Topic: 2002 Suburban 2500 build thread, Part 4

[Bigdave_185]

I have the same wheel as you in the shed,  I like the mixed machine and black look.   
I’ll not be excited about a forced 20 on a new truck.m when it happens

Wider wheel might help ya not look so top heavy also


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[Flyin6]

I have the same wheel as you in the shed,  I like the mixed machine and black look.   
I’ll not be excited about a forced 20 on a new truck.m when it happens

Wider wheel might help ya not look so top heavy also


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The truck will soon lose some of its height

Working on a pulley storage system that will pull the tent off the roof and store it up near the ceiling. With that, it will lose nearly a foot from the top and I feel make it look less tippy.

[Flyin6]

Definitely get that gauge sorted boss. Hopefully it's not working correctly. But if it is.....need to know for sure one way or another.

Already on it Doc.

I think I'll just purchase the mechanical gages I need all at once, figure our where to place them and drive on

I remember that the truck was running great when the temp gage was headin' to the right, and no hint of "boiling over."

Lookingz
 for some opinions here gents

Are my wheels dated? I am not motivated by style for the most part, but do I have that right, or is there a better idea?

Looking at it, I may have too much of the mono-chromatic thing going on

Wheels are perfectly fine in my opinion. I had stepper motor problems in my 2001 1/2 ton. Gauges were forever acting up. I think in those years that was common.


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I ordered some mechanical gages from Summit just now, and sent an email to a guy in Michigan who rebuilds these GM gage clusters. We'll see what he says. Seems like a simple couple day turn around operation.

[JR]

Wheels are fine, maybe a color update? The entire look is good, better without everything up top all the time and the truck mirrors add something too.

As for the temp, make sure the gauge reads the engine not the rad temp. Did you get the "steam" crossovers on the that motor? That could play tricks on ya.

[TexasRedNeck]

Leave the wheels. Looks fine. You have bigger fish to fry. If it
Bugs you then go back to polished finish on the wheels.


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[Flyin6]

Wheels are fine, maybe a color update? The entire look is good, better without everything up top all the time and the truck mirrors add something too.

As for the temp, make sure the gauge reads the engine not the rad temp. Did you get the "steam" crossovers on the that motor? That could play tricks on ya.

Did not do steam crossovers, just left the stock tubes in place along with a couple mud dauber nests to block the passage

[JR]

Dauber might be an option, but not helpful. No steam crossovers, and it runs hot, Hmmm.

[Flyin6]

A look into the future...

I have been reading about painting/dyeing automotive interiors for long enough

I'm going to do something interesting to the interior of da burb.

I just ordered all the materials. BMW Cinnamon brown recently seen in the X5 interior.

As soon as I finish painting the camper, I'll pull this thing down and get started on the color change

Gonna be cool!

[Flyin6]

Dauber might be an option, but not helpful. No steam crossovers, and it runs hot, Hmmm.

JR, it has the factory corner steam pipes, but not an aftermarket setup

Besides, I am feeling it was a step motor all along...

[JR]

Gonna get the beamer logo too?

Long as the motor never got hot is the main thing!

[Flyin6]

Gonna get the beamer logo too?

Long as the motor never got hot is the main thing!

Love the bimmer logo, rmdneis me of ma weit und balance kalqualatiuns
It only was over 500F for less than 10 minutes
Should be ah-ight
bonehead!
;-))

[JR]

Keeping the standards up around here.

[Dodge4x48499]

What about a 1" Zero Rate Add A Leaf, they have them in 2-1/2" or 3" wide.
They let you move the axle back 1" or 1-1/2"

https://www.offroaddesign.com/1-zero-rate-add-a-leaf-kit-2-1-2-wide.html

https://www.offroaddesign.com/1-zero-rate-add-a-leaf-kit-3-wide.html

[Flyin6]

What about a 1" Zero Rate Add A Leaf, they have them in 2-1/2" or 3" wide.
They let you move the axle back 1" or 1-1/2"

https://www.offroaddesign.com/1-zero-rate-add-a-leaf-kit-2-1-2-wide.html

https://www.offroaddesign.com/1-zero-rate-add-a-leaf-kit-3-wide.html

Didn't know about that...Cool idea.

[Flyin6]

Made some progress and learned a thing or two about the transmission over the past week.

John was running into headwinds getting a triple disc converter for my 4L80 rebuild. I was going to have him just go through and strengthen and freshen the trans up while installing the billet converter.

His converter people didn't want to get into this fearing on one hand having to power along a 7K truck with a tall tire and a big gear, and then have that thing suddenly weigh 4K-10K more with the addition of a trailer. One or the other, but not both they sez.

So we started down the conversion to an allison rabbit hole when I did some more homework. Knowing the converter I was using was not much beyond a stocker with recontoured vanes, Nick has the thing programmed to not allow the converter to lock up at anything above 15% throttle!

BINGO! that solved the problem I think I am having with the thing always feeling like the crankshaft is connected to a five gallon jug of mustard instead of a transmission. It's been in slipomatic mode all the time and with so much horsepower, it can cause a converter's flash point to go much higher. I found out that this converter in my truck can flash to 4K under a big torque load.

So I just paid for a triple disc billet, furnace brazed, billet inside plate and everything else triple disc converter from Circle-D in the Texas. They are 4 weeks to build/ship so I'll have a wait, but I will soon have a good fix for that issue...YIPPEE!

This new converter is custom spected and I'm told is a 265MM unit with a 3,000 stall, triple disc, billet cover, billet innards, furnace brazed, that is designed to hold 1200HP and can take WOT lockup behind a LSA blower according to Dan the sames person.

Can't wait!

[Sammconn]

Nice! Now maybe a tad more than two or three gallons to the mile.

[Bigdave_185]

So much bed jumping in the future? Time for long travel suspension?


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[JR]

Mulch bed you mean??

3k stall sounds right, 15% throttle, thats close to idle!

[Flyin6]

Mulch bed you mean??

3k stall sounds right, 15% throttle, thats close to idle!

Exactly!

That's mostly responsible for making the thing feel like a slush bucket of soft butter konnektin the engine wit da back end.

They were concerned that the single clutch converter would not hold the power, and with a single 1" wide clutch, no way it would.

[Flyin6]

OK, on to solving the temp dilema.

With the parts all in from Summit Racing, I picked up an electric temp gage, Summit brand which has a recall, memory, turns on a warning light at your preselected temperature, and was inexpensive

Added to that is a boost gage and I threw in a fuel pressure gage I had cluttering a drawer of one of the storage cabinets

That all fits into a pillar gage holder also from Summit

[Flyin6]

I just got in some of the dye for the interior re-color, so no better time than now to get that painted. This stuff is amazing. Covers with two coats and dries in 45 seconds. After banging the part around and dropping it on the floor a number of times it did not scratch

Showing first, then second, then a final "Dust" coat.

[Flyin6]

The color is from a caddy escalade, called "Tobacco.

The gages were mounted and the harness blended and made into one unit

[Flyin6]

Mounting was straight forward using several plastic push clips, made for, strangely, my Honda Talon!

[Flyin6]

I know the fuel pressure bezel is a different color, have to find a silver bezel to correct

Next I picked up a 1.5" aluminum cooling hose adapter to mount my two new sending units into.

I had to add a second 1/4" NPT hole to it.

This piece will house the fan driver sending unit and a seperate one for the temp gage.

Time to learn the truth about things...

[Flyin6]

As a side note, I have owned this tap and die set since the seventies or maybe early 80's...Anyway a long time ago!

[Flyin6]

The two sending units all mounted up

[Flyin6]

And mounted into the upper radiator hose in a good spot

[Bigdave_185]

Lookin good so far


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[rpar86]

Why are the gauges clocked 90* clockwise? Is that so you can read them when rolled on your side? ;P

[KensAuto]

Don, mounting it in the radiator hose is no bueno. Needs to be in the block. Should be a spot in the right rear head, just like the one in the left front.

[TexasRedNeck]

Oh oh oh oh!  Let me, let me!

Where were you before he did all that work?  You’re fired!

Lol..


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[dave945]

Why are the gauges clocked 90* clockwise? Is that so you can read them when rolled on your side? ;P

Because when he installed them in post #622 they looked just fine. 


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[Flyin6]

Don, mounting it in the radiator hose is no bueno. Needs to be in the block. Should be a spot in the right rear head, just like the one in the left front.

Ken, Why is that?

The cyl head runs hotter, I think, so when mounting in the radiator hose, you just use a lower temp to initiate fan operation, right?

And I am providing a ground wire for the casting...

I thought that was the presiding theory I learned in the past somewhere.

[Flyin6]

Why are the gauges clocked 90* clockwise? Is that so you can read them when rolled on your side? ;P

An old NVG flying trick
Our helicopters experimented with setting the gages so that nominal clock position, being straight up meant everything was normal
You don't spend a lot of time staring at gages trying to interpret them when cooking along at 300 feet and 130 knots sometimes in bad weather and below 30% ambient illumination...which is where we liked to fly the mostest
kause, when bad peeps kan't C-ya, they kan't hit ya
Anywho, a quick sweep of the engine instruments with everything pointing up and you knew the propulsion department was werkin jest as hard as you was...
See one pointed west, and it's an engine oil temp on number two, then there's a good chance something travellin' really fast made a hole somewhere and you are leaking engine blood, and you are about to become a single engine aircraft
So
This is
my first attempt
at
seein
if
eye
kan
set em up
ah-bout
the
same
way
Make cents?

Man, I'm on... with this dark french roast dis morn...! ;-)

Oh, and Ryan,
You're banned for some peroid of time I am yet to determine...standby for a standby, there might be a maybe concerning you bein' allow'd to re-enter this group of scholarle menses...
Really...Taking a shot at the boss?

(Just for clarification, am I the boss, right? (I'm really askin'...not sure half the time around here) or has one of U done something and unseated me???) (Not that I really care...me gettin fired means more time to bush hog! ;-))

[JR]

Don, mounting it in the radiator hose is no bueno. Needs to be in the block. Should be a spot in the right rear head, just like the one in the left front.

I said the same several posts ago. After the thermo is bad, you want "engine temp". Besides that those wires will get chaffed on the underside of the hood.

I understand the clocked position, but that is not right either on those, you messing with us. (their normal in 2nd pic)

[KensAuto]

You want accurate, actual engine temp, at least for the gauge. The coolant in that hose could be 30* colder than engine temp, when it's not flowing.
Like JR said, if the tstat sticks, your engine could be running 260 and you'd never know it. That's why the factory sender is in the head (all temp senders are pre-thermostat). Fan probe can be radiator side tho. ... like where you have it in the hose.

[Flyin6]

You want accurate, actual engine temp, at least for the gauge. The coolant in that hose could be 30* colder than engine temp, when it's not flowing.
Like JR said, if the tstat sticks, your engine could be running 260 and you'd never know it. That's why the factory sender is in the head (all temp senders are pre-thermostat). Fan probe can be radiator side tho. ... like where you have it in the hose.

Ken, the way I look at this is like this. The factory gages are notoriously inaccurate. My generation burb/Silverado is known  for failures. So why does it even matter if there is a gage or not?
I want to check for fan function so I want the temp sensor close to the one turning on/off the fan.
If a thermostat sticks, how would you know anyway with inaccurate GM gages? There is still a coolant hot idiot light, at least in my truck, so there is that. And how often do thermostats fail? I've been driving now, 50 years and I have never seen the first one fail. Maybe I'm just lucky?? Maybe so, do t-stats fail often? If so, I guess I just haven't seen or heard about it. Anyway for the reasons stated I need to leave things the way I have them arranged, but thanks for pointing out the deviation from normal! ;-)

[Flyin6]

Started pulling some of the dash apart. I should have been wiring up the temp gage, but I just wanted to see how this interior dye is going to work

[Flyin6]

The grab handle comes loose by depressing the white tabs inside the vent duct

[Flyin6]

A few screws here and there and the plastic dash comes right out. Really easy to get that thing out of there

Mine had a nice crack going!

[Flyin6]

So I sanded it, cleaned the area, mixed up some epoxy, and laid a piece of galvanized tin over the inside

It came out OK, but not perfect

[Flyin6]

I had to scrub it and all the plastic with the purple stuff, then wipe a couple of times with mineral spirits and solvent.

[Flyin6]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the exposed dash core was pretty clean and only needed a light wiping down

[Flyin6]

I applied two overlapping coats followed by a dusting pattern and got full coverage pretty quick

I hit the passenger airbag cover with it in place. No matter the overspray on the panel below, as it will be pulled and dyed another color

[Flyin6]

I prepped and painted all the rest of the dash trim pieces in similar fashion

[Flyin6]

And then threw it all back together again. This dye dries in less than a minute

[Bigdave_185]

Are you going the change the headliner?

What is the second color your going to do?   Looks good.

You up for a scratch test?  Fingernail drag across a panel and see what comes up?


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[Flyin6]

Are you going the change the headliner?

What is the second color your going to do?   Looks good.

You up for a scratch test?  Fingernail drag across a panel and see what comes up?


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Headliner: No, stays as is forever

Second color is the one I posted of the BMW interior. And a third color, Black

Scratch test: Already done, many times. Those metal prongs on the backside of the dash bezel scraped across the top and some trim pieces...Nothing! I had a bad spot where there must have been a drop of sweat beneath the spray. That flaked right off, but when I tried to rub the stuff down either side of the blemish it was so hard to remove I had to rub it almost to burning it to get it to lift at all. Nossir, this stuff goes on and its permanent.

[Bigdave_185]

Picture of can please? Product name


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[cj7ox]

Don, you must be pretty lucky. Over my life, and multiple vehicles, about 90% of the time I've had a cooling issue, it was T-stat failure. Maybe I'm just unlucky. LOL