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86 K5 - Suggestions on replacement parts?

lectric80 said:
If the coolant leak is not obvious on the outside of the truck, start checking the floor on the passenger side. Heater cores will do that, and if you get low on coolant it is usually the first thing to quit.
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Thats one thing that I haven't looked at all. I figured that I need to flush it all out this summer too, its just too cold to do that right now. The guy who had it before me just seemed to keep it good enough to run for his wife to drive to work. All other things look like they just need a good going over.

I should actually start a good list to go over of things to check, or add to the things I have right now... So, everyone feel free to give me things to check and problem areas to look at...
 
Definitely check for coolant on the passenger side and pray it isn't the heater core. My buddy and I fixed that on mine a year ago and holy chit did that suck.
 
Hard to get to and a bunch of stuff have to come off to get to it. Yours have AC?

Rust won't help either.
 
Mine does have AC equipment, but I don't think it works... haha. Does all that on the firewall have to come off to get to it? Like I said, I haven't investigated that far and don't have a clue what I'd have to do right now to take care of the heater core if its bad. I'm sure its not too bad, just time consuming probably, with the rust you so commonly mentioned... haha
 
Lack of room, poor instructions, stuff has to be removed inside the cab and engine bay, and yes, the AC suitcase has to come off. The whole thing is a big PITA. I'd seriously go electric heat if I had the option.
 
I have thought about electric heat and wondered how much time and money it would take to convert and if it would be worth it. I've seen a few guys on here talk about putting it in, especially if they were rebuilding from scratch... I'm not sure though...
 
The problem is the volume of heat, the size of the heater you'd need, and the power needed to run it.

If you only drove your Blazer in 50 degree weather at the coldest it'd probably work. This Michigan worthy cold crap we're having now? Good luck.

Vintage air has some nice setups that are worth considering for our trucks...but they aren't cheap. However if you were restoring a truck and your AC was FUBAR from beginning to end then it'd be a good option. I'm sorta considering it for mine eventually. Much cleaner, smaller, and simpler.
 
I had a mechanic check it out and he said that it all seemed to work, just might need a shot of go-go juice... When I bought it, the guy didn't have a belt on it to make any of the AC stuff work... so it may be crapped out and he just took the belt off to save gas. Im not worried with it right now since its freaking cold... I can roll the windows down in the summer... too bad rolling the windows up doesn't have the opposite effect in the winter...
 
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Yep. Mine started pissing coolant on the floorboards within a few weeks of me getting it in June of '09. I just bypassed it and drove it around with the windows open. 4 months later in Michigan it was rather cold when we finally fixed it. Made for some cold drives.
 
Yea, I need to get mine fixed because there is enough draft in the cab to deal with. There are plenty of places in my door that cold air comes out of... and a few spots that can actually hit you in the face pretty good like air conditioning, which makes it horrible to deal with. I'll check the floor here at work when I leave and see if I notice anything out of the ordinary.
 
Coolant leak and heater deficiencies

So heres some pictures of what I looked at...
First is straight of the top of the engine... there was a little coolant sitting on top of the manifold
Second is a picture of something inline with the hose to the heater inlet
Third is a wet spot under the hose on the inner fender
Last is a picture of passenger floor with carpet pulled back... insulation was pretty wet but carpet was dry

Comments?

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You may have a caliper going out i had that happen to mine and that is what it was one was grabbing harder then the other and the rotors may just be warped rotors. The trans every thing you have been toled so far have been all good info and all good places to start. Being a older 86 and not having it for long its to check all them things out any way. Good luck hope u get it going.
 
1-clean the top of your engine. Looks like bunny poop? wtf?
Anyway, bet that hose coming from the bottom of the picture is leaking. Also looks like the clamp is WAY too tight. People clamp the **** out of these things and don't realize they're doing more harm than good. Might just need a new hose.

2- That's a flush kit adapter. You unscrew that cover and a water hose from your house screws onto it. You can flush out the system that way. Haven't seen one in a while but used to be very common in parts stores.
Looks like it's leaking. Probably old hose/too tight clamps.

3 - My thoroughly unprofessional opinion is that it's leaking down the hose from the flush adapter thingy and hitting the wheel well liner right there.

4 - Does it smell like coolant? That'd be right where the coolant would leak from the heater core. HOWEVER, the insulation retains moisture and liquid for a LONG time after getting wet. It is possible that the floor got wet from someone's shoes or a leak in the cabin and is just still wet.
Mine actually had mold growing or had dead mold in it under the carpet. Yum.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
1-clean the top of your engine. Looks like bunny poop? wtf?.
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Yea, the bunny crap, I have no clue what that is... haha. I just haven't made the effort to vacuum it off or take an air hose to it. Thanks for the interesting comparison though! I might have to keep that as a permanent quote... :waytogo:haha

78k10355 said:
You may have a caliper going out i had that happen to mine and that is what it was one was grabbing harder then the other and the rotors may just be warped rotors. The trans every thing you have been toled so far have been all good info and all good places to start. Being a older 86 and not having it for long its to check all them things out any way. Good luck hope u get it going.
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How does one tell if a caliper is going out? The piston lock up or not move as freely as it should? I would think it might be the rotors if it hadn't have started all of a sudden... I haven't crammed the brakes that I know of, but one day I had to stop a little faster and it felt awful...
 
Well, clean that scuzz off I see everywhere. Easier to see leaks.
I like the rags, plastic bags, engine degreaser, and water hose method.
 
I got some foaming stuff at Home Depot. Citrusy stuff. Coated the front of the engine and the front axle and suspension and then hosed it all down about 15 minutes later. All clean. Don't tell the EPA though.
 
Well what mine was doing was the caliper on one side was grabbing and the other would fade in and out and some times not even seem to work i bleed them changed the lines and put new pads on and it still did it so i changed the caliper and that fixed for me
 
I need to take some pictures of the axles and all the steering components... they are caked with grungy crud or 100 year old undercoating... nasty looking crap... I could probably use some EPA restricted stuff to help with all that...
 
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