My Luxurious late model truck (not so much)

[Tx Firefighter]

I fully admit, all of y'all were right about the polished wheels and I was wrong about the black idea.







But you got to admit, I wasn't kidding when I said these tires were bad ass. That's 33.3 inches of 10 ply goodness right there. That last picture just drives home to me that the ugly grille has got to get changed to a better configuration. I'm leaning heavily toward the factory Silverado 88-93 Chevy grille with the quad sealed beam headlights from an 88-89 truck.

Randy, message received over on the other thread. Thank you for looking.

Devin, as you warned me, to use the GMT400 center caps on the later model wheels I had to rob the plastic lugnuts out of the later caps. They reach deeper than the early ones do.

[imjeff]

Those scream badassedness!

[sdailey]

Looks great Kevin. Safe to assume you're going blackwall out?

On a side note, I was torn between 235/85's or 255/85's for the new project, but after seeing the 255 installed, I know which way I'm going now.

[aggie91]

That looks good right there Kevin! Those centers look better on those wheels.

This was in the parking lot at work when I left for the day yesterday...Looks familar...


Your tire choice looks more bad ass....

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by imjeff

Those scream badassedness!

Thanks Jeff

Originally Posted by sdailey

Looks great Kevin. Safe to assume you're going blackwall out?

That is correct.

On a side note, I was torn between 235/85's or 255/85's for the new project, but after seeing the 255 installed, I know which way I'm going now.

Maybe I'm a dinosaur, but I felt like I had to dig pretty deep into the wallet to buy these things. I guess I'm still stuck in the days of 75 dollar tires and flip phones.

Originally Posted by aggie91

That looks good right there Kevin! Those centers look better on those wheels.

This was in the parking lot at work when I left for the day yesterday...Looks familar...


Your tire choice looks more bad ass....

Karl has posted a perfect example of the typical Texas parking lot right there. I won't dog on the guy because his truck is better than mine is currently, but there's a zillion trucks just like that out there. I agree though, the picture helps me see that the early caps do look better on these wheels. Losing that deer catcher bumper and a grille swap would wake that truck right up.

[likaroc13]

Wheel/tire combo turned out nice! I'd say you made the right choice for sure. I agree with you about the grille needing some attention.

[Stoney]

Very nice and clean. The center caps do look better.
How about the mirrors? Leaving them black or going to chrome?

[MalibuSSwagon]

Kevin, I am quite jealous of the nice rust free trucks you have available got there. Here in New England, rust is a constant battle. I just had to shell out an extra $60 I didn't budget in my front end rebuild for a new upper control arm to replace a rotted out on my C10.

[83GMCK2500]

Those look great on your truck! Did you mount those by hand with a pair of spoons? It's funny, my least favorite center cap for PY0s are the ones that come on them, I like GMT-400 & GMT-900 caps on them best.

Yep, I need tires for my flatbed soon, will have to figure out how much spacer to get for mounting 255s as duals.

You are most welcome for the DRAC link, I am happy to have helped you.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Wheel/tire combo turned out nice! I'd say you made the right choice for sure. I agree with you about the grille needing some attention.

It's definitely on my list. No doubt you'll be seeing something happen in the future.

Originally Posted by Stoney

Very nice and clean. The center caps do look better.
How about the mirrors? Leaving them black or going to chrome?

I'm still undecided. Mine are kind of crappy with scratched glass, so I'd like to do something soon. Since I still haven't gotten door panels on the truck, now is the best time to swap them.

Originally Posted by MalibuSSwagon

Kevin, I am quite jealous of the nice rust free trucks you have available got there. Here in New England, rust is a constant battle. I just had to shell out an extra $60 I didn't budget in my front end rebuild for a new upper control arm to replace a rotted out on my C10.

I have never been able to understand how guys in the rust belt keep their spirits up. Constantly running a race to try and improve your truck faster than nature destroys it would be a deal killer for me. I'll do mechanical work until I die, but continuous rust repair simply isn't something I'll do.

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Those look great on your truck! Did you mount those by hand with a pair of spoons? It's funny, my least favorite center cap for PY0s are the ones that come on them, I like GMT-400 & GMT-900 caps on them best.

Yep, I need tires for my flatbed soon, will have to figure out how much spacer to get for mounting 255s as duals.

You are most welcome for the DRAC link, I am happy to have helped you.

I do mount my tires with a pair of dirt bike tire tools. Its 100% technique. When you do it right, it only takes 30-45 seconds to do and there is no excessive force involved.

I'm definitely grateful from the DRAC link. Its important to me to have accurate speedo/odo numbers since I'm a freak about figuring true fuel mileage and don't like to stress over what speed I'm "actually" going when John Law is around.

I'm afraid my pictures of the tires have failed to really show how tall and skinny they are. I pulled the truck out into the driveway and snapped this shot. Keep in mind, that's a 285/75-16 on the back, which is a very large tire. The originals were 245/75-16, so the backs are already very much oversized. The new front tire is significantly larger even still. But still skinny...



Then I dug off into the rearend. Apparently the previous owner liked to keep his chocolate milk stored in the rear differential.



I'm confident in saying that this is definitely going to get much worse before it starts getting better. That oil in there is a sign of ugliness just waiting to be found when I get deeper in there.

[lolife99]

Kevin,... I hope you have better luck with the chrome 88-89 grilles than I did.
A few years ago I had a '88 K1500 truck and spent the big bucks and purchased a new GM chrome grille, because mine had the chrome wrinkling off of it.
I admit,... this truck sat outside all year and was my winter driving truck,... but the grille only lasted a couple of years before the chrome started doing the same thing as the original grille.
Maybe the repop grilles are better.

Either way,... your making your truck better and better with every project.
Love the tires and wheels also!

[83GMCK2500]

Oh wow, that...fluid, looks awful. I'm sure it smells rank as well.

I love the look of those 255/85s, they fill out the wheel opening very well, fit on OEM wheels better than the wider 285/75, and with the narrower profile I'm sure they're easier on fuel and wear.

[VTX-Black]

Kevin, I love your stories, adventures and the help you provide to us less adventurous types :-)

Wayne

[Tx Firefighter]

Well I said the milky fluid was a sign of things to come.

Axles....





Devin, I know you said I should craigslist a full floater and chunk this one. But I just don't want to do that. Assuming its up for the task, I much prefer semi float axles. Since this isn't much more than a fire station commuter, the S.F. Is well up to it. The ease of maintenance and lighter weight is a plus for me.

[VTX-Black]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I fully admit, all of y'all were right about the polished wheels and I was wrong about the black idea.

P.S.
I like the black wheel idea, but used easily removable but durable plastidip paint just in case I was wrong. Yours did turn out very nice though!

[Tx Firefighter]

Here comes a raft of pictures from teardown. I'll try to caption each as needed.

First, I knew I had leaking axle seals. The axles are pictured above. They should have a perfectly polished surface upon which the bearing rides. As you can see, they are horribly pitted from having water mixed in with the gear oil.

The seals having leaked got my brakes and drums gunky. Above I was talking to Devin about how I prefer a semi floating axle over a full floater (within reason, depending on application). This illustrates the ease of maintenance I was talking about. You just remove the wheels and yank the drums off by hand, and the axles stay in place.









A little tech here, with pictures....

To remove the axles, we first have to spin the carrier around so we can access this little bolt.



Unscrew it and you find its actually a threaded pin.



Then, reach up on top of the carrier and push the big center pin down and out. Notice the hole in it where the pin we just removed goes through.



Big pin and little pin removed...



Now roll the carrier around so you can see in one of the windows. We are looking for the C clips on the axle ends. Look closely at this picture and you can see it.



Now reach out to the end of the axle where the wheel goes and push it inwards. This exposes the C clip better.



With your finger, push the C clip out of its groove.



Now you can climb out from under the truck and pull the axle out of the housing. Repeat same procedure for the other axle.

I cleaned off my ring gear enough to see the stamped numbers. It is indeed a 4:10 ratio since you can see the 10 41 numbers. 41/10=4.10



About that time I heard the Diesel engine on Brown Santa's truck.



Then I unbolted the center carrier and removed it. Clean thoroughly.

The next task was to remove the carrier bearings. I don't really have the right tools to do this so I have to work around a bit.



First I take a screwdriver and bust the outer cage and rollers off of them.



This leaves us with the inner race left in place, which is the challenge to remove since it's pressed into place and my puller selection is weak.



I do have a little puller that's about 50 years old. My dad used it back when he was alive. Using the puller, a brass fitting, and a big socket, I was able to get a good grip on the race. Then tighten the puller plenty snug but not enough to hurt the heirloom puller. Now, hit the race with some heat. They usually squeak when they release their grip and start to come off.



One was more stubborn than the other, and rather than risk hurting my puller I just cut a notch into the race with a Dremel. This way when I pulled against it with the puller the race fractured along the notch and released its grip.



The pinion and its bearings are still in place because I can't find my 1 1/4 socket. I'll stop by Harbor Freight and pick another one up Sunday on my way home from work.

Everything else all cleaned and ready to being assembly.









So, the final casualty total is....
-all bearings in the ring and pinion
-axle bearings and seals
-a pair of axles
-the large center pin (it's galled pretty bad)
-a new pair of c clips

Parts total wasn't as bad as it could have been. I have everything but the axle bearings and seals on order. Will find them tonight and get them ordered also. The axles were kind of painful, but more of a bruiser than a bone breaker. I shopped Randy's Ring and Pinion and Summit. Summit won out due to their free shipping. So, I ordered Yukon brand axles, center pin, and C clips. The Timken bearing kit that Valerie ordered me from Amazon is due delivery tomorrow.

[83GMCK2500]

:/ I understand the choice to keep the 9.5" rear. I have one in my '83, it has 450,000+ miles on it...to my knowledge all it has received is regular maintenance: oil & seals. Slide-off drums are super nice to work on, very true. When I last put seals in my 9.5 I noticed that my axle splines have worn almost to points. What did you use to degrease/clean that carrier? I've never seen a used one cleaned up that well!

Side note: There are ('93 & newer) 10.5" rears that have slide off drums as well, they're harder to find and they still leave a big hub in place, but they exist. I think they're mostly a Suburban thing, and I've seen them in C3500 SRW trucks and Express Vans.

Ohhh, pretty tires! Now the truck can sit level

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

What did you use to degrease/clean that carrier? I've never seen a used one cleaned up that well!

I've got a non working parts washer that I keep five gallons of Naptha in. As long as you keep the lid closed to keep evaporation down, its last a long time. The stuff in there now is at least two years old. Its grimy but still cuts slime real well.

[rusty76]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

My UPS guy is usually mid to late afternoon. I'm sitting here babysitting a crew installing our new AC unit in the house. I have been repairing the old one myself about twice a year for the last few years so we decided to get a complete new system. The old one made it 17 years. It was time. HVAC systems in Texas heat just take a beating.

And for anyone who doesn't know, writing a check for a new 5 ton system installed is a tear jerker. I was all for box fans and window units but Valerie, being a girl, likes to not sweat when sitting on the couch or sleeping at night. Pshaw....girls.....such sissies

Geez a five ton unit. My lord you live in a mansion. Just kidding. It's funny I've pulled out Heat Pumps that were twenty plus years old. I know when you wrote that check it hurt.

I like the look of the rims and tires you have chosen for your truck. They look good. I'm glad you went with chrome, although I'd liked the black as well. That rearend looks to be chocolate flavored fluid. I bet it smelled like a bed of roses too..... Shew..


So I have a question. When you put the gears back together will you have to set the backlash on it? Will you have to replace the shims and crush sleeve as well. I don't know the terminology all that well but I'm curious if this stuff will go back stock and not need any adjusting for wear patterns and such. Thanks.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Geez a five ton unit. My lord you live in a mansion. Just kidding. It's funny I've pulled out Heat Pumps that were twenty plus years old. I know when you wrote that check it hurt.

I like the look of the rims and tires you have chosen for your truck. They look good. I'm glad you went with chrome, although I'd liked the black as well. That rearend looks to be chocolate flavored fluid. I bet it smelled like a bed of roses too..... Shew..


So I have a question. When you put the gears back together will you have to set the backlash on it? Will you have to replace the shims and crush sleeve as well. I don't know the terminology all that well but I'm curious if this stuff will go back stock and not need any adjusting for wear patterns and such. Thanks.

Are you an AC guy ? I wondered if maybe having a 5 ton unit is because of the extreme summer temps we get here. Our house isn't really that big. It's just north of 2000 sq/ft.

On the gears, I will use a new crush sleeve along with the bearings. I asked a couple of Jedi mechanics I know from way back and they both said that since I'm replacing Timken brand bearings with new Timken bearings that it's pretty much a full guarantee that the pattern will be where it should be. I'll put it back together with the same shims under the pinion bearings as the stock bearings and check it when I get it put back together, but with a set of 200k mile gears, I'm not exactly doing it textbook perfect no matter what. As long as its reasonable I'll run with it.

[Tx Firefighter]

Sweet.

When I ordered my axles and other parts from Summit they weren't in stock and had to be drop shipped directly from Yukon. Well, I ordered yesterday afternoon and this morning when I checked on the order I find this...

[83GMCK2500]

Wow...it looks like almost 60#s of parts were packaged and sent out immmmmmediately. Good news for progress! Won't be much down time with shipping like that.

[Tx Firefighter]

Today was an adventure in removing junk bearings.



I couldn't find a steel bar long enough to drive them out from the opposite side so I decided to build a puller to get them out a little more gracefully.



Don't throw stones at my quality. All I needed it to do was pull two bearings. I couldn't see the point of fussing over cosmetics.



They were stuck very tightly in there.







They're a mess....



Also got some Amazonly goodness



That's genuine Timken carrier and pinion bearings, crush sleeve, pinion seal, pinion nut, marking compound and silicone for the rear cover.



In then end, I will be reusing the ring and pinion, carrier, and spider gears. There will be all new bearings, seals, axles, center pin, and C clips.

[Tx Firefighter]

Yesterday we ran a call that was one block from an Autozone. So afterwards, on the way back to the station we swung in there and I picked up a 1 1/4" socket. So, now I could remove the pinion from the housing.

This is one thing I'm gonna have to take somewhere and get done for me. I just don't have the bearing grabber deal to get ahold of it and allow me to press it off. I'll find someone who will do it for a fiver and proceed forward.



Also went ahead and pressed the new carrier side bearings in place. I like to use the old bearing's center race to press them on with. Just flip it backwards. In this case, I did that and used a flat piece of 1/4" plate steel between it and the press. They went on just fine without drama.





Now that the housing is completely bare, tomorrow I'll take my pressure washer and clean it inside and out in preparation for reassembly.

I did score my axle seals from Rockauto, Timken brand for 45 cents each on close out. My local O Reilly is gonna be the cheapest source of quality axle bearings. For some reason Amazon and Rockauto aren't cheaper on this particular part number.

[83GMCK2500]

A couple years ago when I was working in the wrecking yard I had the good fortune of discovering how amazing bearing separators are... (Harbor Freight Link) ...with one of those and a hydraulic press I was able to pull the bearings off of a 14 bolt 10.5" carrier and it's pinion. The only thing I couldn't do (during reassembly) was torque the yolk on and crush the crush sleeve.

I just remembered your elephant analogy, I realized how many little bites you've been taking here lately and how they look in terms of progress.