K10 gets an ass transplant

[Larry]

Wow that is a weird combination actually because the fronts are 150/50 and the backs are 360/80 which would make sense if you used dual 7100s up front. Should be interesting if it does work. I guess your springs are probably pretty firm so not much compression valving is required. Your not hauling butt either so maybe that was their thought. Report back I'm really interested in this!
Looks awesome btw almost too clean to get dirty!

Do tell more…. What is not ideal about the valving? Too hard or soft or?? Like I say, I don’t know s hit about shock valving and relied on the Bilstein guy to guide me. I will say, it rides and handles outstanding on bumpy roads and highway I drove it on so far. I mean, they really exceeded my expectations so far. Also feels more confident in turns where it doesn’t lean so badly but then again, just about anything would be better than the worn out Superlift shocks there were on it before

 

[max 02]

Looks great!

Did you ever buy a new grill for the truck? I thought I remember you saying that it was broken and you were looking for a new one, but that you can`t get a aftermarket grill with the bowtie in it? Just wondering because the one in there looks good!?

 

[Larry]

Looks great!

Did you ever buy a new grill for the truck? I thought I remember you saying that it was broken and you were looking for a new one, but that you can`t get a aftermarket grill with the bowtie in it? Just wondering because the one in there looks good!?

Nope, I haven’t had any luck finding a solid OEM grill so the broken one is still in it held together by at least a dozen tie straps. I’ve epoxy’d the grill so many times already over the years more epoxy won’t help much. Ya, I don’t like the aftermarket grills without the bowtie boss.

 

[max 02]

Nope, I haven’t had any luck finding a solid OEM grill so the broken one is still in it held together by at least a dozen tie straps. I’ve epoxy’d the grill so many times already over the years more epoxy won’t help much. Ya, I don’t like the aftermarket grills without the bowtie boss.

To bad you are on the wrong side of the border...I have on that is not bad and one that is excellent. The excellent one is on my truck.

 

[Larry]

To bad you are on the wrong side of the border...I have on that is not bad and one that is excellent. The excellent one is on my truck.

Mine was excellent until those cheap Taiwanese LMC clips that hold the grill in broke and allowed it to come loose and almost fall out. When that happened the other grill bosses cracked and broke. Friggen LMC… The actual original grill to the truck was even nicer than this one but I rear ended some chick in a Dodge Dynasty with a bike rack when I lived in Detroit in the late 90’s and broke the hell out of it. Destroyed her car too. That is how the front bumper got dinged up.

This was the original grill. GM World HQ in the back ground. June 1997. My dad and I went to the Windsor ballet one day…..hehe

Then I put this grill in it from my brother truck for several years. I hated this grill. Too bright… miss it like a pack of flaming roids. My buddy's dad found the grill in it now at a garage sale around 2007 and got it for like $10! I didn't install it until 2010 when the truck was in bits for the NV4500 and hydroboost swap. Wish I could find that deal again

 

[max 02]

Mine was excellent until those cheap Taiwanese LMC clips that hold the grill in broke and allowed it to come loose and almost fall out. When that happened the other grill bosses cracked and broke. Friggen LMC… The actual original grill to the truck was even nicer than this one but I rear ended some chick in a Dodge Dynasty with a bike rack when I lived in Detroit in the late 90’s and broke the hell out of it. Destroyed her car too. That is how the front bumper got dinged up.

This was the original grill. GM World HQ in the back ground. June 1997. My dad and I went to the Windsor ballet one day…..hehe

Then I put this grill in it from my brother truck for several years. I hated this grill. Too bright… miss it like a pack of flaming roids. My buddy's dad found the grill in it now at a garage sale around 2007 and got it for like $10! I didn't install it until 2010 when the truck was in bits for the NV4500 and hydroboost swap. Wish I could find that deal again

After owning that truck for that long I guess that's not to hard on grills. Lol!

I would donate you one of mine I just realized I got three spares that style.

If I hear of anyone going out that way from Alberta?

 

[sreidmx]

Do tell more…. What is not ideal about the valving? Too hard or soft or?? Like I say, I don’t know s hit about shock valving and relied on the Bilstein guy to guide me. I will say, it rides and handles outstanding on bumpy roads and highway I drove it on so far. I mean, they really exceeded my expectations so far. Also feels more confident in turns where it doesn’t lean so badly but then again, just about anything would be better than the worn out Superlift shocks there were on it before

I wouldn't say it isn't ideal, your buttometer will tell you that. But the valving spec is very light up front, very little rebound and compression damping. Typically for a vehicle that is heavy you would want more compression valving to keep it from using too much travel over bumps, to control the body roll you would likeley want more rebound damping, that being said it does not mean this is the only way to control the ride, you can accomplish similar things with stiffer leaf springs, negating the need for the compression valving. That would be a little more old school and lead to a higher wheel rate. Thing wheel frequency. The shock being the oscillator damper. Now days lower wheel rates are more common and using things like anti roll bars to control sway and isolating the system and it's job from each component so the shock and spring has less to do. This stuff is very subjective, so if you like it leave it!!

 

[Larry]

I wouldn't say it isn't ideal, your buttometer will tell you that. But the valving spec is very light up front, very little rebound and compression damping. Typically for a vehicle that is heavy you would want more compression valving to keep it from using too much travel over bumps, to control the body roll you would likeley want more rebound damping, that being said it does not mean this is the only way to control the ride, you can accomplish similar things with stiffer leaf springs, negating the need for the compression valving. That would be a little more old school and lead to a higher wheel rate. Thing wheel frequency. The shock being the oscillator damper. Now days lower wheel rates are more common and using things like anti roll bars to control sway and isolating the system and it's job from each component so the shock and spring has less to do. This stuff is very subjective, so if you like it leave it!!

Thanks for the info! Well, so far I really like the way it is set up but then again, I only have 30 miles on it. I may hate the results once I get it on the trail. We’ll see how this weekend goes when we take the trucks on a validation run to the mountains. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks again!

 

[Blue85]

If your grill is ABS plastic, you can glue it together with the cement for ABS pipe. Melts the pieces together with the solvents while also adding the total amount of plastic. Epoxy doesn't work! Normally it's black, but you can also find gray, I think. My 1990-ish grill was cracked in a dozen places and missing one piece, but I put it all together with Oatey ABS cement, including the new piece I cut out of some other ABS. Then I painted the whole thing.

 

[campfire]

If your grill is ABS plastic, you can glue it together with the cement for ABS pipe. Melts the pieces together with the solvents while also adding the total amount of plastic. Epoxy doesn't work! Normally it's black, but you can also find gray, I think. My 1990-ish grill was cracked in a dozen places and missing one piece, but I put it all together with Oatey ABS cement, including the new piece I cut out of some other ABS. Then I painted the whole thing.

Did you fix it again this year?

 

[Larry]

If your grill is ABS plastic, you can glue it together with the cement for ABS pipe. Melts the pieces together with the solvents while also adding the total amount of plastic. Epoxy doesn't work! Normally it's black, but you can also find gray, I think. My 1990-ish grill was cracked in a dozen places and missing one piece, but I put it all together with Oatey ABS cement, including the new piece I cut out of some other ABS. Then I painted the whole thing.

The grill has been fixed with all kinds of different materials over the past few years. I think it is pretty much done. The last stuff I used on this and my Burb grill was some cement/epoxy stuff from the auto body supply place to repair plastics. Used it to fix some GMT400 interior trim pieces too. Worked pretty good and probably would have worked on this grill until the cheapass LMC clips broke and let the grill almost fall out.

Did you fix it again this year?

Nope, it is still broke from last year. Same cable ties I put on it at Toroweep when the grill tried to fall out on the trail too. Hell, it is tight so I am going to let it go as is for now.

 

[Larry]

Took it out for another drive today to straighten the steering wheel on an isolated road then peddled on to O’Reilly’s to grab some fuel line bits for Rob’s K5.3. The plan was to test the SPOT GPS tracker while I was out but the batteries were dead but it was a good test drive to figure how to operate this China’s finest $50 dash cam. It seems to work alright but it is no GoPro that is for sure. The software is super easy to use…

All the noise when I turn sharp are the tools to adjust the drag link sliding around on the floor. Also need to lube that squeaky clutch pedal!

 

[Blue85]

Did you fix it again this year?

I tried epoxy like 2 years ago and it was a waste of time. I broke out the Oatey like a month ago and it's like 95% a new grill now.

Repairing plastic is all about knowing what the material type is. Then you can get the proper solvent or more of the same material for plastic welding. Don't use "glue".

 

[ZooMad75]

Yep the clutch pedal squeek jumped right out to me with headphones on. Sounded just like the one in my 75. Video looks good. You are right it's not go pro HD quality but it's another good view in addition to your gopro. Plus I can bet that will capture a lot of trail "chatter" over the CB too.

Hey don't forget I got that 76 grille that is in perfect shape that is yours if you want it. It's not correct for your year but it ain't busted either...

 

[Larry]

I tried epoxy like 2 years ago and it was a waste of time. I broke out the Oatey like a month ago and it's like 95% a new grill now.

Repairing plastic is all about knowing what the material type is. Then you can get the proper solvent or more of the same material for plastic welding. Don't use "glue".

If I am not mistaking, I used either a U-Pol or 3M material last time I fixed it. The problem with trying to fix it again is a couple of the screw bosses are completely broken off and missing. Would need another broken grill to cut pieces off or just find another nice 77/78 grill and move on.

Yep the clutch pedal squeek jumped right out to me with headphones on. Sounded just like the one in my 75. Video looks good. You are right it's not go pro HD quality but it's another good view in addition to your gopro. Plus I can bet that will capture a lot of trail "chatter" over the CB too.

Hey don't forget I got that 76 grille that is in perfect shape that is yours if you want it. It's not correct for your year but it ain't busted either...

For sure! That pedal needs some lube. Funny, how the camera mic picks up more audio then you hear in real life sitting in the cab. Even the exhaust is louder on the camera. The rear window was open so it really picked up exhaust, tire and wind noise. There aren’t any settings to address the distortion that you texted me about. Hell, it is only a $50 camera and the instructions are pathetic. It is obvious Engrish is not the native tongue of whoever wrote them. LOL No Bueno on the 76 grill. Not a fan of those

 

[Blue85]

The problem with trying to fix it again is a couple of the screw bosses are completely broken off and missing. Would need another broken grill to cut pieces off or just find another nice 77/78 grill and move on.

You can buy sheets of ABS or just find some item laying around the house that's made of ABS and fabricate the parts you need. Not trying to sway your decision, but just clarifying what can be done.

 

[Larry]

As Rob mentioned in his thread, this weekend 3 of us took our rigs to the mountains this past Saturday for quick overnighter validation run to see how the trucks did on the trail. 2 of the 3 trucks had quite a bit of work over the winter so they needed to be validate before going on a couple thousand-mile trip. Low and behold, the truck we were least worried about spit out a front drive shaft right at the air down spot. Bill’s mostly stock 2001 Dodge 2500 went KA-BANG! right at the trail head. A quick look underneath reviled the front driveshaft had come loose from the transfercase flange. Somehow 2 of the 4 bolts were completely missing and the other two were loose as a goose and one of the loose bolts broke under torque where the shaft busted loose and knocked a little hole in the tcase so with that, Bill turned around and went home to lick the wounds. The hole in the Tcase wasn’t found until he got back home but the good news is the hole was quite small where it was a quick and easy fix. Same with digging out the broke bolt from the tcase flange. Reasons like this is why we take them on a prevalidation run before the big trips!

Rob and I continued up the trail where we ran into snow across the trail on the Northern side of the trail where the sun doesn’t shine as much. We were probably within a football fields length away from the late where we had planned to camp when things took an interesting turn. As I slowly eased over the snow the truck slide to the passenger’s side towards the edge of the trail where there is a several hundred foot drop off. The more I tried to get off the edge the more the soft ground and rip-rap boulders broke away from the edge. It got quite scary for a while! The more I worked to get it back on the trail the more it kept slipping off as the ground broke away. I finally bailed the did the rest with winches for fear the tires were just going to keep digging into a bigger mess so we rigged up the rear winch for a nice clean pull which everything was going well until the cheap POS Smitybilt rear bumper mounted winch went KA-BOOM! and the truck bounced forward and further off the side about another foot. Now it was really getting intense and unfortunately during intense moments there is no time for pictures and videos. So now we pulled Rob’s K5.3 Blazer forward where he would finish the winching. We finally got the rear axle up on the solid trail where I could back the rest of the way out with a tree rubbing the hell out of the passenger’s side the entire way. While the truck took on some new surface tree scratches that will buff out the entire mess could have been so much worse. I’m also thankful that when the winch broke it locked up rather than freewheeled and letting the truck fall off the side which would have been the case. Other than that, the short trip served its purpose even though I will be done one winch for the Desert Trip. Oh, well. But I got to say, the Bilstein’s, ARB compressor and ARB Airlocker did great where I am extremely happy with them.

These are a couple pictures from before things got really ugly. When it fell off the front axle was resting on the diff and the rear was resting on the shock bracket

Carnage… not sure if I will fix this POS or breakdown and buy a real winch. Every time I use this thing it either doesn’t work (failed solenoid pack) or it breaks. The little old Hickey Sidewinder winch on the front has always been reliable but more times than not I need a pull backwards not forwards further into a mess.

The video doesn’t serve any justice but you kind of get the idea at the 2:10 mark

 

[82355]

It would have looked like that gold Blazer you listed for sale on Facebook.

Martin

 

[Blue85]

But did the rear end puke oil on the highway?

 

[Larry]

But did the rear end puke oil on the highway?

Nope! But the old axle wouldn't have purged on this short of trip anyway. The old axle needed to driven for hours at Interstate speed. We were on local State highways to this spot