CK5
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1991 GMC V3500 Project
- Thread starter sethgmcv3500
- Start date
When I bought the truck it had a clutch fan but with really heavy pitched blades. There was no fan shroud and 2 core rad (I think) that was 39” but only 17” tall instead of 19” (I think that’s right), regardless it wasn’t the right one and it leaked a little, so I replaced it. However, it also cooled almost too well with the same characteristic long warmup. Driving it home 3 hours on the highway with it wound up just over 3k rpm at 65 it never got above 160 I’d guess.
I'm guessing it's got no thermostat or one that's stuck wide open.
Yup, I’ve come to the same conclusion.
In an effort to cleanup the engine bay a little more, I removed the valve covers to sand and repaint. Unfortunately I found the worst oxidation I’ve ever seen on an aluminum part. Clearly the engine had water sitting on the intake for an extended period of time as it’s also rusted pretty bad. Does anyone have any of these valve covers laying around that they’ll part with? If so send me a message and let’s work out a deal.
Ive got some boring old 98 vortec valve covers if you like those.
Those are similar to these, just no “454” plaque, right?
Yeah they are no beauty queens but you can have them. Im just south of New Braunfels in Cibolo. Come get em if you feel like.
Appreciate it, I’ll let ya know. Do you still have the 4l80e/xfer case adapter?
No big deal. I own one but its not in my hands currently. Pretty far across the state.
Mag wheel cleaner spray with oxalic acid might clean those up good.
I've used that on several "moldy" aluminum intakes that sat forever and they came out pretty clean...glass beading works better though if its really bad..
I've used that on several "moldy" aluminum intakes that sat forever and they came out pretty clean...glass beading works better though if its really bad..
Look at the gasket lip of the covers, in some places it’s gone.
Didn't look that close..
--guess they are good for shop wall art only now..
They don’t leak so I cleaned them up and put em back on for now!
On to the interior this week. Ordered some new seat covers from Classic Industries. The fit and finish of these were second to none but I’m not thrilled that they don’t have the two different types of material like OEM. Can’t complain too much though for about $250 a set. The cheapest upholstery shop that I could find wanted $750 a set. The color match isn’t perfect but hey, the rest of the interior is 30 years old, so it wasn’t expected. Overall, each seat was pretty easy and only took 2-3 hours from start to finish.
Nice! I gotta ask. What did you do with the old rear seat cover set?
I have them if ya want em, they’re yours. The back seat wasn’t bad at all. Only a couple cracks in the vinyl.
This past weekend I got some 6” shackles from DIY4X and Prothane bushings (7-801-BL) installed. The factory shackles are 4.5” or so and my truck set about 1.5” low in the front (measured from front of cab pinch weld to rear of cab pinch weld). The factory shackles also had 1/2” lower bolt holes which the factory front springs had, the Tuff Country 4” springs only had 7/16” eyes so there was some slop now. The 6” shackle sides from DIY4X are 7/16” top and bottom. I also needed to replace the bushings anyway so I figured while I had them off I’d replace with a little more lift up front and address the incorrect hole size. With the new bushings installed and shackles the difference is now only about 1/2” low in the front. It looks much better now (I wanted it dead level originally) and the front tires no longer rub at all. They rubbed a little at about 3/4 lock on uneven terrain. All in all I’m happy with the way it all turned out and solving 3 problems during one install! FYI, finding grade 8 7/16” x 6” bolts is not an easy feat. Low and behold after searching the internet and locally far and wide I found some at Advanced Auto, hahaha...
Now I can solve my short front driveshaft dilemma. In my experience, you CANNOT get away with a 4” lift and retain the stock front driveshaft, as it’s about 1.5” too short now that’s with it sitting on the ground. At full droop it’s nearly 3”. It’s only a dilemma as I keep toying with a 4l80e swap or a full 6.0 or 6.2 with a 4/6l80e swap. I feel it’s in the cards sooner than later...
Coming soon is the trailer hitch install (almost done) and some suburban doors I pulled that are in nearly perfect shape! Anyone interested in the doors that are on the truck now? Zero rust, lots of dents, tow mirrors.
Now I can solve my short front driveshaft dilemma. In my experience, you CANNOT get away with a 4” lift and retain the stock front driveshaft, as it’s about 1.5” too short now that’s with it sitting on the ground. At full droop it’s nearly 3”. It’s only a dilemma as I keep toying with a 4l80e swap or a full 6.0 or 6.2 with a 4/6l80e swap. I feel it’s in the cards sooner than later...
Coming soon is the trailer hitch install (almost done) and some suburban doors I pulled that are in nearly perfect shape! Anyone interested in the doors that are on the truck now? Zero rust, lots of dents, tow mirrors.
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I finished up the hitch install today after finally finding some grade 8 9/16” x 6” bolts. First, the rear hanger braces had to go as they were in the way but I came up with a solution that I believe should work just fine. There were two of the six holes needed existing in the frame (forward most) that lined up perfectly with where I wanted the hitch to sit. Next, I simply drilled the remaining four 1/2” holes in the frame and torqued them down. Then drilled two 9/16” holes in the hitch to run the new, longer, spring hanger bolts through, simply spaced with washers. All in all I’m very happy with the fit of this hitch and how well it tucks up under the license plate.
CURT 14082, class 4 hitch.
CURT 14082, class 4 hitch.
That should help stiffen up the back of the frame a bunch too how you have it tied into the hangers.
