Progress. Small brass line back there runs to the oil press gauge could be cracked, loose or broken. Mine had a crack in the line.
CK5
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'74 K5. $650 buy - More rattles than parts.
- Thread starter Malathion
- Start date
Thanks for the tip. I'll look into it.
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Wouldn't it drain better if it was on the bottom?
In total nice cheapish rig congrats
In total nice cheapish rig congrats
TheBeast_88K5
Banned
Tranny fluid changes only kill already messed up tranny's...
Wouldn't it drain better if it was on the bottom?
In total nice cheapish rig congrats
Thanks, this should turn into a nice budget build for now. Later, who knows.
With the drain plug on the bottom, it would probably drain all of of the fluid but since the pan has been scraped a few times I thought it would be a little safer on the side (note that it's half way down but the camera angle makes it look higher up). I'd hate to catch that on something and rip it off. The location should allow it to drain enough that I can loosen the pan bolts without spilling and drop the front of the pan which in turn would allow any remaining fluid to drain.
Exactly. I just have no idea what condition it's in other than it drove OK. I'm hoping it lasts for a while.
Haven't done much.
I've had some back issues so I haven't touched the K5 this last week other than I tried to put in the front driveshaft. We had about 6 inches of snow and I wanted to take it out and test the 4wd a little.
Luck would have it that the joints appeared OK on the table, including the double cardan joint. Once I put it in the K5 it was quite obvious the cardan joint is bad, particularly the ball in the middle as I didn't see any movement at the u-joint portions.
Oh well, since I don't drive this right now, it's going to wait as this thing needs other issues addressed first.
I've had some back issues so I haven't touched the K5 this last week other than I tried to put in the front driveshaft. We had about 6 inches of snow and I wanted to take it out and test the 4wd a little.
Luck would have it that the joints appeared OK on the table, including the double cardan joint. Once I put it in the K5 it was quite obvious the cardan joint is bad, particularly the ball in the middle as I didn't see any movement at the u-joint portions.
Oh well, since I don't drive this right now, it's going to wait as this thing needs other issues addressed first.
ljense8
Registered Member
You are correct about the grooves in the rotors being from the factory. On a lot of older vehicles there were grooves in the rotors from the factory but not as an air channel. It's there to let you know when your rotor is getting too thin. When you can't see the groove any more, it's time for new rotors. There are a couple companies that make replica rotors with these grooves for people who really want that original look(typically uber expensive muscle cars).
Reminds me of how my truck started out!
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K5 Jess
1/2 ton status
Loven this build!!!
Been a while.
OK. Been a while since I have updated. Let me see if I can get this thread updated again.
For Christmas my Father gave me a gift card to use on the Blazer. Since it was consistently below freezing I decided to buy a heater for the garage. It was 20 degrees inside the garage the day I bought it so when it heated the space up to 50 degrees on a very cold windy day, I was pleased.
As far as the Blazer goes, the following were fixed.
1. Replaced the 160 degree thermostat with a stock 195 degree thermostat. The engine didn't appear to be getting warm enough and the gauge barely moved off of cold. It turns out it was the flex fan in combination with the 20 degree weather and a bad temp sending unit.
2. Replaced the temp sending unit as the needle wouldn't move much off of cold. Should have done this first. Grounded the green wire that attaches to the temp sending unit and bam, needle pegged to hot. Gauge working = bad temp sending unit. The sending unit may have been good as someone installed the old one with teflon tape but for $8 I thought I'd just change it. Working well now. Stock gauge looks like C \ l / H. When warm the needle reads C \ i l / H. The i is the gauge needle sitting half way between the \ and l marks on the gauge.
3. Fixed a leaky heater hose, actually it didn't leak prior to the thermostat replacement. The leak was occurring where the upper hose attached to the radiator. It had two gaskets on it. When I couldn't find a new gasket, I simply removed one and that did the trick.
4. Also replaced the windshield washer pump. The repair kit I tried didn't work. Neither did the first electric pump. It bolts in place of the stock gear driven pump. It ran for about 3 seconds and quit. I checked the fuses, wiring, fluid, etc. Took it back to AutoZone, installed the new one and boom the thing works almost too well. Definitely make sure your nozzles are pointing at the windshield or you'll get fluid all over.
5. Upgraded the windshield wipers to 18" blades over the stock 16" blades. Works well with rain, haven't tried it in heavy snow.
OK. Been a while since I have updated. Let me see if I can get this thread updated again.
For Christmas my Father gave me a gift card to use on the Blazer. Since it was consistently below freezing I decided to buy a heater for the garage. It was 20 degrees inside the garage the day I bought it so when it heated the space up to 50 degrees on a very cold windy day, I was pleased.
As far as the Blazer goes, the following were fixed.
1. Replaced the 160 degree thermostat with a stock 195 degree thermostat. The engine didn't appear to be getting warm enough and the gauge barely moved off of cold. It turns out it was the flex fan in combination with the 20 degree weather and a bad temp sending unit.
2. Replaced the temp sending unit as the needle wouldn't move much off of cold. Should have done this first. Grounded the green wire that attaches to the temp sending unit and bam, needle pegged to hot. Gauge working = bad temp sending unit. The sending unit may have been good as someone installed the old one with teflon tape but for $8 I thought I'd just change it. Working well now. Stock gauge looks like C \ l / H. When warm the needle reads C \ i l / H. The i is the gauge needle sitting half way between the \ and l marks on the gauge.
3. Fixed a leaky heater hose, actually it didn't leak prior to the thermostat replacement. The leak was occurring where the upper hose attached to the radiator. It had two gaskets on it. When I couldn't find a new gasket, I simply removed one and that did the trick.
4. Also replaced the windshield washer pump. The repair kit I tried didn't work. Neither did the first electric pump. It bolts in place of the stock gear driven pump. It ran for about 3 seconds and quit. I checked the fuses, wiring, fluid, etc. Took it back to AutoZone, installed the new one and boom the thing works almost too well. Definitely make sure your nozzles are pointing at the windshield or you'll get fluid all over.
5. Upgraded the windshield wipers to 18" blades over the stock 16" blades. Works well with rain, haven't tried it in heavy snow.
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Misc fixes.
Ok, tried to tackle the massive oil leak. Can't tell where it's coming from but since it appears up high, I removed the distributor and replaced the gasket. The oil line didn't appear to be leaking so I left it alone.
Pic is after the area was wiped off.
This is where the fun begins. I marked the distributor housing when I pulled it out but I wasn't smart enough to mark the rotor too. Well it spun on me. Ugh. Installed the distributor from memory. No go. 180 degrees out. Carb popping and backfiring like mad. Found TDC and put it back in. Fired up and timed it but is doesn't run as well as it did before. I wasn't smart enough to see where the motor was timed prior to pulling the distributor.
Anyway, it ran ok but would bog a little.
Decided to get new tires since the old 35's wouldn't pass inspection. Found an awesome price online for the tire I wanted and called Discount Tire. They said they would price match plus if I bought that day they had a $100 rebate (last day of rebate). Had an hour before closing so I hopped in the Blazer to head down there but I didn't make it. The Blazer started bucking and bogging horribly, then it backfired like mad and everyone around me started looking for a shooter.
Luckily I made it through the intersection and determined the distributor had moved. I had it on tight but not cinched all of the way down incase I needed to adjust the timing. Moved it, it fired up and since I was in a hurry, I just started driving. Made it about a mile and the same thing happened.
I didn't have any tools so I just turned it, started it and made it to Discount with it backfiring like mad. Got a lot of looks from the guys in the tire bay.
I made it with about 2 minutes before closing. I showed them the price I got from http://www.onlinetires.com $173 each and they weren't sure they could match it. The attendant checked with the manager and they ended up matching the price without shipping included. Keep in mind this didn't include the $100 rebate.
They all seemed pretty amazed at the deal.
They treated me right for sure. It was after closing and even though they typically will stay and finish up customers, they told me I wouldn't be done until about 8:30 pm. due to the amount of people that came in last minute for the rebate and asked if I could reschedule the install. Because of the running condition of the Blazer I wasn't sure I'd even make it home so I asked if they could do it that night. He had heard the rough running when I came in and said no problem. I'm not sure how the guys installing the tires felt but they were all courteous with me and asked me questions about the blazer. Best treatment I've ever had at a tire store. Thanks guys.
The 33" Goodyear Duratracs are definitely smaller than the 35" Goodyear MTR's (old tread pattern) that were on there before. MTR's measured 33" mounted on rim with the weight of the Blazer on them and Duratracs measure 31.25". I'm not used to the extra wheel well room so the tires look a little small on the 4" lift. Hopefully I'll get used to it. Went down a size because the Blazer hurt to much to get into with my back pain. It's probably a better choice for now anyway as I don't see swapping out axles until a few years from now since this will still be a street queen/light trail rig for a while. Also with the 3:73's/Dana 44/12 bolt combo the 33"s are a better fit as far as reliability goes. Will post a pic once I can get the Blazer started and out of the garage.
Ok, tried to tackle the massive oil leak. Can't tell where it's coming from but since it appears up high, I removed the distributor and replaced the gasket. The oil line didn't appear to be leaking so I left it alone.
Pic is after the area was wiped off.
This is where the fun begins. I marked the distributor housing when I pulled it out but I wasn't smart enough to mark the rotor too. Well it spun on me. Ugh. Installed the distributor from memory. No go. 180 degrees out. Carb popping and backfiring like mad. Found TDC and put it back in. Fired up and timed it but is doesn't run as well as it did before. I wasn't smart enough to see where the motor was timed prior to pulling the distributor.
Anyway, it ran ok but would bog a little.
Decided to get new tires since the old 35's wouldn't pass inspection. Found an awesome price online for the tire I wanted and called Discount Tire. They said they would price match plus if I bought that day they had a $100 rebate (last day of rebate). Had an hour before closing so I hopped in the Blazer to head down there but I didn't make it. The Blazer started bucking and bogging horribly, then it backfired like mad and everyone around me started looking for a shooter.
Luckily I made it through the intersection and determined the distributor had moved. I had it on tight but not cinched all of the way down incase I needed to adjust the timing. Moved it, it fired up and since I was in a hurry, I just started driving. Made it about a mile and the same thing happened.
I didn't have any tools so I just turned it, started it and made it to Discount with it backfiring like mad. Got a lot of looks from the guys in the tire bay. I made it with about 2 minutes before closing. I showed them the price I got from http://www.onlinetires.com $173 each and they weren't sure they could match it. The attendant checked with the manager and they ended up matching the price without shipping included. Keep in mind this didn't include the $100 rebate.
They all seemed pretty amazed at the deal.They treated me right for sure. It was after closing and even though they typically will stay and finish up customers, they told me I wouldn't be done until about 8:30 pm. due to the amount of people that came in last minute for the rebate and asked if I could reschedule the install. Because of the running condition of the Blazer I wasn't sure I'd even make it home so I asked if they could do it that night. He had heard the rough running when I came in and said no problem. I'm not sure how the guys installing the tires felt but they were all courteous with me and asked me questions about the blazer. Best treatment I've ever had at a tire store. Thanks guys.
The 33" Goodyear Duratracs are definitely smaller than the 35" Goodyear MTR's (old tread pattern) that were on there before. MTR's measured 33" mounted on rim with the weight of the Blazer on them and Duratracs measure 31.25". I'm not used to the extra wheel well room so the tires look a little small on the 4" lift. Hopefully I'll get used to it. Went down a size because the Blazer hurt to much to get into with my back pain. It's probably a better choice for now anyway as I don't see swapping out axles until a few years from now since this will still be a street queen/light trail rig for a while. Also with the 3:73's/Dana 44/12 bolt combo the 33"s are a better fit as far as reliability goes. Will post a pic once I can get the Blazer started and out of the garage.
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Ok, still updating. Had the nerves in my back zapped/killed on Wed, so I'm feeling better so yesterday I thought I'd take a stab and getting the timing fixed and the oil leak which is still happening.
Decided to start with the oil line that goes to the gauge. Bought some copper line to replace the steel line. Dang it, I can already tell the steel is way better. Decide to continue with install, take distributor out, remove line, realize I don't have the right ends, go back to AutoZone, buy new ends, install.
I put the distributor back in. Won't start. Find TDC by myself, distributer looks to be 180 out. Reinstall, crank, no start. Almost starts but won't keep running. Twist to advance, slow crank. Twist to retard, faster crank but still no start. Mess with carb, set idle screws to 1.5 turns out, adjust idle speed screw, almost starts, won't. Best is it ran for about 3-4 seconds.
Look at carb, choke appears messed up. Won't close, engine is cold. I check throttle linkage, etc. Realize electric choke isn't working right. Remove cap, spring falls out, figure out how to put it back together. Still won't start but flap seems to work properly. Still won't start.
Check TDC again with wife bumping the key, feel compression on cylinder #1 with spark plug removed. Timing mark right next to 0. Move slightly to line up. Remove cap and distributor 180 out. Take out and rotate 180. Distributor/rotor pointing at cylinder #1. While I'm in there, I decide to clean up the birds nest of spark plug wires. Look at cap, # 1 plug wire doesn't line up with terminal #1. 
Move all wires 1 to the left so they all line up with the attached drawing/rotor when pointed at 1.
Try to crank, no start, battery almost dead. Hooked up charger and went to bed. Didn't try to start it today. Maybe Monday........
Decided to start with the oil line that goes to the gauge. Bought some copper line to replace the steel line. Dang it, I can already tell the steel is way better. Decide to continue with install, take distributor out, remove line, realize I don't have the right ends, go back to AutoZone, buy new ends, install.
I put the distributor back in. Won't start.
Find TDC by myself, distributer looks to be 180 out. Reinstall, crank, no start. Almost starts but won't keep running. Twist to advance, slow crank. Twist to retard, faster crank but still no start. Mess with carb, set idle screws to 1.5 turns out, adjust idle speed screw, almost starts, won't. Best is it ran for about 3-4 seconds.Look at carb, choke appears messed up. Won't close, engine is cold. I check throttle linkage, etc. Realize electric choke isn't working right. Remove cap, spring falls out, figure out how to put it back together. Still won't start but flap seems to work properly. Still won't start.
Check TDC again with wife bumping the key, feel compression on cylinder #1 with spark plug removed. Timing mark right next to 0. Move slightly to line up. Remove cap and distributor 180 out.
Take out and rotate 180. Distributor/rotor pointing at cylinder #1. While I'm in there, I decide to clean up the birds nest of spark plug wires. Look at cap, # 1 plug wire doesn't line up with terminal #1. Move all wires 1 to the left so they all line up with the attached drawing/rotor when pointed at 1.
Try to crank, no start, battery almost dead.
Hooked up charger and went to bed. Didn't try to start it today. Maybe Monday........Agent_Orange
1/2 ton status
Love the Motivation. DO WORK!!!
I like this build.
Martin
Martin
454Sub
5/8 ton status
Just so ya know, they dont put drain plugs in tranny pans because the magnets would catch all the crap and dropping the pan is the only way to tell if its damaged. They designed the older trucks/cars like that, so you have to drop the pan, and change the filter all the time. Promotes longevity.
Could be flooded, how do the plugs look?
Could be flooded, how do the plugs look?
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Subscribed.
OK. Figured out while the Blazer wouldn't start.
I thought the distributor was possibly out 180 degrees, I mean it was stumbling a little and would seem like it wanted to fire as long as I held the key down. I took it out, spun it and put it back in. Key crank. Nothing.
Ugh, TDC again, rotate distributer 180 install. Still nothing.
Pulled the spark plug, set it on the header, cranked key. No spark. Hmmn. Maybe it's not grounding. Got out a test light. Clamped it to a ground and inserted probe in spark plug gap. Crank. No spark.
Notice hack job on positive feed to the coil. HEI was added (not stock) and the splice barely hanging on. Electric choke wire was also spliced from the feed. You can kind of see it in the pic below. Yellow wire is the feed.
Thinking the wire was the problem, I fixed it and removed the choke positive feed. Replaced it with a mystery wire I had that ran next to the temp sending unit wire. Nope. Still no start.
Pull coil. Test with voltmeter and it's bad. Notice a few things wrong. Yellow wire, is hanging on by one strand.
B+ terminal to copper ground inside cap read 8,000 ohms. New coil reads 12,000 (<--- Can't remember how many zero's there were but it was measured as in ohms). Slapped new coil in. Reached through the window and turned the key. Vroom! Yippee!
Now comes the
part. As I'm listening to it run, I realize there is smoke pouring out everywhere. Turns out the steel oil pressure tube that I replaced with copper is spewing oil everywhere. And I mean everywhere! It's dripping down the headers and is way bigger than it appears in the photo (no scale).
Try and try and even try the original steel line but I can't get it to stop leaking. Only will slow but still has a decent leak. The copper tubing I bought at Autozone sucks and is extremely brittle. Ordering a braided 1/8 pressure line hose with the compression fitting already on the hose. $19 @speedwaymotors.com. Grrr!
I thought the distributor was possibly out 180 degrees, I mean it was stumbling a little and would seem like it wanted to fire as long as I held the key down. I took it out, spun it and put it back in. Key crank. Nothing.
Ugh, TDC again, rotate distributer 180 install. Still nothing.
Pulled the spark plug, set it on the header, cranked key. No spark. Hmmn. Maybe it's not grounding. Got out a test light. Clamped it to a ground and inserted probe in spark plug gap. Crank. No spark.
Notice hack job on positive feed to the coil. HEI was added (not stock) and the splice barely hanging on. Electric choke wire was also spliced from the feed. You can kind of see it in the pic below. Yellow wire is the feed.
Thinking the wire was the problem, I fixed it and removed the choke positive feed. Replaced it with a mystery wire I had that ran next to the temp sending unit wire. Nope. Still no start.
Pull coil. Test with voltmeter and it's bad. Notice a few things wrong. Yellow wire, is hanging on by one strand.
B+ terminal to copper ground inside cap read 8,000 ohms. New coil reads 12,000 (<--- Can't remember how many zero's there were but it was measured as in ohms). Slapped new coil in. Reached through the window and turned the key. Vroom! Yippee!
Now comes the
part. As I'm listening to it run, I realize there is smoke pouring out everywhere. Turns out the steel oil pressure tube that I replaced with copper is spewing oil everywhere. And I mean everywhere! It's dripping down the headers and is way bigger than it appears in the photo (no scale).
Try and try and even try the original steel line but I can't get it to stop leaking. Only will slow but still has a decent leak. The copper tubing I bought at Autozone sucks and is extremely brittle. Ordering a braided 1/8 pressure line hose with the compression fitting already on the hose. $19 @speedwaymotors.com. Grrr!
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Brake Booster
Also fixed a leak in the brake booster gasket. Could hear a slight hissing noise after the engine shut off, eventually the brake light turned on in the dash. Keep in mind this was bad before but I didn't replace it until now. Who needs brakes or a smooth running motor?
Bad brake booster gasket sitting on top of air cleaner.
Popped out the old brake booster valve.
Used this kit from Auto-zone for the repair. Gasket is slightly smaller but seems to work.
Inserted the gasket and then the valve. No more leak.
Also fixed a leak in the brake booster gasket. Could hear a slight hissing noise after the engine shut off, eventually the brake light turned on in the dash. Keep in mind this was bad before but I didn't replace it until now. Who needs brakes or a smooth running motor?
Bad brake booster gasket sitting on top of air cleaner.
Popped out the old brake booster valve.
Used this kit from Auto-zone for the repair. Gasket is slightly smaller but seems to work.
Inserted the gasket and then the valve. No more leak.
