I’ll look at it again one day for sure.
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The GAC Truck
- Thread starter Chevy305
- Start date
I’ll look at it again one day for sure.
This one says it pumps through convection not mechanically. Idk I think I'll just run the one I have rather than spending money on a different one.
Today I wired the exhaust heat riser valve closed and it seemed to help but it wasn't perfect. I will have to mess with it some more later.
beags86
Eastbound and Down
Well shit, I guess I need to walk out to the big block and see what the hell I put on my truck 13 years ago. Lol, but it 15 degrees out.... Anyways I thought what I linked was it. Maybe not. I know mine pumps coolant as it's annoyingly loud when plugged in. I bought it at a Napa in 2005...
So I never got around to installing the block heater. That will come later. But when messing with the exhaust heat riser valve the stop pin and spring broke off in my hand so I wrapped some bailing wire around the valve and pulled it tight up to the dipstick. Now it holds the valve closed and to open it, I just open the hood and pull up on the wire to open it once the engine is warm. This method was definitely put to the test today with below zero temps. Three pumps of the gas and she fired right up on the third revolution. 
I also put chains on the front tires and it worked awesome. The truck felt like it had tracks with zero slipping on our very icy driveway. In fact the mailman got stuck and my wife's Grand Cherokee slid down the hill at our mailbox. Very icy indeed but the GAC truck didn't care about the ice or the Sub-Zero temps.
I also put chains on the front tires and it worked awesome. The truck felt like it had tracks with zero slipping on our very icy driveway. In fact the mailman got stuck and my wife's Grand Cherokee slid down the hill at our mailbox. Very icy indeed but the GAC truck didn't care about the ice or the Sub-Zero temps.
This is why we properly shim our starters ladies and gentlemen:
After going through 3 starters grinding themselves into oblivion i figured I would start over and do it properly with a new flywheel and starter. Something had to be done I was nervous that it wouldn't start anymore.
So with the new parts it took 6 shims to get the proper starter gear to flywheel engagement. That seems excessive but it turns over so smooth now and quicker to boot.
Surprisingly it came apart pretty easily and went back together without much fuss.
So with the new parts it took 6 shims to get the proper starter gear to flywheel engagement. That seems excessive but it turns over so smooth now and quicker to boot.
Surprisingly it came apart pretty easily and went back together without much fuss.
Wow that seems like a lot. I've only ever had to put 1 shim in on one truck. Honestly I don't even think I know the correct way to set one up. I just put them in and see how it sounds.
any i have had with shims sound like crap until i remove them . then there great .
Right way to check the clearance between the flywheel teeth and starter drive gear,is to use a 1/8" drill--it should fit snug between the outer edge of the flywheel teeth and the armature shaft the starter drive gear slides on..add or remove shims as needed to adjust until it fits snug..
I've had some starters I had to shave down the nose several thousandths just to get the clearance right,otherwise it was too loose and would have stripped the gears in no time..if you file too much off,you can always add shims..
I never had much success using a half shim on just the outer bolt like most repair manuals say to do,to move the gear in closer to the flywheel,and I didn't like the starter not being flush against the block all the way across,it strains the bolts & block and the starter nose..
I prefer it to be flat all the way across,and use full shims if it needs to be moved away some..
I've had some starters I had to shave down the nose several thousandths just to get the clearance right,otherwise it was too loose and would have stripped the gears in no time..if you file too much off,you can always add shims..
I never had much success using a half shim on just the outer bolt like most repair manuals say to do,to move the gear in closer to the flywheel,and I didn't like the starter not being flush against the block all the way across,it strains the bolts & block and the starter nose..
I prefer it to be flat all the way across,and use full shims if it needs to be moved away some..
Wait so the 1/8" is from the tip of flywheel gear tooth to shaft of starter? The instructions say the 1/8" is when the gears are meshed it should be from the tip of one of the teeth to the root/base of one of the opposite.
Without any shims the starter gear couldn't even engage, too much interference. Same with 2 shims. It took 4 shims to even get the gears to mesh and 6 for that 1/8" clearance.
Without any shims the starter gear couldn't even engage, too much interference. Same with 2 shims. It took 4 shims to even get the gears to mesh and 6 for that 1/8" clearance.
makes a guy think if the block was line honed real heavy on a rebuild to shove the crank that far up the block to throw off the gear mesh like that . . . or i got no clue ?
This sounds correct to me.
I have no idea. The engine is some kind of older GM crate engine. I haven't checked the block number or anything who knows if it's been rebuilt but from the outside it appears all factory.
Back home every engine I had needed shims to make it work.
Here I have yet to need a shim on any, and God knows I have many.
Sorry I didn't answer sooner--haven't followed this thread lately..
I scoured the internet for an image of the adjustment procedure I described--couldn't find it..I had it saved on my old computer that died,but forget where I found the image..
I first heard of using the 1/8" drill bit or an allen wrench in that manner,when I saw the procedure described on an instruction sheet that came with the brand of rebuilt starters we sold at one parts store..they showed how to put it between the armature shaft and the outer edge of the flywheel teeth..
Most service manuals show how to measure the clearance the other way,by inserting a .030 wire feeler gauge (paper clip works!),in between the flywheel teeth's "bottom",and the tip of the teeth on the starter drive..
To do this,you must shove a screwdriver in a hole in the bottom of the nose,pry the starter drive out towards the flywheel to get the teeth to mesh--then measure the clearance with your third hand..not that easy to to lying on your back with dirt dropping in your eyes..most mechanics just put the starter in without shims,then see how it sounds if it'll crank,and add some if needed..
We often had chevy starters come back with the complaint "it grinds no matter how much I shimmed it or not",or "It wont even engage the flywheel unless I put a bunch of shims on it"..
I'd go get another one off the shelf and measure the height of the "pad" the two bolts go thru,that bears against the block..
Often I'd find one was either taller or shorter than the original core was and I'd have to either match up the one closest to the original (if the core had not already been sent back !)--or guess ,going by the symptoms--if it refused to engage without shims or needed a lot of them before it would,I'd give the customer the starter with a taller pad--and if it wanted to "skip or strip" even without shims,a shorter pad..
I think the GM starter noses used on some other engines like V-6's had the same bolt spacing as "most" small blocks ,but the pad height was a tad different,and maybe had metric bolt holes instead of SAE on later starters..and rebuilders would sometimes use those and shave them down to the right height so they would work on old school small blocks..some did work fine,others needed shimming and some never were "right" no matter what..
A few times I ended up swapping the customers original nose off his old starter to the rebuilt and that cured the poor gear meshing woes..
Our rebuilder often reminded up some old engines had a lot of crank end play and that can make flywheel teeth get muckled quickly,especially on vehicles with manual trannys..
I scoured the internet for an image of the adjustment procedure I described--couldn't find it..I had it saved on my old computer that died,but forget where I found the image..
I first heard of using the 1/8" drill bit or an allen wrench in that manner,when I saw the procedure described on an instruction sheet that came with the brand of rebuilt starters we sold at one parts store..they showed how to put it between the armature shaft and the outer edge of the flywheel teeth..
Most service manuals show how to measure the clearance the other way,by inserting a .030 wire feeler gauge (paper clip works!),in between the flywheel teeth's "bottom",and the tip of the teeth on the starter drive..
To do this,you must shove a screwdriver in a hole in the bottom of the nose,pry the starter drive out towards the flywheel to get the teeth to mesh--then measure the clearance with your third hand..not that easy to to lying on your back with dirt dropping in your eyes..most mechanics just put the starter in without shims,then see how it sounds if it'll crank,and add some if needed..
We often had chevy starters come back with the complaint "it grinds no matter how much I shimmed it or not",or "It wont even engage the flywheel unless I put a bunch of shims on it"..
I'd go get another one off the shelf and measure the height of the "pad" the two bolts go thru,that bears against the block..
Often I'd find one was either taller or shorter than the original core was and I'd have to either match up the one closest to the original (if the core had not already been sent back !)--or guess ,going by the symptoms--if it refused to engage without shims or needed a lot of them before it would,I'd give the customer the starter with a taller pad--and if it wanted to "skip or strip" even without shims,a shorter pad..
I think the GM starter noses used on some other engines like V-6's had the same bolt spacing as "most" small blocks ,but the pad height was a tad different,and maybe had metric bolt holes instead of SAE on later starters..and rebuilders would sometimes use those and shave them down to the right height so they would work on old school small blocks..some did work fine,others needed shimming and some never were "right" no matter what..
A few times I ended up swapping the customers original nose off his old starter to the rebuilt and that cured the poor gear meshing woes..
Our rebuilder often reminded up some old engines had a lot of crank end play and that can make flywheel teeth get muckled quickly,especially on vehicles with manual trannys..
Of course I threw away the instructions that said to put the 1/8" bit between the teeth. But all I know is that I turns over very smooth with no noises so ilI' just leave it where it is until it gives me problems again.
So update to the old beater:
Basically once the snow melted this spring I drove it out and parked it in the woods and didn't touch it until a month ago. Had to jump it and the carb was dry but otherwise fired right up! I brought it up and cleaned it off and started in on a few fixes and upgrades.
First I welded up a few cracks and fixed some shitty welds on the plow and painted it. I also rebuilt 2 of the cylinders and replaced one of the angle Cylinders.
Basically once the snow melted this spring I drove it out and parked it in the woods and didn't touch it until a month ago. Had to jump it and the carb was dry but otherwise fired right up! I brought it up and cleaned it off and started in on a few fixes and upgrades.
First I welded up a few cracks and fixed some shitty welds on the plow and painted it. I also rebuilt 2 of the cylinders and replaced one of the angle Cylinders.
But the bigger news is I've got a TBI swap brewing for it!
Currently laying out the harness, fixing some old splices etc.
So my plan is to basically just add this harness on top of the factory one. The original harness is in decent shape and it'll make it easy to remove in the future. So the original harness will run the starter, alternator, and gauges and the TBI harness will run just TBI related functions.
I'm not going to run EGR, anyone know how I can fool the computer into thinking it's still there?
Currently laying out the harness, fixing some old splices etc.
So my plan is to basically just add this harness on top of the factory one. The original harness is in decent shape and it'll make it easy to remove in the future. So the original harness will run the starter, alternator, and gauges and the TBI harness will run just TBI related functions.
I'm not going to run EGR, anyone know how I can fool the computer into thinking it's still there?
I don't specifically know on TBI with the egr but I would just put a block off so there is no exhaust flow but leave all the electrical parts of it there and plugged in and it will never know the difference. On my 6.2L I removed the valve and blocked it off but the solenoid is still there and plugged in. I've done other engines this way also.
TBI experts I have a question that started here:
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/what-connectors-are-these.338417/
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/what-connectors-are-these.338417/
