Dented a 14 bolt? Good grief. What did that sound like?
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond
- Thread starter mrk5
- Start date
Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
Apparently I never posted my fix for this issue. I have the Ballistic fab shave kit on mine but you end up with the same issue. I picked up an AR500 3/8" target from my local steel shop, cut it to shape and welded it on to the bottom of my diff.My bolts are the same. Wearing through the bolt is the goal. "You gotta earn the 13 bolt shave": that was either @miniwally or @Hogback Fabrication who said that one year.
It sticks out the back a bit and protects the bottom of the diff cover and associated bolts/holes as well.
So far it's held up great! It also seems to be a bit "slipperier" than the old cast iron when I'm dragging it over rocks.
Paint it bright orange.
That's the ticket. I've thought about a small piece of AR500 with slots and the MIG set to kill.
David
Yea, the Currie axle I built for the front of the S-10 comes with a thin AR500 strip bolted to the bottom to protect it. That's where I go the idea to weld the chunk to the rear axle.
That's all I do. I hardface mine as needed. About every 2 years I weld on and reshape. If going for a hardenable steel piece to be welded on the goal would be to keep any hardness intact, as this will slide easier over the rocks. Same principle as how aluminum doesn't slide well because it gets gouged. @r3dd0g did it right with the hangover from the cover.
That's also why I only welded on the edges. I wanted to keep as much of the hard face hardened to keep it slippery. I was worried it would get knocked off, but I've slid it over quite a few rocks since I added it and it's still hanging in there.
I've driven the crew cab to (8) Blazer Bashes and the Rubicon (2 days each way plus 3 on the trail) and the trip to Trail Hero is the first time it has let me done on a long road trip. Maybe because the truck was mad at me that it was also the first time I've trailered it to a trail run.
Since Blazer Bash last year, I have had an occasional loss of power. I covered it in this thread last year when I thought it was due to a loose injector connector, something the Sniper is notorious for. In 2021, I had first come across the problem when I had a dead injector. Last year the problem was intermittent enough, I couldn't nail down which injector it was so I had added extra wire ties to the 3 other injectors. Turns out, the injector giving me trouble at Trail Hero is the same injector I first had problems with. I noticed when we pull the injector cover the extra tie wire on that injector had fallen off.
We tried resecuring the connector, but it continued to run like crap. This time instead of being dead, the injector is dumping a bunch of fuel. You can see it in the end of the video below, upper left barrel/injector.
It was dumping so much fuel when we moved the truck in the video above, fuel was dripping out of the exhaust.
Since we couldn't get the injector to work and we couldn't get a replacement special injector the Sniper uses, we had to park the truck for most of Trail Hero. We did get to run West Rim on the first day we were there. It was a pretty challenging trail. The Sniper had started running crappy enough that I skipped one pretty daunting steep climb that required some horsepower to get up. Short video:
There was a funny (in hindsight) moment on one obstacle. Nate was spotting me up and we just couldn't get the rear tire to come up. On the last attempt, there was a loud kind of ting/bang noise that we both thought was a broken part so I backed off. Saturday night we were reviewing our videos and as soon as I heard the noise in the video, I knew for sure what it was, the damn aluminum tube steps knocking on the rock! It sounds like an aluminum bat!
When I got home I played the video for my wife and told her to listen for the noise that had Nate and I worried. She says, "What? The sound of the step hitting the rock?"
She said she could told me that because she listened to it for 3 days on the Rubicon. 
We rented a side by side for 24 hours to ride around Sand Mountain. We ended up running about 5 trails with it and playing on the dunes. We probably saw more than we would have in the crew cab. It was the ultimate "good" moment.
Since Blazer Bash last year, I have had an occasional loss of power. I covered it in this thread last year when I thought it was due to a loose injector connector, something the Sniper is notorious for. In 2021, I had first come across the problem when I had a dead injector. Last year the problem was intermittent enough, I couldn't nail down which injector it was so I had added extra wire ties to the 3 other injectors. Turns out, the injector giving me trouble at Trail Hero is the same injector I first had problems with. I noticed when we pull the injector cover the extra tie wire on that injector had fallen off.
We tried resecuring the connector, but it continued to run like crap. This time instead of being dead, the injector is dumping a bunch of fuel. You can see it in the end of the video below, upper left barrel/injector.
It was dumping so much fuel when we moved the truck in the video above, fuel was dripping out of the exhaust.
Since we couldn't get the injector to work and we couldn't get a replacement special injector the Sniper uses, we had to park the truck for most of Trail Hero. We did get to run West Rim on the first day we were there. It was a pretty challenging trail. The Sniper had started running crappy enough that I skipped one pretty daunting steep climb that required some horsepower to get up. Short video:
There was a funny (in hindsight) moment on one obstacle. Nate was spotting me up and we just couldn't get the rear tire to come up. On the last attempt, there was a loud kind of ting/bang noise that we both thought was a broken part so I backed off. Saturday night we were reviewing our videos and as soon as I heard the noise in the video, I knew for sure what it was, the damn aluminum tube steps knocking on the rock! It sounds like an aluminum bat!
When I got home I played the video for my wife and told her to listen for the noise that had Nate and I worried. She says, "What? The sound of the step hitting the rock?"
She said she could told me that because she listened to it for 3 days on the Rubicon. We rented a side by side for 24 hours to ride around Sand Mountain. We ended up running about 5 trails with it and playing on the dunes. We probably saw more than we would have in the crew cab. It was the ultimate "good" moment.
I really like how your truck has evolved over these many years. Good piece of gear.
David
David
Nice recap. Hopefully you get the injector figured out soon.
LOLWhen I got home I played the video for my wife and told her to listen for the noise that had Nate and I worried. She says, "What? The sound of the step hitting the rock?"
More pics from Trail Hero here: https://ck5.com/forums/threads/trail-hero-2023.348744/
I did finally get a receiver hitch installed before trail hero. The empty cutout in the bumper plate was bothering me.
Now you need holes for chains, and I'd probably add some flanges to bolt that lever arm of a receiver to the bumper, or just weld it on.
The pictures above didn't show the details well. I added a kind of angled gusset plate notched over the receiver tube that has holes for the safety chain. I'll probably use a big quick link in the holes.
It did end up sticking out about 1" further than my old factory built receiver. I figure I'll need to be light on my towing capacity. Probably not hauling any 10k loads.
It did end up sticking out about 1" further than my old factory built receiver. I figure I'll need to be light on my towing capacity. Probably not hauling any 10k loads.
Looks good, totally didn't see those gussets in the first pictures 
Thanks! Yeah, your post made me realize I didn't post the best pictures.
In other news, the Sniper is off to Holley for an ECU which is supposed to take 4 to 6 weeks.
In other news, the Sniper is off to Holley for an ECU which is supposed to take 4 to 6 weeks.
My Holley dash from the shop truck is currently there. They told me 1-2 week turn around. I called after 3 and they hadn't even taken it out of the box to look at it yet.
I really HATE the fact that Holley has bought EVERYTHING and they all have the exact same HORRIBLE customer service now.
Here is the current list of companies Holley owns (from their wiki)
ACCEL, ADS Racing Shocks, AEM, AEM EV, Amp'd, Anvil Off-Road, APR, B&M, Baer Brakes, Brawler, Bright Earth, Brothers Trucks, Carrol Shelby Wheels, CataClean, Classic Instruments, Demon, Detroit Speed, DiabloSport, Dinan, Drake Muscle Cars, Earl's, Edge, Fender Gripper, Flowmaster, Flowmonster, Flowtech Exhaust, Frostbite Cooling, GearFX Driveline, Halibrand, HANS, Hays, Hilborn, HK Wheels, Holley Classic Trucks, Holley EFI, Holley iNTECH, Holley RetroBright, Hooker, Hooker Blackheart, Hurst, Lakewood, Legendary Wheels, Mallory, Mr. Gasket, MSD, MSD Atomic, MSD Dynaforce, NOS, OG Innovations, ProConnect, Proforged, Pulsar, Quick Fuel Technology, Quick Time, Racepak, RaceQuip, Range Technology, REKUDO, REV Wheels, Rocket Racing Wheels, Scott Drake, Simpson Racing, Sniper, SPAL Fans, Speartech, Stilo, Street Fire, STS Turbo, Superchips, Weiand, White Box, XDR
I really HATE the fact that Holley has bought EVERYTHING and they all have the exact same HORRIBLE customer service now.
Here is the current list of companies Holley owns (from their wiki)
ACCEL, ADS Racing Shocks, AEM, AEM EV, Amp'd, Anvil Off-Road, APR, B&M, Baer Brakes, Brawler, Bright Earth, Brothers Trucks, Carrol Shelby Wheels, CataClean, Classic Instruments, Demon, Detroit Speed, DiabloSport, Dinan, Drake Muscle Cars, Earl's, Edge, Fender Gripper, Flowmaster, Flowmonster, Flowtech Exhaust, Frostbite Cooling, GearFX Driveline, Halibrand, HANS, Hays, Hilborn, HK Wheels, Holley Classic Trucks, Holley EFI, Holley iNTECH, Holley RetroBright, Hooker, Hooker Blackheart, Hurst, Lakewood, Legendary Wheels, Mallory, Mr. Gasket, MSD, MSD Atomic, MSD Dynaforce, NOS, OG Innovations, ProConnect, Proforged, Pulsar, Quick Fuel Technology, Quick Time, Racepak, RaceQuip, Range Technology, REKUDO, REV Wheels, Rocket Racing Wheels, Scott Drake, Simpson Racing, Sniper, SPAL Fans, Speartech, Stilo, Street Fire, STS Turbo, Superchips, Weiand, White Box, XDR
Geez, they have been busy
Wtf
