This is plan B. Going to give it one go and then I'm done with it
CK5
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1989 Crew Cab Tow Rig Build
- Thread starter Kay86K5
- Start date
Any way to just run a balance tube between the 2 tanks?
I'm sure there is. I've seen a few guys who have done some different setups to keep their dual tanks. I just wanted to keep mine very simple, and this was the best I could come up with
A communicating tube welded into the bottom of both tanks does make them drain down simultaneously, however unless you put about a 1" hose, filling up at the pump will be too fast to equally fill both tanks. My semi has a 1/2" hose between my 2, 50 gallon tanks and I have to fill both sides separately because the other one that I am not filling doesn't go up fast enough.
Got some good progress done on this thing yesterday. First off I finally got my new crank pulley installed that is the Workhorse version
And put a new belt on
Then I started working on my transfer pump. I took the original rubber hose that came off the sending unit, and also some of the left over 3/8 hard line that I removed, and cut a little piece of hard line and shoved it into the end of the rubber hose
Then installed onto the sending unit of the storage tank (sorry for the crappy pic)
Then got a larger diameter hose and slipped that over the fuel hose and put a clamp on it. That's why I put the small piece of hard line in the smaller hose so when I clamped down on it, it wouldn't pinch the hose shut. Also just capped off the return line
Then ran the hose over to the main driver tank
And connected it to the overflow port right next to the filler tube
And put a new belt on
Then I started working on my transfer pump. I took the original rubber hose that came off the sending unit, and also some of the left over 3/8 hard line that I removed, and cut a little piece of hard line and shoved it into the end of the rubber hose
Then installed onto the sending unit of the storage tank (sorry for the crappy pic)
Then got a larger diameter hose and slipped that over the fuel hose and put a clamp on it. That's why I put the small piece of hard line in the smaller hose so when I clamped down on it, it wouldn't pinch the hose shut. Also just capped off the return line
Then ran the hose over to the main driver tank
And connected it to the overflow port right next to the filler tube
Then worked on finishing off the fuel lines. I took the new TBI sending unit I bought, cut off the ends of the feed and return lines and then flared both lines (BTW...this kinda sucked doing this with little room to work with, but was able to do it). I also installed -6AN sleeve and nut on the feed line, and -5AN sleeve and nut on the return line
Then on the feed line used a -6AN male to -6AN male adapter. On the return line I used a -5AN male to -6AN male adapter
Then just attached my -6AN hose ends and lines to that. Pic below shows the whole assembly in the tank and hooked up....boo ya
Since everything on the tank side of things was done, I re-installed the bed
I then installed the 8.1 liter adapters and hose ends on the other side of the lines
I ran the lines up the outside of the driverside frame rail. In this pic you can see the aftermarket fuel filter I picked up too. It was a little more money then trying to run the factory fuel filter, but I think it was way worth it to have less joints that could leak. I just picked up a second one of these filters to have in the truck for later on
And the connections at the motor (don't know why the pic is rotated, sorry)
So the fuel lines are completely done...hopefully they don't leak, haha
I then took a second and installed my radiator. This is off a mid-80's 6.2 diesel truck. They are much larger of a tank that are offset to the driver side. I think it should cool this beast pretty good.
That's all I got to this weekend. More next weekend
Then on the feed line used a -6AN male to -6AN male adapter. On the return line I used a -5AN male to -6AN male adapter
Then just attached my -6AN hose ends and lines to that. Pic below shows the whole assembly in the tank and hooked up....boo ya
Since everything on the tank side of things was done, I re-installed the bed
I then installed the 8.1 liter adapters and hose ends on the other side of the lines
I ran the lines up the outside of the driverside frame rail. In this pic you can see the aftermarket fuel filter I picked up too. It was a little more money then trying to run the factory fuel filter, but I think it was way worth it to have less joints that could leak. I just picked up a second one of these filters to have in the truck for later on
And the connections at the motor (don't know why the pic is rotated, sorry)
So the fuel lines are completely done...hopefully they don't leak, haha
I then took a second and installed my radiator. This is off a mid-80's 6.2 diesel truck. They are much larger of a tank that are offset to the driver side. I think it should cool this beast pretty good.
That's all I got to this weekend. More next weekend
Looks awesome. I hate flaring lines, hopefully they don't leak, wonder if there was a way to pressure test them before putting the bed back on.
I'm sure there is a way you could, but I'm not overly worried about it. Everything seemed to go on as it should, nothing felt weird while installing, and everything tightened down as they should. If it leaks I will actually be surprised
Very nice progress sir. Looks very good. I just got done running a return line for my blazer, and ran the exact fuel line and AN fittings which were also black lol.
Then worked on finishing off the fuel lines. I took the new TBI sending unit I bought, cut off the ends of the feed and return lines and then flared both lines (BTW...this kinda sucked doing this with little room to work with, but was able to do it). I also installed -6AN sleeve and nut on the feed line, and -5AN sleeve and nut on the return line
Then on the feed line used a -6AN male to -6AN male adapter. On the return line I used a -5AN male to -6AN male adapter
Then just attached my -6AN hose ends and lines to that. Pic below shows the whole assembly in the tank and hooked up....boo ya
Since everything on the tank side of things was done, I re-installed the bed
I then installed the 8.1 liter adapters and hose ends on the other side of the lines
I ran the lines up the outside of the driverside frame rail. In this pic you can see the aftermarket fuel filter I picked up too. It was a little more money then trying to run the factory fuel filter, but I think it was way worth it to have less joints that could leak. I just picked up a second one of these filters to have in the truck for later on
And the connections at the motor (don't know why the pic is rotated, sorry)
So the fuel lines are completely done...hopefully they don't leak, haha
I then took a second and installed my radiator. This is off a mid-80's 6.2 diesel truck. They are much larger of a tank that are offset to the driver side. I think it should cool this beast pretty good.
That's all I got to this weekend. More next weekend
Is that fuel filter one of those 3" long inline types? If so you may consider something different in the long run. There isn't a lot of filter capacity with those and the are notorious for plugging up in the racing world. I like to think pump gas is better filtered and stored than the gas used in a desert race but just something to think about.
I'm assuming you have a 10 micron filter as well
That is something to think about. For now I will just run this but may consider changing later on. Mine is this one linked here:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-650133
As you can see, it's a 40 micron filter. From my reading this has a little more restrictive screen than a 10 micron, however I think it will probably do just fine on my tuned (however stock) 8.1 liter running on pump gas.
Got a couple things done this weekend. Not that much, but some stuff. I did get my new harness from Howell Development ordered and also sent them my computer to do a tune on it. Should be a couple weeks before its back to me, so trying to get a bunch of the little crap done before the harness shows up.
Got my tcase linkage finished up. Got an adjustable one from JB Custom Fab, real nice company to deal with...awesome customer service
Installed a throttle body spacer that is designed for a 7.4 Vortec L29 motor. Most everyone that uses a mechanical throttle body on an 8.1 needs to use the spacer to make sure the linkage has enough room to go to full throttle when the cable is connected
I still need to figure out exactly what I'm going to do for the throttle cable itself. The factory 89 cable isn't long enough. I have a Lokar universal aftermarket one right now, but not too thrilled with it. If anyone has some suggestions...I'm all ears
I also installed my mechanical fan. The fan clutch is a replacement 8.1 liter, the fan is off a 7.4 Vortec 454 L29 but is a 9 blade fan. Should do pretty good to cool this thing
And installed my fan shroud. I bought this off ebay. It's for a 6.2 liter diesel truck (same as the radiator I purchased
Still a bunch of little things left to do before the harness/computer shows up. Need to get an air intake setup, need to get my master/slave cylinder on, upper/lower radiator hoses, throttle cable (mentioned above), and just stuff like that. Getting closer though
Got my tcase linkage finished up. Got an adjustable one from JB Custom Fab, real nice company to deal with...awesome customer service
Installed a throttle body spacer that is designed for a 7.4 Vortec L29 motor. Most everyone that uses a mechanical throttle body on an 8.1 needs to use the spacer to make sure the linkage has enough room to go to full throttle when the cable is connected
I still need to figure out exactly what I'm going to do for the throttle cable itself. The factory 89 cable isn't long enough. I have a Lokar universal aftermarket one right now, but not too thrilled with it. If anyone has some suggestions...I'm all ears
I also installed my mechanical fan. The fan clutch is a replacement 8.1 liter, the fan is off a 7.4 Vortec 454 L29 but is a 9 blade fan. Should do pretty good to cool this thing
And installed my fan shroud. I bought this off ebay. It's for a 6.2 liter diesel truck (same as the radiator I purchased
Still a bunch of little things left to do before the harness/computer shows up. Need to get an air intake setup, need to get my master/slave cylinder on, upper/lower radiator hoses, throttle cable (mentioned above), and just stuff like that. Getting closer though
Try a 6.2 throttle cable they are a little bit longer
Very good work man. I can't say it enough, you are killing it on this one!!!
I love, love, love, love this truck.
That is all.
That is all.
I actually read about a cable off a 1997 K1500 with the 5.7 liter that will work really well with a LS swap with keeping cable throttle. Fits the pedal just fine as they are the same style, fits the throttle body just fine, and is long enough to reach with the TB on the front of the motor. I think I'm going to try getting one and see how it works.
Thanks guys. I'm really excited about this truck. Can't wait to get it up and running. I made my list of things I need to get done before my harness shows up....and to be honest, it was short enough that I thought I was missing stuff and had to re-think it, haha. And most of my list was fluids to fill up the drivetrain!
The next two weekends are hosed up cause I am flagging the Outdoor Nationals (motocross) race that is in Denver this weekend, and the weekend after that my brother is moving into a new home so I will be helping with that, but soon enough I'll get this thing up and running. Will probably get lift on before doing exhaust too...we will see how fast I can get it all done. Words of encouragement is always a nice shove in the right direction
I really dig this build, just went thru the whole thing finally. It was a great truck to begin with and just keeps gettin better.
I really dig this build, just went thru the whole thing finally. It was a great truck to begin with and just keeps gettin better.
Thanks! I appreciate that. This thing was truly untouched when I got it...so hopefully I'm making it better instead of screwing it up, haha. I see your in Golden, you ever go to the Golden cruise on the first Saturday night of each month during the summer? I've been twice (brought my blazer once). I think once I'm done with this rig I will bring the crew cab towing my blazer up there and just tow around and let people look at them, haha
Not much of an update, but whatever. The last two weekends have been filled up with flagging the Outdoor Nationals (pro motocross) race that was in Denver two weekends ago, and then helping my brother move into a new house this last weekend, but I have been slowly collecting all the little misc. bull crap stuff that comes with a motor/tranny swap that are not expensive, just usually takes forever to track it all down. I pretty much have just about everything to at least get the motor to fire up and hopefully be able to at least move around under it's own power
And of course, I did need this too :smokin::
My new stand alone engine harness from Howell Engine Development along with two new O2 sensors and my ECM with their tune on it (removing stuff like EGR and torque management along with a little kick in HP and torque). When I laid it out, it looks like pretty much 4 wires to get it all hooked up. Ignition, 12V power, power to fuel pump, and ground. This may be more money then reworking an old harness yourself, but holy crap do I think it's worth it :grinpimp:. Oh, and there is the one wire to get my tach to work, but I'm not counting that as necessary to get the thing to fire up.
Hopefully in a couple weeks I can get a short video of this thing at least running (with open headers!)
that harness sure make things simple.
