1997 GMC Sierra 3500 4x4 SLE 6.5 V8 TD

[DarioGMC]

I didn't write those last days because we're busy at cutting and splitting firewood....we bought 20 tons on 4 meter long logs of beechwood. We almost finished, but it's a lot of work.

Anyway, this week the truck didn't show any leaks, so we were happy. Yesterday afternoon a new one appeared, probably should be the fuel return lines. I think it could be a good idea to check the o-rings on fuel filter manager too. I read that often there are leaks also from there.

Then, as said in the *****'s thread, mine is one of the few American trucks used to work here in Italy.....look at what the previous owner did to the bed. He cut the inner wheel well to have a regular load surface. He also put some rubber bump stops to limitate suspension travel (it's not a good idea to let the wheels hit the bed).
At first we thought to eliminate everything and go back to stock conditions but after a couple of occasions where we had to load big things we had to admit that this mod is useful.
Anyway we will see....one thing is sure : the bed (and the cabin) must be restored due to rust.
Next week we should lift the bed and start the restauration of the frame. It's ok, has just surface rust, but we like to have it like new.

And now, the bed :

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[DarioGMC]

And finally we have no more fuel leaks!!

We replaced all the return lines, the hoses that arrives to the fuel filter housing and all the fuel filter housing o-rings. We spent 20 euros for all at an autoparts store, we bought 2 meters for each kind of fuel hose and 5 o-rings of any size. So, as in the case of oil filter relocator o-rings, my advice is not to buy OEM kits that costs a lot and you don't have spares for next times.

Replace the return lines is an easy job, on passenger side you just need to remove heat shield and turbocharger shield.

The real pain is the fuel filter housing.....i really don't understand why GM engineers designed it this way.....it would have been ways better to have it on one side or with a bracket on the firewall.

Anyway, another job is done.

 

[DarioGMC]

Hi guys, after some days of hard work on the frame, it's time for an update.
We removed the bed

You must be registered for see images attach

Then we removed the surface rust and the old paint....it took a lot of working hours with needle scaler, angle grinder and drill with steel wire brush. We didn't remove the cabin and it's not so easy to work under it...but we did it anyway.
When i took the pic the work was not finished.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then we put on two coats of rust converter, in this case too i took the pic before the work is finished, as you can see the axle is not covered

You must be registered for see images attach

And then the first coats of paint, next week we will put on the last coat and it will be finished. Yesterday (and today too) was a rainy day and there was a ****** illumination....and then we finished the paint

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

In the last pic you can see our '84 Linde H40D, a very good and reliable workmate. It has a bullet proof Deutz air cooled 4 cylinder engine (3.8 litre 70hp) and hydrostatic transmission, very helpful when you need to do precise maneuvers like loading an heavy piece in a machine tool.


We didn't work on the front part of the frame because we still have to rebuild the front end, so we will do it after the fron end rebuild.
At the moment, we are very happy for the result. After years of zero maintenance the truck deserved a bit of love.

Now i'm looking for a rear bumper because it's too rusty, it has big holes. Then we will decide if it will be better to try to repair front fenders and doors or find new ones from a donor....yes, here in the Dolomites we have a lot of salt on the streets during winter....

 

[Schurkey]

This would be impressive enough here in North America, where parts are readily available and cheap.

Seeing your work half-a-world away is marvelous.

Even if you do work in "Metric".





I have heard of folks--possibly even a GM "Styling study"--where the bed was shorn of the internal wheelwells, and then a "Dually" axle was stuffed underneath, using only the outside wheels in the extra-wide "dually" fenderwells. Plenty of clearance for the normal suspension movement, and the extra-wide loading capacity of the plain box without wheelwells. Of course, you'd still have all the parking and side-clearance problems of a dually.

 

[Guido]

WoW !! Good job Dario !! The leaf springs of the rear axle are for really heavy duty use !!! I have the hole in the garage so I painted the frame of my truck by downside . Your truck will have a great aspect now

 

[DarioGMC]

Hello everybody, i've been away from the forum for a while...but now some updates

So we finished the frame job in early September, we are very satisfied for the result :

You must be registered for see images attach

Here you can see the new rear bumper (in was on a '93 k1500 sportside)

You must be registered for see images attach

We also trated with rust converter and repainted the tank.

You must be registered for see images attach

We also installed new front and rear lights.

Recently we finally solved the annoying not starting problem that sometimes happened :

first we cleaned very well the optical sensor

the we replaced the batteries and all the cables.

Now it starts immediately even when outside the temperature is -10°C (14°F)


At the moment we still have to fix the body rust and do the front end rebuild...but yesterday the manual conversion adventure is officially started!!
Mr. NV4500 is arrived! We've been lucky to find one in Germany, it's a 2wd version but we will buy the 4wd tailhousing and it should be ok.
It had been a really good deal, we bought gearbox, bellhousing and shift lever + rubber gaitor all together. It also have clutch and flywheel but it was on a 5.7 gas (or 350 if you prefer) so, at least the flywheel it's not good for the 6.5 TD.....but i think it should be better to open a dedicated thread about this conversion...i've got some questions about shafts lenght and the ECM ecc.......and we also need clutch and brake pedals and master and slave cylinders.
The NV4500 is an early model with very short 1st gear and the bellhousing with external slave cylinder.

You must be registered for see images attach

....and then, i did myself a Christmas present, i bought a 2000 Saab 9-3 2.0 Turbo Aero Coupè, i always loved Saabs and wanted one. With his 205 hp it's a rocket, very fun to drive even for me that i'm a rwd lover....but i accept the fact that's a fwd, it's in the Saab dna to be fwd. The engine is superb and i also love the interior, specially this one in light tan leather, the instrument panel by night it's awesome. At the moment i fixed some broken things in the interior (i replaced the wood panel that was broken and the steering wheel pad because the emblem was missing) and now it's perfect...then it needs front suspension bushes replacement....and i don't know if i'll mod it or not in the future...we will see.
The pics are terrible and those plastic covers on the steel wheels for the winter tyres are ugly as f**k but at the time i've got no other pics.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I'm very happy and proud of this car, the Aero is very rare to find, the only sad thing is that i had to sell the Alfa.

That's all for now.

 

[Schurkey]

Recently we finally solved the annoying not starting problem that sometimes happened :

first we cleaned very well the optical sensor

What "optical sensor"?

I can think of magnetic pickups, and Hall-effect sensors, but I don't remember any optical sensors.

 

[Dravec]

What "optical sensor"?

I can think of magnetic pickups, and Hall-effect sensors, but I don't remember any optical sensors.

I believe the DS4 injection pump has an optical sensor similar to an Optispark

 

[Schurkey]

Okay. Thanks for that.

 

[skylark]

What "optical sensor"?

I can think of magnetic pickups, and Hall-effect sensors, but I don't remember any optical sensors.

Yep, a diesel thing. Too dirty of a sensor and they run like crap.