2000 K2500

[HerpDerp1919]

Things are slowly but surely getting done. Got my manifold painted instead of them being all discolored and muddy. I did learn that cast iron manifolds tend to shrink after they removed. Fought the manifolds for about three hours before giving up and was about to just order brand new manifolds when I learned about this nifty little tool. Its a manifold spreader and helps push the outer ports back into the correct spot. Definitely a must have when doing these manifolds!

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Side note, does anyone know what this does? It has the metal tube that goes into the intake. Im assuming its for exhaust gas re-circulation but in the process of taking the manifolds off I destroyed the tube. Am I able to cap this off or does the truck actually need this to run?

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I also gained a few apprentices. Most of them quit within the first hour though...

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[Dravec]

Thanks man! That was the one vehicle that I deeply regret selling. I have tried numerous times to try and track it down through various MN truck groups but no luck. My neighbor bought it brand new, spent most of its life hooked up to their horse trailer. I got it from my neighbor in return for replacing the back window when it got smashed out on an icy day while hooking up to the trailer. She bought a new truck and gave the black one to me, got it at 295k miles, only changed the oil and spark plugs and proceeded to run it hard for another 5k before I sold it when I joined the Navy. Really wish I could find it and buy it back.

I feel the same way about my old K3500. Had her for 9 years and 8 months, put 97k miles on her, and I miss her every day.

Also, thank you for your service.

 

[Supercharged111]

The open hole on that manifold feeds the EGR. I was able to plug it off with stuff I found at Lowe's. This was when I slapped a chopped stock exhaust from my 98 onto my 88 and sold it, so I can't speak to how a Vortec runs with EGR only mechanically disabled, but it is advised that you also disable it with a tune, and since you're that deep you may as well shorten shift times, add some timing, get rid of torque management, etc which really wakes the truck up.

 

[stutaeng]

Great build! I'm following along...

What vehicle was from the donor engine?

How hard was to remove the bell housing bolts? Did your tranny have the top, middle hole?

What was the issue with your tranny not having overdrive? Was that resolved?

 

[HerpDerp1919]

Great build! I'm following along...

What vehicle was from the donor engine?

How hard was to remove the bell housing bolts? Did your tranny have the top, middle hole?

What was the issue with your tranny not having overdrive? Was that resolved?

I'm not 100% sure of the year but I do know it was out of a Tahoe.
The bell housing bolts on this 4L80 were CAKE compared to what I remember from my 4L60. I also was able to get the top two bellhousing bolts from the top and I had no exhaust on the truck so I think that made my life significantly easier. I believe the bell housing might have, but I didn't look to close as I left the transmission in the truck.

I think my transmission issue was that there was no thermostat in the truck so it was never getting to operating temperature. Once I put a T-stat in, and actual coolant it seemed like it shifted fine. But that test drive I was also monitoring oil pressure to see if I needed a new engine. But it seemed to settle down at 70 just fine. But when I do bring the truck home the issue may rear its head again.

 

[HerpDerp1919]

The open hole on that manifold feeds the EGR. I was able to plug it off with stuff I found at Lowe's. This was when I slapped a chopped stock exhaust from my 98 onto my 88 and sold it, so I can't speak to how a Vortec runs with EGR only mechanically disabled, but it is advised that you also disable it with a tune, and since you're that deep you may as well shorten shift times, add some timing, get rid of torque management, etc which really wakes the truck up.

One day I'll get there. For now just trying to get the truck ready to make the 1,300 mile drive home in about a year and a half. But then at that point I'm going to try to find a 6.0 to swap in.

 

[Supercharged111]

One day I'll get there. For now just trying to get the truck ready to make the 1,300 mile drive home in about a year and a half. But then at that point I'm going to try to find a 6.0 to swap in.

May as well grab the motor while you're in TX. It's likely you'll find it cheaper and it also won't be covered in rust.

 

[Aparke4]

I am tackling the manifolds soon to install JBA shorty heads on my k2500 454 1996... thx for the tips! Mine look stock and I don't want to encounter any broken bolts or studs but it might be inevitable... speaking of, are there studs or bolts? Should I get new studs or bolts with new headers? I have read they are approx 1-1/4 x 3/6-16 bolts... nearly 270k on her!!

 

[Supercharged111]

I had to dig out a broken stud this spring, but reused most of the hardware as I don't live in the rustbelt. I'd be surprised if you don't pop the hood right now and not find a broken stud.

 

[Dravec]

I am tackling the manifolds soon to install JBA shorty heads on my k2500 454 1996... thx for the tips! Mine look stock and I don't want to encounter any broken bolts or studs but it might be inevitable... speaking of, are there studs or bolts? Should I get new studs or bolts with new headers? I have read they are approx 1-1/4 x 3/6-16 bolts... nearly 270k on her!!

I highly recommend that you replace the studs. My '99 K3500 had only two bolts, the rest were all studs. I had to fix a single stud that snapped while driving. And there wasnt a single exhaust shop in my area that would touch my truck, because "every other stud and bolt is gonna snap as soon as we touch it"

So I got new hardware from the dealer, and spent two days soaking the p!$$ outta the studs with WD40 "Rust Release" penetrating oil. Was super easy to remove everything, even the broken stud. Took me less than two hours start to finish.