88GMCtruck's 98 Silverado Towpig Build: "Black Fox"

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dhunt

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I did some research and was looking at the two same brands as you are. There are a few other related posts on the web about these shocks. Smarter people than I have done deep research. It is very interesting reading who makes what brands the theory and design. I did stumble on a less expensive option that for the money is an all around shock. The reflex from Napa or reflex from monroe. Same shock. My 2000 k2500 srw with a fleetwood elk horn cab over camper with these shocks and no airbags worked great in my opinion. Unloaded they also felt great. Anyways that’s where I ended on my research. You will come to your own conclusion.


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Christian Steffen

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+ 1 for bilsteins, probably 4600. I've actually heard of some people hating the factory ranchos that GM was putting on the newer trucks, most went to Bilstein. I had 5100s on my '14 1500 and they felt good.
 

Sampuppy1

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Big bilstein supporter here. I have them on my ram, my Jeep and had 4600s on my old chevy.

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leakers

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Still putting some miles on the swap and am really happy so far. The truck pulls trailers effortlessly. The mileage is probably double what it was before.

I'll be putting a new pair of front tires on tomorrow. I went with the same Cooper Discovered ST Maxx tires. The rears are still good but the fronts were fairly out of round and would hop a bit around 55-60. Between the new idler/pitman, tires and alignment Im hoping the ride will smooth out a bit.

I'll be looking to replace the shocks before too long as well. The Rancho 9100s are ~$450. The Bilstein 5100s are ~$320. Curious what yall think between the two. I realize these Ranchos have seen some decent heavy use between Dave's camper/trailers and the use Ive put them through but I'd have expected them to last a bit longer, based on the low-ish mileage put on them. The truck is very bouncy whether loaded or unloaded. Im open to suggestions.

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Rockauto has the Rancho RS9000 XL adjustables for sale at under $95 each and a pile of other brands to compare including heavy duty OEM AC Delco for like $50 each
 

woody80z28

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Well well, Brian, I hadn't seen any of these updates. It looked a lot easier on your facebook. haha Glad you worked through the issues though. Some projects really test our resolve. It's gotta be worth it now though.

So, did you kick Geoff's pacer out to do it?
 

DanteGTZ

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Hadn't posted anything in a while so I figured I'd post an update. Truck is still going strong and I've put a bunch of miles on it since the swap.

I did have a bit of a problem with the engine that I started noticing in Fall 2020. I initially noticed that every time I shut the truck off after running it for a bit the cooling system would gurgle. It ultimately started pushing coolant out of the system. I did a block test on it multiple times and I never got a positive result. I knew it had to have been a head gasket but wasn't really willing to accept it. LOL. After all, I was running relatively low boost on a fresh head, new gasket and ARP studs.

After I finally accepted the reality of the situation, I decided to pull the head in Feb 2021. Found a 3/8" blown out section of gasket between #6 and a cooling jacket. This explained everything... but how did it happen? I torqued the studs to spec and felt I prepped everything correctly. The one thing I didn't do (because the ARP instructions specifically said not to) was a hot retorque on the studs. I don't think I had adequate torque on some of the studs after a few heat cycles and that ultimately led to the failure.

Decided to have machine shop oring the head for some additional pressure on the fire ring to hopefully avoid the same failure. I also decided to hot retorque the studs after the first heat cycle, and again after about a week. Both times yielded additional rotation on the nuts, maybe 1/7th of a turn or so. Interesting, but I haven't had any issues since.

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Truck has been performing its towing duties great since the head gasket work. In June, we loaded up and headed to Rapid City, SD for BerettaFest 2021. It's an event that's been going on since 1997 and we all get together in a different location each year. Drive was great, no issues. Got between 12-14mpg depending on headwind. Ended up putting about 3000 miles on it during that trip. Highly recommend checking out the Badlands and the Black Hills if you've never been!

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Going to haul the camper this weekend. There are a couple minor bugs to fix and items still left to do but overall the truck has done great since the Cummins swap. The biggest item left to do will be a solid axle swap. With the weight of the Cummins up front, the torsion bars feel like they are holding on for dear life. I'm on the lookout for a 2005+ F350 dually axle and will ultimately complete that swap. I think that's all for now, just wanted to make a quick update.
 
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