CK5
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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond

Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
I also put the full doors on for the return trip. @kgblazerfive and I debated it because he was pointing out I would be cooler with the tube doors. Ultimately I needed to be able to keep stuff secure in the cab, namely the new Magnum Box, so I put the full doors on. Ironically, on 1/2 the drive home it was around 60 outside and raining heavily. I would have been cold and wet with the tube doors on so it worked out okay in the end.
 
Rebuilding a 205 isn't hard, there's a couple good youtube videos out there...
 
Hopefully have my hands on a 4l80e. Just bought a donor truck.

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95 K3500. The good: less than 10,000 miles on a new transmission installed 2 years ago and I have the ticket from the mechanic. The bad: motor is shot and won't start so I can't test the transmission. Got it for $800 feel like I should be okay but taking a little gamble since I can't start the motor. Worst case, I have a good core. :doah:

Still have to drag it back to the shop. We were going to flat tow it but the battery is dead so I would have no lights. Gonna take a battery and get it in the morning.

Now I just need to get the NP205 set up for the big bearing.
 
I replaced the ARB plastic line with -4an stainless braided. While in the truck I noticed a few items of interest.

Apparently didn't have enough frame clearance for the headers.

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Some point I hit the oil pan. Just a small dent and scrape.

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Very curious about that one as it seems like the front shaft would have been hit too. I'm thinking it might have a rock that was kicked up into the pan or a tree branch.
 
I also have a fluid leak I can't figure out. It's the area around the steering cylinder. It's wet with fluid, could be oil or steering fluid.

I'm starting to think maybe the cylinder is leaking because I can't see where on the motor it would be coming from. It's just the bottom of the pan that's wet the sides of the motor and pan are clean. The cylinder will be wet and the crewmember above it.

I think I will have to crawl under while the motor is running and see if I can detect anything. Also have someone turn the steering too.
 
I also have a fluid leak I can't figure out. It's the area around the steering cylinder. It's wet with fluid, could be oil or steering fluid.

I'm starting to think maybe the cylinder is leaking because I can't see where on the motor it would be coming from. It's just the bottom of the pan that's wet the sides of the motor and pan are clean. The cylinder will be wet and the crewmember above it.

I think I will have to crawl under while the motor is running and see if I can detect anything. Also have someone turn the steering too.
Your spotter
 
I can't get her to crawl under the truck. Oh wait, you mean she could turn the steering while I crawled under....
 
Nate came up and helped me pull the 4l80e from the donor truck. Looks like a legit trans as advertised and the torque converter appears to be new.

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It has a tag on it but no idea where it came from.

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It's certified by someone!

I also got some good news for the electronic control. I was reading about the problems you can have with Doublers and Magnum Box behind a 4l80e. The transmissions uses 2 speed sensors to detect slipping in the transmission. On a 4wd there's a sensor at the front of the trans and your typical sensor on the tcase. The problem is with a Doubler or Magnum there are additional low range gears you can't program into the controller so it's going to think the trans is slipping in the other low ranges. I had no idea about this and that most people try to use a 2wd 4l80e because of it. The 2wd version has both speed sensors in the transmission.

After some searching and reading I found that the earily 4wd 4l80e came with the 2 sensors in the case just like the 2wd. The catch is they didn't necessarily have the rear tone ring. We pulled the rear sensor and found mine does have a tone ring.

Front:
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Rear:
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The only negative is the speed the transmission thinks the truck is moving at will not be accurate in low range, but I don't see that being a problem. I don't need speed for the EFI and I use a GPS speedometer.

While Nate was up he brought me an NP205 from an 1980 K20. It's 32 spline input so it'll work with the Magnum. I have a 10spl NP205 I can rob the fixed output yoke from.

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Next step will be to buy some new stuff, no more recycled parts. I need to get the controller and shifters tcase and Magnum.

I'm torn between cable shifters or good old fashion mechanical linkage.
 
not to burst your bubble but the rear sensor hole looks to be lacking the ring .

is it the angle of the pic ? or what ?

the tone ring has to be centered in there just like the front hole.

time to recheck your setup and re-verify this .
 
I also don't know the source, but my 700 is certified too...
 
not to burst your bubble but the rear sensor hole looks to be lacking the ring .

is it the angle of the pic ? or what ?

the tone ring has to be centered in there just like the front hole.

time to recheck your setup and re-verify this .
It's not centered. I would say it protudes about 1/2 into the opening. I ask because I was wondering how it could be only partially in the opening if it was not intended to be that way? Are there shims or something that can be installed differently to cause it not to be located where it was intended?

If I have the sensor installed is there a way I could use a multimeter to test the signal?
 

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