What have you done to your square lately??

[justhorns]

While I'm waiting for the seat to come back, I had this on the shelf.. Generic Dynamat works as good as the original, and after years and years, It may in fact come off if you wish. quieter already!

 

[DoubleDingo]

Swapped on these wheels and tires last night. I need to clean them up, ran out of light last night.
They're nothing special, but I need to get some locks on there since it sits out front with no protection.

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[Snoots]

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[CRM]

Morning Session:

Found the armrests and installed them. The only thing left in the interior is to install the gauge panel, bezel, and radio. I also pulled the thermostat and housing and cleaned up all the surfaces. I installed a higher end Felpro gasket that doesn't require any rtv, etc. I'll know tomorrow if it worked. Installed a 2 gauge ground wire from the battery to the frame connection. I have a 2 gauge red cable for the positive side but I'm still debating about installing it right now.

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[BRetty]

I have a scary list of things I need to do on my 73/81 C10. I have today and the weekend off, nobody at the shop, just got paid so I can blow $$ on parts, but ... I am procrastinating b/c lack of knowledge, and confidence...

I don't want to start a new thread for any/every question I can't answer with a few searches in the archives here, but I don't want to bog down this thread with a lot of Truck-101 classes. So I'm just gonna write down the major things I need to do and the things I can't figure out about those tasks, and any help or pointers to past answers would be appreciated.

** IF I SHOULD MOVE THIS TO ANOTHER SECTION, PLEASE LET ME KNOW **

[One big problem for me is, I can't watch YouTube videos -- I get motion sick and impatient within 30 seconds. I'm used to writing, it's so much easier to understand for me. And you can search in text. Plus the motion-sick handheld-camera-phone aspect. I appreciate all the people out there who make these videos, I really do....]

Flush cooling system:
It's a gnarly, rusty mess. I think I pretty much got this one. A problem has been that I don't have parking at my apt building, and my work has only one hose bib and it's the opposite corner of the lot from our shop. And we are right by the LA River, so I have to catch every drop of fluid I use and "dispose of responsibly". Hard to get big buckets under my lowered truck.

Install new radiator:
I bought a 4-row rad from a '77 from CList. And new radiator hoses from RockAuto. I'm doing a bench-clean with some Zep CLR. Does anybody have a good shade-tree-procedure for flushing the Trans Oil Cooler in a radiator?

Replace water pump (and thermostat):
I got a new AC Delco replacement pump, and upgraded FelPro gaskests for it. Q -- Do I still need any goop in addition to the gaskets, to get a good seal?

Also -- I currently have no hoses to/from mycabin heater core. I assume AutoStore seels the 5/8 and 3/4 hose by the foot. If I hooked up the feed/return, where exactly on the WPump or manifold does the fitting (1/2" NPT -- 5/8 hose bead) thread in? (New rad has a 3/4" ID fitting for the return line.)

Re-mount P/S pump:
Well, I'm replacing the water pump anyway, PS pump is at a whack angle right now. I have a bearing puller and doing this with front clip removed will be much easier. StillI may need to track down new bolts, the PO mounted it witha hodgepodge of random fasteners.

Fuel Gauge problems:
My fuel gauge reads correctly if the tank is above ~5/8 of a tank. Below that, the needle stops at 5/8. Now, I replaced the sending unit in the tank, and I bench-tested it to see it was reading 0-90 Ohms range. But when I installed it, my gas tank was ... about 5/8 full, so I couldn't tell if that had fixed it.

My buddy and I pulled out a long coil if extra wire that was in the line from the dash to the tank. So now it gets down to ...9/16 full, then stops. The gauge itself, I replaced 2 years ago with a new one from LMC. I've measured the signal at the gauge itself, and it is showing ~47-49 ohms -- correct for the reading.

I can't puzzle why it has that floor of resistance though. If there was some resistive load in-line with the signal, wouldn't that be *addative* with the sending unit resistance. Wouldn't the resistance read from ~45 ohm to ~135 Ohm?

Well It must be some ground fault. So I am going unbolt my bed and slide it back, check electric at the tank, then just run a dedicated ground wire from the battery back there, with stops at the headlights, firewall, dashboard, and taillights. I will report back

Bad rattle on startup and engine knock/tick at idle:
I get a bad double-triple clank like tapping on my oil pan, on startup. The engine ticking may be my fuel line/filter rattling against my valve cover wing bolts. Or it could be a rod, lifter, or other exotic things I am not equipped to fix.

My engine mounts might also be farked. I don't look forwrd to trying to replace them alone.

I've put a vac gauge on the engine, and vac is good except for a regular stuck-valve dip. I will remove the valve covers and look for anything obvious. I will also bang on my exhaust, which is a rusty crappy mess and has one known exhaust leak, I know the whole system needs replaced, maybe loose pipes are rattling....

How much should I spend on a torque wrench, and what is the most useful range to have?

I appreciate all the advice I have picked up here on this forum. I promise to post some pictures to document the stuff I'm trying to get done, and use good keywords to make this stuff easier to find.

BRetty

_________
iI have other questions, like:

How hard is it to remove then re-install the fender wells up front? Since they only have about 1/3 of the bolts installed that they should have, remove is not hard, but i suspect replacing would be super-awkward.

Does one really need a dashboard?

What is the next part I would need coming off a set of long-tube headers with a 2.5", 3-boly flange? And what is the gasket for it? I just don't know the name of the part? Intermediate pipe?

What is the best way to polish any "brightwork" like my billet grille and headlight bezels?

Thanks,
BR

 

[CRM]

Afternoon session:
Installed the transfer case skid plate. My OCD motivated me to install the 2 gauge red wire from the battery to the starter. Used a wire brush and brake cleaner to clean the front diff cover in preparation for a fluid change and installation of a Lubelocker gasket.

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[Grit dog]

@BRetty
Yes that’s a long list of Qs but most are fairly straightforward to solve.
RE torque wrench the value of a quality wrench goes up if a persons ability to understand tight enough for various applications goes down.
And old cars are pretty forgiving. I’ve wrenched on more things than I can count over 30+ years with only a crude needle beam wrench for big stuff and a cheapo little in-lbs one for small stuff. Imo the small stuff is more important to not over torque than just getting your average 3/8” bolt tight enough in 99% of applications. Save for internal rebuild type stuff.
Everyone can help with your questions here and this forum is not really ocd about where you post it. Although I would start your own thread or multiple ones. That’s what the forum is for!!

 

[ulm4lyf]

I replaced the rear wiring harness today. Note the Home Depot twist connectors and dry rotted electrical tape that I found on the old one. Also fixed a speedo cable leak and changed out the transmission fluid and filter.

 

[78C10BigTen]

Got the water pump, overflow tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, radiator cap, and new v-belts installed.

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Nice to see im not the only guy who writes the dates on parts i change.

 

[78C10BigTen]

Nothin special. Jumped the dead battery, fired it and added a qt of tranny fluid to make it move. Pulled it out and backed it in a spot closer to the bldg.

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[Turbo4whl]

I have a scary list of things I need to do on my 73/81 C10. I have today and the weekend off, nobody at the shop, just got paid so I can blow $$ on parts, but ... I am procrastinating b/c lack of knowledge, and confidence...

I don't want to start a new thread for any/every question I can't answer with a few searches in the archives here, but I don't want to bog down this thread with a lot of Truck-101 classes. So I'm just gonna write down the major things I need to do and the things I can't figure out about those tasks, and any help or pointers to past answers would be appreciated.

** IF I SHOULD MOVE THIS TO ANOTHER SECTION, PLEASE LET ME KNOW **

[One big problem for me is, I can't watch YouTube videos -- I get motion sick and impatient within 30 seconds. I'm used to writing, it's so much easier to understand for me. And you can search in text. Plus the motion-sick handheld-camera-phone aspect. I appreciate all the people out there who make these videos, I really do....]

Flush cooling system:
It's a gnarly, rusty mess. I think I pretty much got this one. A problem has been that I don't have parking at my apt building, and my work has only one hose bib and it's the opposite corner of the lot from our shop. And we are right by the LA River, so I have to catch every drop of fluid I use and "dispose of responsibly". Hard to get big buckets under my lowered truck.

Install new radiator:
I bought a 4-row rad from a '77 from CList. And new radiator hoses from RockAuto. I'm doing a bench-clean with some Zep CLR. Does anybody have a good shade-tree-procedure for flushing the Trans Oil Cooler in a radiator?

Replace water pump (and thermostat):
I got a new AC Delco replacement pump, and upgraded FelPro gaskests for it. Q -- Do I still need any goop in addition to the gaskets, to get a good seal?

Also -- I currently have no hoses to/from mycabin heater core. I assume AutoStore seels the 5/8 and 3/4 hose by the foot. If I hooked up the feed/return, where exactly on the WPump or manifold does the fitting (1/2" NPT -- 5/8 hose bead) thread in? (New rad has a 3/4" ID fitting for the return line.)

Re-mount P/S pump:
Well, I'm replacing the water pump anyway, PS pump is at a whack angle right now. I have a bearing puller and doing this with front clip removed will be much easier. StillI may need to track down new bolts, the PO mounted it witha hodgepodge of random fasteners.

Fuel Gauge problems:
My fuel gauge reads correctly if the tank is above ~5/8 of a tank. Below that, the needle stops at 5/8. Now, I replaced the sending unit in the tank, and I bench-tested it to see it was reading 0-90 Ohms range. But when I installed it, my gas tank was ... about 5/8 full, so I couldn't tell if that had fixed it.

My buddy and I pulled out a long coil if extra wire that was in the line from the dash to the tank. So now it gets down to ...9/16 full, then stops. The gauge itself, I replaced 2 years ago with a new one from LMC. I've measured the signal at the gauge itself, and it is showing ~47-49 ohms -- correct for the reading.

I can't puzzle why it has that floor of resistance though. If there was some resistive load in-line with the signal, wouldn't that be *addative* with the sending unit resistance. Wouldn't the resistance read from ~45 ohm to ~135 Ohm?

Well It must be some ground fault. So I am going unbolt my bed and slide it back, check electric at the tank, then just run a dedicated ground wire from the battery back there, with stops at the headlights, firewall, dashboard, and taillights. I will report back

Bad rattle on startup and engine knock/tick at idle:
I get a bad double-triple clank like tapping on my oil pan, on startup. The engine ticking may be my fuel line/filter rattling against my valve cover wing bolts. Or it could be a rod, lifter, or other exotic things I am not equipped to fix.

My engine mounts might also be farked. I don't look forwrd to trying to replace them alone.

I've put a vac gauge on the engine, and vac is good except for a regular stuck-valve dip. I will remove the valve covers and look for anything obvious. I will also bang on my exhaust, which is a rusty crappy mess and has one known exhaust leak, I know the whole system needs replaced, maybe loose pipes are rattling....

How much should I spend on a torque wrench, and what is the most useful range to have?

I appreciate all the advice I have picked up here on this forum. I promise to post some pictures to document the stuff I'm trying to get done, and use good keywords to make this stuff easier to find.

BRetty

_________
iI have other questions, like:

How hard is it to remove then re-install the fender wells up front? Since they only have about 1/3 of the bolts installed that they should have, remove is not hard, but i suspect replacing would be super-awkward.

Does one really need a dashboard?

What is the next part I would need coming off a set of long-tube headers with a 2.5", 3-boly flange? And what is the gasket for it? I just don't know the name of the part? Intermediate pipe?

What is the best way to polish any "brightwork" like my billet grille and headlight bezels?

Thanks,
BR

I'll answer a few questions:

Install new radiator:
Common when replacing a worn trans is to flush the trans cooler lines and rad. Blow out old oil with shop air. Then a spray can of trans cooler flush. It will come with plastic fittings and a hose to spray right into the cooler lines. Let sit a few minutes then clear it out with shop air. Repeat again, one can will work several times.

Replace water pump (and thermostat):
You will have different opinions on this, but I would use Permatex #2 sealant, coat both sides of each gasket.
The 5/8" heater hose needs to connect to the top of the intake manifold. (hot coolant). The 3/4" hose will go to the water pump or the fitting on the top of the radiator depending on the year of the parts.

Re-mount P/S pump:
Before you remove the pulley, take note to the end of the pump shaft, is it flush with the pulley or recessed? Reinstall to the same place. When installing the pulley don't use different length bolts to pull it on. You may end up pulling the threads off the pump shaft. Instead screw a stud all the way into all the threads on the shaft, then use a nut and flat washers to pull the pulley on.

 

[CRM]

Saturday session:
Installed the instrument panel and bezel. Turned the key to check out lights and gauges, nothing. Forgot to hook up the new ground wire to the frame. DUH! Hooked it up and all lights but the right blinker worked. Tried starting the rig and nothing. After 2 hours of troubleshooting I determined the clutch switch was bad. I ordered a new clutch switch. Bypassed it and the rig fired right up. When I walked to the front of the truck I heard a loud ticking. My first thought was a valve. After a few minutes I determined it's coming from the hei distributor. Got to looking at the temp control unit and it was looking pretty shabby, so I pulled the lens and back plate, and cleaned/painted them.Tomorrow I start the coolant flush.

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[PeteJr]

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Trying to get the interior together. I want to have the truck on the road by October but that might be a bit unrealistic! Still have to finish body work and get the engine back from the machine shop

I remember mine looking just like that last summer.

 

[justhorns]

A Crane! This was a good addition to my pickup. Use it only occasionally, mostly for moving engines. I bought this cheap harper frought crane and bolted it into the bed. Handy. No issues, it does what its supposed to do. Removing the tailgate is easy if needed, but not mandatory. Also, I use a jack under the rear bumper to hold the truck up when lifting as the weight of a load can drop the truck before it lifts the load.

 

[CRM]

Sunday session:
Installed the new sun visors and brackets. Attempted to finally take it out on the road but the clutch pedal had to hit the floor before I was able to (barely) shift it into reverse. I looked for an adjustment but found none at the master or slave cylinder, or the pedal rod. Could it be that the system has air in it? I don't remember having this issue when I bought it and drove it home. I flushed the coolant system with 9 gallons of distilled water and then put coolant in it. I discovered that the passenger side exhaust manifold gasket is leaking like a sieve and ordered a new set.

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