I got under there today with a scrub brush and some de-greaser and started cleaning many years of caked on crap off of the subframes and stuff. At one point I was using a paint scraper and taking off about 1/4" of accumulated grime in places.
Quite a bit of the paint came with the dirt. It looks like I'm going to have get under there with a power washer and blast away what I can and repaint things. This will involve being willing to get both soaked and filthy, so it might wait until the weather warms up a bit more, first.
The To-Do list remains the same from the previous post.
Did a bit more cleaning on the underside of the truck. Now the ABS and parking brake light won't go off. I'm guessing that I messed up a wheel sensor.
FMB42
Reader
3/22/21 10:18 a.m.
Those sensors a pretty easy to clean or replace. You may want to lightly spray the sensor hold-down screws with penetrating oil a day before you go to remove them.
I set about changing the transmission filter, transmission pan gasket while doing a drain and fill in the process. It took way longer than it should have.
Things were going well. I drained out the ATF in the pan. It was still red enough to look good on the dipstick, but when viewed in a drain pan it was looking a bit old and tired. It probably should've been changed a while ago, but here we are!
After several soakings of PB blaster and a sufficient amount of applied leverage via a breaker bar, I dropped the exhaust. Then I got the pan bolts out and managed to maneuver the pan out without spilling any of the ATF left in the pan. Yay! After removing the old filter I ran into the first snag. The old filter gasket would not come out. I eventually had to deform it a bit in order to get some pliers on it. In the process, I nicked a section of flimsy gasket right under it. This gasket didn't look like it was doing anything. It was about the consistency and toughness of craft paper, and it looks like it was "extra" gasket for components on either side. In any case, that segment of it it gone. I've outlined where it was in the picture below- it was spanning the gap just to the left of where the filter hole is, but it wasn't fush with anything. Maybe some kind of baffle? I have no idea.
I found a better picture. That black piece that's in the orange box.
Once the filter gasket was out, I had to work on getting the old gasket off of the pan (looked like rubberized cork, of all things) and cleaning off the mating surfaces. This involved a scraper and then a gentle run over the surface with 400 grit sandpaper and a bit of brake cleaner.
Once that was done, I buttoned it back up and... it moved! Given the prevailing experiences with this process at 195k miles, my transmission should explode in the next few hundred miles. If it does, I'm blaming it on the mystery gasket I screwed up.
Current needs:
differential and transfer case fluids changed
Antifreeze flush
Continue cleaning off all of the oil on the engine, subframes, etc.
Find the leaks! (resolved so far: transmission pan gasket)
Air filter
Check the plugs
Fix a possible power steering leak
Near future:
Figure out why the hood light isn't working
Lots of front end work
New tires
New suspension
Fix paint chips
The parts order I made for the truck has been split into different shipments. Today I was able to quickly put the new shocks on the rear.
The old ones were Monroe Sensatracs of indeterminate age. Even if Bilstein HDs aren't the best choice, they should be better than the old ones.
I'm eventually going to have to get the bed off and refinish the frame. It isn't crusty by Northern standards, but it'll just keep getting worse.
I just put the same shocks on my GMT900 and they seem solid
I'm still waiting on the front struts to arrive, but the front end kit is here.
The upper control arm will NOT come out.
Instead of being stubborn and dumb, I used my brain today and solved the problem.
I used the Dremel to grind down the ball joint bolt enough that I could get the ball joint separator on it and did it properly. It was off in about 10 minutes.
Now it's raining hard and everything will have to wait.
It stopped raining about 17:30, so I went back out there. I struggled with the ball joint on that first control arm for a long time. The other side of the truck took about 90 minutes to do, in total, and that time includes talking to my neighbor about the poison ivy we've got coming up between the two properties.
So, both sides are back together hand tight at the moment. Now I'm just waiting for the struts to arrive so I can install those and torque everything back together properly.
Current needs:
Differential and transfer case fluids changed
Continue cleaning off all of the grime on the engine, subframes, etc.
Find the rest of the leaks! (resolved so far: transmission pan gasket)
Air filter
Check the plugs
Fix a possible power steering leak
Front axles. The boots are shot, and if the internals of the axles are in the same shape as the rest of the front end, they're overdue.
Near future:
Figure out why the hood light isn't working
New tires
Fix paint chips
Refinish the frame
I have a set of GM service manuals for this truck. If you would like them to be your factory service manuals, just send me a message.
This is just extra gasket material that sticks out from the valve body separator plate. Nothing important. You didn't hurt a thing.
The front end work is getting redone. I'm getting new CV axles and bearings, too. More details to follow.
The front end is done, and despite my best efforts, it needs an alignment. I replaced:
Inner and outer tie rods
the hub/bearing assemblies
the CV axles
Upper control arm ball joints
Lower control arm ball joints
Bump stops
Struts
The inaugural shake down run was a trip to the dump. I loaded up all of the boxes that the new parts came in, the household recycling and some scrap metal and headed out. Even knowing it's out of alignment, it rides and steers way better than it did and doesn't try to dart into the ditch when I hit a bump. Great success- almost. Now that the other components have been refreshed, it seems the steering components are also worn. I'll investigate them shortly
The ABS light is still on, so it seems that the issue may be with the rear sensors. The back of the truck is next on the list. I know I need bump stops back there, too.
Also, on the test drive the check engine light came on. I'll figure that out this week. "Check plugs" has been on the list for a while, so it may be time to get in there and look at those.
Current needs:
Alignment
Find out why the check engine light is on
Find out why ABS light is on
Steering components- not sure which, yet.
rear bump stops
Air filter (oiling required)
Check the plugs
Fix a definite power steering leak
Differential and transfer case fluids changed
Remove driver seat, clean and lubricate the rails and fix the "access" lever that slides the back of the seat and bottom of the seat in a forward direction so that you can get behind the seat.
Continue cleaning EVEN MORE of the grime on the engine, subframes, etc. I swear, I've probably removed almost ten pounds of schmutz by now.
Find the rest of the leaks! (resolved so far: transmission pan gasket)
Future needs:
Figure out why the hood light isn't working
Fix the hood release
Better speakers/possible amp and sub woofers (Consult Dusterbd13)
New tires
Fix paint chips
Refinish the frame
The alignment that I got done after replacing most of the front end was probably the stuff of shop legends.
The rear bump stops arrived. I was going to wait until I had the gear oil in hand to do them, but now I'm leaning towards just getting the bump stops done as a 20 minute job, especially seeing as how I have to mow the lawn after work and I'll be sweaty anyhow. I guess I'll start soaking the bolts soon.
I got the rear bump stops in. Now I'm just waiting for the transfer case oil to show up so I can do that and the differentials.
I did the transfer case and differentials.
It seemed like all of them were very slightly under filled when I drained them. If I'd been thinking more proactively, I'd have filled them with conventional oil, run it for 1500 miles or so, and changed them again, but I went ahead and filled them with Synthetic.
I think it's finally ready to drive consistently.
Another ride threw a check engine light, so it looks like I have to dig out my code reader.
I also spent a bit more time scrubbing more grime off of the frame and such. Times like this I wish I had a lift.
At least the list is shrinking?
Current needs:
Find out why the check engine light is on (it went off, there may be a stored code)
Find out why ABS light is on. I've got new hubs/sensors up front, so it's likely something on the rear brakes.
Steering components- not sure which, yet.
Air filter- K&N aftermarket cone filter, so oiling is required. I'm debating switching back to the factory air box.
Check the plugs
Fix a definite power steering leak
Remove driver seat, clean and lubricate the rails and fix the "access" lever that slides the back of the seat and bottom of the seat in a forward direction so that you can get behind the seat.
Continue cleaning EVEN MORE of the grime on the engine, subframes, etc. I swear, I've probably removed almost ten pounds of schmutz by now.
Find the rest of the leaks! (resolved so far: transmission pan gasket)
Future needs:
Figure out why the hood light isn't working
Fix the hood release
Better speakers/possible amp and sub woofers (Consult Dusterbd13)
New tires
Fix paint chips
Refinish the frame
Someone mentioned a distributor early in the thread. LS engines don't have distributors.
Looks like a good buy, typical cheap truck repairs so far. Good progress.
The to do list remains much the same, with the exception of possibly removing the window tint and deep cleaning the seats. I drove it up to the dump today and once again hate the fact that there is no dead pedal in the cab.
My wife and son complain every time they have to get in or our of this truck. They're not tall people. This, the fact I really want a Miata, and the fact I rarely use the truck at all may very well doom it to getting passed on.
In the meantime, I'll do truck things from time to time. Easier than using the utility trailer.
As per the prophecy, I'll be selling this. Having the money tied up in something that's not critical has started to bug me.
It was a great end of COVID19 project, though.
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:
This, the fact I really want a Miata,
That was quick. I know someone with a 32k mile Miata ...
