Back into a truck - UPDATED with pics (Sept 19)

[ib516]

Many of you may know - I went through a nasty divorce over the last two years. I lost my RV, and had to sell my 2014 Ram 2500/6.4L Hemi to pay for child support/bills/moving expenses/etc. Well, that's all done with now, and I'm beginning to live my life again. I met a new gal, and she bought the 2010 Jayco 17z in my sig (3500# (GVWR) 17' hybrid TT). I had pulled it short trips/locally with a 2006 AWD Pontiac Torrent that I added a hitch, wiring, and a trans cooler to. It did surprisingly well, but had a saggy rear end when towing. But, we have 3 weeks in the Rockies booked so...

Well, the other day, while browsing the local classifieds, I came upon a high mile 2006 Chev 1500, 4x4, 3.73, Ext. cab short bed. It's rough, but it was cheap. It had a 4.8L from the factory, but somebody swapped in a 5.3L. The chassis has 230,000 Km on it (~144,000 miles), and I have no idea how many miles the 5.3L has on it, but I was told it has less - around 100,000 miles. The truck has rubber floors, crank your own windows, but it has AC and cruise and a 4L60E auto.

Payload is 1245#, and it has the G80, locker in the rear, Z82 and Z85 towing and HD suspension options, and skid plates. I found the original window sticker in the glove box.

It has some surface rust on the rockers and above the rear wheels.

Soooo......I have some work to do. I'm going to be swapping out the accessory drive and AC belts, tensioners, and idler pulleys, shocks, and ignition switch tumbler this weekend. It has a new exhaust, but one broken stud - driver's side front. Deal with that later. I'm also doing an oil flush/change (dump in flush solvent, idle, drain, refill with new oil). The ABS has been disabled (LF speed sensor/hub throws code), but the AC, cruise, and 4wd all work.

Seems to run OK other than the above issues. I'll keep you posted.

[ib516]

GWolfe wrote:
Good to see you back in action ib. Your RPMs sound about right for a 3.73, thats what my 04 Silverado ran with 3.73s. I would always tow in 3rd with T/H on, the 5.3 seemed happy and I would also get better MPGs than trying to lug along in OD.

Truck is looking good BTW, I miss my 04.

Thanks!

And yes, I use 3rd and T/H as well. It'll lug along in OD if conditions are right (flat, no wind), but a GM technician I know says the OD gear and clutch pack in the 4L60E is tiny and weak compared to 3rd, and suggested I always use 3rd.

The truck has 150,000 miles on it (240,000 Km), and although the trans seems to work ok and the fluid is obviously new, I don't know the condition of the trans itself. So, better safe than sorry.

[Camper_G]

looking good ib! glad to see you back! i bought a new 17 Dodge 6.4 and love it. Thanks!

[GWolfe]

Good to see you back in action ib. Your RPMs sound about right for a 3.73, thats what my 04 Silverado ran with 3.73s. I would always tow in 3rd with T/H on, the 5.3 seemed happy and I would also get better MPGs than trying to lug along in OD.

Truck is looking good BTW, I miss my 04.

[ib516]

Thanks. I got in there with a 3/8" drill bit and some rust check and fluid film and sprayed it everywhere I could. Should be good for a couple years.

[BurbMan]

IB, nice truck and great job fixing it up! Agree with replacing those brake and fuel lines if you plan to keep the truck long....also those rocker panels are rusting from the inside out, so while they look nice now it's only a matter of time until the rust pops through again. I just had a body shop do the inners/outers on the burb and it's not an easy (or cheap) job, so anything you can do to prolong the life and looks of the rockers is money well spent.

[Hannibal]

I wish we had a like button. Looking good!

[gmw_photos]

Truck is looking great. I like the building in the background too.

[ib516]

Tires (and 2010 version wheels) are on now.

[2DHoop]

ib516 wrote:
Thanks for the info!

I love it when someone takes advantage of second chance opportunities and gets motivated. You Da Man!

I have to agree with those that have mentioned the brake lines. I replaced the ones on my 95 F-150 (after the pedal went to the floor with no resistance) with a SS kit form here:
https://www.inlinetube.com/

[ib516]

Thanks for the info!

[LIKE2BUILD]

Nice job addressing common issues with this era of GM truck. Also, glad to see you getting back on your feet.

As others noted, the brake lines are prone to rupturing due to corrosion. Usually everything is fine and normal then it pops. Most often it is the pressure line leading into the ABS module along the frame rail under the driver. A complete stainless steel brake line kit is about $125 USD. given the extent of rust on the undercarriage I would strongly encourage you to replace the brake lines before they pop.

The OEM receivers were awful in this era. IF you come across a Class IV at a good price I'd suggest replacing it. You TT is small so not a major stress to the receiver, but the combo of poor design and substandard welds created a lot of flex.

The ABS issue can be fixed without replacing the sensors. My '04 2500HD developed an issue where the ABS would kick in under 15MPH as I slowed down and I would lose brake power. The cause was crusty rust building up between the sensor and the hub housing causing the sensor to set too far from the tone ring. I had found a TSB spelling out a procedure to remove the sensor, scrape/wirebrush away the flaky rust, paint the area with rust inhibiting paint, then reinstall the sensor. I did this successfully on the driver side by the passenger side busted apart as I removed the sensor. After doing this the ABS issue went away and never had any other ABS problems.

On the wife's '03 Yukon we had a problem where the ABS pump ran continually. I pulled the fuse for the ABS and later found the control board mounted on top of the ABS unit were prone to failed components. The solution was to install a reman control board.

KJ

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Looking nice IB. Really nice truck for 5,500 dollars! Good job man!

[ib516]

The bottom pic is where I started....rust over the rear wheels and on the rocker panels, no decals, lowered and hacked on suspension with tired springs.

The top pic has the following done:
- Added Hellwig overload springs to the rear
- Replaced/added factory bump stops to front (had been hack-sawed in half)
- 2" lift from factory, so 4" lift from bottom pic
- Added factory decals (ebay)
- Repaired rust over the wheels wells
- Ground and sanded all rust from rockers and painted with bedliner material
- Repaired a lot of little things (exhaust leaks etc)
- Added a remote starter



I also just added 285 Goodyear Duratrac tires on factory (2010) GM alloy wheels (truck is an 06). No pics of that yet.

Initial purchase price was $3100 (Cdn) and I now have about $5500 in it. The tires and wheels I got used, but they are about 70% tread remaining.

[BenK]

So glad to see you enjoying life after that rough period. Hats off to you for not giving up through that period

FYI....Below pic's of a GM 2500's 4x4 front suspension bump stops...note that they are touching at an unloaded, static condition...makes WD'ing weird (they become a secondary set of front suspension springs) and best to follow the manual on HOW2 setup a WD Hitch system

GeoBoy wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Awesome country!
Hey looking at the axle pic, your spring question in the other thread, those Timbrens look too short. The other pic was loaded down, I can see now with the gap in the pic in this thread.

Those are factory bump stops, not Timbrens.

Provided from JBarca's post years ago...PS...note the CV boot cracks...must be changed ASAP if yours has cracks like that. I spray 303 on mine just about every time down there. Changing eng oil/ATF/etc...lube everything, spray 303 on ALL rubber/etc stuff and spray all metal areas looking to need (heck, even it doesn't) with primer/finish paint...