wheels 95 K2500

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Nick Wheeler

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since ive been lurking around here for a while, figured id start a build thread to share my trucks progress (or lack of) this first post might end up pretty long winded, as i've done quite a bit of work since i got the truck.


Its a 95 K2500 eclb, tbi 5.7, 4l80e, np241, 9.25 front, 14bsf rear, tough country 4" lift up front, i recently added 1.5" blocks to the rear, 325/60/18 hankook dynapro mts's on 18x9 xd 766's. only engine mods are tb spacer, air-raid intake, 3" catless pipe from the stock y-pipe to a flowmaster 40. i plan on rebuilding the exhaust soon, possibly adding headers


heres a pic of the truck the night i picked it up this past may


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and a few in the shop at work the next day


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i knew after test driving it it needed work... brakes were crap, steering sloppy, felt WAAAY under powered.. so the first thing i did was a solid tune up. changed trans fluid and filter, engine oil and filter, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, rebuilt the tbi, and also recently an acdelco ep381 fuel pump.


heres what the old plugs looked like....


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fresh set


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and the tbi before i cleaned/rebuilt it. i didnt get an after pic


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the truck ran a lot better aftewards so next was suspension/steering/brakes. every old tie rod, ball joint, and bushings were completely shot! so i replaced EVERYTHING! i choose all moog components for the steering/suspension revamp except i opted for energy suspension control arm bushings, powerstop xtreme rotors/pads, bilstein 5100 shocks all the way around


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i just took random pics the whole time so here they are in somewhat if an order


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Nick Wheeler

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continued...



burning out old control arm bushings


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pressing in new joints, i ended up taking the arms to work and using hydraulic the press


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old rivets out of the uppers


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mostly back together


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while i had everything apart, i also took the time to cut off the old worn rag joint and replaced it with a u-joint i had leftover from another project. AND ditched the ABS that didnt work in favor of a traditional proportioning valve...


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crappy pic of one side completed


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random engine bay shot and a couple pics at work


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next i replaced the disgusting yellow plastic headlights with glass lens spyders


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Nick Wheeler

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continued, again...



and pulled the bed to replace the fuel pump with a vortec pump ep381. while the bed was off i also added 1.5" lift blocks to the rear


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and finally, heres how she sits now! thanks for putting up with the long intro, ill keep the rest of the posts shorter lol


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Jorge6.5

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Awesome truck! I really like it.

How well did the steering improve with the u joint? What's involved in swapping it in ?
 

Nick Wheeler

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thanks!

i cant speak for just the ujoint itself since i rebuilt the entire front end at the same time, but the rag joint was extremely worn out (along with everything else) my truck feels like a totally different one now, and i'd be willing to bet on a truck with a good front end and a sloppy rag joint, the difference would well worth the small investment.

swapping it wasnt very hard at all. just take your time measuring and cutting. you need assorted wrenches/sockets, an angle grinder or die grinder with a cutoff wheel, hammer and punch or chisel, and a drill. i should have taken more pics, but there are a few write ups on how to do it. basically, remove the shaft from the truck, cut the rivets out of the rag joint. it will come apart in two pieces, the piece on the shaft is just pressed on so i took a hammer and punch and knocked it off, trim the end of the shaft so it fits the new ujoint, with the borgeson joint one of the set screws actually goes all the way through the shaft so you need to drill a hole, then reinstall on the truck, adjust to length, and tighten the set screws
 
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2 Sweet

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Very nice! Awesome thread. Looks like you really put new life into that truck.

Good call on adding the blocks in the rear. I'll never understand why some folks choose to lift the front of the truck higher than the back
 
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