gstubbz's trucks

[letitsnow]

Here is a pic. I really like these seats. Nothing fancy, but comfortable.

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[gstubbz]

The non-folding center console - it is just 2 pipes holding it in the place. The guy that owned my gmt800 W/T (with the same seats as yours) had cut the pipes and laid the center piece on the seat. Nobody can tell tell the difference, and it is comfortable. Just be sure to lay it fabric (not carpet) side up.

Here is a pic. I really like these seats. Nothing fancy, but comfortable.

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That actually doesn't look bad at all! Thank you for the information! When the time comes that this truck is drivable I'll probably end up doing that, I do need a new drivers seat pretty bad as well. I agree that the seats are comfortable, that was one thing I always loved about GMT800s!

 

[gstubbz]

Made a bit of progress today on the 05, I actually removed the headliner and used 3M Super 77 adhesive ($28 a can!) to reattach the fabric so hopefully it stays up in place. Headliner is dirty and it's not perfect, but for a work truck it's passable for me. Removing the head liner was actually kind of a pain, there are a lot more things holding it to the roof compared to a GMT400 such as a clip behind the third brake light and a little magnet on the drivers side. There is also a huge plug that plugs in by the ebrake pedal that you have to feed up through the side of the dash that also goes to the head liner but now that I've done it once, the next time (or truck) will be much easier!

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Now as far as the engine stuff goes...

I was able to finally break the engine loose, however I could only get half of a crank rotation out of the engine. I can turn a half crank clockwise and it will hit a point and just stop, so I can go counter clockwise half of a crank rotation and it binds and I start to unscrew the bolt. Sooooo I'm led to believe that there may be a chance of a broken connecting rod or something that it is binding up on. I spent a few hours messing with it and that was as far as I got.

Started to tear the engine down and I'd like to have it out on Friday. My friend Tyler is coming up from CA for a few days so he will be here to help! Tomorrow after work I'll need to buy a few tools like a fan removal tool and a tool to disconnect the fuel rail so that was as far as I got with it this evening.

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More to come! Side note, I love the milwaukee stuff, and this 1/4 fuel impact I have used every single day since buying it at work and home and the amount of time I save hearing stuff apart rather than using a ratchet is insane!

 

[gstubbz]

This week has been busy for me (like usual) but with the little time I've had I made some discoveries and progress!

I had some trouble with the exhaust manifold bolts so I ended up cutting two of them with my torch, the other four I was able to get loose.

My biggest thing was to remove the six torque converter bolts so I didn't have to drop the oil pan to remove whatever was binding or trying to take the torque converter out still attached to the flexplate. I started by removing the passenger head, tried turning the engine over and all four pistons moved so then I pulled the drivers side head off and cylinder 1 didn't move. I needed a way to get the piston out so I drilled a hole in the top and yanked it out. The connecting rod snapped straight at the top, so the other 80% was sitting in the oil pan binding up the crank, so it was a chore trying to dig that mangled piece around the crank and out.

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Good news is that I was able to get all the torque converter bolts out and that the cylinder walls look great all they need is a ball hone. The crank is definitely trashed so I'll need one of those.

Going to get busy this morning and hopefully have this engine out around noon today, then I can get ready to see what I can do with it!

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[gstubbz]

Well I have since removed the engine!

Having a tractor is super handy!

I had the white camper shell from my green truck sitting on the ground, and I figured that I should put it on the 05 to cover all the parts I put in the bed, and it actually worked out nicely. It matches well, so I think I'll keep it on there for a while. Almost as if it were meant to be!

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I decided to pull the engine apart some more last night, and I was held up with the harmonic balancer. I was able to barely get it to move, and then a tooth on my puller snapped off. I tried just about everything including modifying the puller to work with zero success. Today my coworker JD stopped by and we tried using pry bars and blocks of wood to pop it off with zero luck. We then tried to lift the engine up by the harmonic balancer using the tractor and beating on the bolt in the center to get it to move with just a tiny bit of movement. Finally what worked was setting the engine on the tire, heating up the balancer itself for a few minutes, then we were able to pop it off using pry bars. It was really on there. Bummed I spent $40 on a puller earlier this week but what can you do.

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So my final verdict is that the block itself is good, however just about everything else (crank, connecting rods, pistons, etc) are all trashed. The oil pan was also cracked in one spot (which technically could probably be tig welded back together but not worth the hassle), so I think I am just going to wait and when a 6.0 pops up I'll jump on it. I'm in no rush to finish this so it can sit for a while. I'd be so deep in the hole replacing everything in this engine with the machine work as well for a new crank it just isn't worth messing with. If I had an unlimited budget by all means I have a good block to build a engine of my dreams but I don't have the wallet for that.

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Sooooo the hunt for a LQ4 begins!

 

[Supercharged111]

If I were fixing this truck and wanted to be a true cheapass I'd find a crank, piston, and rod and slam it all back together. When I spun the #6 rod in my Camaro, I snagged a CL crank, had it polished, and scored a complete set of stock pistons/rods off Fleabay. I honed the block, new rings, new bearings, didn't check any clearances, welded the oil pickup tube to the pump, and made 292whp on a stock LT1. That motor is still in the car today, and it lives to road race, i.e. I beat on it WFO for 30 minutes at a time and I'm on the same restrictor plate that I was on back in 2016. The motor was built in 2015, it just seemed like it broke in more than once.

 

[Tavi]

If I were fixing this truck and wanted to be a true cheapass I'd find a crank, piston, and rod and slam it all back together. When I spun the #6 rod in my Camaro, I snagged a CL crank, had it polished, and scored a complete set of stock pistons/rods off Fleabay. I honed the block, new rings, new bearings, didn't check any clearances, welded the oil pickup tube to the pump, and made 292whp on a stock LT1. That motor is still in the car today, and it lives to road race, i.e. I beat on it WFO for 30 minutes at a time and I'm on the same restrictor plate that I was on back in 2016. The motor was built in 2015, it just seemed like it broke in more than once.

I’ll second that motion.

6.0 and 5.3 use the same crank and connecting rods. Pistons are different.

I’m sure you can find a stock 5.3 rotating assembly for cheap.

 

[gstubbz]

I've been kind of looking into LS stuff but for now this truck is on the backburner again. But I have been hunting through ebay/CL/marketplace for 5.3s and 6.0s and if something good pops up I'll probably jump on it.

I did however finish the bed trailer finally minus welding safety chains on (have them, just need to do it) and finding straps for the tailgate. Pulls straight and seems okay, all the lights work and everything. Listed it for $400, not really sure if anyone would buy it but I'd rather have the cash. Also the green truck didn't have a 4 pin plug in it (did at one time, all that was left were the old quick connect things), which I wired in and it seems fine.

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Side note, still very little snow here in Montana especially for this time of year, but I am still content with it! No snow is my kind of winter! Also in other life events a BNSF laborer job appeared fairly local so I applied for that so maybe I can finally have a start to an actual career outside of all these mickey mouse jobs!

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In addition, it seems like my old Army Truck (1989 K2500 ECLB 350/SM465) has finally reached it's death bed. I found the guy parting it out on the FB Marketplace. RIP!

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[BNielsen]

RIP Army truck

What did you end up doing with the bumper?

 

[skylark]

Just a word of caution with BNSF, be prepared to be bumped quite a bit for the first 5-7 years. You'll work much less than you want. After you build seniority you can bump other people and get better/closer jobs. My cousin works there and he likes it but those first 5-7 were tough. He lives in Washington and he has been as far west as Wisconsin and as far south as New Mexico. He has been gone for as much as 8 months at a time.