CK5
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2000 GMT400 CREW CAB SFA SWAP-The Warden: Fuel leak fixed and awaiting surgery…
- Thread starter GWeakland620
- Start date
The ultimate goal for this truck is tow duty/family camping trips/small offroad adventures.
You know...if you connected that front axle you might be able to get back out of the ditch after the photo shoot.
And now for some useful advice ( lol)
So I replaced my stock battery cables in my 6.2 with I think 1/0 stuff. I did this right after new batteries and a new starter. The difference in cranking speed from old cables to new was noticable.
Not particularly cheap to do but worth it
So I replaced my stock battery cables in my 6.2 with I think 1/0 stuff. I did this right after new batteries and a new starter. The difference in cranking speed from old cables to new was noticable.
Not particularly cheap to do but worth it
I had a similar difference from going to the cables I did on my dodge. Pricey, but made a substantial difference in cranking speed and cold starting.
It’s not the prettiest job, but it gets it done. First time ever soldering and as you can see from the multiple splices, I forgot rule number one of heat shrink, slide the heat shrink on first. But the wiring is ready to go back on the truck tomorrow or Thursday.
So...timing is everything, eh? I was looking through my empty engine bay tonight and found the main power wire feeding the fuse block had torn off the starter lug. So...I'm going to be taking that circuit apart anyway. And the wire has seen better days. And access is super easy right now...
1/0 wire isn't as pricey as I had been thinking, either. The main wire is only 5 feet or so. The crossover wire is about 7 feet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MUC9JPA
FWIW when soldering really large gauge wires a torch works better.
I almost bought one too...
Is that a soldering iron I see? You want more heat than that can put out. That joint was too cold, you can see the solder bunching up on the outside of the wire instead of flowing into the center section..
Nice job for a first time ever. Soldering big wires is lots harder than 'normal' project wiring. You'll get good at it, you just need a large wiring project to give you lots of practice. Go wire a camper or something. 
+1 on this, go for the MAPP gas torch too instead of the propane, burns much hotter than propane and makes everything you do with these little torches easier/better.
I have a MAPP gas bottle. Just didn’t know.
When I did mine I just fluxed the ring terminal heated it with a propane torch when it was 3/4 full of liquid solder I fed the cable in. Pretty easy to do.
I do all of my soldering and heat shrinking with one of these. Many different brands out there. It's just a mini butane torch. I do not use the soldering tip just the flame for soldering. Then for bigger stuff like battery cables I step up to a regular propane or mapp torch.
Yep, that's the one. I almost bought it too. Haha, oh well.
Just get you one of these, park your truck in the grass, run the hose in a pattern under the truck, set the sprinkler and come back in a few hours, most of the goop will be gone.
