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

[mrk5]

#Crawl&Haul

Today I spent most of my time packing the bearings on our "cabin" for Blazer Bash.

I did have time to bolt on a new pair of Bilstein 5125 shocks. Still using the bus-full-of-nuns-killing shock mounts. I do have plans to make new mounts but ran out of time before Blazer Bash.

Also on a happy note, the power steering leak is gone.

Oh I should clarify, we're not going to pull the camper to Blazer Bash with the crew cab. We're going to use my work truck. Since we're doing a full week in Moab and some of the most difficult trails I've done there, I don't want to add the stress of pulling the camper there and back. I'm still a little concerned about the 700r4 holding up.

 

[skunked]

How did the Big Block do with the trailer?

 

[mrk5]

The motor pulls really well. It would heat up to about 190 on acceleration but then drop back down to about 182 once I was cruising; glad I put the bigger radiator in. The camper should weight between 4000 & 5000.

 

[skunked]

190 is nothin

 

[kgblazerfive]

That is a really nice traction bar mount, think it is missing something though.

 

[skunked]

Why don't you have the pinion cradle bolted up to the backbone? Nice that you have the lower shock mounts if you want to use them.

 

[mrk5]

When we installed the ARB I didn't put the backbone brackets back on the diff cover or the pinion. I had a reason, but to be honest I don't remember what it was now.

 

[mrk5]

Noticed a last minute issue. One of my front spring bushings was in sorry shape. It was the rear of the driver side spring. Ordered up replacements for both sides from Offroad Design and had them next day thanks to the close proximity. Started thinking maybe I was overreacting but after pulling it out and looking more closely at it, I'm glad I did.

Interesting thing is the grease zirk on the bolt for this bushing has been plugged so I couldn't grease it. I was always dubious about their benefits but now I wonder if it was coincidence or due to lack of grease.

Done thrashing on the truck. Now it's time to thrash on Blazer Bash prep.

 

[Bent77]

Noticed a last minute issue. One of my front spring bushings was in sorry shape. It was the rear of the driver side spring. Ordered up replacements for both sides from Offroad Design and had them next day thanks to the close proximity. Started thinking maybe I was overreacting but after pulling it out and looking more closely at it, I'm glad I did.

Interesting thing is the grease zirk on the bolt for this bushing has been plugged so I couldn't grease it. I was always dubious about their benefits but now I wonder if it was coincidence or due to lack of grease.

Done thrashing on the truck. Now it's time to thrash on Blazer Bash prep.

It's what the cool kids do. I guess you're cool this year

 

[mrk5]

The hauling portion of the journey has begun.

 

[mrk5]

Made here about 3 hours ago. It was a torturous drive. Once we got past Vail, the cab of the truck was 107° with 99° outside. Damn it was hot. Luckily the truck thought 99° was cool enough and engine temps ran between 180 and 190 depending. Only time it flirted with 200 was stop and go traffic due to an accident on the big climb out of Denver. At that point it was already 91° outside.

Need to find money for vintage air.

 

[miniwally]

It was hot as satans balls here yesterday. Pro tip though, great big cup of ice 64oz cup held in your lap helps keep things chilled.

 

[mrk5]

Yeah I was surprised how hot Glenwood was.

 

[skunked]

Cool towels are awesome too. On the head or around the neck.

 

[mrk5]

I had this brilliant idea I could get more targeted air flow with the windows up, floor vents open, and rear slider open. That's when the cab hit 107°. Next I rolled down my window and cracked the window behind me, that dropped it down to 102°. Cracking the rear window keeps the wind from blasting the side of my face so bad.

 

[ZooMad75]

Pick up some of those bandanas sewn into a tube with the water crystals inside. Soak in your cooler for about 20 minutes, wring it out and put it around your neck. I picked up a hat with the same water crystals inside the headband in Canyonlands visitor center. I'm sure one of the gas stations around moab or the sporting goods store in town might have them.

Those things made life bearable in June when we were out there. Not having A/C blows.

 

[kgblazerfive]

I do not have any issue with staying cool in Twinkie, tons of air flow for me.

 

[mrk5]

Finally have some time to type up a Blazer Bash trip report.

As I mentioned above, the drive out was hot but went well. The 454 handles the passes WAY better. Ended up averaging a little better than 11mpg which isn't much less than the old 350.

We figured since we would be in hot Moab for a week it would be worth the effort to install the tube doors.

The first trail we ran was Cliffhanger. I really liked it.

3-wheelin'

Had 2 problems on Cliffhanger. First was the air line for the rear ARB ruptured due to heat. Fixed that and later in the day I blew the fuse for the power to rear locker solenoid.

The next day we did a scenic run starting in Canyonlands National Park. We drove down the Shafer Trail switchbacks and onto the White Rim trail as far as Musselman Arch. From there we drove out on Potash Road. Didn't have any troubles.

Shafer Trail made me think of my dad a lot. We drove down the Shafer Switchbacks to Musselman Arch on our first trip to Moab in '89.

The first trail run of Blazer Bash was Hell's Revenge, or we called it the Hell's Invasion. It's a fun trail that I feel is a quintessential Moab trail.

Again no excitement with the truck on this trail.

The excitement came Friday night at the Offroad Design BBQ. As a thank you for organizing Blazer Bash for 10yrs several people pitched in and got us our very own Magnum Box from ORD!

Too bad we couldn't install it that night.

The second day of Blazer Bash was a trail run I dreamed up called Scott's Big Adventure. It turned out to be a little "bigger" than I planned and many people headed back to town when it looked like it was going to be a long day. The big thing I wanted to try was the Widow Maker obstacle on Metal Masher. Unfortunately I didn't have any luck making it up.

Just dug holes at the bottom of Widow Maker

In the middle of the day I noticed a good bit of transmission fluid on the ground. I crawled under the truck to see if it was leaking from the transmission adapter again like it did last year. I discovered one of the 2 bolts for the transmission mount had fallen out. Luckily my buddy Nate had a bolt that fit. I had to leg press the tcase up so he could align everything and put the bolt in.

After this I did figure out it was leaking from the 4 adapter bolts like last year. They were loose so I tightened them up. So far they have stayed tight.

 

[mrk5]

The last day of Blazer Bash we ran trail I had never done before, Moab Rim. It was very challenging. Going up was hard for the truck. I thought I would walk right up the Z-turn, it ended up being pretty difficult. The return trip back down was a big challenge for the mind. It's all downhill and you're running along a shelf road on a cliff.

Going up:

At the overlook:

Going down:

Looks like you are headed right off the cliff:

We did have a problem on Moab Rim. I had another rupture in the rear ARB airline.

The rubber hose is what we added to help shield it form heat. When it blew the first time it was under the aluminum heat shield you can see below. The first rupture was just outside the heat shield like the blowout above.

What I find interesting is my cheap yellow zip ties held up. Obviously the ARB line does NOT like heat. Plan is to swap out the plastic for stainless braided line.

Even though it was around 100 almost everyday, the engine temps never got above 190. So the big radiator works great.

Now I'm on to planning the Magnum Box. They set it up for a 4l80e because that's the transmission I plan to run. I'm trying to decide if I should try to buy a transmission that's got relatively low miles and in good condition or if I should go to the pick and pull and get one for $150 (+core) and rebuild it. Or should I buy one that's already rebuilt. I will need a stand alone controller.

I'm also going to need to get an NP205 setup. I have a 10spl input case I could have a coworker mill out for the bigger bearing. Have to look into how hard it is to rebuild an NP205. I could also buy a tcase already rebuilt and setup for the 32spl input from ORD.

Super excited to get the Magnum Box in the truck.

 

[mrk5]

Almost forgot the other problem I had on Moab Rim. At the first ledge we dropped down on the return trip the truck died. Wouldn't restart. @Bent77 made a comment about fuel level. I switched to the tank we hadn't used yet and the truck fired right up. Those damn saddle tanks do not like angles. I even have EFI baffled tanks. The tank that we were on when the truck died was still 1/2 full. It would have sucked trying to get down the last stretch of Moab Rim if it had kept dying like that. Glad I had a full tank.

For the time being I'm going to have to remember to use that "keep 1 tank full" strategy on trails like Moab Rim.