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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.
Overview Gallery Discussion
AbramJ said:
Or maybe you could find something to bolt in on the bed rails with the topper bolts?
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That thought came up sitting at my parent's house this morning. I had remembered a trip through a local pick-n-pull yard a couple of years back where my Dad was pulling the little chrome tie-down hook points in the back of GMT400 Tahoes/Suburbans and Yukons. The actually are the same as the one's in my Trailblazer but the TB hooks are black instead of chrome. He ended up grabbing like 8 of them. Would be perfect to do just that, bolt them down with the top bolts on the rail. Problem was we looked all over his back garage and couldn't find the bag containing the tie downs. He'll probably find them next week or something. I'm going to look at the farm store and see what tie downs they have to choose from.

mrk5 said:
That looks nice!
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Thanks!

While I was prowling through the stuff in Dad's garage I noticed he had a cargo bar. The type one would use in the bed of a truck. Since I don't have any interior side panels in the back, mine isn't any different than a truck so I borrowed it from him. That should work to hold the cooler in position at the rear of the bed. Gotta have the frosty ones near the tailgate at the end of the days ride! I've got to find some of my cargo tie down nets I've retained from my road warrior days renting cars weekly. With some tie down points it should help hold some of the lighter stuff in position.
 
I like the tie down rail system in my pickup. I just bolted it down on top of the rubber bed mat.

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Also seen them bolted to the side of the bed rails.
 
That's a Google image pic, not sure the brand. I have a Hi-Lift brand setup. ORD has one similar to the pic in their '03 SAS'd 2500hd but for the life of me I can't remember the brand. I liked theirs a little better than than mine.
 
Thanks guys. Dug around the net last night and I thought I had seen track like that at the local BigR farm store. Looked on their website and they list they still sell it. Looks like the stuff.
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I'll have to go to the store tomorrow. I went to change out my oil pressure sender and figured out quickly I had borrowed the right size socket but it's too shallow for the long sender for the 5.3. So I started draining the coolant to change out the water pump gaskets. It was low on coolant. I'm glad to get this fixed as It would be a pain in the ass in the desert with a leak.
 
ZooMad75 said:
Thanks guys. Dug around the net last night and I thought I had seen track like that at the local BigR farm store. Looked on their website and they list they still sell it. Looks like the stuff.
09133-CLAM-285x860.jpg

I'll have to go to the store tomorrow. I went to change out my oil pressure sender and figured out quickly I had borrowed the right size socket but it's too shallow for the long sender for the 5.3. So I started draining the coolant to change out the water pump gaskets. It was low on coolant. I'm glad to get this fixed as It would be a pain in the ass in the desert with a leak.
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Our Big R was purchased by Murdochs but I wonder if they carry that too.
 
mrk5 said:
Our Big R was purchased by Murdochs but I wonder if they carry that too.
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Maybe. We don't have Murdoch's down here. Going to stop by the new Big R they put up in Pueblo West on the way home tomorrow and see what they have. Tonight's fun will be water pump removal and oil pressure sensor replacement.

Gm special tool number J-42712 is the right tool for the oil pressure sensor. Just so happens the tool is listed within our 6.5L diesel essential tool kit. In case anyone happens to need to know the right tool for the job.
 
Got some stuff done tonight. Using the correct tool, the oil pressure sensor got swapped out in a few minutes. I had already started draining the coolant yesterday so I popped the fan clutch off and the belt. From there it's 6 bolts and the water pump is off. Got to love the simplicity of the 5.3 as nothing needs to come off the front of the engine to get the pump off. I was able to confirm the source of my leak. The gasket on the passenger side was weeping and 2 out of the 3 bolts were wet. Normally, the bolts should have thread sealer on them to prevent this type of leak.
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You can tell we painted the engine with the pump on huh?

Heres the backside of the pump. Weep hole (not shown) is dry as a bone. The staining on the right side is the giveaway.
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In the process of pulling the hoses off of the pump I discovered another leak. The plastic tee fitting I used for the line from the steam vent on the block was cracked. I barely touched it while removing the heater hose from the pump and I saw coolant come out. In the process of removing the hose it snapped off completely. Going to have to do something differently here. Plastic isn't going to cut it.
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I would have put the pump back on tonight but I forgot to bring some thread sealant from work. Plus my nieghbor caught me and got to talking and delayed me some. I will say it's nice not having to rush through it just so I could drive it to work the next day.

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JoshHefnerX said:
You need more vehicles.
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I've got five as it is. Lord knows I'd have more but the wife probably would kill me. Since I left her in Denver, I've got the Trailblazer or the S10 to drive if I need to.

I've found when rushed I can royally phuck up stuff. Had I brought home the thread sealant, I would have had the water pump back on and bolted down inside 30 minutes or less. But since I didn't I spent some time cleaning things up and rinsing down the driveway of any residual spillage.
 
campfire said:
Haven't seen any updates on your end for a bit. What have you been up to?
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For a bit!? HA!
It's been a long long long time since I had any wrenching on one of my project builds.

To answer the question, I have been working on other projects. Not alot of automotive projects, have been picking up alot of parts for my projects. Saving for some new stainless steel headers right now.
 
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beags86 said:
Man, I hate when guys get there builds done and the thread turns into boring maintenance crap.
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The heavy lifting portion of the build is done for sure. But I've still got the onboard air system to finish, rear bumper/tire carrier to do and more permanent storage.

Plus the bonus is really getting to use it finally for the intended purpose of wheeling. Got a week planned in Utah with Larry and the rest of his desert rats next month. I'll have a few weekend runs through the summer too. My Jeep buddy John wants to do Imogene and black bear pass this summer. I'm on the fence due to the widebody K5 on a really narrow jeep trail, but it is a bucket list trail to do just once at least.
 
Ohh... Black bear... Your talking serious shit.
Me and buddy drove out to a lookout where you can see it. Yeah. You will never find me on that... yes, I'm scared.
 
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