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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
Overview Gallery Discussion
Kay86K5 said:
Dang...looks like I need to buy that kit on my own now ;). Looks good on there. Do you have a part number or anything as to where I can buy that? I know you bought it from @1977 but maybe the box had it on there?



I seem to remember Scott saying it was specific for square bodies...if so I need one for sure with the camper in the back of my CCLB
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@Kay86K5

sure is a specific kit . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fip-2040/overview/

and if offroading this is a great upgrade that he got with his setup used . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dys-ku09140bk/overview/

if you dont want air bags try these . std duty 6000 lb kit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tbi-gmrk30
or there slide in camper / salt spreader hd kit . https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tbi-gmrttk30
 
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Yep, what @sweetk30 posted is right, on both counts.

We took the boys up to the northern mountains go karting yesterday. Ended up on a trail a bit gnarlier than I planned; I'd only been there for snow bashing previously, didn't know what laid beneath. Rocks were too big for the go kart so we loaded it up to finish. Didn't notice any difference between loaded and not with the air bags.

I can see the attraction of an in cab controller. When we were on the highway it felt like they could have used a little more pressure on the bumpy sections of road. Not enough to make it worth pulling over to change them tho.
 
Kay86K5 said:
Good stuff...thanks!
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For reference on the spacer I had to add, I have 4" lift springs and a 2.5" shackle flip. If I hadn't needed the spacer, it would have been a very fast and easy install. If you just have 4" lift, or less, it will be much easier.
 
mrk5 said:
For reference on the spacer I had to add, I have 4" lift springs and a 2.5" shackle flip. If I hadn't needed the spacer, it would have been a very fast and easy install. If you just have 4" lift, or less, it will be much easier.
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Good to hear as I have about 3.5"-4" right now on my crew cab :saweet:
 
I also wanted to post a little feedback on the US Shift Quick 4 controller.

So far I'm very happy with it. I have realized that with the Art Carr (or Winters for you young fellers) shift, the manual mode and manutronic shifting is not needed. It's just as convenient to shift with the shifter as it is with the switches so that negates the manutronic setup. I think if I still had the factory column shifter I would be more inclined the use the manutronic shifting.

As far as manual mode, the only thing it gains you is the ability to start in the selected gear, but for me that ends up being a problem when you don't realize you're in 4th and trying to start rolling. So it causes less issues to just use the shifter. One thing I really like is that I can put the shifter in the gear I want and the controller will command torque converter lockup. Let me explain what I mean by that. Let's say I'm pulling a steep grade with the shifter in 4th gear, as the truck slows I push the accelerator more and the transmission downshifts to 3rd. If I leave thing as is, the trans stays in 3rd but typically doesn't lock up the torque converter. If I then shift the Art Carr into 3rd, the controller will soon after command torque converter lockup. This works great for me because the 454 has the grunt to keep pulling once the torque converter locks up and this in turn keeps the trans much cooler on a long hard climb. It also works the same if I need to shift into 2nd gear, it will lock up the torque converter.

I have a couple of negative points, but they aren't deal breakers for me. 1 is that I was getting slip errors and something about an unexpected gear ratio. I turned off the slip monitoring and I don't get those errors anymore. I still see no other indication of slipping so I think it was something else causing the errors. I also sometimes get a failure code for the output speed sensor. I have narrowed this down to occurring when I use double low. I have the controller programmed with all the gear ratios but for some reason it gets that glitch and it's not happening all the time. It doesn't affect the function of anything so I don't worry about it.

I can quickly tell when I forget to tell the controller which low range I'm in because the shift points get messed up. I'll be driving along wondering why the heck it's not shifting. I have it set to select low range ratio by clicking the control knob but this isn't always the best because when I realize I have it wrong I try to change it quick will also driving along a bumpy trail and next thing I know I've accidentally put it some other mode I didn't mean to. Since I'm not using the manutronic mode, I think I can use those switches to change the low range ratio instead.

So far the 4l80e that cost me $400 after I sold the donor truck seems to be functioning properly.
 
Well if I had been going to Blazer Bash this year I would have been really disappointed because the crew cab is nonoperational. Well, it runs but not well. A couple of days after the trip hauling the go kart I mentioned above I started the truck and it was running poorly and I noticed the AFR was reading 35.6. This would have been the Thursday before Blazer Bash started.

Figured it was a bad O2 sensor so I ordered a new one and installed it Sunday. Started the truck and AFR jumped up to 35.6 again. Even running the Sniper in open loop so it ignores the O2 sensor didn't help. I called Holley and they said based on the 35.6 even with a new O2 sensor it's probably a malfunctioning ECU. I have to send them the throttle body (that's where the ECU is located), O2 sensor, and handheld controller. I imagine the O2 sensor and handheld are being sent back so they can pull data to help figure out why the ECU failed.

The good news is the tech guy didn't argue with me or try to weasel out of it. He even commented about the unit being out of warranty but that they would fix it anyway. So I'm bummed about having the truck down for around a month. I'm thinking that's how long it will be by the time I can get it all shipped in, them repair it, ship it back, and me get it all reinstalled.
 
I've thought about it, but that truck kinda scares me. Nick cleaned out about 5 random, un-terminated, bare wires from the engine bay. Hey, figured out what was popping the ignition fuse and running the battery down. It's bad when the owner of the vehicle is trying to figure out what the heck he was thinking. :doah:

I don't think adult Nick was appreciating broke-ass college student Nick.
 
I wouldn't be any help. Haha I don't even know what all I brought.
 
mrk5 said:
I've thought about it, but that truck kinda scares me. Nick cleaned out about 5 random, un-terminated, bare wires from the engine bay. Hey, figured out what was popping the ignition fuse and running the battery down. It's bad when the owner of the vehicle is trying to figure out what the heck he was thinking. :doah:

I don't think adult Nick was appreciating broke-ass college student Nick.
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Sounds familiar!
 
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