86 K10-Orion

[toomany]

Spent a few hours driving around re-tuning.

With some dry roads I was able to get a better idea of how it's going to drive. From a dead stop, taking off lightly, you can tell it's not stock. It almost feels like a transmission that's low on fluid. Once you get to about 2000rpm, it's is un-noticeable. Full throttle from a dead stop, converter flashes to 3500ish and tires break free. From there it either keeps spinning into second, or finds traction and shifts to second at 36mph. The 2-3 shift and 3-4 shift happen just as before. Downshifts, need some work. The 4-3 is good where it's at (speed and RPM). 3-2 happens at a bad speed. Keeping it in 3rd and the converter locked, it lugs the motor down. Down shift to 2nd and you rocket away to the point you need to slow down and the 2-3 shift happens and you start all over again.

Revisited my VE tuning, since I raised the rev limit and never tuned that high previously. Limit is set at 6800, shift points are set for 6500. Had to add a decent amount of fuel to get it where it wanted to be.
Raised the full throttle 1st shift speed to 42mph. Made a few adjustments to the part throttle speeds/rpms as well. Didn't do anything with down shifts yet. Last time I found it easier to work on one shift at a time.

 

[Truckman4life]

It's amazing what a difference a converter makes. I haven't driven any gassers with converters in them just diesels and it makes so much difference in how the power gets to the ground.

 

[toomany]

After looking all over the internet for what I thought would be a fairly standard item, I finally found what I was after.

These snap into the quick-connect fitting in the radiator and adapt to 1/2-20 inverted flare. From there I can go to AN line.



Maybe this weekend I'll finish up plumbing the transmission cooler.


In other news, I picked up an LS1 short block. I don't know if it will end up in this or the Jimmy though.

There is nothing wrong with my 5.3, but more cubes and less weight is always a good thing. I've been on the lookout for a 6.0, but those go for stupid money even in basket case condition. $1k for something with 250,000+ on it that knocks isn't unheard of around here. I'm into this for $200.

I don't think be knew what it was. Told me he thought it was a reman motor because it was painted silver. Didn't have the heart to tell him it was aluminum. Lol






It does have a problem tho. #3 had been rattling for awhile and the crank is junk.




Someone had been in it before as the rods are all marked. Pretty sure some were in the wrong way as well. I do have have another 5.3 I could steal the crank from. But, if/when this gets rebuilt it will most likely get a stroker crank and a decent set of heads.

 

[toomany]

Got around to finishing plumbing the factory transmission cooler in with the external one. Other than me forgetting to tighten one of the fittings at the radiator, no leaks.

 

[GWeakland620]

So damn hawt!!!

 

[toomany]

Back in August of last year I tore into the rear-end, had a noise that appeared under throttle. Replaced a pinion bearing, reset the gears and hoped that they would be alright. Well, they weren't. Some much worse noise came back the other day while on the highway. I thought the transfer case was coming apart from the sounds of it. Luckily, it was only the rear end eating itself.

Pulled the cover off and was greeted with a silver, sludgey paste. Ring and pinion were both very shiny with tons of backlash.

Ordered new gears, bearings and hub seals as mine never stopped leaking, even with the new "better" seals. I was able to find some Spedi-sleeves to go on the spindles this time.





Picked this up recently as well. Be a while before I get around to doing anything with it (my repairs are holding nicely still). But, I have one now. It is a long bed frame, so I'll need to shorten it. Will probably get it blasted and box it before it goes under the truck.

 

[toomany]

Got the new bearings on to the carrier and pinion. Ran out of time to go through gear setup.

Put the Spedi Sleeves on the spindles, then hubs back on so I could move it off the lift for the day.

Because I looked forever and couldn't find them, leaving the part numbers here for future reference.






I realize that they make the seals/install tool to size without regard to application, but would be nice if you didn't have to modify it to make it work.




Just as I had guessed, crush sleeve was wasted and inner pinion bearing chewed up too.




Am I ready for SEMA yet?

 

[toomany]

Rear end is back together. Had to play with pinion shims to get an acceptable pattern and keep backlash happy.

Put 20 or so easy miles on it. Will do another few short heat/cool cycles before I change the fluid again. This is the quietest it's ever sounded while driving. Didn't really think it made much noise before (before it ate itself), but it's noticeably quieter now.



In other truck news, traded in my 02 Duramax on a 2015.



Not sure I'm going to keep those wheels/tires on it. Aftermarket options are real "Bro", might end up with a set of stocks for it.

 

[beags86]

Still plenty of nice non bro wheels on the market. Just get a nice set of aluminum wheels in 17 or 18 and call it a day.

 

[toomany]

Picked up some gauges and stuff to get them mounted.

SpeedHut transmission temp and fuel pressure gauge. 73-87.com A-pillar pod and some fittings go mount the senders.




I went with SpeedHut because you can customize them most everything about them. They are reasonably priced for what you get. Got red lighting w/font that matches the Dakota Digital ones in the dash. Full sweep was also a must for me.


The fittings, the one for fuel pressure was easy to get. Finding one that would hold a temp sensor probe took some digging. Can see the difference between the two.




A normal shallow fitting wouldn't let the probe screw in properly, even if you trimmed the most possible. And if you did manage to get it in there, it'd block flow pretty well.





The pillar pod is designed to be used with the factory A-pillar trim. I don't have that (no head liner) so I just screwed it right to the pillar. Need to get 1 shorter screw yet. Some Duplicolor trim paint colored it up nicely. The top is open so I'll have to figure out a cap for it.




They match the Dakota Digital ones very well. They are (top to bottom) fuel pressure, trans temp, AFR. When sitting in the driver's seat, the center gauge is more in your line of sight. Of the 3, I feel that transmission temp is the most important at a glance. I haven't had any fuel related issues and my tune is fairly well dialed in so those two are outliers. Really the only reason I got the fuel pressure gauge is because I couldn't find a dual gauge pod.

 

[toomany]

Girlfriend had plans yesterday so I had the day to myself. Decided to go out and cruise around the woods. Had a storm pass through on my up, rain gauge said about 2" in just over an hour. Never even locked the hubs in, but it was nice to get out for a bit.









I've got some ORD parts coming. Once those get installed I'll probably try doing something with the shifter. It's never been "right" and ever since I had the transmission out last it's been even worse. Real vague feeling and only goes down into 3rd at its lowest setting no matter how much I mess with the adjustment.

 

[toomany]

Didn't want to, but I was never happy with the column shifter. Using a 3spd column with the 4spd probably has everything to do with it. Could never get it adjusted correctly to have every gear and be in the correct position.

This is what I got to solve that problem. B&M Stealth Pro Ratchet. I've used the normal Pro Ratchet before and liked the operation of it. Went with the stealth to hopefully not have it stick out like a sore thumb.




Seat out. I was surprised at how much had accumulated on the carpet. For what it is, this truck stays fairly clean.




Carpet out. Gave this a good cleaning too.




Base mounted underneath the carpet. Summit offers a few different styles. This one ended up working best. Carpet cleaned and back in.




The bright red cable wasn't going to play nice with my plan to not stick out, so I churched it up.




Mounted to the base. There is a pin you pull and the whole thing comes out.




Covers back on. Wiring is ran under the carpet and comes out at the t-case shifter bezel.




Seat back in and fire extinguisher mounted.







Blends in fairly well. Nothing is hooked up on the transmission side yet. Once I do that I'll pull the shifter arm off the column.

 

[toomany]

July 21st I placed an order with ORD. For a traction bar and one of their crossmember kits. August 5th I got a shipping notification notification. All that really was the label being created though. Order finally shipped last week and arrived today (August 24th).

After waiting over a month I was excited to get my parts in hand and installed. Opened the box only to find I was missing half the order. Crossmember kit didn't make it into the box. On the invoice though. Called them up and they are sending me the missing parts.

I like their products and customer service, but this is the second time I've had an order come in with stuff missing. They've always taken care of me each time without any hassle, just frustrating.


Parts I did get look great though. Depending how long it takes for the rest of the order to show up, I may source my own material to make a crossmember. Taking the truck to the dunes in September and I only have a limited number of days I can work on it between now and then.

 

[toomany]

Haven't heard anything from ORD on when the rest of my parts will be shipping out. Decided to take advantage of the rain days off of work and build a crossmember.

Starting with the axle bracket had to open up one of the holes a little to even get the bolts through. Poor QC on their part.




Used some 3x3x¼" to drop down from the frame. Some 2" tube for the cross bar.






Everything installed. I have just barely enough room before the bar would hit the exhaust on compression. Been meaning to put the bumpstops back in and this will probably have me doing that.






At ride height, the bar is on the same angle as the driveshaft. I was shooting for vertical on the shackle at ride height, missed it by a few degrees.




Driving impressions, can't really tell much if anything has been done. Which I guess is a good thing. Never really had much of a wheel hop problem on pavement, mainly on soft dirt/sand. Will report back how it is after the dune trip next month.

Getting the bar on there wraps up the last big thing I wanted to get done (gauges, shifter, traction bar). Have a few small items to address and maintenance to do. But for the most part the truck is complete for now. Getting tailgate painted and a radio in it will be the next on the list.

 

[toomany]

Getting to be a familiar site with this truck.




This time it's just a maintenance flush. Unless you hot tank the axle or power wash it, it's hard to get 100% of the old stuff out. Being the old stuff was more metal than gear oil I wanted to get some miles on it and change it out again. The magnet had a little metallic fuzz on it, but the fluid came out clean and the pattern still looks great.


Did the front axle as well. There's only 36xx miles on the truck and maybe 700-800 of that it with the front axle locked in. The carrier had a fair bit of rust on it when I opened it up while putting it in the truck. The axle probably sat with water in it for some time before I got it.



Everything in this one looked fine as well...save for the rusty carrier. Fluid was nice and clean.

Did an oil change, topped off the rest of the fluids and greased it while it was in the air. In the year since I changed it last I've put 16xx miles on it.


Once all that was done I cleaned up and went out for a drive.

 

[toomany]

Went to Silver Lake last weekend. Truck performed great again.




Was never a huge fan of the rear bumper, tried pulling a guy out that was stuck in the mud and promptly did this to it. In all fairness the bumper was only attached to the brackets with 1 bolt on each side. It was worse before we pushed it back down.




Put a little ding in the corner and pushed in the panel at the back under the floor. Not that concerned about it. Will try touching it up when I get around to painting the tailgate. Not going to lie, not hating the look without that giant thing hanging down.



Other than that there were no issues. Had no wheel hop from the rear, the front was a different story though. Full throttle up the hills would get the front tires hopping, same with on the dragstrip. It may be kingpin/u-joint related instead of spring wrap though. Noticed it would hop the drivers tire if I had it cranked one way or the other and gave it a lot throttle.

 

[toomany]

Over a year later and another Silver Lake trip in.

Loaded and ready to go.




Get out there early enough and your the only ones around.






Jeep doing Jeep things...we didn't understand. These water holes look harmless, but they are fed off by Lake Michigan and can be bottomless sometimes. The sand in this area (and at the drag strip) is wet from the water coming up underneath. Someone else pulled them out when they opened the doors water ran out for a minute or two.




Overall truck worked great again. I really hadn't done much of anything to it since the last update just driven it. The one problem we did have was it started to get hot on Sunday a few times. Fuse for cooling fan 1 had popped, replaced that and no other issues with it.

Might try getting a radio installed in the near future, other than that no real big plans.

 

[beags86]

Fantastic work, Fantastic truck.
Possibly the best truck on this whole forum. Clean, well thought out and tasteful mods.
I love it.
I have a big Mancrush on this truck. Let me know if it's ever for sale.

 

[beags86]

Now that I have that out of the way, how's that lizards skin holding up under the cab?

 

[toomany]

Fantastic work, Fantastic truck.
Possibly the best truck on this whole forum. Clean, well thought out and tasteful mods.
I love it.
I have a Mancrush big this truck. Let me know if it's ever for sale.

Wow! Thanks alot for that. I just put it together how I thought it should be. Pretty much everything was thought out as a whole. I don't think there is anything I would change.

Now that I have that out of the way, how's that lizards skin holding up under the cab?

It is holding up great. Doesn't have any wear or parts wanting to come off. When I do wash it, I make it a point to get up under the cab with the wand...so it's getting full blast with the power washer up close. The stuff under the carpet was holding up great as well before I got the carpet installed.

I coated the underside of my 70 Jimmy as well. Plan to do the inside too once I get that far.