Nope! I was always going to put a momentary switch on my underhood filter to make priming easier but I never got around to it before selling the truck
CK5
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The Great Smaug
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
Nope! I was always going to put a momentary switch on my underhood filter to make priming easier but I never got around to it before selling the truck
That's what I bought and used for the turbo side, and what went onto the Blazer. But I inherited some brand new pre-cut pieces, and decided to use them on the easy injectors. Either 3 or 4 of the 4 pieces have sprung leaks.
I'm not sure how old they are, or how high of quality they were. They looked good, and they worked on the old Blazer engine. But they are all junk now. I'm glad I refused to use them on the turbo side.The new stuff I bought from Badger Diesel here in Wisconsin. Liked it enough to buy it again for the Blazer. $21 well spent, assuming it lasts.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-2L-6-5L-...e-Kit-6-2-6-5-Chevy-GMC-GM-Turbo/271761901107
On the stepside I used whatever Autozone had on their spool of small fuel line. It also worked well, whatever it was.
Here is my vice-grip trail fix.
I bought a new cable. But it's exactly the same non-fitting cable that I bought last time, so I'd be cutting and drilling out the ends. I don't think cutting the plastic caused the sheath to come loose. But it's a possibility, and I'm not eager to repeat the experience. So I opted to fix the modified cable rather than modifying the new one and hoping the flimsy plastic spot welds didn't break free this time. I grabbed a cable clamp and clamped that cable right where it needs to be. And the kinked OEM cable is getting permanently thrown in the truck's tool kit, just in case.
Here are some of the guilty hoses.
And it's hard for me to grasp how thoroughly the dust penetrated every nook & cranny. Not what I expected from a trip to Earth's largest collection of fresh water. It's not supposed to be dry.
On the bright side, it hides old leaks and makes new ones very visible.
I bought a new cable. But it's exactly the same non-fitting cable that I bought last time, so I'd be cutting and drilling out the ends. I don't think cutting the plastic caused the sheath to come loose. But it's a possibility, and I'm not eager to repeat the experience. So I opted to fix the modified cable rather than modifying the new one and hoping the flimsy plastic spot welds didn't break free this time. I grabbed a cable clamp and clamped that cable right where it needs to be. And the kinked OEM cable is getting permanently thrown in the truck's tool kit, just in case.
Here are some of the guilty hoses.
And it's hard for me to grasp how thoroughly the dust penetrated every nook & cranny. Not what I expected from a trip to Earth's largest collection of fresh water. It's not supposed to be dry.
On the bright side, it hides old leaks and makes new ones very visible.
Oh, the air cleaner just barely touches the pad on the underside of the hood. Enough to annoy, but not enough to cause problems. This is really good, because my last-minute trail plan was to run without the air cleaner, and that wouldn't have been good for a desert trip.
Here are my leftover brake pads. The 3/4-ton pads are what came off of the truck, and the smaller 1/2-ton pads are what didn't get used (yet?).
Hard to describe the pad surface. It got trapped between the rotor and the backing plate, and it wore through 1/4th of the material in less than 200 miles. The tabs that catch against the caliper bolts were rounded off and quite a bit smaller than the tabs on the new pads.
The mounts are the same, but the 1/2-ton pads have about half the surface area of the 3/4-ton pads. Less metal, too. Aside from the safety tabs. They have metal where it counts.
So the truck is running 3/4-ton pads on the driver side and 1/2-ton pads on the passenger side. Surprisingly (to me, but not the parts guy), the brakes are perfectly balanced. Equal calipers providing equal force over unequal areas. The smaller pads should be wearing faster.
I do plan on changing out the other pads eventually, because I don't trust the undersized safety tabs. I have no desire to repeat this fiasco.
Hard to describe the pad surface. It got trapped between the rotor and the backing plate, and it wore through 1/4th of the material in less than 200 miles. The tabs that catch against the caliper bolts were rounded off and quite a bit smaller than the tabs on the new pads.
The mounts are the same, but the 1/2-ton pads have about half the surface area of the 3/4-ton pads. Less metal, too. Aside from the safety tabs. They have metal where it counts.
So the truck is running 3/4-ton pads on the driver side and 1/2-ton pads on the passenger side. Surprisingly (to me, but not the parts guy), the brakes are perfectly balanced. Equal calipers providing equal force over unequal areas. The smaller pads should be wearing faster.
I do plan on changing out the other pads eventually, because I don't trust the undersized safety tabs. I have no desire to repeat this fiasco.
I'm so glad this truck has been working out for you as well as it has been. You had such a poopy time with the K5 that this appears to be a much welcome change.
You said poop
I'm not super fond of poop jokes, I usually like funny puns. But poop jokes are a strong #2 with me.
You said poop
Back on track, boys...
Streamlining aside, I've decided these are exactly the same vehicle, built with slightly different scale factors.
Yes. I still consider both of them to be mechanical lemons. But I'm squeezing the lemonade out of them, one piece at a time.
Ok, it's trip report time! Our family of 4 was joined by my long-haired brother this time, and the trip had a chaotic start. We missed the first day since I was still fiddling with the fuel issues, but we hit the road at mid-day on Thursday.
Finishing touches:
Chaotic packing:
Kid #1 decided that the rocker made a good place to step. By the end of the trip there wasn't much left under her door, as she kept kicking it.
Kid #2 enjoyed the tall undercarriage.
I did not get any of the interior mods complete, so it was a mix of bare metal and old torn cloth.
But we finally started moving!
Here is where the throttle cable broke. And rolling into town is where I tightened the hose clamps on the oil cooler lines. Then we met up with these guys, who were also showing up late, and we ran a faster set of trails up to the first night's campsite.
We headed North on the same road where the Blazer had blown its engine (10 days before).
I didn't pinpoint the exact location, but it was on one of these hills (heading uphill going the other way)
As soon as we left pavement, we got a foreshadowing of the rest of the week. Dust. Lots of it. 10 days before there had been none, but now the ground was much drier.
Pretty soon after we left the roads, the front brakes failed. It was annoying to have these 3 headaches in just a few miles. But these turned out to be the only issues we had all week.
Finishing touches:
Chaotic packing:
Kid #1 decided that the rocker made a good place to step. By the end of the trip there wasn't much left under her door, as she kept kicking it.
Kid #2 enjoyed the tall undercarriage.
I did not get any of the interior mods complete, so it was a mix of bare metal and old torn cloth.
But we finally started moving!
Here is where the throttle cable broke. And rolling into town is where I tightened the hose clamps on the oil cooler lines. Then we met up with these guys, who were also showing up late, and we ran a faster set of trails up to the first night's campsite.
We headed North on the same road where the Blazer had blown its engine (10 days before).
I didn't pinpoint the exact location, but it was on one of these hills (heading uphill going the other way)
As soon as we left pavement, we got a foreshadowing of the rest of the week. Dust. Lots of it. 10 days before there had been none, but now the ground was much drier.
Pretty soon after we left the roads, the front brakes failed. It was annoying to have these 3 headaches in just a few miles. But these turned out to be the only issues we had all week.
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I think we had 14 vehicles this year, though rigs came and left at various points. Most of them showed up this night. Surprisingly, we weren't even the last to arrive.
It's a beautiful spot, with Lake Superior on one side and this misty marsh on the other.
Superior never gets old, and pictures will never do it justice.
In the morning fog rolled in. Luke said we should call 911 because someone had stolen the islands. 
Sunrise on the beach.
After a driver's meeting we loaded up and headed out.
Bye bye first campsite. On to greater adventures!
We were toward the back of the group.
And I kept my distance, as my front brakes were out of commission. The back brakes probably worked fine, but I stuck to engine braking just in case.
It's a beautiful spot, with Lake Superior on one side and this misty marsh on the other.
Superior never gets old, and pictures will never do it justice.
In the morning fog rolled in. Luke said we should call 911 because someone had stolen the islands.
Sunrise on the beach.
After a driver's meeting we loaded up and headed out.
Bye bye first campsite. On to greater adventures!
We were toward the back of the group.
And I kept my distance, as my front brakes were out of commission. The back brakes probably worked fine, but I stuck to engine braking just in case.
We broke off from the group and drove to the nearest town that had car parts. Next time I need to bring some cribbing so I have a safer working platform.
The offending caliper. The pad fell out, so the piston extended further and further as it wore away against the rotor.
The parts store said they couldn't find 3/4-ton brake pads anywhere within 150 miles. So I bought a set of 1/2-ton pads and installed them. Met up with the group while they were hiking.
Wildflowers.
This was the start of a neat hill climb, steep enough to almost make me want more gear. Low 1st on this truck is pretty close to high 1st on the other. But we were at the end of the group, so we didn't get pictures of people chugging over the rocks.
Then we got to watch a tire-plugging operation. Good times.
This 4Runner quickly endeared itself. From its roadkill condition to the stuff falling out the back, it was my favorite rig aside from my own.
Tire fixed, we spent some time at Victoria Dam. Some really neat history here, from hydroelectric power to compressed air supplied by the weight of the falling water (300' underground). Cool stuff.
The Buick met up with us several times. He wasn't running the trails, but would shadow us on the blacktop and pop in whenever he felt like it.
The offending caliper. The pad fell out, so the piston extended further and further as it wore away against the rotor.
The parts store said they couldn't find 3/4-ton brake pads anywhere within 150 miles. So I bought a set of 1/2-ton pads and installed them. Met up with the group while they were hiking.
Wildflowers.
This was the start of a neat hill climb, steep enough to almost make me want more gear. Low 1st on this truck is pretty close to high 1st on the other. But we were at the end of the group, so we didn't get pictures of people chugging over the rocks.
Then we got to watch a tire-plugging operation. Good times.
This 4Runner quickly endeared itself. From its roadkill condition to the stuff falling out the back, it was my favorite rig aside from my own.
Tire fixed, we spent some time at Victoria Dam. Some really neat history here, from hydroelectric power to compressed air supplied by the weight of the falling water (300' underground). Cool stuff.
The Buick met up with us several times. He wasn't running the trails, but would shadow us on the blacktop and pop in whenever he felt like it.
The kid’s just preparing the rockers for square tube replacements.
Yeah, pretty much. Though that wasn't on the original to-do list.
Man am I eating this up. Such a great payoff.
We didn't do a great job of photographing obstacles this year. Again.
But here's a small washout Northeast of Ontonagon. Perhaps our first reminder of the 2 large floods that hit Houghton earlier this summer. This had been a level road, and now it is not.
Side note, at this angle it's easy to see that the top lights are both in stages of pink eye. They're now on the list of things to replace. Low beams are dim enough I thought the driver-side light was burned out.
And a nice gravel-road shot from the other side.
Down the road we stopped to buy ice. The 4Runner spotted us and pulled a nice hard turn...straight into the ditch. He then stopped and loitered long enough I figured the carb would run out of fuel. But it didn't, and he chugged right up the other side. Fairly humorous to watch.
I love it. It's missing half the body, none of the accessories work, and it blows more smoke than my diesel. A perfect roadkill candidate. And yet it worked flawlessly the entire time. Aside from endlessly adding oil and stuff falling out the back, of course.
But the important part here is that we knew where the campsite was, and they didn't. So they probably would have gotten lost if they had driven past us. We tooled down the last section of road and pulled in a few minutes behind the rest of the group.
But here's a small washout Northeast of Ontonagon. Perhaps our first reminder of the 2 large floods that hit Houghton earlier this summer. This had been a level road, and now it is not.
Side note, at this angle it's easy to see that the top lights are both in stages of pink eye. They're now on the list of things to replace. Low beams are dim enough I thought the driver-side light was burned out.
And a nice gravel-road shot from the other side.
Down the road we stopped to buy ice. The 4Runner spotted us and pulled a nice hard turn...straight into the ditch. He then stopped and loitered long enough I figured the carb would run out of fuel. But it didn't, and he chugged right up the other side. Fairly humorous to watch.
I love it. It's missing half the body, none of the accessories work, and it blows more smoke than my diesel. A perfect roadkill candidate. And yet it worked flawlessly the entire time. Aside from endlessly adding oil and stuff falling out the back, of course.
But the important part here is that we knew where the campsite was, and they didn't. So they probably would have gotten lost if they had driven past us. We tooled down the last section of road and pulled in a few minutes behind the rest of the group.
Campsite was the same stamp mill we had visited last year. The flooding had eroded the stamp sand cliff quite noticeably.
And here we saw this year's paradox. The heavy rains in June & July caused floods and raised Lake Superior to record levels. But the drought in August had left the ground dry and dusty. So there was a surplus of moisture, but it wasn't where we needed it to be.
There used to be a beach here, extending left of the submerged concrete ruins. But it's completely hidden now.
The muddy color is mud that washed off the mainland. No sparkling blue waters this time. Maybe next year, after it has had a chance to settle.
Mill ruins. It's in last year's trip report, so I didn't bother taking new pictures.
@Blue85 should probably explain this one. What were you guys doing, anyways?
I also visited Redridge Dam while were in the area. The water was high enough to still be coming out the flood holes. It's kinda pretty, but it's eroding the foundation of the dam. So I'm not a fan.
The old trestle.
The steel has shaped the tree. The tree's roots will eventually destroy the trestle's foundation. But for now the steel is still winning the fight.
The result of the water through the flood holes is this neat waterfall. Free showers, eh?
Normal water and overflow water meet.
The top side.
Back at camp, everyone had ample time to enjoy the evening before sunset.
Beautiful place.
And here we saw this year's paradox. The heavy rains in June & July caused floods and raised Lake Superior to record levels. But the drought in August had left the ground dry and dusty. So there was a surplus of moisture, but it wasn't where we needed it to be.
There used to be a beach here, extending left of the submerged concrete ruins. But it's completely hidden now.
The muddy color is mud that washed off the mainland. No sparkling blue waters this time. Maybe next year, after it has had a chance to settle.
Mill ruins. It's in last year's trip report, so I didn't bother taking new pictures.
@Blue85 should probably explain this one. What were you guys doing, anyways?
I also visited Redridge Dam while were in the area. The water was high enough to still be coming out the flood holes. It's kinda pretty, but it's eroding the foundation of the dam. So I'm not a fan.
The old trestle.
The steel has shaped the tree. The tree's roots will eventually destroy the trestle's foundation. But for now the steel is still winning the fight.
The result of the water through the flood holes is this neat waterfall. Free showers, eh?
Normal water and overflow water meet.
The top side.
Back at camp, everyone had ample time to enjoy the evening before sunset.
Beautiful place.
Hey campy that isn't a red leash wrapped around the right side of the rear bumper did you? Hope you didn't go all Griswold and leave the family pooch lashed to the truck and forgot about him, did you?
