My first car, an 89 k1500

[Gordy_]

Don't worry about the missing G... just think of it as a symbol of it being "your" truck.

As in...

Q: Hey Gordy, where is the G?

A: I'm using it... ordy sounded terrible

Lmao, good point.

 

[Caman96]

I'm a big fan of driving standard transmission vehicles

Me too, it’s like you’ve become “one”…with the machine.

 

[Gordy_]

Me too, it’s like you’ve become “one”…with the machine.

It's alot funner than an automatic. I get easily bored driving an automatic, manuals require a bit more thinking and that makes it alot funner.

 

[Caman96]

It can depend on what driving you’re doing. Daily commutes in traffic it gets old.

 

[Gordy_]

It can depend on what driving you’re doing. Daily commutes in traffic it gets old.

True, but I live in a town with 1 stop light, so the majority of my driving is about 20 miles into town on the highway

 

[Gordy_]

Well, I got ready to leave the NAPA today and the truck was ALOT louder. Turns out the passenger side decided to loose the bolts on the collector and when I fired it up it blew out the donut seal. Now I'm waiting in line to get new bols lol

 

[Caman96]

True, but I live in a town with 1 stop light, so the majority of my driving is about 20 miles into town on the highway

Not everyone does, that’s why it depends.

 

[fancyTBI]

Transmission noise sounds like throw out bearing noise. Mine did this for 100K miles, replaced with a parts store unit (was younger, didn’t think) and it was good for about 10K then started making noises. Still works fine. When it is super cold it will make even worse noises.

 

[Road Trip]

If I can do it, I will atleast replace the input and guide bearings as well as the clutch. The transmission shifts beautifully and has no issues with the synchros. I do understand the idea that doing this is a temporary solution and will likely cause another problem to arise.

I grok having to meter out money this carefully. Been there, did that out of necessity.

Still do it out of ingrained habit/sport. But if I hadn't been this careful with other hobbies
I simply wouldn't have had the disposable income to purchase the big block chore truck now
sitting as DD backup / Alert in the driveway. And I would have never crossed paths with all
the fine folks & colorful characters in the GMT400 forum.

...but I digress. Replacing the transmission input shaft bearing behind the clutch and the
crankshaft pilot bearing in front of it will clear up the majority of the noise, and as a side
benefit can make for a smoother operating clutch, even before the new clutch parts are
added into the mix. (Think clutch disc with less lateral input shaft slop/another source of
chatter/shenanigans.)

Actually, just changing out these 2 parts shouldn't cause another problem to arise. It's
not like we're moving stress from one area to another. If we stop and think about it,
given the quiet synchros and otherwise good behavior of the transmission, my best
guess is that once upon a time the truck had a really worn/shuddery clutch in it, and
the PO just kept driving it, so that hard shuddering was shared with the rest of the
truck through the input bearing, putting it through a jackhammer lifestyle, and
shortening the input bearing's useful lifespan?

In English, you might just be finishing up repairing the collateral damage that should have
been addressed during the last clutch job. And by replacing the worn parts that took the
beating, now the rest of the transmission will actually last longer?

Are these bearings replaceable while leaving the transmission in place and just unboolting it and sliding it back? Or is this something I would have to remove the transmission?

Possibly a true transmission Ninja could pull this off, but for me I think I would be setting
myself up for excess frustration with everything in suspension and the patient squirming
around on me. If I were doing this, I'd put it on the bench, swap that bearing out with
intent, with the goal of getting the transmission back off the bench on the same day.
(Inertia seems to be very powerful in my shop, once the tranny is sitting on the bench
for a couple of days, the next thing I know if that a couple of weeks have magically gone by? :0)

This is your call, but sometimes the extra step makes the overall job so much easier.

Another part is my dad doesn't want to waste what limited time and space we have to fix this. We have a rented shop in the next town over, but it has my dad's 2500 and his chevy luv taking the space up right now. Maybe after we are done with his 2500 and he has something to drive I can work on repairing the transmission. I don't think I can replace all the bearings however.

This sounds prudent. Believe me, the very first time you do anything it doesn't
help to have the pressure of serious time constraints on top of your shoulders too.

That's the zen of driving old and being happy about getting to do so. Fixing the
*only* vehicle you have is right up there with walking a tightrope in a 3-ring circus.
But having a 2nd vehicle in your back pocket negates all the stress, allowing you to
bring your best work to the repair process.

I can probably get all those parts far cheaper because my mom works at NAPA and I can get a heavy discount on parts. I will get a price quote and go from there.

With a little sleuthing you should be able to scare up the part numbers for the pilot bearing, (bushing)
the transmission input bearing, and a clutch kit. And having an insider at NAPA is never a bad thing.

But don't be surprised if a clutch kit at NAPA (even discounted) ends up being more money than
the one above...looks like it's been marked down a lot, and smells like a good deal from here.

I really appreciate your help, you have helped me clarify a major worry of mine about the truck and I am very grateful. I will keep you guys updated on ehat I end up doing.

My pleasure! Given what you've already done to your K1500 you have established
a pretty good track record. Who knows, maybe the truck got parked in the field
because between the sound of the tranny + the transfer case cracking, maybe the
PO was shot a $$$$ estimate to fix the truck and they had no choice but to throw
in the towel? That's a good looking truck, I'm thinking that there's a lot of life still
left in it?

And if you fix this issue and now the truck is ready for the road trip? I then
submit that the cost of the fix can be filed under the category of Motorhead
Tuition...so it's more of an investment than a pure sunk cost re: your mobility.

One last thing. I'll bet you a dollar that this truck is so happy that you rescued
it from sitting in a field that it will go out of it's way to get you where you are
going if at all possible. They do that. Actually happens all the time in the old truck
hobby. :0)

So work on dad's truck with an eye towards getting that backup vehicle ready for
some focused fixing on your transmission. It's telling you the only way it knows how
that there's a hurt bearing in there that's trying to tap out before it fails in flight.

Great conversation. Glad to have made your acquaintance.

Cheers --

PS - I've added a couple of photos from prior manual transmission repair projects
I've given myself the opportunity to perform. (This way you can tell dad that the
dudes guys & gals in the GMT400 forum aren't your typical run-of-the-mill internet keyboard warriors. :0)

 

[Gordy_]

I grok having to meter out money this carefully. Been there, did that out of necessity.

Still do it out of ingrained habit/sport. But if I hadn't been this careful with other hobbies
I simply wouldn't have had the disposable income to purchase the big block chore truck now
sitting as DD backup / Alert in the driveway. And I would have never crossed paths with all
the fine folks & colorful characters in the GMT400 forum.

...but I digress. Replacing the transmission input shaft bearing behind the clutch and the
crankshaft pilot bearing in front of it will clear up the majority of the noise, and as a side
benefit can make for a smoother operating clutch, even before the new clutch parts are
added into the mix. (Think clutch disc with less lateral input shaft slop/another source of
chatter/shenanigans.)

Actually, just changing out these 2 parts shouldn't cause another problem to arise. It's
not like we're moving stress from one area to another. If we stop and think about it,
given the quiet synchros and otherwise good behavior of the transmission, my best
guess is that once upon a time the truck had a really worn/shuddery clutch in it, and
the PO just kept driving it, so that hard shuddering was shared with the rest of the
truck through the input bearing, putting it through a jackhammer lifestyle, and
shortening the input bearing's useful lifespan?

In English, you might just be finishing up repairing the collateral damage that should have
been addressed during the last clutch job. And by replacing the worn parts that took the
beating, now the rest of the transmission will actually last longer?




Possibly a true transmission Ninja could pull this off, but for me I think I would be setting
myself up for excess frustration with everything in suspension and the patient squirming
around on me. If I were doing this, I'd put it on the bench, swap that bearing out with
intent, with the goal of getting the transmission back off the bench on the same day.
(Inertia seems to be very powerful in my shop, once the tranny is sitting on the bench
for a couple of days, the next thing I know if that a couple of weeks have magically gone by? :0)

This is your call, but sometimes the extra step makes the overall job so much easier.



This sounds prudent. Believe me, the very first time you do anything it doesn't
help to have the pressure of serious time constraints on top of your shoulders too.

That's the zen of driving old and being happy about getting to do so. Fixing the
*only* vehicle you have is right up there with walking a tightrope in a 3-ring circus.
But having a 2nd vehicle in your back pocket negates all the stress, allowing you to
bring your best work to the repair process.




With a little sleuthing you should be able to scare up the part numbers for the pilot bearing, (bushing)
the transmission input bearing, and a clutch kit. And having an insider at NAPA is never a bad thing.

But don't be surprised if a clutch kit at NAPA (even discounted) ends up being more money than
the one above...looks like it's been marked down a lot, and smells like a good deal from here.



My pleasure! Given what you've already done to your K1500 you have established
a pretty good track record. Who knows, maybe the truck got parked in the field
because between the sound of the tranny + the transfer case cracking, maybe the
PO was shot a $$$$ estimate to fix the truck and they had no choice but to throw
in the towel? That's a good looking truck, I'm thinking that there's a lot of life still
left in it?

And if you fix this issue and now the truck is ready for the road trip? I then
submit that the cost of the fix can be filed under the category of Motorhead
Tuition...so it's more of an investment than a pure sunk cost re: your mobility.

One last thing. I'll bet you a dollar that this truck is so happy that you rescued
it from sitting in a field that it will go out of it's way to get you where you are
going if at all possible. They do that. Actually happens all the time in the old truck
hobby. :0)

So work on dad's truck with an eye towards getting that backup vehicle ready for
some focused fixing on your transmission. It's telling you the only way it knows how
that there's a hurt bearing in there that's trying to tap out before it fails in flight.

Great conversation. Glad to have made your acquaintance.

Cheers --

PS - I've added a couple of photos from prior manual transmission repair projects
I've given myself the opportunity to perform. (This way you can tell dad that the
dudes guys & gals in the GMT400 forum aren't your typical run-of-the-mill internet keyboard warriors. :0)

Thanks! I really do enjoy working on these things. I got the transmission shoved in mg dad's truck today, so a little more work it should be ready. I plan to put alot more love into this truck, and I can tell she loves it.

I actually know a bit of history on this truck, and why it was parked. It was bought at an auction about 10 years ago for 200 bucks. The guy I bought it from was the guy who bought it. It was then sold at his car lot for about 2000, but the guy buying it missed a few months of payments and the truck was repoed. So the guy I got it from drove it around for a month, decided he didn't like it, and parked it. It was a "ran when parked" type of deal. He sold it to me for 500 bucks because he had no money into the thing and didn't like it. He's the same fuy my dad got his 2500 from.

When my dad's truck is done I'll ask him if I can take up the bay of the shop and get those bearings and clutch replaced. It all depends on what he says about it. I'll keep you guys posted!