The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - 1980 Stepside Build... My first build thread

ChevDog1 · 03-09-2014, 12:19 AM

Well, so far this weekend, my project has been boring, and not even worthy of pics. Yesterday, I bought a few small parts, so I could tie up some loose ends. Last night was electrical repair. I replaced the wiper switch, headlight switch, and the blower fan resistor. I also replaced every fuse in the panel, and cleaned the contacts on all of the connections in the dash. The PO had told me that at some point during its extensive time in his driveway, yellowjackets had made a home in the cab. His bright solution was to pressure wash the interior to clean out the nest and drive the little buggers away. The net effect for me was that every electrical connection was corroded. After a bunch of cleaning, testing, etc. I now have a truck that functions electrically! I even pulled the blower and cleaned and lubricated it, so that it works somewhat quietly. Also had to dismantle part of the wiper, to get the washers working.

Today's project started by trying to find the rest of the parts needed to re-hang my doors. I cleaned out the supply of hing pins and bushings at three different auto parts stores to get enough to do both doors. Since I couldn't find a hinge spring locally, I will wait until next week to get this done.

The major project for today - fix the leaks in my transmission. Before today, the trans would leak enough over week or two, that I would have to add fluid just to get it to move. Today I dropped the pan, pulled the driveshaft, and unhooked the shift linkage to replace all of the external seals. The pan was the worst I have ever seen. It looks like the trans must have spent a few years sitting out of a truck in someone's backyard (or pool). The inside of the pan had an area about the size of the palm of my hand that was about 1/8" of rust! Cleaned, straightened, and painted the pan. Replaced the pan gasket. Pulled the shift linkage out of the trans, and replaced the shift shaft seal. Installed a new filter. Then I dropped the driveshaft again, and pulled the output shaft seal. Turns out Napa gave me the wrong seal for that, so I will have to go get the correct one tomorrow morning.

Hopefully tomorrow's work will be picture worthy.

03-09-2014, 12:19 AM	#68
ChevDog1 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Banks, OR Posts: 497	Re: 1980 Stepside Build... My first build thread Well, so far this weekend, my project has been boring, and not even worthy of pics. Yesterday, I bought a few small parts, so I could tie up some loose ends. Last night was electrical repair. I replaced the wiper switch, headlight switch, and the blower fan resistor. I also replaced every fuse in the panel, and cleaned the contacts on all of the connections in the dash. The PO had told me that at some point during its extensive time in his driveway, yellowjackets had made a home in the cab. His bright solution was to pressure wash the interior to clean out the nest and drive the little buggers away. The net effect for me was that every electrical connection was corroded. After a bunch of cleaning, testing, etc. I now have a truck that functions electrically! I even pulled the blower and cleaned and lubricated it, so that it works somewhat quietly. Also had to dismantle part of the wiper, to get the washers working. Today's project started by trying to find the rest of the parts needed to re-hang my doors. I cleaned out the supply of hing pins and bushings at three different auto parts stores to get enough to do both doors. Since I couldn't find a hinge spring locally, I will wait until next week to get this done. The major project for today - fix the leaks in my transmission. Before today, the trans would leak enough over week or two, that I would have to add fluid just to get it to move. Today I dropped the pan, pulled the driveshaft, and unhooked the shift linkage to replace all of the external seals. The pan was the worst I have ever seen. It looks like the trans must have spent a few years sitting out of a truck in someone's backyard (or pool). The inside of the pan had an area about the size of the palm of my hand that was about 1/8" of rust! Cleaned, straightened, and painted the pan. Replaced the pan gasket. Pulled the shift linkage out of the trans, and replaced the shift shaft seal. Installed a new filter. Then I dropped the driveshaft again, and pulled the output shaft seal. Turns out Napa gave me the wrong seal for that, so I will have to go get the correct one tomorrow morning. Hopefully tomorrow's work will be picture worthy.