89 R3500 Part Identification Help

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

89square

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Posts
26
Reaction score
31
Location
New York
First Name
Willy
Truck Year
1911
Truck Model
Truck
Engine Size
111
Hey everyone, I hope this is the correct forum section to post this question to. My recently acquired 89 R3500 dually has a ton of bells and whistles that I'm not used to, I've owned 1/2 trucks before but nothing quite this massive. While poking around I've figured out what everything is except this thing. It's located under the steering column on the left hand side.

Thanks in advance!

You must be registered for see images attach
 

yevgenievich

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Posts
4,820
Reaction score
3,401
Location
Place
First Name
Name
Truck Year
Year
Truck Model
Model
Engine Size
Size
Maybe brake controller?
 

89square

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Posts
26
Reaction score
31
Location
New York
First Name
Willy
Truck Year
1911
Truck Model
Truck
Engine Size
111
That was actually my only guess. Never had one or operated one before. I did some searching around and couldn't find anything that looked liked this particular unit. This does appear to be in the go-to location for mounting a brake controller switch though. Thanks!
 

bucket

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Posts
30,616
Reaction score
28,851
Location
Usually not in Ohio
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
'77, '78, '79, '84, '88
Truck Model
K5 thru K30
Engine Size
350-454
Yep, brake controller. It's an older unit, maybe from when the truck was new? The logo is for the Kelsey Hayes brand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WFO

89square

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Posts
26
Reaction score
31
Location
New York
First Name
Willy
Truck Year
1911
Truck Model
Truck
Engine Size
111
Bingo, that's it. Thanks!
 

Backfoot100

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2017
Posts
374
Reaction score
648
Location
Florida
First Name
Eddie
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
C1500 Suburban
Engine Size
Carbed 350
That's exactly what it is. I have the same thing on my Sub. I have the factory towing package so I just assumed it was part of that.

I'm not sure what else it included but I have the hitch and an oil cooler. I thought it should have a tranny cooler too but mine has what appears to be a standard cooling setup through the radiator for the tranny.
 

89square

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Posts
26
Reaction score
31
Location
New York
First Name
Willy
Truck Year
1911
Truck Model
Truck
Engine Size
111
That's exactly what it is. I have the same thing on my Sub. I have the factory towing package so I just assumed it was part of that.

I'm not sure what else it included but I have the hitch and an oil cooler. I thought it should have a tranny cooler too but mine has what appears to be a standard cooling setup through the radiator for the tranny.

The truck definitely came with a factory tow package, but it looks like the original owner also put a bunch of extra stuff in here as well, still discovering everything ha! They claim the installed a custom 7 leaf spring pack in the rear to increase tow capacity, and it appears to have a Gear Vendors under/overdrive trans installed as well, i'm not sure if that came factory but it appears to be aftermarket. I've only had a few hours each day to dig into it since I picked this thing up on Christmas eve, can't wait to get this leaky water pump replaced to get it on the road! Thanks for the input!
 

Craig 85

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Posts
3,918
Reaction score
4,126
Location
Nashville, TN
First Name
Craig
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K30 SRW
Engine Size
454/TH-400/NP205
If it only has 7 leaves in the rear springs, they actually had some leaves removed. Maybe they are a higher rate. My K30 has 8 in the main pack with the auxiliary 9th overload on top.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
44,414
Posts
956,972
Members
36,738
Latest member
Tjreid
Top