new to the club UPDATE : new question post 39

[sweetk30]

just picked up a 83 c-10 longbed with 6.2/700r combo .

needs fuel tanks system checked over and fixed . currently has brand new mech lift pump on block and runs off small can . truck sat for few years and guy didn't wana possibly run junk fuel in system . and old owner didn't know what was wrong and had givin up .

needs a little tlc but hope to get her goin for a dd use and enjoy the mileage .

he said its already got a mom/switch for the glow plugs and fires right off with it . has had the motor running to the point the coolent system gets full and warm so he knows it runs good.

also its not original motor as its got j-code intake and cartrage filter on engine but still spin on at the firewall.

few questions to get a dino oil newbe going here .

is there a better filter option other than 2 filter stock system ? I here/read the engine one and the non spin on kind of suck for maintance changing .

what gears would they call std in this combo rear axle ? I got rpo sheet in truck just not at house yet .

with 2 tank system would it be best to add in a electric pump to help the lift pump out ? or since new lift pump on block let her run till she die's again ?

sure I will have more later . cant wait for a basic dd use 2wd beater .

oh and the truck was from the south so min rust and even was factory a/c . had a cap on it also so clean inside of box . got to go tho as I hate caps blind spots. hell even has 4 almost brand new name brand 235/75/15 non cheeppy tires .

ya ya no pic s yet . should have by end of weekend.

 

[diesel4me]

Good score by the sounds of it!..you'll enjoy the better MPG of the 6.2,depending on the gearing you may not enjoy fast take offs though--but highway cruising is better with 3.73 or higher gears..my '82 feels like it has 3.42's or maybe even 3.23's,so its not exactly snappy taking off from stop lights..

A lot of guys like Raycor filters,but I think a stock spin on one like my 82 has with a 33123 Wix filter is good enough--maybe not for veggie oil though..I'm not really well read on using that as fuel..someone did set my Burb up to use it by adding an electric fuel pump near the tank and a Raycor filter,and they used 10 feet of "special" fuel line with a blue liner inside it (which I plan to ditch in favor of copper or steel)--but whether it was ever run with it or not I dont know..my pickup has a 5 psi electric pump in addition to the mechanical pump on the engine,it seems to like having both running in tandem,with no issues...it makes for easier bleeding after a fuel filter change or if you ran out of fuel,I can say that..

I dont like using a cap on a truck bed either,for visibility reasons also...they might be useful to keep the bed dry and cargo secure,but I hate backing up with one on a truck..and it seemed every time I wanted to haul something,the cap had to come off...might as well own a van if your going to "cap" a truck bed,IMO--..

I'll be looking forward to the pictures you post up!..

 

[sweetk30]

my big fuel filter ? is why 2 ? ? ?

isn't 1 good quality filter good ?

this is why I would like to swap it to a 1 filter easy to change system .

 

[80' 427]

2 is standard for a lot of industral diesels. Primary and secondary. Change the Secondary every other time.

 

[kennyw]

The secondary filter is always a finer filter for small particles the first may miss. I like the two filter system, but hate the location at the back of the intake.

 

[sweetk30]

looks like the main spin on is 12 micron and second is 5-6 range .

if you had a choice spin on or cartrage clip on ?

I am not afraid to make new fuel feed lines . nothing new to me in making brake/ fuel lines . this would let me move it up to the firewall area also .

 

[diesel4me]

I dont know why GM put the secondary filter under the intake--stupid place for it IMO,when it could have just been plumbed right to the primary filter's output port (on a spin on firewall style like my 82 has)...only reason I can think of is maybe the secondary filter housing will stay warm longer under the intake and help promote fuel flow in colder weather,but that probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans in reality..

My truck has only the primary filter since I've owned it,and hasn't seemed to made any difference so far....so I'm wondering if it is really needed at all...whoever put the electric fuel pump on it put a ford gas filter on the pump's intake port,but I removed it after it froze up a few times--too tiny to let enough fuel flow thru it in cold weather,and any water freezes up in it ..your told to run one there with the electric pump on the instructions,or void the warranty,but its been working fine for over 10 years now..

 

[BadDog]

Congratulations. That's about how I got my 85 C10. It appears largely unmolested and OEM complete, but the PO futzed around and never could get it running (didn't seem very motivated). IIRC, story was it sat for about 7 years? Anyway, didn't take much to get it going, mainly advancing the pump to offset stretched chain. And the glow relay was cycling too fast, plus starter was beginning to fail and not spinning near fast enough. Just a collection of things making it very hard starting. It still needs a new timing chain, and glows, probably an injection pump/injector rebuild, but as it sits it's become a really nice little beater. It also is a OEM short bed step, which appears to be a really rare (perhaps 1 of 1, or so one of the 6.2 savy mods at DP said) with diesel option. So I couldn't bring myself to tear it apart to transplant it into my K5, which was the original plan (starting on a new one).

 

[80' 427]

If I pull the 6.2 out of my dually for a cummins it will go in a blazer with a 700 and 3.42 so I can have a good mpg red diesel burning back road cruiser.

 

[sweetk30]

If I pull the 6.2 out of my dually for a cummins it will go in a blazer with a 700 and 3.42 so I can have a good mpg red diesel burning back road cruiser.

oh ya the other diesel since its old school it will be fine with that . and I know were to get it . . . .

 

[80' 427]

I know guys running as much as 50% waste oil in there 6.9s, pretty sure a 6.2 would be just as happy.

 

[campfire]

I dont know why GM put the secondary filter under the intake--stupid place for it IMO,when it could have just been plumbed right to the primary filter's output port (on a spin on firewall style like my 82 has)...only reason I can think of is maybe the secondary filter housing will stay warm longer under the intake and help promote fuel flow in colder weather,but that probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans in reality...

I agree that the secondary filter is poorly located (I ended up pitching mine when the occasion arose), but plumbing-wise it's not at the outlet of the primary filter. On my truck, at least, the fuel line runs first to the primary filter, then to the mechanical pump, then to the secondary filter, then to the IP. So, for whatever reason, the primary filter operates under negative gauge pressure and the secondary operates under positive pressure. Simply daisy-chaining the filters circumvents GM's complicated piping design. For whatever that's worth.

Perhaps they were afraid to suck the fuel through the smaller filter holes.

I've thought about putting the secondary filter back on (seems like a fine idea), but it's pretty low on my list of maintenance priorities.

 

[campfire]

just picked up a 83 c-10 longbed with 6.2/700r combo .

Congrats! That nearly matches Big Blue!

is there a better filter option other than 2 filter stock system ? I here/read the engine one and the non spin on kind of suck for maintance changing.

I had to remove my secondary filter when I swapped my intake manifold. I ended up leaving it out when installing the new manifold (due to clearance issues). I think the secondary filter is a nice precaution, but overkill compared to the rest of the 6.2/6.5 engines running single filters.

I would say that if you are replacing fuel lines it would be so nice to have the secondary filter moved to...umm...almost anywhere. Wedging it underneath the manifold between the runners and the vacuum pump just isn't the nicest place to service it.

what gears would they call std in this combo rear axle ? I got rpo sheet in truck just not at house yet .

My '83 K10 with the 700R4 and 235/75R15 tires came with 3.08 gears (GU4). It wouldn't surprise me if yours was similar. My '84 Suburban with the 700R4 and 31" tires came with 3.73 gears (GT4). It would need about 34" tires to match the overall gearing of the K10. 3.08 is nice for mileage, great for cruising, not so great for towing. For a basic DD it's probably perfect unless you want larger tires.

Where did you find your rpo sheet? I have not found one for either my '83 or '84 rigs. It'd be nice to know what they've got...
The '86 had a sticker on the driver side rocker panel.

with 2 tank system would it be best to add in a electric pump to help the lift pump out ? or since new lift pump on block let her run till she die's again ?

I ran my dual-tank truck for about 3 1/2 years without an electric pump. But last fall the truck started stalling, like air bubbles were entering the line every time the pump was shut down. A few times it even stalled while idling. At that point I added an electric pump to prime the system before I start. The pump is immediately downstream of the tank switching valve, so much of the fuel line is now pressurized. That should make it easier to track down the leak. The problem does not resolve when I switch tanks, so I believe it to be downstream of the tank switch (unless the switch is the leaking spot).

Anyway...long rant means to say that electric fuel pumps are great for priming and diagnostic purposes. But otherwise the mechanical pump seems to be fine. So it's not a big deal either way.

ya ya no pic s yet . should have by end of weekend.

Can't wait!

 

[sweetk30]

rpo sheet is in glovebox or on left inner fender . 2 places I have seen them over the years.

call the dealer with vin and the parts people can give you a brake down also .

 

[campfire]

rpo sheet is in glovebox or on left inner fender . 2 places I have seen them over the years.

call the dealer with vin and the parts people can give you a brake down also .

No such joy on this end. My glovebox has only a sticker detailing the truck's suitability for a slide-in camper.
Haven't tried calling the dealer, though...

 

[tRustyK5]

Same year as my pick-up I got from Can-Can. Mine has 3.42's stock with the 235's. Wanna say the perfect gears for highway cruising and fuel economy.

 

[diesel4me]

Campfire is right about the GM routing of the fuel filters--it does put the secondary filter after the lift pump...probably for the reason he stated,so the pump can push the fuel thru the filter,where as having it on the suction side might present too much restriction and possibly starve the engine for fuel..


I dont see why a typical metal can fuel filter with the right sized nipples cant be used in place of a stock GM secondary one,with hose clamps,if you'd rather be sure the fuel gets "double filtered"..


Still I dont see why one is a must,when the primary filter at 10 microns,which is the same rating as many diesel powered farm equipment engines have for fuel filters ,and a home heating oil tank filter has for a furnace,which has a nozzle with microscopic holes and they dont plug up very often,a diesel injector is probably "bigger" as far as the size of the fuel delivery holes..granted a furnace nozzle does have a sintered bronze element of small size made into the base of it,but out of many I've removed ,I have not seen one with a lot of sludge on it ..so the 10 micron filter at the tank must do a pretty good job of keeping the fuel clean enough..

I have a few of the home heating oil filter canisters and have been tempted to put one on my truck instead of the stock primary filter--the "sock" filter for those can be had at any hardware or home center store and costs about 4 bucks--beats paying almost 20 for a wix one..and they still have a bleeder valve too..

I found the options list on my 85 Burb in the glove box,it has a 3:73 axle ratio and the dreaded "G80 locking diff" (gov-bomb?)..IF its still the original rear end,its a 12 bolt,so it might have been swapped out before I got the truck,with one from an 80 or older model..

My pickup never had the build sheet,it was probably pasted to the inner fender well on the drivers side,and either blew away or was removed when someone put the plow control valve on it before I got the truck..

I'd like to find out what gears it has,its diffs likely have the original gear lube still in them and should be changed anyway--soon as the weather gets better I'm planning to pull the diff covers off and change the lube and see what it has for ratios..

 

[campfire]

Still I dont see why one is a must,when the primary filter at 10 microns,which is the same rating as many diesel powered farm equipment engines have for fuel filters

Yeah...that was why I decided it wasn't worth the time to fab up a new mount for my secondary after my conversion. The 84-and-up trucks use a single filter without any reported issues. Autozone says their box filter is the same 10-micron size as the 82-83 primary filter. So it didn't seem like it was a worthwhile use of my time fabbing that up when I have so many other things I could do...

I found the options list on my 85 Burb in the glove box,it has a 3:73 axle ratio and the dreaded "G80 locking diff" (gov-bomb?)..IF its still the original rear end,its a 12 bolt,so it might have been swapped out before I got the truck,with one from an 80 or older model..

My pickup never had the build sheet,it was probably pasted to the inner fender well on the drivers side,and either blew away or was removed when someone put the plow control valve on it before I got the truck..

Anyone know what years/models had each style of build sheet? None of my trucks have useful information in the glovebox (including the '82 C20 I cut in half during Big Blue's build). Neither the '83 nor the '84 look like they used to have a sticker on the inside fender like the '86 does. I have read on here somewhere that build sheets are sometimes located underneath the carpet in the cab. But I have no desire to rip out the carpet at this point. Are there any other known places for build sheets? I'd hate to think that both of my trucks are missing theirs. But I guess it wouldn't be too surprising...

 

[diesel4me]

I have found build sheets on pickups tucked into the bottom or back side of the seat cushion springs,and on the gas tank on older ones ,both with in cab tanks and under the truck ones..one truck at the junkyard had it pasted to the rear cab wall behind the seat,under a cardboard liner--another had it rolled up and stuffed under the dash,on top of the wiring harness...never found one under a carpet yet,but that doesn't mean one was never put there either...

I was under my 81 G-10 van changing the oil one day,when I saw something hanging out of the hole in the unibody they use to secure the vehicle to a car carrier when its shipped to a dealer new--at first I thought it looked like a dollar bill!--MONEY!..

I spent a good half hour with a pair of long needle nosed pliers and a coathanger,trying to get the paper out without destroying it..I got most of it out intact..it was the build sheet!..this was in 2003 too,I was pretty suprised a hunk of paper lasted that many years in the frame rail of a van!...

 

[sweetk30]

edited post up top with pics now .

yes diesel jug on front bumper for feed / 1 under hood smaller for return .

fires right off with 4-5 sec hold of the button for the glow plugs .

dead cold left bank is puff puff white for around 2 min total run time then clears right off to nothing .

needs little work like clean/redo interior and also steering box frame area and few other things .

I already have a different plan for the seat . I can do a bench or pair of buckets I have .