The BluJay

[AugustDiesel]

The BluJay suburban is “done” (are they really ever)?

The exhaust is plumbed, with a hand-built mid pipe that includes a huge vibrant performance 10” long 3” ID turbo-flex pipe, a hefty magnaflow quiet tone muffler, and a 3” ID Walker tailpipe. The tone is quiet yet throaty, which is perfect for this old man.

The updated suspension includes upper control arms, bushings, ball joints, and all new steering linkage from moog; acdelco 3/4 ton suburban front coil springs; energy suspension front swaybar bushings, and one ton pickup 56” rear leaf packs from sdtrucksprings. The new suspension nets the burb about three inches of ride height gain. It nearly looks like a 4x4 and rides like a truck again rather than a boat. The 3/4 suburban coils and 1 ton leaf packs compliment each other rather well.

There’s more work to be done, but the truck is drivable once again after a 5-week service break.



Andy

 

[The_Tomato]

Nice! I think it's easy to get caught up in the highly-capable off roader builds, but I'm enjoying seeing the tasteful drivability mods you're choosing for this one. Any further updates on the stalling?

 

[AugustDiesel]

Nice! I think it's easy to get caught up in the highly-capable off roader builds, but I'm enjoying seeing the tasteful drivability mods you're choosing for this one. Any further updates on the stalling?

Not yet. Since putting it back in service we haven’t had any issues. Though while driving it I can hear some fluctuations in the idle that make me think it won’t be long before it cuts off.

And I appreciate the kind words. This is a MUCH easier truck to work on.

 

[AugustDiesel]

The BluJay Suburban just got a repaint. To save ourselves from having to do door jams and what not, we went with the same OG shade of blue. But for a more appealing classic look and better heat deflection in the summer, we swapped the grey/silver for GM White.

We are REALLY digging how it came out and are glad to have the BluJay back in service after 4 weeks.

As @AgDieseler says, “It’s sharp as a tack”.



Andy

 

[AgDieseler]

She’s a looker for sure.

David

 

[imiceman44]

The BluJay Suburban just got a repaint. To save ourselves from having to do door jams and what not, we went with the same OG shade of blue. But for a more appealing classic look and better heat deflection in the summer, we swapped the grey/silver for GM White.

We are REALLY digging how it came out and are glad to have the BluJay back in service after 4 weeks.

As @AgDieseler says, “It’s sharp as a tack”.

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Andy

I like it.
Looks more like mine now.

 

[AugustDiesel]

I like it.
Looks more like mine now.
View attachment 402759

Oh yeah, that’s a good lookin truck!

 

[AugustDiesel]

Never found a buyer for the running boards, so my wife asked me to put them back on so that her mom and grandmother could have an easier time getting in the truck. I was happy to oblige and I actually like the look better now with the taller suspension. Adds to that classic vibe.





Andy

 

[AugustDiesel]

2.5 years ago we had a “trusted” mechanic replace the radiator in the BluJay, because I had my hands full building the other burb.

2 years ago, the heat in the climate control stopped working. It wasn’t a huge priority to fix because the last couple of winter seasons have been pretty warm here in Florida. But with the upcoming cold snap, I figured heat was becoming a priority again.

Long story short, the mechanic installed a radiator that DIDN’T have a port for the heater core return hose, only a port for a coolant level sensor. Instead of fixing it, they just popped the hose on and called it good. We were none the wiser.

The result of the coolant slamming against the tiny weep hole in the port was a huge loss in flow and, subsequently, heat.

Easy enough to fix with a 1/2” drill bit. It appears also that the radiator has a small leak on the driver side. I have it topped off for now, and will look into a better unit.

For now, we have heat.




Andy

 

[AugustDiesel]

Seems the “dying while idling” issues have returned to plague me. Actually I have been fighting two problems:

1) truck dies while idling in drive or reverse gears. Never park or neutral since the idle speed is higher.

2) truck won’t start due to no fuel.

#2 has only happened twice. And I seem to have solved that one.

So far, I have replaced the fuel pump relay, the oil pressure sensor/sender, and the idle air control valve (again).

#1 keeps happening, and seems to only happen when the truck is up to temperature. Figuring I may have a bad fuel pump, I took the plunge yesterday and installed a cargo floor hatch to give me easy access to the pump. Replaced the pump and the fuel filter.



While all of that is super cool, problem #1 still presents itself. I don’t consider my time wasted, bc I’m sure those were the original pump and filter.

Regardless of my efforts, the engine now seems to intermittently idle rough, and occasionally die at idle. At this point I’m not sure if there is another sensor that needs to be replaced or if the idle speed needs to be adjusted.

Andy

 

[Wes Harden]

I would be suspicious of the dizzy, esp since you have a rough idle now. Thinking the shaft bushings, and or pick up coil reluctor . Minimum air relearn done after IAC replacement?

 

[AugustDiesel]

I would be suspicious of the dizzy, esp since you have a rough idle now. Thinking the shaft bushings, and or pick up coil reluctor . Minimum air relearn done after IAC replacement?

I messed around w the IAC some but probably didn’t do it right.

Thinking the distributor could be bad?

 

[AugustDiesel]

The suburban left us stranded Friday night again. Starting to think the oil pump could be bad, but I’m pretty much grasping at straws right now.

Saturday, went and bought a minivan for my wife and kids so they have reliable transportation (the BluJay has been their only mode of transport for 3 years now).

This morning I dropped the BluJay off to the mechanic so they can fix it and I can stay focused on life and building the RedBurb.

Once the BluJay is back, it’ll be mine to drive while I build the RedBurb. My transportation demands are not as high as my family’s.

 

[mrk5]

Hopefully the mechanic has good luck finding the problem.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Hopefully the mechanic has good luck finding the problem.

He’s one of the rare breeds that still knows how to work on these old trucks.

 

[kgblazerfive]

It's not the oil pump.

 

[imiceman44]

The suburban left us stranded Friday night again. Starting to think the oil pump could be bad, but I’m pretty much grasping at straws right now.

Saturday, went and bought a minivan for my wife and kids so they have reliable transportation (the BluJay has been their only mode of transport for 3 years now).

This morning I dropped the BluJay off to the mechanic so they can fix it and I can stay focused on life and building the RedBurb.

Once the BluJay is back, it’ll be mine to drive while I build the RedBurb. My transportation demands are not as high as my family’s.

Oil pump doesn't do that, and you should see the oil pressure on your gauge, is it too low?
I am assuming you have not checked your distributor yet?

 

[AugustDiesel]

It's not the oil pump.

Oil pump doesn't do that, and you should see the oil pressure on your gauge, is it too low?
I am assuming you have not checked your distributor yet?

You are right, the oil pump doesn’t do that. But if there isn’t enough oil pressure then the oil pressure sender tells the fuel pump relay to turn the fuel pump off. Oil pressure has been reading low, about 20psi when it actually runs and Friday night as I tried to crank the engine it would not build oil pressure above 5psi.

My thought about the dying while idling is perhaps since oil pressure is already low, as the engine speed slows down, the oil pressure gets low enough (especially when engine is hot) to cause the sender to tell the fuel pump relay to turn off. But that’s just guessing now.

 

[imiceman44]

You are right, the oil pump doesn’t do that. But if there isn’t enough oil pressure then the oil pressure sender tells the fuel pump relay to turn the fuel pump off. Oil pressure has been reading low, about 20psi when it actually runs and Friday night as I tried to crank the engine it would not build oil pressure above 5psi.

My thought about the dying while idling is perhaps since oil pressure is already low, as the engine speed slows down, the oil pressure gets low enough (especially when engine is hot) to cause the sender to tell the fuel pump relay to turn off. But that’s just guessing now.

Ok so that changes things.
You never mentioned that.
I would definitely do an oil analysis at this point to see if the low pressure started any damage and also try to confirm the pressure.
I had a truck with a faulty sender that showed low pressure.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Ok so that changes things.
You never mentioned that.
I would definitely do an oil analysis at this point to see if the low pressure started any damage and also try to confirm the pressure.
I had a truck with a faulty sender that showed low pressure.

Yeah I’ve been fighting this thing a lot trying to fix it since it was my wife’s daily, so my recap was not the most detailed. Now that she has a newer ride, I have more flexibility with figuring this out.

Personally, I think a 6.5 swap is the fix it needs