Wish it was easy to swap that setup into my '89 K5.i would just swap over to the newer setup
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Project Penny - All good things must come to an end
- Thread starter Russell
- Start date
dfl701
1/2 ton status
You, my friend, leave some huge footprints to walk behind ya in! I really wish I had the smarts and talent to build a suspension system like you pulled off on your truck! The EFI I can figure out, cutting a straight line in a piece of metal, or melting two pieces together in such a fashion that they stay together is something I ain't so good at!
We shall see how much I hate the quad beams in my truck once I start driving it! I used to have an 89 with them in it and honestly don't remember it being a problem. That said, at the time, I was driving an 89 chevy, not an 07 Duramax with 55watt 4300K HIDs! I suspect that the dim lighting might be a bit more of an issue now
That said -- It is now insured, I'll get it registered next time I head south. I'm gonna put my HAM operator plate on it. My first trip with it is gonna be 300 miles up North to my home here in Fort McMurray. I think I'm gonna leave pretty early, just in case
Well thank you, appreciate the kind words. I am sure you could figure it out if you want to. We are always here to keep you on the right track with whatever you tackle if you need any advice. I am looking forward to seeing that HPD60 under that blazer!
Well, my Tahoe is now registered and insured! I'm gonna tow-bar it home with me this weekend and commute to work with it for the next while to make sure everything is good to go on it. I should be picking up my HP D60 in two weeks, still need to order gears and a new ARB for it. I was able to sell the Chevy ARB and gears for only a small loss. The rear axle is pretty much finished up, still need to put some new bearings and seals into it, as well as buy and install a disc brake kit. I've decided to go with leaf springs for the time being, just way too easy to do. I'll probably wind up doing a radius arm swap in the future though.
Oh, and I placed an order for an ARB bull bar for the truck, gonna take a few months to arrive though. Guess they are back ordered at the moment... I love the great approach angle, and it should be nice to have a proper winch for once!
Oh, and I placed an order for an ARB bull bar for the truck, gonna take a few months to arrive though. Guess they are back ordered at the moment... I love the great approach angle, and it should be nice to have a proper winch for once!
dfl701
1/2 ton status
Those ARB bumpers are really good looking on the OBS trucks
Well, figured it was about time for an update!
I've got the rear axle finished up. 14 bolt semi floater with 5.13s, an ARB locker, Black Bird Customs rear disc brake conversion, 1350 yolk, all new seals and bearings. I've got some shock tabs and spring perches on the way to set the pinion angle and set it up for the NBS truck, finally I topped it off with a HD plate diff cover. I am going to run the stock 54" springs with a zero rate and an ORD shackle flip to net around 7 - 8" of lift.
For the front, I purchased a 79 Ford Hi-pinion D60 and just dropped it off to have an ARB locker and 5.13 gears installed. I've got an ORD crossover steering setup on the way for it, as well as all new kingpin components, bearings, seals and brakes. Should have it all pulled together within a couple more weeks. Like the rear, I'll be running a 1350 front yolk and an HD plate diff cover. For my suspension, I am going to be running the prototype ORD SFA swap brackets and some 52" springs for around 7" of lift. For both axles I have some ORD extended brake hoses on the way.
For the t-case, I've got a super short SYE on the way, and will be running a HAD driveline brake to go with the HAD long slip / high angle CV driveshafts.
For armour, I'm going to be running an ARB front bull bar with an M12000 Warn winch, and a custom built rear bumper with a swing out tire carrier. I've got a set of 5 17" Trail Ready bead locks in the shop, with a set of 37" Kevlar MTRs to go on them. To run the ARBs, I put my York OBA setup onto the truck a while back. Its been pretty useful up here, I've inflated a few flat tires with it already, haha! Might need to find some better tires for the truck...
Anyways, my Duramax suffered a vane position sensor failure recently, and I just dropped the truck off to have it fixed up at the dealership. The only other vehicles available to me include my Tahoe, my K5 and a piece of crap 97 F250. Well, the F250 was my first choice, but it broke down just before I planned to head on the 270 mile trip home. The K5 has a broken t-case output bearing retainer and shakes like crazy at the best of times at any speed above 45 mph. The Tahoe was not running right with a PMD problem.
All that said, the little Tahoe was the best candidate of the three, so I loaded up some tools, filled the tank and hit the road. The little truck did me proud! Went all 270 miles with only two PMD related episodes (the PMD fails high, aka the truck goes WOT at random). Both times it was on the open highway, and was really not any kind of a risk other than the majorly high EGTs that come with wayyyy too much fuel poured into the engine.
So, it made me really proud, and proved that it can get me there in a pinch. Anyways, today driving home from work, I noticed that the truck was pouring a ton of black smoke out and she overheated on a hill that I have to climb up to my place. The turbo has never really seemed to do much in the Tahoe, it has something to do with the actuator for the wastegate. So, I did what any reasonable man would and wired it shut with some bailing wire, haha!
Does much better now! Actually makes some decent boost (to the point of setting an overboost code...) but I am not entirely concerned about it. Too little boost is much more hazardous to my truck in the short term than the 10 PSI this turbo is capable of making. The 6.5L is good with around 13 PSI.
I'm gonna see if I can take the stock vacuum actuator apart and build a custom boost controller with it, but I'd need to find some gauges up here to do that. I don't want to underboost / overboost it too much on the 4 hour trip home.
I love working on vehicles, but not so much when they are my sole means of transportation 270 miles from any help, haha!
BTW -- I tore those quad beams out and put the composites back in. They arn't much better (even with high watt PIAA drivers and relays to maximize voltage + the quad beam mod), but definitely better than those candle dim quad beams, haha! I just bought some TYC housings to replace the stock composites. My understanding is that they are way brighter and have a much better light pattern.
I've got the rear axle finished up. 14 bolt semi floater with 5.13s, an ARB locker, Black Bird Customs rear disc brake conversion, 1350 yolk, all new seals and bearings. I've got some shock tabs and spring perches on the way to set the pinion angle and set it up for the NBS truck, finally I topped it off with a HD plate diff cover. I am going to run the stock 54" springs with a zero rate and an ORD shackle flip to net around 7 - 8" of lift.
For the front, I purchased a 79 Ford Hi-pinion D60 and just dropped it off to have an ARB locker and 5.13 gears installed. I've got an ORD crossover steering setup on the way for it, as well as all new kingpin components, bearings, seals and brakes. Should have it all pulled together within a couple more weeks. Like the rear, I'll be running a 1350 front yolk and an HD plate diff cover. For my suspension, I am going to be running the prototype ORD SFA swap brackets and some 52" springs for around 7" of lift. For both axles I have some ORD extended brake hoses on the way.
For the t-case, I've got a super short SYE on the way, and will be running a HAD driveline brake to go with the HAD long slip / high angle CV driveshafts.
For armour, I'm going to be running an ARB front bull bar with an M12000 Warn winch, and a custom built rear bumper with a swing out tire carrier. I've got a set of 5 17" Trail Ready bead locks in the shop, with a set of 37" Kevlar MTRs to go on them. To run the ARBs, I put my York OBA setup onto the truck a while back. Its been pretty useful up here, I've inflated a few flat tires with it already, haha! Might need to find some better tires for the truck...
Anyways, my Duramax suffered a vane position sensor failure recently, and I just dropped the truck off to have it fixed up at the dealership. The only other vehicles available to me include my Tahoe, my K5 and a piece of crap 97 F250. Well, the F250 was my first choice, but it broke down just before I planned to head on the 270 mile trip home. The K5 has a broken t-case output bearing retainer and shakes like crazy at the best of times at any speed above 45 mph. The Tahoe was not running right with a PMD problem.
All that said, the little Tahoe was the best candidate of the three, so I loaded up some tools, filled the tank and hit the road. The little truck did me proud! Went all 270 miles with only two PMD related episodes (the PMD fails high, aka the truck goes WOT at random). Both times it was on the open highway, and was really not any kind of a risk other than the majorly high EGTs that come with wayyyy too much fuel poured into the engine.
So, it made me really proud, and proved that it can get me there in a pinch. Anyways, today driving home from work, I noticed that the truck was pouring a ton of black smoke out and she overheated on a hill that I have to climb up to my place. The turbo has never really seemed to do much in the Tahoe, it has something to do with the actuator for the wastegate. So, I did what any reasonable man would and wired it shut with some bailing wire, haha!
Does much better now! Actually makes some decent boost (to the point of setting an overboost code...) but I am not entirely concerned about it. Too little boost is much more hazardous to my truck in the short term than the 10 PSI this turbo is capable of making. The 6.5L is good with around 13 PSI.
I'm gonna see if I can take the stock vacuum actuator apart and build a custom boost controller with it, but I'd need to find some gauges up here to do that. I don't want to underboost / overboost it too much on the 4 hour trip home.
I love working on vehicles, but not so much when they are my sole means of transportation 270 miles from any help, haha!
BTW -- I tore those quad beams out and put the composites back in. They arn't much better (even with high watt PIAA drivers and relays to maximize voltage + the quad beam mod), but definitely better than those candle dim quad beams, haha! I just bought some TYC housings to replace the stock composites. My understanding is that they are way brighter and have a much better light pattern.
I`m liking your plans for it.
Would love to have a ARB for the front of my duramax.
Alway liked those on any truck.....Sweet!
Would love to have a ARB for the front of my duramax.
Alway liked those on any truck.....Sweet!
More pictures
There are actually a couple of ARB bull bars for our generation of Chevy trucks on Kijiji right now... Cheap too:
http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...to-body-parts-Winch-Bumper-W0QQAdIdZ290116233 This one is in Calgary, for 99-02 $550 obo
http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...th-Winch-Mount-PIAA-Lights-W0QQAdIdZ288719198 This one is in Grande Prairie, on an 04 and for $750
http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...to-body-parts-Winch-Bumper-W0QQAdIdZ290116233 This one is in Calgary, for 99-02 $550 obo
http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...th-Winch-Mount-PIAA-Lights-W0QQAdIdZ288719198 This one is in Grande Prairie, on an 04 and for $750
Feeling better now lol very nice
very nice
I actually really like this little truck! It drives pretty nicely as is. The steering is a bit loose after 190 000 miles, but it drives straight, and has no vibrations at any speed (better than I can say about the Duramax right now...). The transmission shifts beautifully (though the torque converter lockup is a bit harsh for my liking), and other than a bit of a rear end whine, it is pretty quiet to drive on the highway. The 6.5L has a slight rumble in the background but there is next to no wind noise, you could easily carry on a normal conversation in it.
The ride is spectacular! I am used to a 2500HD regular cab longbox truck, this thing floats like an old caddy! Doesn't handle corners as well as the Duramax, but it is still more than manageable. The PO put some Rancho RS9000s on it, and they are set on the minimum setting, so I may crank em up a bit and see if that tightens the handling up a bit. Very comfortable to drive all around...
If only that 6.5L was a little bit more reliable! Oh well, it'll get there! My new grey PMD and cooler kit is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and I'm gonna see what I can do to build my own little boost controller out of the vacuum controller...
The ride is spectacular! I am used to a 2500HD regular cab longbox truck, this thing floats like an old caddy! Doesn't handle corners as well as the Duramax, but it is still more than manageable. The PO put some Rancho RS9000s on it, and they are set on the minimum setting, so I may crank em up a bit and see if that tightens the handling up a bit. Very comfortable to drive all around...
If only that 6.5L was a little bit more reliable! Oh well, it'll get there! My new grey PMD and cooler kit is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and I'm gonna see what I can do to build my own little boost controller out of the vacuum controller...
Well, truck left me stranded today... Hit the road southbound this morning and only made it around 60 miles when the low coolant light came on... Kept an eye on the temp gauge and sure enough it started climbing. Made it another couple miles and it started overheating. Pulled off into a road side rest area and checked it out, winds up my rad core separated from the side tank, lost most of my coolant and have been sitting here waiting on a recovery for almost 5hrs now. The recovery rig is still at least an hour away too... Doh!
At least my duramax is back home waiting for me, and I have a new rad waiting for me back at home too
At least my duramax is back home waiting for me, and I have a new rad waiting for me back at home too
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh man that sucks
Haha! I defintely did a homer DOH when I saw what happened... I wound up sitting in a truck for about 12 hours that day haha!
Either way, I've got my rad replaced, but now the turd won't start. I think the pmd got cooked when it overheated. Hopefully my new one will be waiting for me when I get home next week!
Either way, I've got my rad replaced, but now the turd won't start. I think the pmd got cooked when it overheated. Hopefully my new one will be waiting for me when I get home next week!
chulisohombre
1/2 ton status
that really sux man.i drive truck,so i get stranded a couple times a year.every time is at least a few hours.
Woohoo! Postal strike is over, which means I'll finally be getting the thousands of dollars worth of parts the post office has been holding ransom this coming week!
I am hoping to start my build within the next two weeks. My goal is to get the SFA in, and the lift done by the end of the month.
I am hoping to start my build within the next two weeks. My goal is to get the SFA in, and the lift done by the end of the month.
