Thanks guys. Josh and Mark you both might be onto something. I had noticed a similar issue on an intermittent basis with the other tune in it. I'll have to watch the TPS signal on my data logs and see what it shows.
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
Was just thinking about it, does that pcm have a reading for the gear selection? If it's reading wrong there it could be reading the wrong maps and pulling a bad idle settings.
Good question. But no. The MEFI4 controller is strictly for the engine. It does not have any gear position input nor does the 700 need computer controls. Like I said it will do this sitting in park. If I leave it alone it idles fine. It's only after I snap the throttle in park a little or a lot once the idle falls back to it's 800 rpm target it starts bouncing. I can calm it by putting the load of the torque converter on it by shifting to reverse and then back to park and the idle stays rock steady at 800 until I stab the throttle again. I'll have to watch the data.
Another mileage check completed. It's up to 12.12 MPG with the latest tune. Same drive to work. It's better, but I think there is more in there. Got some tuning yet to do.
I had mentioned in an earlier post about doing a little project with @mrk5 for my tach. Since 91 Clusters don't lend them selves swapping in a factory style tach into them I thought about making an aftermarket Sun tach I already had into something else. The idea was to make the face to match the factory cluster, much like they might have offered as a GM accessory back in the day. No, they didn't ever offer an accessory tach, but if they did it might look like what @mrk5 and I came up with. I started out contacting Scott and getting some needed dimensions for him to lay out the artwork.
After a few PM's swapped back and forth, I was able to calculate where 0 and 8000 were with 4000 being at 12:00 on the gauge face. Scott sent the artwork back to me with the redline set at 5,500 (Which is the factory redline for a LM7 5.3) and matching the font for the numbers to a stock cluster perfectly. Pardon the brightness of the pic as it washed out the colors, but the yellow line is dead on to the stock cluster. Shown in comparison to the original Sun tach face:
Better pic with the Sun face removed from the tach.
Lucky for me I still had some florescent orange RC car paint to change the needle from white to match the stock gauge needles. Here's the completed tach that is need of a final cleaning.
Lit up with a LED 194 bulb powered off my DC power supply on my bench (not quite 12v) so it will be brighter.
Now I just have to figure out where to mount the tach in the truck. But I think the look is nailed down to what I was thinking of. Big thanks to @mrk5 for taking the time to get the gauge overlay set up, printed and sent out. It looks awesome and can't wait to mount it to use.
I had mentioned in an earlier post about doing a little project with @mrk5 for my tach. Since 91 Clusters don't lend them selves swapping in a factory style tach into them I thought about making an aftermarket Sun tach I already had into something else. The idea was to make the face to match the factory cluster, much like they might have offered as a GM accessory back in the day. No, they didn't ever offer an accessory tach, but if they did it might look like what @mrk5 and I came up with. I started out contacting Scott and getting some needed dimensions for him to lay out the artwork.
After a few PM's swapped back and forth, I was able to calculate where 0 and 8000 were with 4000 being at 12:00 on the gauge face. Scott sent the artwork back to me with the redline set at 5,500 (Which is the factory redline for a LM7 5.3) and matching the font for the numbers to a stock cluster perfectly. Pardon the brightness of the pic as it washed out the colors, but the yellow line is dead on to the stock cluster. Shown in comparison to the original Sun tach face:
Better pic with the Sun face removed from the tach.
Lucky for me I still had some florescent orange RC car paint to change the needle from white to match the stock gauge needles. Here's the completed tach that is need of a final cleaning.
Lit up with a LED 194 bulb powered off my DC power supply on my bench (not quite 12v) so it will be brighter.
Now I just have to figure out where to mount the tach in the truck. But I think the look is nailed down to what I was thinking of. Big thanks to @mrk5 for taking the time to get the gauge overlay set up, printed and sent out. It looks awesome and can't wait to mount it to use.
Really nice bit of detail.
David
David
That is awesome! Really makes it look better than just another aftermarket tach. If I didn't have a factory tach in my truck that'd be an idea to copy!
I like how the tach turned out. I had a tach done for a customer of mine once kinda like that. I took a 10,000 rpm Auto Meter Phantom tach and sent it to a place in California that does auto meter gauge stuff and they built a custom gauge face and recalibrated it to be a 5,000 rpm tach to work on an old Big Cam Cummins since I was doing a full dash of all Phantom gauges. Your way is definitely wayyy cheaper I'm sure.
That looks great! It makes me think more about the one on my '90.
I want to add that you and Larry should be proud of the work on this whole project!
I want to add that you and Larry should be proud of the work on this whole project!
Excellent work, as always. 
Nice work!
Thanks guys. It's the little details that add up to make the whole project more unique. The tach was just an idea popped into my brain. I like having a tach to keep an eye on things even though it's not as needed with the slushbox. But as you can tell the face on the the tach was getting faded. So an update was needed and it fit my need to make the gauges match. Glad you all appreciate the attention to detail.
Picked up another 91 electric speedo cluster this week. Since the speedometer is not working, I figured I need a spare for parts plus I need a printed circuit for the one I messed up on the one in my truck.
Scored it for $35 at a local yard. They pulled it and brought it out to the shop for me too. Can't beat that!
I'm going to plug it in as it is and see how it works.
Scored it for $35 at a local yard. They pulled it and brought it out to the shop for me too. Can't beat that!
I'm going to plug it in as it is and see how it works.
Spent the weekend with family that came down from Denver to play at the Pueblo Reservoir. Had a few guys checking it out. That was pretty cool. Threw a couple of coolers, lots of chairs and snacks for a day on the lake shore. It was a good time.
In effort to figure out the speedo problem I plugged in the 2nd cluster I picked up in the earlier post. Still no go. I figured it wouldn't, but it's pretty simple to unplug remove and swap right now without the dash in pad in place. So I fixed a previous boo-boo on the original cluster by swapping the printed circuit from the new cluster to the original. I've got the process down on these clusters to 10 minutes from complete cluster to bare housing. Took no time to swap it over. Took over the dining room table so I could spread out.
I got a call last night from our buddy Bill about taking a day trip for a fall color run. Target trail is Medano Pass to the Great Sand Dunes. So I need to get a few things done on Saturday before Sunday's run. Now that I've put a couple hundred miles on it, I need to put a wrench on all the suspension bolts. I'd like to get the tach mounted if only in a temporary spot. The CB needs tuned and external speaker sorted out. The TCC wiring needs hooked up too. It's a pretty good list, but the wife is heading out of town tomorrow, so outside of taking care of the dogs my responsibilities are limited to keeping myself fed (never a problem) and not burning the house down. So I should get a good chunk done then.
Excited to get the truck in the dirt and hit a trail. Gotta figure out my finesse driving style from what I'm used to doing swinging the big hammer down.
I got a call last night from our buddy Bill about taking a day trip for a fall color run. Target trail is Medano Pass to the Great Sand Dunes. So I need to get a few things done on Saturday before Sunday's run. Now that I've put a couple hundred miles on it, I need to put a wrench on all the suspension bolts. I'd like to get the tach mounted if only in a temporary spot. The CB needs tuned and external speaker sorted out. The TCC wiring needs hooked up too. It's a pretty good list, but the wife is heading out of town tomorrow, so outside of taking care of the dogs my responsibilities are limited to keeping myself fed (never a problem) and not burning the house down. So I should get a good chunk done then.
Excited to get the truck in the dirt and hit a trail. Gotta figure out my finesse driving style from what I'm used to doing swinging the big hammer down.
Got a lot done today after work. Tach is hooked up and working in a temporary location. Figured out the External speaker. CB won't work without the mic plugged in. Duh. Still, I think the mic cord is damaged as I can't get any wiggle on the needle with the mic button pressed. Will have to figure that out later. Put a wrench or socket on all the suspension bolts and driveshaft fasteners. Hooked up the wiring for the TCC to the brake light switch.
Gassed the truck up and need to charge the GoPro. Going to be a good run.
Gassed the truck up and need to charge the GoPro. Going to be a good run.
Here's a mini trip report. Went up and over Medano Pass and dropped into the Great Sand Dunes National park and preserve. 239 total miles driven, 20 of which were on the trail. 18 total gallons of fuel used for 13 MPG on the trip. (gps mileage data) The trail itself is a mild one. Proof of that a bone stock Toyota Sequoia was in our group and it never had a problem. Still, the trail is a rough SOB in spots and then gets carpet like smooth when you get into the sand. It's a good proving out run for the K5.3. Onto some pics...
Riding in on highway 69 looking into the Sangre De Cristo range.
The trail sign:
First of many Toyotas we passed. Besides the Sequoia you see here that was with us, we passed a ton of tacomas and 4runners going the other way from us.
Starting to get into some color. My buddy Bill is leading the way in the Dodge.
Now we got color.
I'm spoiled to live so close to this. WOW.
One of many creek crossings on the west side of the pass.
Stopping to let the dogs out to have a pit stop.
Poser shot, of course.
Then we came around a corner to find this mess. Now this crap pisses me off. This idiot was hauling ass on a tight trail that you really don't have any view of the turn until you on it due to the thick brush trailside. The nitwit was going fast enough to mow down a dead/burned tree that was 15 inches across at the trunk where it broke. That momentum managed to flip what was left of the tree up and over the top of the Jeep on it's side. Had those three trees not been there it would have been upside down in the creek below. This was a newer 4dr Jeep Wrangler. Georgia plates. Flatlanders..
Consider this a PSA, then I'll get off my soap box. I like going fast just as much as the next guy. But there is a time and a place. Where this goon pulled this off was too tight to see anything until you were right on top of it. If it was dark it would be even worse. Waiting until they were 20 minutes further down the trail where it opens up and is nice and sandy you can carry a little more speed because you can see the turns well ahead of getting into them. Moutain trails are not for fast moving. It's not King of the Hammers. Some turns we couldn't see another vehicle coming at us until they were right on top of us. Take it easy, enjoy the view.
Getting into the dunes. Driving on them is strictly prohibited. Closest you can do is this trail I'm on.
View at our lunch stop.
Just getting ready to leave our lunch stop, the area was swarmed by a gaggle of Jeeps. All JK's with one TJ in the bunch. Nothing older.
From here, the group decided to take the highway back over La Veta pass, to Walsenburg and back up I-25 to home. My kidneys thanked me for that.
Overall, the K5.3 did awesome. Double the fuel mileage of the 75 for sure. Never stalled or stumbled at elevation (topped out at 10,700ish). Off road with the slush box over my beloved granny gear muncie was a different animal. Going up to the top, I made it pretty far on 2wd alone. Locked in the hubs and got up to the top without any fuss. Stuck it in drive and point-n-shoot. Very easy. Downhill I really missed granny gear. So I used the 2.72:1 in the 241 to my advantage. Shoved the t-case in 4lo and low gear on the trans and it was pretty close to creeping in granny. The only negative I have from the run is the ride quality. Despite the fact the shocks I reused were not leaking, they have little to no compression in the rear. Anybody that was behind me saw the rear tires catching air many times. Hell I even caught air in my seat a couple of times it was so bad. Bilstein shocks from ORD are on my list to get sooner than later.
Still I'm super pleased on how the K5.3 did today. It eats up road miles like pac-man, comfy as long as the road is smooth. Off road the tires and tru-trac up front kicked ass. Never really lacked traction, at all. It's getting there for sure.
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Riding in on highway 69 looking into the Sangre De Cristo range.
The trail sign:
First of many Toyotas we passed. Besides the Sequoia you see here that was with us, we passed a ton of tacomas and 4runners going the other way from us.
Starting to get into some color. My buddy Bill is leading the way in the Dodge.
Now we got color.
I'm spoiled to live so close to this. WOW.
One of many creek crossings on the west side of the pass.
Stopping to let the dogs out to have a pit stop.
Poser shot, of course.
Then we came around a corner to find this mess. Now this crap pisses me off. This idiot was hauling ass on a tight trail that you really don't have any view of the turn until you on it due to the thick brush trailside. The nitwit was going fast enough to mow down a dead/burned tree that was 15 inches across at the trunk where it broke. That momentum managed to flip what was left of the tree up and over the top of the Jeep on it's side. Had those three trees not been there it would have been upside down in the creek below. This was a newer 4dr Jeep Wrangler. Georgia plates. Flatlanders..
Consider this a PSA, then I'll get off my soap box. I like going fast just as much as the next guy. But there is a time and a place. Where this goon pulled this off was too tight to see anything until you were right on top of it. If it was dark it would be even worse. Waiting until they were 20 minutes further down the trail where it opens up and is nice and sandy you can carry a little more speed because you can see the turns well ahead of getting into them. Moutain trails are not for fast moving. It's not King of the Hammers. Some turns we couldn't see another vehicle coming at us until they were right on top of us. Take it easy, enjoy the view.
Getting into the dunes. Driving on them is strictly prohibited. Closest you can do is this trail I'm on.
View at our lunch stop.
Just getting ready to leave our lunch stop, the area was swarmed by a gaggle of Jeeps. All JK's with one TJ in the bunch. Nothing older.
From here, the group decided to take the highway back over La Veta pass, to Walsenburg and back up I-25 to home. My kidneys thanked me for that.
Overall, the K5.3 did awesome. Double the fuel mileage of the 75 for sure. Never stalled or stumbled at elevation (topped out at 10,700ish). Off road with the slush box over my beloved granny gear muncie was a different animal. Going up to the top, I made it pretty far on 2wd alone. Locked in the hubs and got up to the top without any fuss. Stuck it in drive and point-n-shoot. Very easy. Downhill I really missed granny gear. So I used the 2.72:1 in the 241 to my advantage. Shoved the t-case in 4lo and low gear on the trans and it was pretty close to creeping in granny. The only negative I have from the run is the ride quality. Despite the fact the shocks I reused were not leaking, they have little to no compression in the rear. Anybody that was behind me saw the rear tires catching air many times. Hell I even caught air in my seat a couple of times it was so bad. Bilstein shocks from ORD are on my list to get sooner than later.
Still I'm super pleased on how the K5.3 did today. It eats up road miles like pac-man, comfy as long as the road is smooth. Off road the tires and tru-trac up front kicked ass. Never really lacked traction, at all. It's getting there for sure.
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Dang, I can't see the pictures at work. I'll have to come back to it.
Some video I edited of the run.
Drove the Blazer to work today. Threw it up on the lift to check it out after last week's run. Thought I might flip the rear shocks in order to gain some ride quality. Didn't find anything wrong from the run, but I can't flip the drivers side shock. Seems like what was right for clearance when Larry put them in, got worse with the pinion adjustment.
The pinion rotating up forced the left side shock mount to take the mounting hole and rotate it down and forward. Now the shock shaft only has a small amount of clearance to the axle tube. No way the shock body would fit. Had a conversation with Larry about it via text. Looks like we are going to get some shock tabs to weld on to fix the problem. Both of his need it as well as mine so we'll probably be bribing our buddy Bill to burn them in after we prune the old ones off.
Amazing the cause and effect the modifications make happen.
The pinion rotating up forced the left side shock mount to take the mounting hole and rotate it down and forward. Now the shock shaft only has a small amount of clearance to the axle tube. No way the shock body would fit. Had a conversation with Larry about it via text. Looks like we are going to get some shock tabs to weld on to fix the problem. Both of his need it as well as mine so we'll probably be bribing our buddy Bill to burn them in after we prune the old ones off.
Amazing the cause and effect the modifications make happen.
