red EOD
1/2 ton status
Mounted, just didn't get to start wiring them in today.
CK5
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K30 Crew cab wrecker
- Thread starter red EOD
- Start date
General purpose truck. Daily driver, medium trails, tow rig. Simple, capable, and reliable are the main factors.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Realized that some of the big wiring stuff needs to wait until the engine swap happens, since the alternator and starter or on the opposite side of the engine with the 4BD1T. So all the chaos that's on the passenger battery for now will stay there until then.
After the pic was taken I found a spot to temporarily secure the glow plug solenoid (the jumble of wires sitting there). Not it's permanent home on the fenderwell but will do until the new wiring harness gets installed.
Crawled under the truck to install/wire the dual insulated posts. This will serve as the junction block for the bed winch, rear winch, and any other big electric stuff needed for the bed and trailer.
With that stuff out of the way decided to get the service bed ready for removal. Couple U bolts to cut and a few bolts that attached the bumper to the body. Was going to strip and paint it but decided that since there will be a bunch of mods done to it soon, better off doing those first then take it to get sand blasted/painted after all the cutting and welding are finished. Thankfully most of the holes and rust are in parts of the bed that will be cut out anyways.
Gotta lower the fuel tank a few inches first then should be ready for the bed swap.
After the pic was taken I found a spot to temporarily secure the glow plug solenoid (the jumble of wires sitting there). Not it's permanent home on the fenderwell but will do until the new wiring harness gets installed.
Crawled under the truck to install/wire the dual insulated posts. This will serve as the junction block for the bed winch, rear winch, and any other big electric stuff needed for the bed and trailer.
With that stuff out of the way decided to get the service bed ready for removal. Couple U bolts to cut and a few bolts that attached the bumper to the body. Was going to strip and paint it but decided that since there will be a bunch of mods done to it soon, better off doing those first then take it to get sand blasted/painted after all the cutting and welding are finished. Thankfully most of the holes and rust are in parts of the bed that will be cut out anyways.
Gotta lower the fuel tank a few inches first then should be ready for the bed swap.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Took most of the day but the beds are now swapped. Service bed is a few inches narrower than the flatbed and the bottom of the front boxes sit about 2-3" higher than the rocker panels. Gotta make some more bed mounts, upgrade the tail lights, slap a bumper on, then deal with the fuel filler neck.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Little bit of work to the bed over the last 2 weeks. First thing was to figure out a fuel filler neck to the 40 gallon suburban tank. Options were to either cut through one of the main bed crossmembers, or go through the box and angle it out the rear. The pipe is a bit long for now but pretty obvious which route I chose to go with haha.
Removed the tailgate since it will be in the way of the tail roller assembly.
Mounted the oval reverse tail lights down low. The oval brake/marker lights will go next to them towards the outside edges. Going to add a second set up high eventually.
Finally got rid of the stock rear bumper since its mounts were too short to be used with this bed. Overall length of the truck is roughly the same as when the stock bumper was on. Attached the 5x3x5/16" angle iron to serve as the basis for the rear bumper. Can't have it stick out too far because of the roller.
Removed the tailgate since it will be in the way of the tail roller assembly.
Mounted the oval reverse tail lights down low. The oval brake/marker lights will go next to them towards the outside edges. Going to add a second set up high eventually.
Finally got rid of the stock rear bumper since its mounts were too short to be used with this bed. Overall length of the truck is roughly the same as when the stock bumper was on. Attached the 5x3x5/16" angle iron to serve as the basis for the rear bumper. Can't have it stick out too far because of the roller.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Looks like that new wiring harness is going in sooner rather than later. Gotta finish putting the engine back together on my friends water truck tomorrow then might begin installing the new harness. Lost all rear lights/marker lights and don't want to patch up the old brittle wires anymore.
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red EOD
1/2 ton status
Found the marker light issue without digging too much but still going to change out the wiring harness relatively soon.
And, while searching the local classifieds I found a diesel k5 blazer that needs some work for a good price. Hooked up to my friends trailer and snagged it. Undecided yet if I'm going to fix/flip it, or build it to be the dedicated rock crawler and focus the crew cab as a tow rig.
And, while searching the local classifieds I found a diesel k5 blazer that needs some work for a good price. Hooked up to my friends trailer and snagged it. Undecided yet if I'm going to fix/flip it, or build it to be the dedicated rock crawler and focus the crew cab as a tow rig.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Have a few things to take care of before blazer bash on the tow rig. Found out that the fan clutch doesn't work anymore so need to replace it. And figure out a fix for the fuel tank. Even with the stock saddle tanks it would burp diesel out of the filler necks when pumping fuel and when the suburban tank went in it was even worse. When the service bed went on it got even worse, couldn't pump any faster than 1 gallon every 2 minutes (timed it at the fuel station) otherwise it would burp it out, or find a way to run out of the vent line. Tried 2 different setups with the filler neck (18" long going down at a 45 degree angle, no effect).
Getting pissed off at the tank gave it one final chance today by cutting an access hole in the bed floorboard. First time filling up with zero fuel getting burped out of this truck. Going to shorten the neck a few inches and make the cut out pieces into a folding lid so the filler neck is hidden until needed.
Getting pissed off at the tank gave it one final chance today by cutting an access hole in the bed floorboard. First time filling up with zero fuel getting burped out of this truck. Going to shorten the neck a few inches and make the cut out pieces into a folding lid so the filler neck is hidden until needed.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Haven't touched the truck much lately but finally got around to doing some measuring and cutting this evening. The bed winch/tail roller that was on the flatbed will be going onto this bed which required cutting the hole in the bed. The winch mount will be secured directly to the frame, placing the winch a little above the bed floor. Also going to incorporate the front bed mounts into the same area. Making progress little by little right now.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Had a fun time at blazer bash. Took the crew cab on one of the easy trails.
Today went ahead and made the first trip to get rid of some scrap metal once again. With the old wooden flatbed it weighed in at 6700 lbs according to the scrap yard's scale. This trip was with a pretty lightweight tandem axle trailer attached to the truck so guessing the trailer weighs between 2-3k pounds, which would put the crew cab with service bed/tools somewhere in the 8000-9000 lb range now.
Today went ahead and made the first trip to get rid of some scrap metal once again. With the old wooden flatbed it weighed in at 6700 lbs according to the scrap yard's scale. This trip was with a pretty lightweight tandem axle trailer attached to the truck so guessing the trailer weighs between 2-3k pounds, which would put the crew cab with service bed/tools somewhere in the 8000-9000 lb range now.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Taken longer than planned to get to this point but the bed winch is now mounted.
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I was admiring the crew cab at the Maverik at BlazerBash, then later saw the pics of it on the trail. I was running incognito in a passenger car.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Nice, the crew cab certainly needs some attention when it comes to appearance hahaha.
Picked up this little guy today.
Cheap, in better shape, and large enough to carry all of my tools. It will end up on a trailer since it's too long for the truck and I want to reduce some of the truck weight anyways.
Picked up this little guy today.
Cheap, in better shape, and large enough to carry all of my tools. It will end up on a trailer since it's too long for the truck and I want to reduce some of the truck weight anyways.
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red EOD
1/2 ton status
Current projects are the bed winch and the air system. Now that the bed winch is mounted all that's left for it is to move it's solenoid box up on top of the service bed where it will be accessible without climbing into the bed. Left the crimper in my other tool box so can't start on that until monday. Which leaves the air system.
Air system will be used for tires, tools, and the planned air suspension (helper bags) for the truck and trailer. Was going to use the big air tank but since it has a hole in it going to use the smaller air tanks from a military surplus truck. 3 tanks. Have 3 air compressors available to use:
1. Viar 88p electric
2. Engine driven compressor from the old m35a2. Small dual piston, somewhere around 8cfm rating with it's stock large pulley.
3. Large engine driven compressor that came with the bed. 4 piston.
Current plan is 2 compressors. The little 88p and the large 4 piston compressor that will be driven off of the hydraulic PTO. Little 88p can handle the suspension adjustments and anytime I need more will just kick on the PTO to power up the big compressor. The big guy will probably end up inside one of the rear boxes on the service bed since that will protect it, and still fits even after the bed gets cut.
88p will most likely get mounted inside of the front passenger side box.
The 3 air tanks are going at the front of the bed along the inside edge of the driver side front box. Mounts are pretty simple with some angle iron and large U bolts. When the remaining fittings come in the rest of the tanks will be plumbed.
Air system will be used for tires, tools, and the planned air suspension (helper bags) for the truck and trailer. Was going to use the big air tank but since it has a hole in it going to use the smaller air tanks from a military surplus truck. 3 tanks. Have 3 air compressors available to use:
1. Viar 88p electric
2. Engine driven compressor from the old m35a2. Small dual piston, somewhere around 8cfm rating with it's stock large pulley.
3. Large engine driven compressor that came with the bed. 4 piston.
Current plan is 2 compressors. The little 88p and the large 4 piston compressor that will be driven off of the hydraulic PTO. Little 88p can handle the suspension adjustments and anytime I need more will just kick on the PTO to power up the big compressor. The big guy will probably end up inside one of the rear boxes on the service bed since that will protect it, and still fits even after the bed gets cut.
88p will most likely get mounted inside of the front passenger side box.
The 3 air tanks are going at the front of the bed along the inside edge of the driver side front box. Mounts are pretty simple with some angle iron and large U bolts. When the remaining fittings come in the rest of the tanks will be plumbed.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Ohh exciting day! Started off by getting the solenoid for the bed winch mounted in it's new home where it can be easily accessed.
Cleaned up a bunch or scrap metal and lumber so the rear of the storage trailer could be reached with the forklift and pulled the Isuzu 4bd1t engine into the shop. It's been sitting for about 3 years (2 with previous owner, 1 with me) and was told that it has blowby problems when I bought it. So hooked up a battery, topped off the oil and cranked it over a bit to build up oil pressure first. Then primed the fuel system by filling the fuel filter since the hand pump isn't working. Cycled the glow plugs for about 10 seconds, held it near full throttle and cranked it over for a few seconds.
Fired up after about 3 seconds of cranking. Smoked me out of the shop with black exhaust smoke on the initial start which isn't a surprise after sitting for 3 years. Cleaner starts and running after that. In total ran it for about 1 minute and haven't seen any blowby coming out of the breather, next test run will pull the oil fill cap and check there. It won't idle yet. Runs good above idle but where idle should be it has a slight miss which stalls it out so I'm leaning towards an injector issue.
Held it up with the forklift during the test runs.
Cleaned up a bunch or scrap metal and lumber so the rear of the storage trailer could be reached with the forklift and pulled the Isuzu 4bd1t engine into the shop. It's been sitting for about 3 years (2 with previous owner, 1 with me) and was told that it has blowby problems when I bought it. So hooked up a battery, topped off the oil and cranked it over a bit to build up oil pressure first. Then primed the fuel system by filling the fuel filter since the hand pump isn't working. Cycled the glow plugs for about 10 seconds, held it near full throttle and cranked it over for a few seconds.
Fired up after about 3 seconds of cranking. Smoked me out of the shop with black exhaust smoke on the initial start which isn't a surprise after sitting for 3 years. Cleaner starts and running after that. In total ran it for about 1 minute and haven't seen any blowby coming out of the breather, next test run will pull the oil fill cap and check there. It won't idle yet. Runs good above idle but where idle should be it has a slight miss which stalls it out so I'm leaning towards an injector issue.
Held it up with the forklift during the test runs.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Well that was a nice surprise. New injector tips from the manufacturer (not aftermarket) are $34 each.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Going to be about 2-3 weeks before the engine adapter should get here which gives some time to work on other things. Spent today greasing the drivetrain/front axle along with any other grease zerks. Rotated the tires again, typical stuff like that. Looks like I'll get about 30-35k miles out of these tires which I'm alright with. Just over $100 each for mud terrain tires that have given great traction offroad and good road manners, works well for me.
While greasing up the front end started inspecting things and noticed that the driver side bump stop bracket is bent. Nothing else has made contact but the front springs are in dire need of replacement. Planning to do the suspension lift kit after the engine swap but in the meantime I'm considering taking the helper airbags that were on the rear springs and mounting them up front. It's an Airlift 5000 setup, each bag is rated for a max of 2500 lbs. The factory bumpstop brackets will need to be removed but looks like that might be it. Maybe the swaybar as well but that is coming off anyways.
Once the service stuff was done decided to make some progress on the wiring. Found a good spot on the frame at the front of the bed for the junction box. Used 2 holes that were already drilled to mount it. Provides a cleaner way to wire up the tail lights, bumper mounted trailer plug, and gooseneck plug. Same box that is used on trailers. Ran the new tail light wiring alongside the old wires and installed the bulkhead fitting on the bed as well. Junction box is making it easy to take my time with the rear wiring to make sure the new stuff is right.
While greasing up the front end started inspecting things and noticed that the driver side bump stop bracket is bent. Nothing else has made contact but the front springs are in dire need of replacement. Planning to do the suspension lift kit after the engine swap but in the meantime I'm considering taking the helper airbags that were on the rear springs and mounting them up front. It's an Airlift 5000 setup, each bag is rated for a max of 2500 lbs. The factory bumpstop brackets will need to be removed but looks like that might be it. Maybe the swaybar as well but that is coming off anyways.
Once the service stuff was done decided to make some progress on the wiring. Found a good spot on the frame at the front of the bed for the junction box. Used 2 holes that were already drilled to mount it. Provides a cleaner way to wire up the tail lights, bumper mounted trailer plug, and gooseneck plug. Same box that is used on trailers. Ran the new tail light wiring alongside the old wires and installed the bulkhead fitting on the bed as well. Junction box is making it easy to take my time with the rear wiring to make sure the new stuff is right.
I love those little boxes. Cleans it all up nice
red EOD
1/2 ton status
That it does. Makes it easier to diagnose electrical issues as well.
This is an upgrade that I really should have tried out a long time ago hahaha. The front springs need replacement badly and will be, just not yet. Passenger side sits at 1 1/2" off the bump stop and driver side at 3/4". Which has made for the truck bottoming out on basically every little bump in the road. Pic of the passenger side with the bump stop removed.
This truck came with a set of Airlift 5000 helper bags on the rear that were removed when the new rear springs were installed. Upper bag brackets were bent from something, probably from being overloaded judging by the rest of the stock suspension. Each bag is rated for about 8" of travel which isn't enough for the new rear springs, but works for the travel of the stock front springs. So I modified the lower bag mounts to clear the swaybar/steering. Ended up raising the mount 1 1/2" and moved it out from the frame 1", which gives enough clearance for a larger bag (when the 56" springs get installed up front). The upper mount just needed to be flipped over.
Installed some valves on it and aired them up until the truck was sitting level side/side and not as much of a front/rear lean then took it for a test drive. Honestly it's a whole different experience with ride quality. Can't feel the small bumps/holes in the road, places where it used to always bottom out hard are no longer a concern, and doesn't body roll through the turns.
Ordering up the plumbing to make these permanent and adjust the bags from inside the cab.
This is an upgrade that I really should have tried out a long time ago hahaha. The front springs need replacement badly and will be, just not yet. Passenger side sits at 1 1/2" off the bump stop and driver side at 3/4". Which has made for the truck bottoming out on basically every little bump in the road. Pic of the passenger side with the bump stop removed.
This truck came with a set of Airlift 5000 helper bags on the rear that were removed when the new rear springs were installed. Upper bag brackets were bent from something, probably from being overloaded judging by the rest of the stock suspension. Each bag is rated for about 8" of travel which isn't enough for the new rear springs, but works for the travel of the stock front springs. So I modified the lower bag mounts to clear the swaybar/steering. Ended up raising the mount 1 1/2" and moved it out from the frame 1", which gives enough clearance for a larger bag (when the 56" springs get installed up front). The upper mount just needed to be flipped over.
Installed some valves on it and aired them up until the truck was sitting level side/side and not as much of a front/rear lean then took it for a test drive. Honestly it's a whole different experience with ride quality. Can't feel the small bumps/holes in the road, places where it used to always bottom out hard are no longer a concern, and doesn't body roll through the turns.
Ordering up the plumbing to make these permanent and adjust the bags from inside the cab.
Truck is rad man! Can't believe I haven't got the chance to catch up on it till now.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
Thanks, couple big projects I'm planning to finish over the winter. The engine swap, and the suspension.
The rest of the airbag plumbing is supposed to be here by wednesday. Going with in cab controls for the airbags and (when the new bed gets built) a airbag on the gooseneck hitch.
The big project that I want to finish before thanksgiving is the engine swap to the Isuzu 4bd1t. Trans adapter stuff is expected to arrive on friday so I'll be spending time getting everything ready before then. Trying to make it where the swap can be completed within a weekend. Spent yesterday modifying brackets to get the engine accessories mounted. 12v alternator, AC compressor are getting mounted on the driver side of the engine with the alt up high and the AC down low. Will swap out the pulley on the alt so that both are a dual belt system. Going to try out the Isuzu power steering pump. It's gear driven so will never have to worry about it's belt adjustments, puts out a bit more pressure than the Saginaw pump that GM used but is regulated to less volume. Swapped out the turbo for a HX35 which is on the large side for this engine. Having it's outlet modified so a 4" downpipe can plumb directly into it.
Other things that need to be figured out are:
Turbo oil feed
Air plumbing
Intercooler mounted
Plugging all the extra coolant outlets
Radiator hose sizes
Adapter plates for the engine mounts
Engine harness wiring
Throttle cable
Engine shutoff cable
Power steering plumbing and reservoir
The rest of the airbag plumbing is supposed to be here by wednesday. Going with in cab controls for the airbags and (when the new bed gets built) a airbag on the gooseneck hitch.
The big project that I want to finish before thanksgiving is the engine swap to the Isuzu 4bd1t. Trans adapter stuff is expected to arrive on friday so I'll be spending time getting everything ready before then. Trying to make it where the swap can be completed within a weekend. Spent yesterday modifying brackets to get the engine accessories mounted. 12v alternator, AC compressor are getting mounted on the driver side of the engine with the alt up high and the AC down low. Will swap out the pulley on the alt so that both are a dual belt system. Going to try out the Isuzu power steering pump. It's gear driven so will never have to worry about it's belt adjustments, puts out a bit more pressure than the Saginaw pump that GM used but is regulated to less volume. Swapped out the turbo for a HX35 which is on the large side for this engine. Having it's outlet modified so a 4" downpipe can plumb directly into it.
Other things that need to be figured out are:
Turbo oil feed
Air plumbing
Intercooler mounted
Plugging all the extra coolant outlets
Radiator hose sizes
Adapter plates for the engine mounts
Engine harness wiring
Throttle cable
Engine shutoff cable
Power steering plumbing and reservoir
