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1988 K20 Suburban Build Thread

I’ve been working on this for an hour or two for the past couple of days.IMG_8791.jpeg

I started out with the bare headliner I’ve had for a while and ran the cables for the rear ac that I’ll be adding later
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Then I added some of that insulation I had a roll of that was leftover from an rv project. I sprayed the heavy duty 3m adhesive to get it to stick to the roof and it stayed on nicely

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Finally I added in the new-to-me headliner that I stole from my parts truck. I can’t remember if I saw it here or if I saw it somewhere else but I stole a second support rib to go across the top and help with the sagging headliner, I just need to measure it out and drill it in.

On to my next project:
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I need to figure out what I want to do for sound deadening/ insulation here in the cargo area. I’m planning getting rid of this surface rust and hitting it with a rattle can. I don’t know if I want to get the vinyl mat that came factory back here or what. I use it pretty regularly so I need something that can take some abuse. I’m also thinking of adding a bed slide down the road to make grabbing things easier. Anyone have any ideas for what to do here?
 
When insulating a car or truck condensation always concerns me. I have a van that was insulated in the 70's and the top is rusting from inside out. In the roof of my burb, when I get there, I will use Havlock wool. Very popular with the Van life folks and tested not hold condensation against the metal. On the front floors I used foil backed butyl, rolled down and seem taped. When rolled down condensation can't form on the inside metal. I don't see why this would work with cargo area. Possibly use a truck bed mat on top for heavy/messy cargo loads.
 
I think I have decided to do what others have mentioned and find a truck bed mat to put down in the back for now. As for an update, I just got done putting all new weatherstripping in all of my windows and I didn’t even consider how much of a difference it makes with the noise level. I would say about 80% of my weatherstripping was gone and the last little bit that was still attached was brittle like plastic and chipping like crazy. So far the only down side is that it has made rolling up the window extremely hard for some reason. I bought the precision kit and stayed away from the LMC kit after some research online. I am thinking that I either don’t have them set in correctly or they may just need to be broken in a little bit.
 
My next hurdle to get over is my front axle. I have always had some shake at about 65-70 mph but it drives straight without touching the wheel so I just assumed that maybe my wheels needed to be balanced or something like that. Well this morning I was tinkering around when I decided to jack it up and see if there was any play in the wheels, that’s when I discovered this:
View attachment IMG_1711.mov


After some research, I believe that this means I have bad wheel bearings and it’s the same amount of play on both the driver and passenger side.

I have never rebuilt an axle before and so I am turning to y’all for feedback and advice. I’d like to learn and I feel like there’s no better way than to do it yourself so that leaves me with a few questions.

1. Without actually seeing the vehicle or taking apart the axle to inspect, am I in the right ballpark to assume it could be bad wheel bearings?
2. Is there a “kit” or parts list of things I will need in order to swap out the wheel bearings?
3. Are there any “might as well’s” that I should add to the list while the axle is semi apart? (aside from re-gearing to 4.10’s and ditching the auto locking hubs for manual locking hubs)
4. Is it worth it to rebuild this 8.5in 10 bolt, or would my money be better spent acquiring a Dana 60? I have a cheap 4” lift and 35’s and I will either be purchasing a 4” lift from ORD and keeping the 35’s or going down to a 2” lift and 33’s. I wheel probably twice a year and don’t plan on going any bigger than 35’s so that is why I am leaning towards rebuilding this vs going with a Dana 60.

Also bonus verification, after using the google I’m pretty certain this is a 10 bolt front end but here’s a picture just in case I am wrong:
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That axle is fine. Is it your daily driver? If not, take it apart, and see what actually needs replacing.

Martin
 
Wow that looks like a lot of play. Check the spindle mounting to the knuckle, the spindles for wear @ the bearing surfaces, ball joints and bearings for being loose as well as worn. Special tools you’ll need a spindle nut socket.

watch this video and/or others showing what you’re getting into.

 
It's not a bad job, just pay attention during disassembly and take pics if you aren't sure. You Tube has several good videos. Check brake components while they are loose, clean and grease slides. Check u joints.
IF your spindles have any kind of shim for camber, mark them when removing so they go back like they came out.
 
I finally got all the parts in to replace both wheel bearings and all the seals that go along with it, now I just need to find the time to do the job lol.

As if I already don't have enough to do, I have noticed a knocking noise that has gotten louder in the past 2 days coming from the trans/flex plate area. I checked all of my converter bolts and they are still tight. I have also checked the starter and any other trans cooler lines or anything near it and nothing is knocking on the trans. It is a very steady knocking that speeds up as you rev the engine. It is louder in park and neutral, will stop if I hit the brakes hard enough in drive, and non existent in reverse. It quiets down/ goes away after the engine/trans has had time to warm up. I used a stethoscope to verify that the knocking is not coming from the engine but is definitely heard in the trans. I think it is safe to say it could be a cracked flexplate since I bought a cheap one when I swapped the 350 in. With all that said, I plan on pulling the motor to inspect the flexplate, replace all gaskets, and replace the torque converter since it is the original from 1988 and probably due to be replaced.


I have been sitting on a few thoughts for my plans with this build and I am torn between 2 options right now.
Option 1: Keep the 4 bolt main SBC 350, replace all gaskets and put a mild cam kit along with new flexplate and torque converter
Option 2: I have found a few BBC 454's in my area around the $600-$800 price range so I was thinking about picking one up, all new gaskets and seals, and maybe a cam kit along with flex plate and torque converter.

Both would be carbed since that's what I currently have and all of the TBI has been pulled out. I use it daily and would like to eventually pull my camper with it a few times a year. I am considering the 454 for the torque and for the "cool factor" but wondering if it would make more sense to do work to the 350.

Any thoughts or opinions are very much welcome
 
83ChevyK5Blazer said:
454 was the best thing I did to my burb, it pulled decent mileage for what the rig was, and it didn't have to wind up to keep at speed. Only downside is depending on the trans it might not like the new found torque.
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It's a th400 so I don't think the big block will be too much for it hopefully. Did you use a stock motor or did you do any upgrades?
 
82355 said:
Big block.

Martin
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I already knew you would say big block so I already went ahead and picked one up this morning for pretty cheap. I figured I couldn’t go wrong getting a big block and found this one for a great price. Now to go through it and make it look pretty before I throw it in! I haven’t done much research yet, anyone have any idea what kind of torque converter I should be looking at, my current one is on its way out and I’d like to replace it while I have the motor out of the truck.

IMG_2722.jpeg
 
88Burb17 said:
I already knew you would say big block so I already went ahead and picked one up this morning for pretty cheap. I figured I couldn’t go wrong getting a big block and found this one for a great price. Now to go through it and make it look pretty before I throw it in! I haven’t done much research yet, anyone have any idea what kind of torque converter I should be looking at, my current one is on its way out and I’d like to replace it while I have the motor out of the truck.

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Pull the valve covers off. See what the heads are. Do you have AC?

Martin
 
82355 said:
Pull the valve covers off. See what the heads are. Do you have AC?

Martin
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Pulled them yesterday and checked, casting number says they’re oval port not peanut port. Pulled the pan as well and it’s a 4 bolt main which was a nice surprise. So far I’ve replaced the timing chain and gears, oil pan and valve cover gaskets and cleaned up the distributor. I also got new plugs and wires and a set of long tubes since this one had some headman shorts on it. I’m going to stick my Holley carb on top once I rebuild it. I have an ac compressor but I don’t think I have all the bracketry needed to hook it up right at the moment. It’s on the list though!
 
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