Ignorance is Bliss.

[BlueCollar89]

I am running shorty headers (same length as manifolds) and they hooked up to my exhaust just fine with no modifications. As far as sound goes, there are too many manufacturers to list, my suggestion would be to listen to exhaust sound clips on youtube for the best idea. Before you sell yourself on the "flowmaster" name, look at Jones full boar, and the summit racing house brand "flowmaster" mufflers. You can save a ton of money just at this point.

I'll most definitely look into this! I use flow master as a general term for muffler lol; she's got a rusted out glasspack on her right now. I'll look into your recommendation for sure!

I currently have the Jones full boar race mufflers that are essentially a flowmaster super 10 series muffler which is a single chamber muffler. This is as close to straight pipes you can get and still have some sort of muffler. I initially had them dumped at the axle, but it was so loud in the cab, you really couldn't carry on a conversation with the person next to you. I did eventually get tail pipes put on and it helped a lot, but I am going to have the summit racing version of the flowmaster super 40's put on here shortly. I have a true dual setup without a cat.

My dad told me a story once about back in the day he wanted to have the pipes come out at the axel; said the shop wouldn't do it and told dad just to trust him. Explained that's exactly why he did it, would sound really great but for any man looking to communicate or just enjoy some drive time without an exhaust screaming in your ear, it wasn't a good option. Instead they cut em out just behind the tires and to the sides. This way he could hear conversation in the cab, and all he had to do to hear the truck loudly was roll down the window.

I'll never forget dads trucks; any time you'd cross a bridge he'd roll the windows down and gun it lol!

I really dig the real trucks don't shift themselves in your signature, and I totally agree with you there. Here's a link to my build thread: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/94-z71.34945/

If you would like one of those stickers I can definitely ship one your way. My sister charges $15 which covers shipping. As you can tell, it's a big ass sticker lol. Just shoot a DM my way if you'd like one =). Quality is awesome and I get Pavement Princesses taking pictures at stop lights all the time lol. The sticker is an inside joke; jab at my dad lol.

 

[BlueCollar89]

I replied a while ago about your McGyver actuator. Its a good idea and it'll work great BUT dont tighten that bolt very hard... if its not going in far enough the gears aren't aligned inside and you will need to rock the truck back and forth slightly to get them to mesh. Only go just past hand tight at most, any more torque than that you could crack the weak cast aluminum differential housing

No worries broskie; I heard ya lima charlie on that one. The bolt in the actuator holding the socket on is only hand tight, in fact I intentionally over tightened it so it would pull the soft aluminum of the actuator housing out a bit; so it only goes finger tight before loosening back up again. As for the on demand shaft itself; just finger tight =). Should be good, but I'll keep an eye on things until I'm 100% confident all is well.

I appreciate ya!

 

[Tachyon]

This place is great, don't be a dick and most of us won't act like *****. There's more knowledge on these trucks here than in any manual or book you can find.

I mostly agree. But to give a more detailed breakdown I'd say it's roughly:

- 70% casual users or lurkers
- 20% well intentioned non pro mechanic level users with help and suggestions that hit well above the standard Internet rates for useful and accurate vs ignorant and useless. Great bunch but take with grain of salt and confirm with the next group.
- 9% shadtree mechanic or above skill and knowledge level users. Give great and helpful advice. The meat of this site. Listen and respect.
- 1% know-it-alls and *****. Will comment on everything. Usually derogatory or condescending. Validity of their advice and knowledge has a hit rate no better or less than the 20% group above. Best advice. Ignore their comments and advice, do not engage.

Now some will see this comment as negative or derogatory to the site. That couldn't be further from the truth. It's just reality. If you compare those categories and percentages to other forums you participate in you will realize that they speak well of this place in comparison.
In the grand scheme of things, I'm not aware of a better overall resource for GMT-400 owners and fans. Though I would rate GM Truck Club a not too far behind second place.
Combine the resources of both and you have magic IMO. When looking for help, I often post on both and combine the responses for a more complete and helpful solution.

Just my two cents.

 

[BlueCollar89]

@Tachyon I appreciate that break down actually. I have little regard to punks or know it alls; a good friend of mine is one of them but he's ALWAYS got problems with his ****. So I figure ego is a pretty clear indicator that someone only thinks they know wtf they're doing. Advice given with humility is the advise I usually take. Picture a good ol' boy chillin on his porch swing, truck chillin in the drive; that guys more than happy to sit down and talk trucks with ya, but he only knows "a couple things" namsayun? That's the company I seek out. Seems I've found that here for the most part.

That said, I need to look into troubleshooting for my 350 5.7L as well as my Transmission just to understand what to look for if something goes wrong, or if something's already wrong and I just don't know it.

If you check out my build thread in the signature, I shared a video and some photographs of my first real off road test. I took all hills without effort, and only had one very brief tire spin. So I'm happy with the tires, the transmission seemingly held up very well and never complained about the stress of the inclines/declines of the slopes; I'd just give her orders and she'd respond Aye aye, sir!

The motor however, I have a few curiosities and one slight concern.

I never had any issues stalling out or anything while climbing the hills. I did however notice that when I'd make it to the bottom and be rolling down the easy trails (literally just sand paths with some mini dunes). So on level ground, I noticed she'd act like she wanted to stall out; solved with just a tap of the throttle to pep her back up. Not even sure where to begin diagnosing that; as she only did it for a while and only while traversing the main trail (it's primarily used by motocross bikes) from point A to B, and usually only if I had to put in the clutch to wait for my buddy to move forward.

First image is to show just one of the series of hills we'd climbed last weekend. The pictures don't do them much justice, as they were steeper than it looks. The second picture it to give you an idea of the type of terrain I found the truck seemingly trying to stall out on me.

Open to any suggestions ya'll might have for me to take a look at. I'm going to check for exhaust leaks this week while I wait for the new shocks to show up.

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[JCribb]

I’m not sure what all you’ve done to it so far, but here’s where I would look at first.

(1) I would probably look into cleaning the throttle body system including the idle air control valve (IAC for short if you didn’t already know). (2) Check out the throttle position sensor for the acceptable voltage range. (3) change the fuel filter <— the absolute cheapest other than carburetor cleaner.

After this see if you can replicate the problem you spoke of and then we can poke at this bear some more.

 

[BlueCollar89]

I’m not sure what all you’ve done to it so far, but here’s where I would look at first.

(1) I would probably look into cleaning the throttle body system including the idle air control valve (IAC for short if you didn’t already know). (2) Check out the throttle position sensor for the acceptable voltage range. (3) change the fuel filter <— the absolute cheapest other that carburetor cleaner.

After this see if you can replicate the problem you spoke of and then we can poke at this bear some more.

Fantastic! Thanks JCribb! I'll be looking into these possible solutions for sure. I'd already been planning on pulling off the TBI and doing a rebuild on it after seeing it was only $31 for the kit. Shamefully, the idea of checking the fuel filter eluded me so thanks for the reminder; I've dealt with that on the Harley.

I appreciate ya

 

[JCribb]

Shamefully, the idea of checking the fuel filter eluded me so thanks for the reminder; I've dealt with that on the Harley.

I appreciate ya

No problem man, I’m just as guilty of putting things off. I shamefully admit my oil change is way overdue, granted it’s sat for a great portion of it. I haven’t rotated my tires in who knows how long. Transmission fluid is overdue too.

So yeah I got some stuff to knock out for sure. Maybe if I can get rid of my light harness problem I can get some of these things done.

 

[BlueCollar89]

Well, while attempting to locate what I thought was the IAC; I broke this damn thing (was so dried out it just fell off). I'm not sure what it is; but I'd say it'd be smart to get a new one as the connector just fell right off. I was able to reconnect it, but it's no longer water proof so I'm a bit concerned. Can't imagine it being too expensive, just don't know what it is =(

And as you can tell by the oil, yes I was dumb enough to think this was the IAC xP. Live and learn I suppose.

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On a side note, I got a 5th wheel tailgate for $15 lol, can't beat that. Wanted it so I could be lazy and just tell the dog to load up lol!

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[JCribb]

The IAC is located on the throttle body itself, on the passenger side of the truck. It’s the big one you can remove with a crescent wrench, and also has an electrical connection with four wires in it.

Disconnect the connector first, then unscrew it, and proceed to clean it. Now I don’t know the exact procedure for cleaning, but I am pretty sure that I only replaced mine 3.5 years ago. I think it was $50, but I think there’s a way to clean it.

My single biggest tip when you are to the point of removing and replacing the throttle body assembly, take great care when you are reconnecting the fuel lines, as it’s very easy to cross thread the fittings. I went through three before I realized I was rushing the job and screwing things up. What happens is you wind up having to find another in the salvage yard and rebuild it all over again.

 

[JCribb]

That sensor you’re pointing at in the picture above is the temperature sensor for the gauge in the cluster, and no they’re not overly expensive.