1996 GMC 5-speed

[Barry Donovan]

new fender

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big box, holding this fender. Took it out to find more cardboard wrapping it


took wrap of cardboard off, held on with strings, semi rigid foam in right places
not a single dent or scratch.. and it is primed as ad stated.

will get photo when it is painted. Complex piece. Extra steel, like where one side of hood hinge goes.. welded right in
little holes for chrome fender trim in place.
I am impressed.

I also spotted the iso standards...
that TS16949 must be in action

it is also a good gauge, was expecting too thin, like some of the reviews stated as well
appears to be true 18ga..
not even painted yet

another appt for sticker this thursday.. guys are on overload at center st garage.
he said he just needs less than 15 minutes..
will see how it goes this time.

did get another photo.. checked over the whole thing

the fender on the truck now is way inferior to this one... must be the old version of replacements.
I also found this is 3 layers deep..
the third spot is where air box goes into fender, they welded in a baffle.
I do not believe the fender on truck has this.

it may explain the rapid decay of my old new one.
glad this went well. I found spot to adjust behind where mudflap goes.. nothing else.
the wrinkles of a die press is also much less on the new one.. must be more computer aided in design.

being the dynamical idiot takinng the small car on for nearly 20 years..
the spring day like today, warmest since september... over 180 days since 70F. Seeing extreme front camber on a ford van with strut suspension puffing some winter crud that decided to melt in the heat.. or the loud exhaust in a rodeo v6.. or the winter durango that didn't start but still has its kicker bass radio. that is just my driveway outside.

I know what I got now, and I love it.
I am quibbling over fender rust and a frame exfoliation chore
the inspector on the brake lines is seriously an extra.

[Barry Donovan]

a note about the brake lines

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I was taught brakes on the kc135. back when fuel was still an explosive jp4... a day like today would have it dripping out of places even an sr71 would laugh at.
Hot brakes was quite often. it has a few of the years shaved off my life for sure.
I was one to approach, sometimes making the call on fire dept to stand by the plane
just needed a hot strut raising the plane like a lift kit and some glowing red at the brakes. Smoke is the stuff to ignore. I was often chosen to check them, because i could run like a bat out of hell.

Anyway,
there is something to be said about the stainless...
I am finding since first trip out there is feisty sharpness in the brakes. it is the same exact endpoints as before the lines swapped.
Still progressive like a truck, no need to go ass over tea kettle trying to be a lambo.
I am convinced all this brake hooplah about upgrading... its a majority the steel lines reaction to letting off the brakes...
the plain steel loses its size on the return

pressure on, steel is good. the pull back to return is the actual long term killer.

just an observation.
stainless ain't budging.

..and strangely enough, the abs light is now less than quarter lit. I will be changing more of the lines out to stainless throughout the coming weeks.
it may be a zinc battle or old alkalinic something... a ph of strange acid maine dishes out for sure. I had only guessed this, it seems to be coming true as a fact.

the iron lines are playing like the O of an X on the electrical ground system of the truck

[Barry Donovan]

streetspeed got the gmt400 bug

this model here is great for older 4 barrel or the other direction into the holley electronic etc.

at 50hp less than the 1996+, the frames have a chance to stay straight even longer

I plan on going to j perry garage in southern new england.. he even has a whole escalade that was left incomplete.

the fender and stainless brake kit is less than 200 recently.. it really keeps me going inspired to find others.
I have not found many where the owners beat them mercilessly.

[Barry Donovan]

new inspection sticker

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crack of dawn start for me... still frost here. I followed a logging truck that still had snow on the back of it. the frozen pile his load came from..


the inspector liked what i did. I have yet to just replace something as factory. I end up finding the best of stuff..
the cab mounts for example. I went full kit energy suspension. Class 12, grade 8 bolts
stainless rockers custom..
full cross sill swap under bed, twice over (or more) in factory
the rear brakes now full stainless...with that elusive brake bracket stronger than oe in a better spot.



Any concerns on frame, were my own.
I went solid seam wild man with the mig weld and plates it did not quite need yet for another several years anyway.

I like the real inspections... especially rowing gears thru the city, or going through a tunnel in boston, or sitting there in 120F in a traffic jam with a/c blowing cold straining the temp gauge.
..or the 90mph cruise control setting just for northern maine.

The sticker was bumped again, it is now a May expiration date due, because of delay for repairs.
It started off with a february sticker.. even the inspectors themself hate that month.
it is the worst for any vehicle in maine.

this past year was bumped to a March due date to a repair needed.. and now May is a good month for any DIY in maine. May-October inspection dates are very good.

will share the chores for this summer as i do them. It seems it is headed for a plateau of that magical several years in any used vehicle..where it needs nothing at all.
Very rewarding. I have done that to every vehicle I have owned

[Barry Donovan]

r134a HFO1234yf x10

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refrigerants.
checked pressure for the air conditioner.. down to 5psi.



I found r134a not only starts shrinking at 15F, it continues to shrink until there is a vacuum.
we only hit a week of 18below this year. nice and warm one.

that answered my question as to why my dads rigs and pickups or even old big bodied cars NEVER keep their air conditioner after 1 maine winter.
it also explains why the new trucks have a wimpy a/c pump and much smaller overall design.
the less the overall sustem needs to run, the longer it lasts.
..but it can get over run oif it hits record breaking heat waves. Enough to live with, but I still like the old monster systems.

the old gmc could cool down a 747.

I have an idea...
Take a blow torch to the accumulator, or heat gun. See if I can gain back on my perfectly sealed system.
the gmc is more than 32 ounces.. a monster.

if it does not work
I'll go right back to full vacuum pull and recharge with dupont r134a
I have a consistent seller of 3 cans , ester and sealer for $32 delivered.
fair enough.

EDIT
recharged.. a definite problem with something called esther mixed with cheap 134.. it killed it by december last year
still very good.

went nothing but freon this round, and I saw no credit given to dupont.
as long I got cold air.
today is seeing 75 and lots of bugs...
my truck hits 130 in the cabin on a 75F day.
The hottest interior i have ever driven.

ready to go. Went for a ride to verify.
up next is fender, hangers, and more weld on my phobia of half ton frames.

[Barry Donovan]

new fender

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attacked rear hanger, thinking no problem.
air chisel and all.
It is more of an operation than I could not continue.
going to have to burn a bushing, kill a bolt.

will have photos here

onto other things..
threw the front fender on after slaughtering it with a paint gun.
You'll know I painted it when I share photos.
why I am so retarded wiith a paint gun?

keeping memory is part of working this truck.
I thought of cutlass, chevelle, monte carlo..
just by changing the fender.

the right front has a lot of work to do.,.. including air duct and battery and radiator support..
maine is a pig sty, so being the third right front fender is no surprise.
I also setup steel to regain the fender liner edge.
strange but true.. the driver side is original. No rust. just 7 feet away is a tortured twin.

tomorrow is final align, it was dark when I got done with it.
Dad came out and helped me.


ebay fender bolts, and some fender nuts.
I just want spares.


an error in the second fender install by previous owners was no bottom bracket at all. thought rust killed it off at first, but no...
it simply did not have one. This third fender may go a bit longer. I worked the bracket in.


..and am loving this little modern marvel. That chopped off some time.

[DanStokes]

I got my best piece of spray gun advice from the Plymouth dealership owner in my home town (I worked for him for a while). That advise - spray for shine. As soon as the spray film has a shine to it you better stop or it'll slide and make runs and less than shiny and it'll be orangepeeled. I later learned that if you somewhat dryspray the first coat it'll hold the second coat better with less tendency to slide.

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

I got my best piece of spray gun advice from the Plymouth dealership owner in my home town (I worked for him for a while). That advise - spray for shine. As soon as the spray film has a shine to it you better stop or it'll slide and make runs and less than shiny and it'll be orangepeeled. I later learned that if you somewhat dryspray the first coat it'll hold the second coat better with less tendency to slide.

Dan

thought I had i nailed. Me and dad had a complaint about never enough matierial coming out.. I was the guinea pig for the new giant gun.
we laughed as half a pint came out in 3 nanoseconds.
I filled it up again and let 'er rip.

a few more details today.

and some good news..
the old fender was original.
welds of inner to outer were coming apart..and I remembered my neighbor louis telling me someone thumped the truck pretty good on the right side and took off (mental patient in our building -long gone now)
I found no evidence...until taking the whole fender off 3 years later.
Very impressed with this truck in the north.

alignments of new fender are identical to other side.
awaiting one fender nut and bolt for the bottom.
Everything bolted up.

Even the trim screws are exact.
antennae and mudflap..and the little rubber trim like halfway mark at door..and sanding this thing down some to try and recover.
precise very loaded little fender. I am surprised at how much work that has to do.

[Barry Donovan]

anothery mystery fact

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I simply declared this truck had an overload years ago.. as the injuries were old.

the localized frame errors, the stretched sway bar bolt...

I got to looking at old fender and realized it was original.


I saw this crease that made no sense whatsoever...the battery tray bolt for reference is above it.
until putting the geometry together of a severe overload of left rear to right front, ditch side.

I am now adding the truck took a dig with a very very hefty trailer. Adding that to the overloaded theory.
it also explains the dramatic balljoint the inspector found, right front...and the cab mount bolt changed, driver side rear

I am also wondering if falling off a car lift could do this.. a big hard thump. but the left rear is the source of way more weight to leverage this other end. I ruled that out.

the radiator support is also still original.

one more odd note.. the last squeak source turned out to be the fender scrubbing its 2 broken fender washer areas . Only did it in extreme cold.
metal must have been hard enough to mate two surfaces
the fender also has areas of spot welds that failed.

I am very curious how many tons that was....
one tough old gmc.

I also got the correct bolts and washers on the way. Might do other fender some day.. for now it is very good.

metric stuff

[DanStokes]

Some of these things remain a mystery although if you add all of the clues you can get an educated guess. Not sure this needs fixin' though I'd try to stabilize that rust at the pinch weld (or did you change this piece out?).

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

Some of these things remain a mystery although if you add all of the clues you can get an educated guess. Not sure this needs fixin' though I'd try to stabilize that rust at the pinch weld (or did you change this piece out?).

Dan

with a whole new fender, I'll keep the 18 ga original for being mysteriously tough through hell and back
little scrap to cut out for stuff.

375k miles, since 1996. its most southern record is a northern massachusetts city.
I am finding that amazing.




got the wrong pinstriping in the mail, and bunch of fender bolts and nuts.
will be finishing this soon. Not even going to sand it.. leave all that paint right where it is.

I am liking the mismatched pinstripes from ebay. it is very Maine, at is finest.

I am relaxed to the sight of trucks 10 years newer and the backyard attempts, complete with rattle can matched color code that never comes out right, or the bumpy fillers sanded down attempting to make something nice.

I fit right in.
an interesting misalignment is factory... the fender looks low about 1/8th to door seam. The old one did the same thing. I had a pile of starter shims and said to heck with it. the relief duct for the cabin is wedged very tightly on the fender liner... no adjustment allowed unless i bash the fender liner.

A real factory anomoly... original to this new one. I'll leave it alone.

[Barry Donovan]

the last fender nut

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finished fender..the last bolt down behind the mud flap inside fender well. Used one of the new nuts and bolts. I knew to leave that one missing so I could fill it in easily when the parts arrived. Worked as planned.
except the very bottom bolt. I have a welding trick, also making use of fender nut..
just for ice jams.Got driver side done my way already. I knew the metal was in good shape, but cut it off anyway just to do it my way.


I am surprised I noticed it going down the road. it is a noise canceler, a last signal to the last cab mount way up front (radiator support)...
changes engine bay flows.
It is so quiet I can hear the pee hole I left for the flowmaster, after the muffler. I know these trucks have a drain back there.. the flowmaster doesn't. Made my own.

my old fender was split did not even know it. Glad for inspectors. they actually get the look up point of view fromt he bottom while standing. Not often for us backyard mechanics.

I swear this thing could drive forever.
Went for a quick cruise a/c even smells nice. That fender stops a bad flow to the air duct too...

Right front fender. working twice+ as hard and only looking symmetrical to the driver side.

Glad to put that in. Learn something every day.

[Barry Donovan]

anti-corrosion

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I deciphered my happy accidents after watching this video.

my truck is above average when it comes to staying healthy.


all north its whole life. Smothered in the worst pile of nazi chemistry known to roads for 8 months of a year.

I made a list of what is helping.

• I use wd40 on anything that moves to a squeak. This spread it around in ways I did not compute apparently
• synthetic everything in the oils.
  • ATF is a monster for example.
  • The manual trans is GM synchromesh (very expensive),
  • rear diff synthetic,
  • power steering clear synthetic
  • engine is mobil 1
• marvel mystery oil the fuel
• frame paint still has cat engine yellow in some spots, never really pay attention to paint.. I did try some actual frame paint dad was trying for his tractor trailer
• thinking alternator - original to 1996. it drops amps (volt gauge may as well be a dummy gauge - it does not reveal how dramatic the 4 wire alternator is)
  • LED lighting full swap, and fuse size drops (many of them)
  • LS engine spark plugs (short, less resistance, faster acting.. less power needed to fire them)
  • sheathed engine ground to frame

the number one conductor of rust is the water, ph level and electrical. Welding densifies old stuff..and of stainless is the welded connection, it tends to help everything around it.

with this , I am still waiting for at least an 80f (and have not gotten one).. to do some more welding in the frame back end while going is good.

and another mystery.. I can only prove by chance.
the appearance of fender dropped 1/8th right front, and the way xcab panel aligns is a tell tale sign of the 2500 and 3500 models.
I had guessed this truck was not the squashy half ton just by appearance.

I spotted this in two separate videos, after thinking my truck was a one of a kind anomaly.
both were diesels.. same odd thing with xcab alignment passenger side and right front fender down 1/8th. All factory.
identical to mine...and not seen anywhere else yet.
I am wagering...if to see it in a half ton, it would be a gasser manual trans v8, or the 6.5 turbo diesel. (I am feeling confident about that)

[Barry Donovan]

fender mind bender

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finished with the rubber trim that runs length of truck.
the paint runs don't even matter.

pouring rain, foggy..road ponds.
it occurred to me:
the fender has been split since my road home from the dealer 4.5 years ago.
I am sure of it.

it explains the coil going faulty and the two rear passenger plug wires.
I went hot rod 8.8mm wires blaming everything but literal vapors.


another thing I noticed. This truck makes 32.6 inch tires seem small...(most pickups do)

god damn there is A LOT of pressure in them fenders. With the new one the road ponds are shattering into clouds right up and over the roof
no blippity blips on engine runtime. Cabin stays even more pleasant. I was already impressed with it...
Living and learning.
going large doesn't have to stay home.

got home popped hood and sure enough,not even a smell of humidity in the engine bay.
pouring rain.

that right front fender needs to be perfect. The right edge side of the road is always a monster.

[Barry Donovan]

oil change and weld

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after air hammering all around rear hanger.. a crazyass strong weld already in place allowed me to hammer the framing.

I added a ten inch plate, conformed to bumper bracket shape, added to the weird but strong weld I did 4 years ago.
I actually took wild stabs at the old welds,as it is a different mig welder now. Made some ugly piles... don't need to care.
Might grind it for someone else's confidence.

Cleaning frame off is minutes with die grinder, I love what comes back through. I will never scrape this frame until spots are needed to be cleared. I even found the factory layer of paint. someone has gone at this more than once, it is easy to dig through and find different times.


worlds worst photo, I have now concluded the camera knows when electrons are still moving. That yellow is actually grey in real life.
Anyway, the new plate has holes to show where rivets of hanger can be worked through.. a new hanger's bolts can go through the new plate and old frame.
strong and ugly weld... this is MANY times stronger than the factory wimpy tails. I am looking forward to my version of a receiver hitch.

I actually noticed a change out on the road.
each spring end is a hammer head, the frame and body absorb it. The spring signal changes to however much density and weight is at either end.
Wasn't expecting that...
Even a leaf spring is a precision instrument after all.

oil change, and am still in love with this engine. Even the magnet has hardly anything again. no bearing, carbon, sludge nothing.
ran with this round of oil since november.

clean the stainless mesh with brake clean, hold it up to the sun and know when the billet filter is ready to go back together.


Must be very warm out there, in the rest of the USA. I got under the truck and realized the heat. I have not felt that here. I am expecting a good round of 90s in maine soon... even though the air is still in the 70s.
the metal of the truck knows what is coming.

one last thing..it added to the love of taking air chisel to this.

see that bolt in the right side of the photo? that is the remains of a reciever hitch nut that actually gained more than twice its size in iron.
cathode/anode. It by chance was the end that got fed..
at this many miles it probably mixed with tin cans long gone to pasture, toyotas that were breaking in half in front of it.

I asked dad about the truck stop scale.. he said just show up, they made not even charge me.

I am guessing 5600 pound half ton.

the back end popped a 2 ton jack.