I have no clue what I am doing. time to give up?

[gotblazers]

You should see me work on something when i have no clue how to deal with.
1.walk out and start tearing **** apart
2.Realize im totally stuck
3.Go inside and watch some T.V and have some Ice Cream
4.Research said problem
5.Still fail to understand it then go back to repeat steps 1-4
Usually after repeating said process a few times a light goes off in my head and it all comes together for me. Or if im reallllly stuck ill even ask a question on ck5. I managed to aquire a welder,tow rig and car trailer in the last year while i was out of college but now that im in college i have all this cool shet and no time/money to use it .

 

[496truck]

Getting overwhelmed. It can happen in an instant. Usually while laying under the truck and your eyes start wandering to all the items that may need attention. Then your brain starts adding things up. And you start to stare at the bottom at the truck with a blank face. We've all done it.

Stay focused on your current project or repair.
Make note of anything else you find, deal with it later.
Finish what you start before moving on to the next item.

So, shackle flip? You don't have to remove the tank, just lower the rear. 2 hose clamps at the filler neck, disconnect those hoses. Put a floor jack under the tank skid plate, use a block of wood if you need more height. 3 bolts and the skid plate will pivot down. 2 studs stick up with double nuts on them. 2 nuts, remove wire harness, 2 more nuts and you can lower the rear of the tank enough to get your hands in the frame rails. You may need to undo the ground wire from the frame rail if it doesn't have enough slack, so watch for that. Now you can reach into the rear frame rails to access the back side where the shackle flip bolts to. Getting the old shackle brackets out can be fun though... Once it's all in and done you can move on to the next part of the project.

Do you have a means of cutting the old perches off the axle? If so, cut them off. You have new perches to weld on? And u-bolts and plates? If so, you can mock it all up under the springs and hold it all in place with the u-bolts snugged down. You can't drive on it like this by any means, not even in the driveway or yard, but you can put the tires on and roll it around or whatever. That way you can get it to a welder via a trailer or tow truck. Sometimes welders can come to you. Just make sure your pinion angle is set properly before the perches get welded up.

 

[kennyw]

http://www.accuratediesel.com/shop/22.html

That is one link for the return lines... I can't find the place in TX that I bought my last set from. But this kit looks identical.

 

[Russell]

I just bought 1/8" fuel hose for my return lines, no clips. $5 and I was done, never did spring any leaks after years of abuse

 

[jake 03]

Napa has the return line kit,part# BK 7002369. Looks like about 25 bucks for it.

 

[owenst7]

Didn't read this whole thread, but here's a couple pieces of advice for you.

There's mechanics out there that can't even read (in any language, I know a couple). None of this stuff is above anyone's ability, only their experience level. You can only gain experience by getting your hands dirty, and mistakes will be made and surprises will occur at the worst possible times. Even the most experienced mechanics f- stuff up sometimes, they're just faster at dealing with it so that nobody notices .

Learning this stuff now is a million times easier than it was a generation ago due to modern communications. Internet forums are an unmeasurable resource for learning and sharing knowledge, and this one specifically is probably a better resource than just about any shop manual, class, or any single person for just about anything related to GMs. I would say the first tool you should obtain is a good digital camera to help us help you, but it looks like you've already got that covered . BTW, I've had the same set of Craftsman sockets that you've got for many years...it's a great little set lol. Still covers about 90% of what I do.

One thing that might help you out here, at least based on myself, is to be very direct and specific with your threads. If you post a thread that turns in to 5 pages of questions, I tend to overlook those more frequently because they take a long time to read (we're all here learning truthfully). If you post a thread with a few organized questions regarding a specific subject that's clear in the title like "hydroboost bleeding issues", it's likely that someone who knows a lot about that subject will notice the title easier and pop in to leave their knowledge on the subject. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your thread here (hell I didn't even read it lol), it's just something I've learned about how to use internet forums more efficiently. This place is definitely not Pirate, where you'll get flamed for posting too obvious of a question and then not having it in the correct format. This place is more like hanging out in the garage drinking beer vs Pirate where everyone is a contractor paying employees by the hour.