Hand-me-down '96 ECSB

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Rob13

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Back in '97, as I was moving out of my parent's place, my step-dad brought home a nearly-new C1500 Silverado ECSB. It was beautiful, power everything, tinted windows, AC...the only thing that would have made it better would have been the 5.7 instead of the 4.3.

Anyway, fast forward 127,000 miles, 22 years of neglect & my siblings tearing it up, in Dec of last year, he finally relented & handed it down to me. The last time I was in the truck, my brother & I were driving across Texas after attending our grandfather's funeral in 2003. We had a blowout at 75mph & the front passenger wheel was destroyed. Ol' step-dad never bothered to find a matching replacement or put 4 matching wheels on it.

So, where to begin? When I got it:

It has a groan in the steering when turning left only.
The steering wheel is cocked to the left, the truck pulls (slightly) to the right.
It's down on power but up on fuel usage.
The AC only blows hot air.
Cruise control doesn't work.
Paint in horrible shape, clear peeling, huge dent from side-swiping something on the passenger side.
Dash cracking, front windshield has numerous cracks/spider-webbing.
Idler pulley & belt tensioner both need replacing, belt, too.
Condition of fuel pump, filter, air filter, spark plugs/wires unknown.

Setbacks along the way:

Engine covered in grease, oil, dead leaves, etc. After a short drive w/the wife, what do ya know...it catches fire. No major damage, but scary.


As of today:

4 matching wheels, tires are in sad shape.
Needs alignment
AC blows nice & cold.
Pulleys, belt replaced.
Air filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor all replaced.
Fuel filter replaced.

Runs much better, but still needs lots of TLC.

Gonna have the front end looked at soon, tires & alignment done after. Fuel pump, brake system & power steering pump will come next, since they all seem to work fine right now & after inspection in Feb (passed) mechanic didn't mention anything about them.

Dear ol' step-dad doesn't seem to care very much that the truck is (slowly) being brought back to life. Oh, well, he probably never should have owned it in the first place.

This forum has been SUPER helpful as a resource, so thank you all for building this awesome little community!

Cheers!
 

Rob13

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Thanks!

A few things I forgot to mention:

22 year old headlights were both yellowed AND full of water.
Temp gauge seems to read low. Will examine thermo & sensor on block.
Gas gauge seems to wander under braking. Will examine when dealing with fuel pump.
Driver side ext. handle broken. Still working. Not a priority.
Driver side door rubs front fender. Unsure of fix.

Other fixes:
Glass Spyder HL's w/new bulbs installed. Will likely do the turn signals & corners soonish.
 

RichLo

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Temp guage could be the Thermostat or somebody may have put the wrong sensor on the block. its the sensor on the drivers side head by the exhaust manifold. its a different part than the one by the thermostat that the ECM reads. I have a thread somewhere in here that has that part number in it.

Gas guage is normal, it sloshes forward when braking. it does that with my truck with a brand new tank, sending unit, and pump in it.
 

Rob13

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Temp guage could be the Thermostat or somebody may have put the wrong sensor on the block. its the sensor on the drivers side head by the exhaust manifold. its a different part than the one by the thermostat that the ECM reads. I have a thread somewhere in here that has that part number in it.

Gas guage is normal, it sloshes forward when braking. it does that with my truck with a brand new tank, sending unit, and pump in it.

That's good to know! Thanks @RichLo! The last truck I had was 10 yrs ago (a '98 Ford Ranger) & before that, a '94 GMC Sierra SCSB/305cid & an '80 GMC SCLB way back in the early 90s. Starting to remember all the little peculiars these trucks have.

Thanks!
 

Eveready

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Welcome, nice writeup but it is time for some PICTURES ! Lets get a look at this jewel dents and all !
 

95TXSilverado

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Welcome to the forum! Looks like you had a lot of the same issues I had when I got mine. Once those are fixed, you'll have a good reliable truck.
 

Eveready

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Well, alright then! Here’s a few I’ve snapped over the last 6 months:

Lots of potential there. It will be a great looking truck. I also like the old style butterfly toolbox. Its nice to be able to get in the box without crawling into the bed.

Also the addition of the stake hole brackets to the tool box is an interesting idea and one I haven't seen before. Is that something you did or did it come with those? That could be pretty handy for holding something fairly light in the bed. I expect the toolbox would not be happy with something heavy tied on.
 

Rob13

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@Eveready, the truck sits as I got it. Funny thing is, step-dad never used the truck to do anything. He drove it to coffee in the morning & errands around town occasionally, so there's never been anything strapped to anywhere on the truck!
 
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