'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond

[sweetk30]

Fab up a quick bracket and grab a small idler pulley, then just measure for a belt. Just make sure the bracket is square and the depth is right and you'll be good to go.

Dont need to like i already pointed out and others did also . There is a no a/c pulley spot . . mrk5 just didnt know it and went the long way around and got a sh!ty bypass kit is all .

 

[mrk5]

I've pretty much decided to just put the compressor in there. No cost and everything will be in place for AC when I finally get it.

 

[ashman]

so many people forget the only time the pump is pumping is when 12volts is to the coil to lock in the pulley otherwise it is already a free wheel pulley .

and if you did not already have that belt you just needed a non a/c belt and small pulley like shown before .

I've pretty much decided to just put the compressor in there. No cost and everything will be in place for AC when I finally get it.

Also, just FYI, so long as the system isn't charged (and obviously no hoses means no charge), the clutch will never engage. There is a low pressure bypass switch that keeps it from coming on if the pressure is too low.

 

[mrk5]

Sounds better with that dummy pulley gone. Damn thing was making so much noise I was paranoid something was wrong with the engine.

 

[folkenheath]

The '98 cable snaps right onto the '89 pedal. Problem is, the cable stop is in the wrong spot. I cut about 1/2" to 3/4" off and used the screw type cable stops to get 100% throttle. Actually I used 2 stops for good measure.

View attachment 477948

Also added the washer so the cable stop didn't bust up the plastic.

I might get the Lokar cable like the 8.1L guys are using, but I'm in the penny pinching phase of the project and I just didn't want to spend that kind of money.

Although now that I've typed this it occurs to me I should use the braided cable from the '98 and cut it down to fit the plastic sleeve/ housing from the '89 throttle cable.

Nice solution.

I pretty much always bend or cut//weld a throttle linkage bracket so I can use a factory cable, I don't trust those crimp cables, even if they don't slip they eventually break because of the pinched cable. Factory cables seem to last forever.

Sometimes I can just bend it with a crescent wrench, other times I need to cut the bracket, and weld in some extensions and sometimes braces too. Then when its done you have a factory cable with no modifications.

 

[mrk5]

I was a little hesitant but I have a buddy using one that's lasted a few years now. I'd like get a proper crimp stop or get the Lokar cable in the future. If nothing else it gets the truck one step closer to driveable.

 

[folkenheath]

Or modify your bracket for a factory cable. Don't the lokar cables just crimp too? It's just a covered crimp.

Factory cables remove the bending/fatigue load from the crimp usually, or put it after the bending.

 

[folkenheath]

So after fixing the wiring Wednesday, I gave it another shot and this time I was getting backfire out the exhaust. Uh-oh we can guess what means, I have the distributor 180 out. I mentioned it to @folkenheath and he told me I could just change the cam sensor in the Terminator software from digital falling to digital rising. Guess who the dummy was that forgot to bring his laptop to the shop, THIS GUY!

This morning I connected the Terminator to the laptop and switched the cam sensor to digital rising. This works in my case because there is only 1 tooth on the cam sensor formly known as a distributor.

I want to clarify on this a little. This only works with a 1x cam sensor that is also a 180 degree tooth on the distributor. If the cam sensor target has a tooth that is anything but 180, then this would not work as it could put the spark on a wrong cylinder, which could be much worse than 180 off.

Also, for rising/falling in general. Usually I shoot for a falling edge if possible(where the ECU watches for the sensor to drop voltage, not increase), it reduces the possibility of a "shark fin" pulse. The shark fin pulse on a oscilloscope shows one vertical edge and one curved edge, looks like a shark fin. This curved edge could effect your timing on a crank sensor if that's the one you are reading, because the crossover on a curve isn't consistent. However, most hall effect usually fix this problem these days, it's been 17 years since my job was cam/crank sensors, so I forgot what actually caused the shark tooth. This is not usually an issue, but something to consider.

However, the cam sensor on a 1X cam target without VVT does not effect timing at all. It only tells the computer what cylinder, or just phase only, if you have a missing tooth crank target and it already knows which cylinder, the crank sensor is still what determines ignition timing either way. You can even tell the ECU in some software versions to ignore the cam sensor after startup, once it's phased, it doesn't need it. So the cam sensor signal is critical to be there, but there is a relatively large window where it will still know what cylinder it's on. So when it comes to the cam sensor on a 1x target wheel the rising/falling doesn't really matter, as long is it's in that window for the ECU to know, this is the #1 cylinder on the compression stroke.

One of the exceptions to that is VVT, but most VVT cam targets have multiple teeth since it needs to know exactly where the cam position is relative to the crank during rotation, and not just once.

Another thing, you should verify the ignition timing at higher RPM, like 5,000, in addition to idle and maybe 3,000 RPM to make sure it isn't changing. If it changes with RPM you need to change your inductive delay to fix that, or can be detrimental. It's probably fine, but needs to be checked. The Holley can work with so many different sensors, it has a programmable inductive delay, this makes it very versatile, but if you use the wrong inductive delay it can cause the timing to vary with RPM, which could cause the timing to increase more than you intend it to. So its wise to check the timing at higher RPM to make sure its not moving. You only need to verify this once.

 

[mrk5]

Another thing, you should verify the ignition timing at higher RPM, like 5,000, in addition to idle and maybe 3,000 RPM to make sure it isn't changing. If it changes with RPM you need to change your inductive delay to fix that, or can be detrimental. It's probably fine, but needs to be checked. The Holley can work with so many different sensors, it has a programmable inductive delay, this makes it very versatile, but if you use the wrong inductive delay it can cause the timing to vary with RPM, which could cause the timing to increase more than you intend it to. So its wise to check the timing at higher RPM to make sure its not moving. You only need to verify this once.

We just did the inductive delay check. I wish I would have videoed it as it was pretty fun revving the engine all the way up to 5000RPM. The static timing was steady all the way up.

Note to others, put the radiator cap on before you rev an engine up to 5000 RPM. Coolant temp was around 120° but all of the flow took the easy path out the top of the radiator. We had quite the geyser going.

 

[mrk5]

My Volvo+MarkVIII fan combo won't fit now. Not sure if it's the core support being in a different spot or the serpentine pulleys sticking out further. I'm going to try out these Proform brushless fans. They have a soft start feature which is nice. The only thing I would have preferred different is for them to be 2 speed so I could run both in low or both in high. With them being single speed, it'll be 1 fan or both fans.

 

[Babaganoosh]

My Volvo+MarkVIII fan combo won't fit now. Not sure if it's the core support being in a different spot or the serpentine pulleys sticking out further. I'm going to try out these Proform brushless fans. They have a soft start feature which is nice. The only thing I would have preferred different is for them to be 2 speed so I could run both in low or both in high. With them being single speed, it'll be 1 fan or both fans.

View attachment 478459

The Holley has a cool feature where it takes x amount of rpm to turn on the fans.

 

[mrk5]

Started out Saturday with some help and success. @doubletrouble and @Raggedy_Ann came by the shop to help get the fenders mounted on the narrowed core support.

We cut out the back part of the fenders' inner structure. It was all pretty much ripped and torn out anyway.





We had to cut more out of the passenger side due to the heater box.

The front of the fenders are bolted to the core support and we welded brackets to back of the fenders to bolt them to the captive nut in the cab. In the pictures below you can see where we welded in brackets.







I still need to add a bracket for the bottom rear of the fenders.

After that success @doubletrouble had to head home and it all went to shit.

I finished wiring the radiator fans so I decided to run the engine up to temperature. After setting the throttle speed screw to get the IAC to 5%, I revved the engine a couple times and a bad noise developed.

We turned the engine with a ratchet and this is what we heard.

We pulled the passenger valve cover and narrowed the noise down to cylinder #3 exhaust rocker and cylinder #5 intake rocker. We relashed the #3 exhaust valve and seemed to take care of the noise. While checking #3 we noticed the stud for the other noisy rocker, #5 intake, was moving.

So I think we've found the cause of the noise. It went away on #5 after we tightened up the stud with Nate's properly calibrated arm torque.

It sounds like 2 or 3 rockers are doing the same on the driver side. So now I've gotta retorque all of them. It's a big leap backwards in progress considering I'll have to reset lash and everything else.

It does bother me why they loosened. I know I would have followed ARP's instructions: lube the threads with their assembly lube and torque to 45 ft-lbs. If it was just 1 stud I might chalk it up to just plain skipping/missing it.

 

[mrk5]

For reference, these are the pieces we cut off the fenders.



I also finished up mounting and wiring the radiator fans before things went to hell. I used a 2 relay setup from Leash Electronics. https://www.leashelectronics.com/products/dual-70-amp-relay-module I bought it several years ago and never installed it so I figured this is the perfect opportunity. It was a little tall for the top cover I made for the previous fans so I cut a little access hole which will allow the relays and fuses to be serviced.



I'm hoping to have the engine running again by the weekend.

 

[mrk5]

For anyone using L21 valve covers on an L29 in the future, you should cut down this area of the valve cover for access to the throttle body fasterner.



We pulled the stud and put a bolt in there. After installing it I realized there would be no clearance issue if that bit was knocked down.

 

[imiceman44]

For anyone using L21 valve covers on an L29 in the future, you should cut down this area of the valve cover for access to the throttle body fasterner.

View attachment 479175

We pulled the stud and put a bolt in there. After installing it I realized there would be no clearance issue if that bit was knocked down.

Can you do a tally of your cost and parts list when you have time?
I have a couple I would like to get switched if not too bad

 

[mrk5]

Yeah, I was thinking at some point I need to do a post with everything I've learned in one place. It will make it easier for me in the future too.

 

[ZooMad75]

The valve covers will be the hard one to get. I ordered one of the last if not the last in Gm captivity when I was with the dealer. They were the only ones that showed up on the dealer locator. Though that’s not a deal breaker, LS coil relocation brackets are easy to find. Just mount the coils somewhere else.

 

[imiceman44]

The valve covers will be the hard one to get. I ordered one of the last if not the last in Gm captivity when I was with the dealer. They were the only ones that showed up on the dealer locator. Though that’s not a deal breaker, LS coil relocation brackets are easy to find. Just mount the coils somewhere else.

I can put my coils on without the special valve covers.
It's everything else I need

 

[mrk5]

I got my valve covers from ebay. He had more still for sale at the time. I think they are used take-offs.

You could also have some fun playing with ways to remote mount the coils. I thought some about it, but I wanted a weird hybrid engine look. However with a remote mounting setup, you could really make something unique.

 

[mrk5]

Well, I'm still having the engine squeaking noise. I pulled all the rockers off, pulled the studs, cleaned the threads, re-installed with blue loctite, torqued to 52ft-lbs (recommended 50-55), and reset the valve lash using EOIC and 1/2 turn past no play.

I ran the engine and the squeaking started again after idling for a short while. I turned off and restarted to get a video. A short way into the video, you'd see me walk over and pick up the camera. Just before that you will hear the squeak come in just a little bit. After I pick the camera up, I blip the throttle a bit and then you'll hear the squeak come in earnest.

This is the noise we were getting before I re-torqued the rocker studs. In this video were were rolling the engine over with a ratchet.

I can still get that same noise now. It seems to come from both sides of the engine. Last weekend I had pulled a valve cover off and using a stethoscope, narrowed the noise down to the rocker. We were also able to pin it to (2) specific rockers on that side; #4 exhaust and #6 intake. We did see a loose stud, but when I reset them all, the rest all seemed fine. Nothing jumped out at me as being an issue when I took all of the rocker arms and studs off. I even looked to see if any of the valve stem seals had popped off or something. The ends I could see of the pushrods looked good, but I didn't pull them to check both ends.

At this point I seems like it's either got to be a bad lifter(s) or somehow a sticking valve(s).

The only other thing would be bad roller tips on some of the rockers. I rolled a couple of them in my fingers. The rollers would move side to side some and I could feel a little "bumpiness" when they rolled, but I figure they normally only pivot in place and not roll all the way around and I don't have a frame of reference for how they should feel. I just don't know if they move enough to squeak like that.

Things that are new:

• Cam
• Rocker studs
• Rocker arms
• Valve springs, retainers, and keepers
• Valve seals

I did cheap out and not replace the lifters. Also didn't do anything with the valves themselves for that matter.