1996 GMC K3500 DRW, Extended Cab, Flatbed, 454, NV-4500... DAILY DRIVER

[Supercharged111]

No? Could swear I had associated your avatar with an RCLB dually build on here. Saw the brake swap, then dediced to read the whole thread. Do you still have the truck?

 

[83GMCK2500]

Yes, I still own it. I've put 1,000 miles or so on it this year.

 

[cool_as_crap]

Thus far in 2015 the flatbed got a brake upgrade, an E24 swap, DOT 4 brake fluid, various other little things then it was time for another big ticket item. Rubber. I have had a set of OEM steel wheels in storage that had been blasted and powder coated "speedboat aluminum w/clear". I may have a picture a page or two back of them when we picked them up. Here they are now.

Tires and wheels meeting for the first time, looks like it will go well.

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I think they'll get along well together.

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Closeup of the match.

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I love the rims! How does the powder coat look after rotating? I was curious if they would scratch where the duals meet, or in this case where they contact the spacer.

 

[83GMCK2500]

I love the rims! How does the powder coat look after rotating? I was curious if they would scratch where the duals meet, or in this case where they contact the spacer.

The hub bore on all of the wheels is chewed up, back down to bare metal. It is also a king sized wrestling match to get the inner dual on/off without it drooping down to rest/drag on the brake drum. It takes a solid effort to wrestle it in place, hold it, put the spacer on, get the nuts snug enough to hold it in place. On the larger faces of the wheel the powder coating still looks great and is easy to clean.

TL;DR: Powder coating has a place on show vehicles or as yard art, something that doesn't move. If there is an interface or fitment between a powder coated part and another metal part...the powder coat will loose the battle.

 

[cool_as_crap]

The hub bore on all of the wheels is chewed up, back down to bare metal. It is also a king sized wrestling match to get the inner dual on/off without it drooping down to rest/drag on the brake drum. It takes a solid effort to wrestle it in place, hold it, put the spacer on, get the nuts snug enough to hold it in place. On the larger faces of the wheel the powder coating still looks great and is easy to clean.

TL;DR: Powder coating has a place on show vehicles or as yard art, something that doesn't move. If there is an interface or fitment between a powder coated part and another metal part...the powder coat will loose the battle.

Dang thats a bummer, I could see how removing the rear duals would be a challenge without hitting the drum or end of the axle. I would have thought it would stand up better to that sort of contact.
I think I might try blasting and painting mine without powder coat, maybe it will hold up a little better.

 

[83GMCK2500]

Dang thats a bummer, I could see how removing the rear duals would be a challenge without hitting the drum or end of the axle. I would have thought it would stand up better to that sort of contact.
I think I might try blasting and painting mine without powder coat, maybe it will hold up a little better.

Part of the problem (I suspicion) is how thick the powder coating is. It reduced the hub bore of the wheel enough that the hub centers are scraping it off.

 

[ryeguy2006a]

Love this build! Can you confirm a few things for me regarding the GMT800 Brake swap? I'm curious if the front axles just directly bolt up to the hubs on the 800's, and also is the ABS reluctor rings the same? When I bought my truck he included a set of knuckles that have already been reamed out and ready to go. I just need to get a set of new calipers, rotors and pads.

 

[454cid]

Love this build! Can you confirm a few things for me regarding the GMT800 Brake swap? I'm curious if the front axles just directly bolt up to the hubs on the 800's, and also is the ABS reluctor rings the same? When I bought my truck he included a set of knuckles that have already been reamed out and ready to go. I just need to get a set of new calipers, rotors and pads.

8-lug? You'll need to figure out tie-rods, too... unless those tapers were reamed out too, but I'm not sure there is room to do that.

 

[ryeguy2006a]

Yes, the 800 brake swap for the 8 lug trucks. All of the mods to the knuckles were supposed to be done and he included the tie rods and ball joints to do the job too. I'm just wondering if the axles just slide right in or if you have to use the 800 front shafts as well? Also, I'd like to keep the ABS and didn't know if that was compatible as well with our ABS units.

 

[83GMCK2500]

Love this build! Can you confirm a few things for me regarding the GMT800 Brake swap? I'm curious if the front axles just directly bolt up to the hubs on the 800's, and also is the ABS reluctor rings the same? When I bought my truck he included a set of knuckles that have already been reamed out and ready to go. I just need to get a set of new calipers, rotors and pads.

I used GMT800 CVs on my swap, they bolted onto the output flanges of the front diff just like the GMT400 ones did and they, of course, fit the GMT800 wheel bearing at the knuckle. Somewhere I'd read that the GMT800 ABS system has the same pulse/rotation as the GMT400, so no issues there. Mine's never thrown a code or failed to stop me as it should.

Do you know what year truck your knuckles are from?