wire brushed it and taped all around, cannot fall off. I removed it to fully wrap it. On DIY emi protection, copper tape is common..this is aluminum, an alternative, and not only that it was protected already. Paint spots gone may be all it takes for these to get messed with from outside.

                      I also noticed someone scrubbed the frame for this one...and I had to bang the metal back down into shape, above the sensor... weird moves by a PO.
                      Magnets do strange things to people, like rust. Very scary and mysterious... leaving some to self urinate crying and whimpering.
                      I gained power for some reason... the door chime, a steady sound is not the same.

                      I am assuming this is the magnet type sensor for now.. they must be.
                      You can look at these photos, without urinating yourself.. the mystery powers are nulled now. The final peace will be an eye of a hurricane over central maine.

                      kidding aside, there is a ground level interference here, it may be the outside lamps with wires in the ground ect.
                      I simply made a emi protection for the magnet inside. it already a faraday cage type by oem..but not enough. I finished it off like the concept of silicone plug wires, only different. Simply an extra layer that wants nothing.

                      I first moved here, and my first night drive with the subaru..the headlamps flickered... I knew it was getting bit by the parking lot it was in. Negative battery could not hold it. that was before I actually broke part of the negative.. no headlamps at all now. Need new battery. The truck typically being the biggest rails in the yard with a weirdo air bag sensors dangling down low..it is easy to see why it would be favored over other vehicles...just need to turn on the key at the wrong time.

                      Being the pitch change on the door singer bell on the truck, I have determined it is a very high frequency that I am blocking. Not 60hz. Might be the new fancy furnace motors... computer controlled. Hard telling. Good to have these things in check anyway, even railroad tracks can trigger some vehicles. This gmc was a real dumbass with those sensors...about the only dumb electrical thing on it, aside from tungsten bulbs. The bulbs are an ancient complaint by me anyway.

                      it is about the toughest things going, and I predate computers and cars. The gm trucks had tattle tales, like alot of the bigger sedans. Door buzzer sound was one of them. I used the dome light trick last night to tell me ground was lit. An interesting lesson...it was an LED lamp this time. My theory on things reversing is changed. Tungsten can go either way, so one would not really know what was lighting up what and from where. Glad those lights are going to extinction.

                      So..interference is actually power added in the right direction, but when you don't want it. GM did that on purpose on the dome lamps, even my subaru does it.. as if to allow a lit roof to light up the lamp...the positive side with a bit of an opening to accept it. the sheet metal side of the car adding power. this means a chance for danger. Warm up full or walk away...

                      anyway, this one is very good, covered all the basics, and the little bit more complex. the half lit ABS is all that is left, and where I realigned tranny shaft and driveshaft.. it may just need a refreshed VSS. It still works, but I am referring to small bleed.
                      Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 1, 2015, 03:24 PM.
                      Previously boxer3main
                      the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                      Comment


                      • trucks clone

                        I still have the same search saved in craigslist that bought this truck.. Click image for larger version

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                        found a crackhead deal of the day...still with receiver and trailer brakes.
                        230k miles.
                        Not a restore in any way..
                        the lower left tailgate, down below it is the shared ground for tail lamps and trailer brake..
                        to be as active as photo, the frame is shot left rail. And so is ubolts, cab mounts, rad supports, cross sills, leaf springs, brake drums
                        air bag sensors front, and fuel pump will die soon in random intervals. Driver side floor, door seals, and the xcab windows do not seal with that gutter in place.
                        Still has the old fried headlamps, incandescent bulbs, factory shifter..
                        asking $3000
                        with no maintenance record.

                        At this pace, my own will be out there for 6500 firm.

                        look close at the leaning 305..I bet this one is permanently racked.
                        driver side wiper is also a tattle tale (should be level).
                        Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 2, 2015, 04:30 AM.
                        Previously boxer3main
                        the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                        Comment


                        • errands at night

                          I get caught up in the chores, go about the real world when the time comes. I do not know to enjoy, unless it is real.

                          invisible railways crackle with life...



                          Went to sam's club, parts store and gas station.
                          This truck ...
                          it looks like a make over since the last time I was out. Parked next to one generation after this one, it almost looks small, and sitting low...
                          parked next to a modern sporty version of half ton, with Xcab and stepside bed.

                          One last tighten on the hellwigs, the rear springs are on the last legs. This now looks like the heavy half tons. Positive rake undoubtable. Very welcome for this model..might be the way the cab curves down in the back. Just looks tight to be jacked up a little.

                          This one was meant to be an animal, the bed has got to move, and the rails..all together to be more articulative. I simply tightened all that up. Not a big hauler pickup, simply sport/offroad. I have learned these models, did not like them until the highway, and good roads. Hellwigs knocked off a pretty good bill, and I can use what is left for miles to reset the little tail rails. A new set of springs, zero miles with poly bushings is only $200. I have always wanted to make my own tail end, like hotrodders do for cars.. the trucks are much easier. I do not need to go there yet, but the future thought is good.

                          This one looks more like nascar than the new ones. I had yet to realize, this 4x4 only got bigger as the years followed, even the little 4x4 of today sits tall.
                          Very stout this one..you just know it by looking.

                          I have now verified this racked over pretty good, to bad mounts and sills..enough to walk the brakes (axle hop), as this evening, that is disappearing slowly but surely. That is what I know of these rails when they are headed for good.
                          Come a long way. By the 3rd month after welding, I am sure this will be like new on the brakes. That is a good respectable pace for steel recovery.

                          the last of the c-rail wimpy tails. Falling right into place. Quite quick for what it is..
                          I really like it.

                          Added a quart of mobil one, much deserved.. this is the lowest oil consumption engine I have had of any kind..23rd vehicle.
                          Heading into the woods sparks the memory of why I wanted a truck and quick starting last year at this time. My first year gone by here, the familiar chill line of mountain flow takes places about 20miles north of bangor...
                          gets colder on my backroad to home.

                          I miss bangor at a time like this. The hint of tropic is in the air there for longer... just 35 miles to the south.
                          I am getting stronger out here, I am disabled. The subaru would start kicking an unknown gas, like a cockroach, or spider. It is at its greatest peace with no battery hooked up under the vivid stars. I could not wait to get back into an iron engine. That is more important than anything. The physical pains that onset me altered for life return..but that tells me the pig is gone, pain cannot hide out here. That truth goes a lot further. The trucks size is more like my mindset from decades ago... thrash it around like my subaru.. do not need to know the blind spots anymore.

                          The left lane in places is pitter pattering the changes , 5000 pounds with four real feet. I like the sound of the bumps and ribs, on the LT tread. I stay there at 80...less than 2500 rpm. I forget this mass and volume, and sounds passing at 80. People tend to get out of the way. It is a breeze to feel coming, before it gets there. The cold owns everything by january.. the truck drops a few miles a gallon and keeps the same pace, seeming even bigger. This is after leaving the store lot by going over the middle yellow median without a creak or moan, all suspension, an angle demanding articulation. The restore chore has a great start...almost done already.
                          I have not even swapped old shocks out yet.

                          I have one more trauma to conquer.. already conquered with airplanes... but to drive out of here on the coldest day I can remember to a warm place. It adds to a survival tale. Not all that important to me anymore. This one is a good candidate. People used to take this stuff for granted. A lot of seeming masochist ways with tiny cars today.

                          This one , if I was a newb, with this past summers chores to be this strong, would be remembered for an atomic fusion incident.. but I have been there and done that... my subaru was first. I still think my calling is welding. More past tense now than any other year before. It has to be on my own time and pace.. only keeping it rare. The clock is not ours, we have to respect it. If to go that far with iron repair... you'll go a long way.

                          best purchase ever...and it has been a long road for me as well.
                          Going to throw in the new sensor monday, wrapped up like driver side.. that has a mystery ingredient for the rail. Reduce EMI on a good pair of front sensors, and go with it.
                          Something I am not all that impressed with is fuel consumption, seems to be below 20mpg right now. I did give a 20 foot frame railed run an earthquake...will stay patient. I bet the brakes dial in before fuel...very sensitive stuff.
                          I love timing this work into autumn and winter.. these steel welds go to density of repair in any locale, but maine has a special finale, if you know how to use it.
                          My subaru is an example, maine derived... of being like no other.. very hard little machine. You will not find another in that density.

                          If it were not for the freak cold..I could only guess this would be a pile of mush in the junk yard. There are lines drawn for too many years being a human butt ionization machine. This one had broken sulfur chains (20 below can do that), and heavy salt... must have been the ocean nearby. Other than that , it is playing with the northern lights, and stars as bright as the mig welder that keeps it going. I have always wanted to do this , in this region.. since I was a teenager. Now with those chains, I did get sick..but I got a negative attraction problem anyway. I should not be doing this work at all..
                          Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 4, 2015, 02:16 AM.
                          Previously boxer3main
                          the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                          Comment


                          • a real military cot - 1951
                            I looked over rear drums one last time as the hopping could be axle alignment related, frame tweaked.. all kind of ways to hop a wimpy tail c-rail gmc. As it turns out, these hubs are so old, I can break off the cooling fins hanging onto a 19 year old exfoliation. the right rear hangs onto a purple color until full cool...all while no reason to get that flustered. They must be very thin and with the inside oblong. My subaru did this at 20 years. Those little drums cast a rainbow off the rust. I never did decipher that one.
                            I do not recall seeing drums this bad ever. I may be able to crack the right rear with a hammer. Will show and tell.
                            So, I ordered two bendix.. 99 dollars delivered. Assuming that is the last fix for the back end. Two reviews showed them as good.

                            Ever thought, "I am going to put a cap on the truck, and find a military waterproof cot to use as a bed."
                            ? Click image for larger version

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                            I am driving down the road, see a "free" sign, but turned around for the fancy headboard of a waterbed in the pile.
                            What I did not see was the excellent condition military cot from 1951.
                            folded up on the wet ground...
                            It is that waterproof.

                            Smelled for death or disease...all good, threw it in the back of the truck.
                            I hear some grumbling, and look up to what seemed to be a very old man, clearing out the seat of a mid 1970s chevy truck. I did not go get his attention, assumed the stuff to be his.
                            Hanging onto the old stuff, does find its way to minds alike.


                            military surplus gets a pretty penny for these. I kept my chem warfare bag, also a modern wonder of waterproof.. Click image for larger version

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                            Going to make one missing spreader out of a hardwood shovel handle, and call this perfection. No tears or threads unraveled.
                            instructions say "14 jun 1951"

                            Click image for larger version

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                            Truck is doing very good, gas mileage went way back up. Drying out a soggy something, I see a lot of modern cars are with a white smoke in the sun. Precision of foliage I presume. My subaru would be trying to kill me at this time... like most times. Ok, it is at all times.

                            Getting more aggressive like everyday people have been since 1996.. even a mental patient has afast throttling something today. I remember trucks had to earn their way with skills. Not this one. Any idiot can drive this truck.

                            A quick pressing of throttle at 75 could use a gear drop, but I do not. Awesome highway machine, great power. The rear end work is first showing its reward there. Still some random back brake wobble, just going with it. Very smooth sailing, nice steering wheel feel. I could drive a long day. The rpm at 80 is the lowest I have ever run. The right front bumper has a bigger gap than the left. The true colors of whatever dented it is now out loud. Will attack that sometime. Cab and frame is more important, the big chores are done.

                            Yesterday was one more torque check via hellwigs instructions, on the new ubolts. Got it right the first time apparently..gave it a little more because I could. These must be at least 100 foot pounds given my time with torque wrenches. Factory would not do 50 just by sight of them. Slight deformation on the hardened washers is the lockers for all 8 ends of the 4 ubolts.

                            Just those swapped out is many pounds of strength beyond factory. Click image for larger version

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                            Took my trash out, found two crutches in the garbage closet, and took one apart. Stretched the cot out with the springy arm of part of a crutch, and now have the ingenuity of a MASH cot. Set up a bed with what ya got.
                            Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 4, 2015, 12:58 PM.
                            Previously boxer3main
                            the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                            Comment


                            • brake drums

                              back to a little more truck. Click image for larger version

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                              pdr0541 Bendix.
                              22 pounds shipped. That is just the 10 inch inner diameter version, the small drums. They get much bigger from there. I have found other drums for this same truck at 15 pounds, and they fit it... bendix must be the real thing.
                              The color and odor of what is mounted now..that is brake fluid, burned.. possibly polychlorination. My subaru did the same things in the bangor area..
                              synonymous with death, and birth defects, but who cares. Nuclear air force and dump sites and cyanide paper mills are welcome. As long as the fat guy gets fed.

                              Funny thing, I added approx 8 pounds per side with the hellwigs. I bet I find 15 pound drums.

                              almost simulating factory.. too light back there.
                              there is also a claim they are composite.. that is ridiculous. they are good old cast steel, nothing more..

                              Seems my canadian built gmc had a few wimpy things on it in the back. The ubolts, the drums.. the strangely 1425 pound springs on this monsterous overall OEM compilation. I am simply stepping the whole thing up to be closer to normal. Suburban like, not so much like the real 3/4 ton.
                              This is truly the wimpiest half ton back half with a 3/4-1 ton front end offset.

                              this should do it.
                              Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 4, 2015, 02:11 PM.
                              Previously boxer3main
                              the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                              Comment


                              • brake drums continued

                                woops, I bought composite. I did not know bendix went the way of the blind midget. Cancelled order, will have to wait and see if they processed it too far.

                                Click image for larger version

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                                I then found ac delco, seems there is no other choices. thisis a vague memory..but I am guessing to find a crack in the crap drums in there now. I know right where to smack it to bust the center out of them. I may get that on video, a wager for one smack with a 22 ounce hammer. My old trusty estwing.


                                ok, memory revived. This truck for 20+ years had the same error as the 80s subarus. In fact rear drums is the reason I was taught to look for "ts16949" standards.. as old iso9001 harbors the criminal. "new old stock" is hell on earth for the brakes.
                                they do not mention weight, but do mention g3000 cast iron, and the standard that saved my life in the subaru.. ts 16949.
                                so, ac delco it is.

                                in the meantime, no rush to get uptight over the wobble. It is explained. Not a hazard yet, just a runts engineering.
                                This was actually one of the tips to know if you had a "big little" chevy, for many years... if it begged for the bigger rear drum, that was one of the clues they wimped a 3/4 ton or 1 ton combo into a weird wimpy back half.

                                This is by far the heaviest front 2/3rds of a half ton I have ever seen, let alone owned. I am attributing most of the factual monster to the manual tranny and v8 combo by factory. This was a wrong truck to keep the back end a midget half ton. There is a big half ton..this one is right at home there. Got most of the ingredients in place already. These mistakes happen more often than a bankrupt GM does need to think of anymore. I do enjoy steel mystery..this truck is still fun and simple.
                                I will not overstep boundaries and assume it was canadian built that did this mistake alone.. but I do not read of it much, unless it is a northern monster.

                                so..will wait out for the ac delco. No big rush.
                                Last edited by Barry Donovan; October 5, 2015, 05:35 AM.
                                Previously boxer3main
                                the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

                                Comment

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