What have you done to your square lately??

[ulm4lyf]

No pics, but this week was....interesting. I took my '78 GMC to work on Wednesday with the intention of getting it inspected, so that I could then go get my tags. On my way to work, I noticed the head lights were getting dimmer and dimmer. Made it to work, shut off the engine, and tried to recrank. Nothing. I knew then that the alternator had likely bit the dust. Luckily, I had a battery charger in the truck that I had brough just in case of any issues, and let it charge while I was at work and was able to drive it home without any issues after work. A coworker gave me a ride to the local parts store to pick up an alternator during lunch, so after letting it cool off a bit when I got home I put the new one on. I no longer have to wonder if the voltage gauge is working!

Skipped work on Thursday due to doctor's appointment, so took my truck early to go get it inspected. It passed with flying colors. I then went to my county tax office to try to get my tags. I had applied for them back in July. At the counter, the clerk said that my truck had been flagged. Turns out, the county clerk had incorrectly entered info about my truck when I originally applied for tags, and when the system kicked it back, it automatically flagged my truck for 3 months. At least, that's the story that the clerk told me. She said that I would have to wait until I recieve the title in the mail before I could come get my tags, and that wouldn't be until the end of October, even though the issue was all on their end. Government bureaucracy, I tell ya.

As I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting room, I started to think about my old truck and what could I work on next. I literally have a list of things to do, but for some reason I got the itch to replace the power brake booster. I had one go out on me on a 1974 Chevy that I had in college and that was pretty scary. I had just changed out a leaking master cylinder on my '78, and figured that it would probably be best to change out the power brake booster. Local parts store had one, and after a few contortions (not exactly easy when you are in your 40s with a belly), and few cuss words l got it done.

TLDR: new alternator and power brake booster this week.

 

[PeteJr]

The long and winding road ..........
I used some tool box drawer liner for the "anti-sqweak."

Before

You must be registered for see images attach

After

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[82sbshortbed]

Got it to the shop to have the 700r4 put in and a couple other things that I don't want to fck with. Finally Walmart got the valvoline atf back in and I bought 2 gallons for 24 each. My mechanic told me his price was 35 from the auto parts store. So saved good money supplying my own.

 

[Turbo4whl]

I then went to my county tax office to try to get my tags. I had applied for them back in July. At the counter, the clerk said that my truck had been flagged. Turns out, the county clerk had incorrectly entered info about my truck when I originally applied for tags, and when the system kicked it back, it automatically flagged my truck for 3 months. At least, that's the story that the clerk told me. She said that I would have to wait until I recieve the title in the mail before I could come get my tags, and that wouldn't be until the end of October, even though the issue was all on their end. Government bureaucracy, I tell ya.

I understand I am in a a different state with different title systems, but this story sounds like the clerk has no idea how to get you registered and tagged.

 

[CRM]

Thought I'd post this here. If your rig is having idle issues, and especially back fire on deceleration, then the first thing you should check is your EGR valve. Here's what mine looked like when i pulled it. The blockage was very hard and took a little effort to remove it.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[PeteJr]

Pretty much done all I'll do to the back half.........

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Itali83]

Long story short, I’m putting an 81-87 mensch seat in my ‘76 because I swapped from just lap belts to shoulder belts and the bottom latch is routed differently. The old ones just go through the gap between the seat bottom and back. The shoulder belt style has a hole in the bottom cushion for the latch to pass through. The way I have it you can’t lean the back foreword or the belts will fall through the crack. Then a string of profanity follows and so on.

So….. I have an ‘85 parts cab with a decent seat in it. I also got a new seat cover to match the red and tan of the interior of the 76 so this seat being blue didn’t matter. Just as long as it’s comfy. Sadly, it had years of mouse excrement on it so I had to clean it. I took the hose to it with hot water, some upholstery cleaner and a brush. Went to town. Came out pretty good really. Gonna let it drip dry in the garage tonight. And tomorrow bring it in the basement to dry next to the coal stove. Then I’ll fix the broken seat track, put the seat cover on and swap it out with my old seat. This will hopefully help this winter with freezing my a$$ off since I won’t be on a vinyl seat anymore.

Ben

 

[CRM]

Youngest daughter is in town and loves to help me work on my trucks. Had her get underneath, drain the oil, and replace oil and filter. We then tackled the manual transmission fluid. Drained it, and while refilling we kept saying "we're putting in a lot more than we took out". Looked up the capacity online and it said 4-6 qts. We put in 5.5 qts before it started draining from the fill hole. We then poured the old fluid in an empty gallon jug and it only filled it to about 3 qts. I wonder if that was causing the clutch pedal to nearly hit the floor before disengaging the gears. Any thoughts??? Can't wait to see how bad the transfer case and differential fluids are.

 

[justhorns]

I wonder if that was causing the clutch pedal to nearly hit the floor before disengaging the gears.

I don't think so.. You may still have a clutch problem.

 

[CRM]

Once I get it back up and running I guess I'll know then. This afternoon I drained the TC and put new fluid in. The old fluid was not discolored so it's been done in the recent past. Next up is draining the diffs, installing Lubelocker gaskets, and refilling them.

 

[82sbshortbed]

When I changed my diff fluid I discovered not only the oil was nasty brown but, had broken spider gears. I just drove it to get the new fluid too. That's why it's got a new Detroit locker in it now. Lol

 

[CRM]

I changed the fluids in the rear diff today. Unfortunately there was metal pieces on the magnet, and a lot of sludge in the bottom of the housing. Upon further inspection I found three splines that were missing pieces. Cleaned everything, installed the new Lubelocker gasket, painted and installed the cover. I went ahead and put 4 oz's of friction modifier in before the gear oil. Maybe it will extend the life if the splines a little longer. I only put about 200-300 miles on my trucks a year so it should be ok for a while.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[bucket]

I changed the fluids in the rear diff today. Unfortunately there was metal pieces on the magnet, and a lot of sludge in the bottom of the housing. Upon further inspection I found three splines that were missing pieces. Cleaned everything, installed the new Lubelocker gasket, painted and installed the cover. I went ahead and put 4 oz's of friction modifier in before the gear oil. Maybe it will extend the life if the splines a little longer. I only put about 200-300 miles on my trucks a year so it should be ok for a while.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Damage to the pinion gear at all? Something must have come loose and bounced around in there for a bit.

 

[CRM]

Bucket, I don't know. The only thing to come out were the 3 very small pieces of metal. Nothing else was seen. Next Spring I'll probably dig into it deeper, unless something comes apart.

 

[Goldie Driver]

Not so much what I did, but what I had done.

Science experiment- ever wondered what a high volume oil pump would do on a 126K motor that struggled to get to 30 psi hot at freeway speeds with 10W40 semi syn ?

Crappy pic, but if you look closely...



Better pic added.