CK5
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K10 gets an ass transplant

Looks good! Nice work.

I've read your trip reports about the oil puking out. That sure is strange. I guess this will fix it once and for all!
 
I'd love to find a van like that donor..never have seen one with a BBC factory,I know they "listed" them in parts catalogs,never saw one in person though...that thing was set up pretty beefy,with a 4L80E and BBC,and that rear axle...

One question --on your e-brake cables that "bolt on" to the backing plate,there are two metal plates on the cable the bolts go through--my '82 GMC needed new cables last spring to pass inspection,and in my haste to get it apart,I just torched the bolts off--then didn't think to look to see how those plates were arranged--on the other side ,the plates were sandwiched between the backing plate--one outside,one on the inside...I "think" the other side had both plates on the cable on the outside of the backing plate..

Not sure if it matters much,I just put the new cables on in the same manner the old ones were--the side I put one plate inside and one outside,doesn't seem to work as freely as the other one with both plates on the outside..but as long as its working--I'm not taking it back apart again unless I have too...it was not a fun job ,and the new cables ended up being about 1-1/2" too short,had to fudge a hunk of threaded rod onto the intermediate cable and leave it off one of the wire frame guides,in order to get them to work..

Yeah, those big block G-van’s aren’t nearly as common as their small block brothers. This one was so nice it was a shame to see it getting cannibalized.

Regarding the early style (84 and earlier) bolt on brake cables, the two metal pieces just bolt to the outside of the backing plate. They flatten out when bolted down.
NWM


Just curious if you ever put the vent cap on the line that comes on factory differentials or did the oil spewing shoot it out?

You mean these? GM/AC Delco part number 25892279. Yep, got those on the axles, trans and 205. They’re cheap for a AC Delco 5 pack. The rear axle should push fluid right through it as they are designed to do. The cap is intended to prevent moisture from going into the axle, not prevent fluid from coming out.
25892279_Primary.jpg
 
You mean these? GM/AC Delco part number 25892279. Yep, got those on the axles, trans and 205. They’re cheap for a AC Delco 5 pack. The rear axle should push fluid right through it as they are designed to do. The cap is intended to prevent moisture from going into the axle, not prevent fluid from coming out.
25892279_Primary.jpg

Yes sir, I was just thinking maybe you had an old one on that was blocked up and allowing pressure to build up. A lot of fellows overlook swapping some good ones on and although I've never really heard it causing diffs to bur up fluid it seems like the only thing that could really cause it is pressure (from heat build up or something similar).
 
Well, I guess that I will chime in here.
The rear in the bent72 K5 has 4:56 and Detroit. I swapped the oil to a semi-synthetic after I got it. No problems until I drove it on I-70 at 70 mph. (37" Goodyear tires, 34.5" actual)
After only 35 miles at about 71-72 mph, it burped some going up a hill headed out of Colorado.
Stopped and looked, then slowed down to 68 ish... no more problems. It did it again this year a ways past that after running under 70 mph.
Maybe it just has the Moab burp??
So I am watching....
 
Well, I guess that I will chime in here.
The rear in the bent72 K5 has 4:56 and Detroit. I swapped the oil to a semi-synthetic after I got it. No problems until I drove it on I-70 at 70 mph. (37" Goodyear tires, 34.5" actual)
After only 35 miles at about 71-72 mph, it burped some going up a hill headed out of Colorado.
Stopped and looked, then slowed down to 68 ish... no more problems. It did it again this year a ways past that after running under 70 mph.
Maybe it just has the Moab burp??
So I am watching....

That is interesting. There just may very well be proof in the theory in my circle of “experts” think a stack up of tolerances exist with 4:56 thick gears, Detroit, tall tires, load and high road speed. I think high road speed foaming up the oil is the key factor more than anything. You know, the first time mine had premature ejaculation I had regular ole dinosaur 80/90 juice in it. When I got home the first thing I did was dump the Napa house brand 80/90 and went to a Schaffer synthetic axle lube thinking it was a lube quality issue. I’m not home to look at the bottles so I can’t remember the exact oil weight but that caca squired out WORSE than regular ole 80/90 and made a much stickier and stinkier mess on the back of the truck. I mean it came out like water… and it was green. Stinky Green crap everywhere on the way to AZ one year. The green stuff in the bottle picture above is the Schaffer synthetic from a few years ago. The stuff is nasty

There probably is a work around for this like a longer vent hose, recovery bottle, vent position relocation on the axle or something but the reality is I am just burnt out on the Detroit locker anyway and glad to get rid of it. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not dissing a Detroit locker as it is tough as nails in a 14 bolt and will probably never break but damn, it gets old driving a heavy SWB rig with a Detroit for thousand+ miles in 7 days. Might as well just have a spool. I don’t even remember what it is like to be able to do a U-turn in the old K10 or even turn a corner while applying throttle. It is too heavy to simply just bark the tires and starts jumping and hopping while hammering the entire driveline to the point you can almost expect to see u-joints and drive shaft launch out from under it at any second. I will never miss that…well maybe I will once I learn the ARB doesn’t work when the button is pushed. Not looking forward to dealing with air leaks and new typical ARB BS. I won’t lie…an ARB air locker WASN’T my first choice but air lockers are pretty much the only choice for a selectable locker for a 10.5”. I would have much rather had a E-locker (hehe, I secretly searched for a RAM Power Wagon 10.5 or 11.5” e-locked axle for this swap but came up empty handed). I just hope I don’t trade one problem for another by moving from one set up to another bag of worms. Seems there is no shortage of ARB horror stories around the campfire. Time will tell
 
Well I put Schaeffer synthetic blend 75-90 in mine. Interesting for sure. I have used their products at the truck shop at my work for years with great results.
I never tried higher speeds with the old oil that was in it. @bent72 told me that he usually ran it 55-60 down the road .
 
Yeah, those big block G-van’s aren’t nearly as common as their small block brothers. This one was so nice it was a shame to see it getting cannibalized.

Regarding the early style (84 and earlier) bolt on brake cables, the two metal pieces just bolt to the outside of the backing plate. They flatten out when bolted down.
NWM




You mean these? GM/AC Delco part number 25892279. Yep, got those on the axles, trans and 205. They’re cheap for a AC Delco 5 pack. The rear axle should push fluid right through it as they are designed to do. The cap is intended to prevent moisture from going into the axle, not prevent fluid from coming out.
25892279_Primary.jpg


Thanks for the info---IF I ever have to mess with E-brake cables again,at least I'll know which way those things go on ...
 
Interesting deal with the backing plate groves. My driverside shoe chatters sometimes and I cannot figure out why, maybe my backing plates are groved?

I hear you on the Detroit Locker behavior. I think having a manual trans really accentuates the popping and banging. I plan on going with a True Trac soon enough.
 
Interesting deal with the backing plate groves. My driverside shoe chatters sometimes and I cannot figure out why, maybe my backing plates are groved?

I hear you on the Detroit Locker behavior. I think having a manual trans really accentuates the popping and banging. I plan on going with a True Trac soon enough.

Interesting. Mine rarely makes noise, even with the NV4500. Locker steer is present, and exaggerated by my loose steering column, but I hafta lock up the brakes or work hard in a U-turn to get any popping or banging. A gentle U-turn can be silent, it's simply not an issue.

How can people get such different results from a standard production machined part? :dunno: :1zhelp:
 
Interesting. Mine rarely makes noise, even with the NV4500. Locker steer is present, and exaggerated by my loose steering column, but I hafta lock up the brakes or work hard in a U-turn to get any popping or banging. A gentle U-turn can be silent, it's simply not an issue.

How can people get such different results from a standard production machined part? :dunno: :1zhelp:

Campy, remember Larry's got that camper sitting on the back of his. Weight does accentuate the issue. His rig is close to 8,000 pounds rolling down the road when it's on a trip. With the wieght of the camper on the rear axle his won't make a u-turn on pavement without it sounding like it's going to spit a u-joint. The tires won't slip so the action goes upstream. Off road I've watched up have to make a multi-point turn on a moutain switchback when all I had to do was hook the turn in one shot. The SWB K10 is not that much longer than my K5 for him to need to make a multi-point turn other than the Detroit binding up. When I've been in it I've not heard it, but I sure as hell felt lock up and let go on and off the throttle going down the highway. It's obnoxious.
 
years ago I had a Detroit in a 14ff std cab long bed k30 with 38" tires .

it was o.k. till snow then it sucked . always had to be in 4wd to go straight line.

I took it back out and went gov-loc . . . new truck in proses will be the arb equipped axles I have .
 
Campy, remember Larry's got that camper sitting on the back of his. Weight does accentuate the issue. His rig is close to 8,000 pounds rolling down the road when it's on a trip. With the wieght of the camper on the rear axle his won't make a u-turn on pavement without it sounding like it's going to spit a u-joint. The tires won't slip so the action goes upstream. Off road I've watched up have to make a multi-point turn on a moutain switchback when all I had to do was hook the turn in one shot. The SWB K10 is not that much longer than my K5 for him to need to make a multi-point turn other than the Detroit binding up. When I've been in it I've not heard it, but I sure as hell felt lock up and let go on and off the throttle going down the highway. It's obnoxious.

Fair 'nuff, but Glen (and plenty of other folks) report harsh lockups even with unloaded rigs. It's the wide range of conflicting reports that baffles me. :dunno:
 
Fair 'nuff, but Glen (and plenty of other folks) report harsh lockups even with unloaded rigs. It's the wide range of conflicting reports that baffles me. :dunno:
My 72 as well, hard lock up. It was an early, non soft lock series.

Pretty happy with the ARB
 
Fair 'nuff, but Glen (and plenty of other folks) report harsh lockups even with unloaded rigs. It's the wide range of conflicting reports that baffles me. :dunno:
My stepside is very light over the rear wheels so I'm chirping tires more than popping and banging.

Don't get me wrong the Detroit is smoother than my Lock Right that I used to have. Initially the Detroit was smooth as butter but as it broke in it seems to have quite a bit of backlash and being on and off the throttle makes it do weird things.
For instance, driving slowly through a parking lot, you press the clutch in to turn and coast into a parking spot. The free wheeling while turning makes the whole truck buck and bang back and forth. The only way to make these slow speed hard turns is to either be on the brakes or gas.
If you can keep pressure on the locker like an auto does then they tend to work much smoother. They still exhibit torque steer but that's easy enough to compensate for.
 
My stepside is very light over the rear wheels so I'm chirping tires more than popping and banging.

Don't get me wrong the Detroit is smoother than my Lock Right that I used to have. Initially the Detroit was smooth as butter but as it broke in it seems to have quite a bit of backlash and being on and off the throttle makes it do weird things.
For instance, driving slowly through a parking lot, you press the clutch in to turn and coast into a parking spot. The free wheeling while turning makes the whole truck buck and bang back and forth. The only way to make these slow speed hard turns is to either be on the brakes or gas.
If you can keep pressure on the locker like an auto does then they tend to work much smoother. They still exhibit torque steer but that's easy enough to compensate for.

Exactly! Automatic trans and Detroit’s are much more driveable. Detroits behind manuals with deep gears, torqy engines and heavy weight are basically spools that like to make a lot of banging. Same reasons Mosesburb ditched his Detroit for an ARB.

Ah, well.... shorlty I'll have something new to bitch about...like air leaks and ARB o-rings that won't seal :haha:
 
My stepside is very light over the rear wheels so I'm chirping tires more than popping and banging.

Don't get me wrong the Detroit is smoother than my Lock Right that I used to have. Initially the Detroit was smooth as butter but as it broke in it seems to have quite a bit of backlash and being on and off the throttle makes it do weird things.

Mine was used (and an older style, FWIW), but I'll be watching to see if it gets worse. I'd be just fine if it stays the way it is. ;)
 
Locking diffs are pretty fussy about tire sizes matching closely--if one tire is worn more than the other or not the exact same diameter,it will aggravate the harsh locking & unlocking more..but even with two "matched" tires,they can still react harshly..

My dad's '68 Chevelle wagon had a posi in it,not sure what kind ,but it would lock and unlock pretty harshly going around corners--in icy conditions I got the car sideways a few times even feathering the gas pedal,the diff went into one wheel peel mode while cornering ,then locked up harshly when you made the corner and started going straight ahead again..which broke the rear wheels free,and it would want to do a 180 !..

I hated the posi in my '82 GMC Cabalaro--that thing was so light in the rear that you could put it in drive,let off the brake,and watch it slide sideways,without going forward an inch...almost hit vehicles in parking lots and driveways that were slick,trying to back out many times..
Even with about 500 lbs of sand in bags in the bed helped only slightly...I didn't drive that thing much in winter when snow or ice was predicted..I bet it would have been better off with an open diff..
 
I believe that Martin. The Detroit in my BB suburban (7000+lbs?) Doesn't make a noise or distraction. But in the snow it's a bit "grabby" until you get used to it. But it's all personal preference I guess.
 
I've read the newer version of detroits are quieter, mine is one of those.
 

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