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The Green Grendel

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I finally got the new M/C in and crawled down to inspect the S/C end of things. The S/C was locked in the tense position, with the throwout bearing arm slammed against the bell housing. I loosened the nuts holding it on and gingerly let it spring free. :eek1: :(

There seems to be more slack in it than I remember, but I doubt the inner linkage has changed (and it does freely move). Yesterday's test run did not have any weird noises. I'm going to replace the rusty, seized slave cylinder and put it back together.


Which means more waiting for parts. And more proof that submersion isn't good for moving parts. It sure wasn't that rusty before the bath... :rolleyes: :haha:


Also coming are some more electrical goodies.
 
Arrived home late last night and was greeted by this:

20170929_204336.jpg

Looks like I bumped the blackout light switch while tearing the dash apart. :doah:

But over the last few days I've checked a bunch of things off of my list.

TinyTach installed.
GEN2 circuit diagnosed & repaired.
Radio & speakers installed.
Clutch M/C replaced.
Clutch S/C replaced.
Hydraulics bled (I still love my vacuum pump!).
Added pigtail for 12V voltmeter.


Here's a picture of all 3 warning lights functioning again. :saweet:

20170930_161251.jpg

Of course, adding dual voltmeters will mostly render the idiot lights obsolete. :rolleyes:

Took her around town today to confirm that the clutch is back in business. :waytogo:


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And today I received my voltmeter. I like the format, but I am not happy with the display quality. It's just not easy to read. Size is fine (though small), color is fine, but the contrast between lit and unlit cells just isn't good enough for me to read this while driving in the daytime.

20170930_164942.jpg


I'll give it a few drives, but I'm thinking I'll source another unit from another vendor.

Anyone have a lead on a dual-voltage 24V digital voltmeter that fits in a standard automotive 2 1/8" hole? All the dual units I can find are 1 1/8" in diameter.
 
Things to do in the near future:

Install FM antenna.
Mount voltmeter & TinyTach.
Hack up my perfectly straight gauge bezel to fit my new abomination of a radio. ;)

Install permanent CB antenna in stock military antenna location (no, I do not have the original mount, though that would be neat).
 
First day back on DD duty...and the tailgate glass shattered. :doah: :rolleyes:

@76zimmer, where is that replacement tailgate when I need it? :1zhelp:

The brakes are also pulling to the right. Yay for sitting-related problems!
 
campfire said:
The brakes are also pulling to the right. Yay for sitting-related problems!
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Had that problem with mine, turned out to be the left side rubber brake line section was collapsing. Easy to replace, don't even need a jack, and go with braided stainless. Could also be a sticky caliper, but may as well replace the lines if they are original.
 
Tough week for the old girl. Finished up the voltmeter and TinyTach installation. Very happy with the tach, though it doesn't appear to have the advertised hour counting features. :dunno:

@AJMBLAZER, some tinted tape did the trick for the voltmeter. :bow:

The bezel is back on, Martin will cry over the enlarged slot. I broke the cheapie FM antenna while installing it. :rolleyes:

Took the truck up into the Keweenaw to go exploring with a friend and wound up stranded on top of a cliff. Long story short the truck returned to Wisconsin on a trailer and I'm fed up with it right now. No major problems, but the rate at which ancient iron breaks has worn me down over the last few years. And after two bad trips in a row, I'm thinking about changing hobbies for a while. Or at least dumping a project or two. It's not fun right now.
 
And I'll give a shout out to @AgDieseler for answering my phone call yesterday and helping me diagnose my problem. :bow::bow::bow:

Thanks again, man. I know we didn't get everything solved, but it was nice to have the problem identified and to bounce ideas off someone who was knowledgeable and clear-headed. If I hadn't dropped a bolt in the dirt we probably would have driven home.
 
Sorry to hear about your luck Ethan. Sometimes a break is needed. Gives you time to refocus. You have made quite a bit of progress lately, and maybe it's time to relax and refuel. No pun intended.
 
campfire said:
And I'll give a shout out to @AgDieseler for answering my phone call yesterday and helping me diagnose my problem.

Thanks again, man. I know we didn't get everything solved, but it was nice to have the problem identified and to bounce ideas off someone who was knowledgeable and clear-headed. If I hadn't dropped a bolt in the dirt we probably would have driven home.
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I'm glad to help (though you did all the work). Trying to sort out problems in the field is already frustrating, and talking it out is usually helpful to me, too. Take a break for a while, and look on the problem with fresh eyes.

Adventure is out there, indeed.

David
 
GWeakland620 said:
Sorry to hear about your luck Ethan. Sometimes a break is needed. Gives you time to refocus. You have made quite a bit of progress lately, and maybe it's time to relax and refuel. No pun intended.
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It's not luck, it's the nature of running old iron. It breaks. And it breaks more often than newer stuff. The luck part is whether it breaks in my driveway or up on top of a mine ridge. :haha:

Right now I have a month or two before serious cold gets here. Anything I don't push right now won't get done until spring (if ever). Springtime already has some plans in place, so now is the time to get the Suburban rebuilt.


But today, at least, I don't even wanna look at it. :doah:
 
Oh yeah, while I was on top of the cliff, staring at my dead truck, I got a call that Fastenal has received my NV3500 for the Suburban build.

I finally have all of the pieces needed to refresh that drivetrain.

Someone come kick some motivation into me, it should be crunch time right now. :doah:
 
AgDieseler said:
I'm glad to help (though you did all the work). Trying to sort out problems in the field is already frustrating, and talking it out is usually helpful to me, too. Take a break for a while, and look on the problem with fresh eyes.

Adventure is out there, indeed.

David
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Yes! Adventure is everywhere!

I think I have this problem diagnosed correctly, but I don't think I'm going to be fixing it right now. Breaking the rear window last week took a lot of fun out of this truck. I think I'll rotate back to the Blue Truck for a bit. Humorously enough, it also has a tiny pinhole in one of the fuel lines. :rolleyes: The electric lift pump has worked wonders in bypassing these fueling gremlins.


One piece at a time...
 
I've thought about it for a few days, and I think this truck needs to go. It keeps side tracking me so I don't get the Suburban done, and I will almost never, ever prefer a K5 to a Suburban. Turning radius is the only benefit I can see. Hauling people, stuff, and trailers are all weak spots, and that is what trucks are supposed to do. That tight trail bypass is the only time I ever have benefited by having this truck instead of the one I actually want.

The problem, of course, is that I only want to sell it when it's broken. By the time I get it fixed up and ready to list....I keep talking myself out of it. :rolleyes:

The problem is that I've chased down every gremlin and yet more keep appearing (Yay for old trucks, eh?). So I never get "done" with this one, and I never get onto the real truck build. Or the hundred other things I want to be doing.
 
Sounds like you got too many projects. Projects being what they are, are never done. If you want to unload the Blazer, get it back to a point where it runs and drives. That will help it sell and help you get a little more money for it. You know anybody looking at it will lowball you if it don't run. You may not think there is a benefit to being side tracked fixing the Blazer, but you'll get a return on the investment once it sells. Besides I think a 6.2/nv4500 CUCV Blazer is a pretty cool ride. Even for me not being a fan of the 6.2, it's still pretty cool.

Sell it and get the Burb rolling dude!
 
Ah don't touch just love project vehicles, even ones you've owned for so long from almost new that have slowly turned into partial projects.

You keep talking about fixing/building up the burban but your waiting for parts. Well it seems like you have most the parts now. Plus the burban will fit the family easier. I'd say fix the fuel line issue on your stepside to dd that. Get the k5 running and sell it. Take that money and put it into the burban.

It's hard to be on a tight budget and have multiple projects cars. Sadly one needs to go so you can focus on the one you really want.
 
ZooMad75 said:
Sounds like you got too many projects. Projects being what they are, are never done. If you want to unload the Blazer, get it back to a point where it runs and drives. That will help it sell and help you get a little more money for it. You know anybody looking at it will lowball you if it don't run. You may not think there is a benefit to being side tracked fixing the Blazer, but you'll get a return on the investment once it sells. Besides I think a 6.2/nv4500 CUCV Blazer is a pretty cool ride. Even for me not being a fan of the 6.2, it's still pretty cool.

Sell it and get the Burb rolling dude!
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Oh yes, it will be running again. No way a fuel line leak is gonna keep this one down. I have no idea what the ROI is gonna be on this project. I've been daily driving it all year because I wanted to get some return on the 4 years it sat around. It's finally nice and functional and set up the way I want it. Nobody else will care about that, so I keep thinking I'm gonna lose out when sale time comes around. That has been the problem.


Ebay prices for M1009s (and other CUCVs) have been stupid high the last couple of years. Maybe that works to my advantage? :dunno:
 
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