95C1500's 1995 Silverado "Build" Thread

[95C1500]

10/14/2019
Mileage: 156,220

Replaced the front brakes
ACDelco Semi Metallic Pads
$13.72
ACDelco 14D369MX

ACDelco Front Rotors
$53.89 (x2)
ACDelco 18A503A

Timken Inner Wheel Bearings
$5.39 (x2)
Timken SET3

Timken Outer Wheel Bearings
$5.96 (x2)
Timken SET5

Timken Wheel Seals
$1.28 (x2)
Timken 4739

Also changed the oil ($23; next at 160,000) and added freon ($7 can, $140 rental for the gauges) was short cycling, my neighbor's manifold gauges were showing 90 psi low side so I stopped adding last time. Rented a set of gauges from Vatozone and while adding freon, the low side was between 30 and 40 and the high side was around 150-160. Seemed good. Honestly could use a little more I think. The compressor cycles more frequently than I'd like. But, I'm going to have a shop mess with the system before the summer. I don't know nearly enough about AC to get it working properly.

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[95C1500]

November 16, 2019
Mileage: 157,700
Had an issue with the gauge cluster going dead while driving. Whacking the dash with my fist fixed the issue temporarily. The truck seemed sluggish afterwards though. Parked the truck at a buddies house, walked back out 2 minutes later and it drove fine. Fast forward a week, it happened again on the way home from work. This time, I noticed the doors unlocked when it happened. My keyless entry system is set up to unlock the doors when it senses the ignition power is cut (key off). So that basically narrowed it down. Truck was stuck in limp mode and wouldn't shift out of third gear. Threw code 81 and 82.

I pulled the knee panel and bracket off and moved the group of wires running from the wheel to the junction under the dash. Doors unlocked over, and over, and over. The pink/white ignition wire from the ignition switch is where I tapped in for that power. The solder joint broke and was disconnecting just enough to cut ignition power. Whacking the dash forced contact. I could not for the life of me get the wires heated up enough to solder so I ended up using a butt connector and heatshrink. Not my preferred way of fixing it but it'll last a lot longer than my ****** solder job.

Also tried a couple of junkyard CHMSLs since mine went out (no brake or cargo lights). I tested with a DMM and got 12v when the brake was pressed at the connector so I figured it was the sockets. None of them worked. So I need to track that issue down too.

 

[95C1500]

Not much new.

Mileage: 159,400
December 29, 2019
Driver door handle snapped trying to figure out why I had to yank the handle and throw myself into the door to open it. Turns out it was the door handle itself.

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Mileage: 159,441
January 3, 2019

Balanced all four tires at work. 10oz out between them. No wonder it shook on the freeway. Drives like a new truck.

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[95C1500]

Mileage:
January 17, 2020

I discovered my chmsl stopped working a few months ago. It won't pass inspection without it so I finally decided to try to fix it. Whipped out the dmm and both the truck wiring and the light itself tested good. Pulled several from the local junkyard and nothing. I've wanted LEDs in the light for a while now and figured out, through my research on the forum, that those lights don't like LED bulbs for some reason. I didn't really look but apparently, no one makes a factory looking aftermarket light so, I decided to make my own. I actually used an LED bed light kit from walmart. I have about $20 in this project.

Now, I won't lie, this looked 10x better in my head. I'm not going to pretend this is some beautiful piece of backyard engineering. It's not. It looks good from the outside but the lens hides all the ugly. 95C1500 and a dremel don't go well together.

I cut most of the plastic out of the factory base. Some parts were so thin and brittle that they broke off (see bottom right). The hardware I bought ended up not letting the base sit flush against the cab so the lights are held in with zipties until further notice. The wiring is connected with regular male and female connectors. I had planned on getting a weather proof connector but no one seemed to have one in stock. The wiring on the light wouldn't let the base sit completely flush either but some fanagling with zip ties got it to the point it's "good enough". The lens didn't fit the seal as good as it did before I got a hold of it so there is a decent chance it will leak. I hope not, but I'll know for sure over the next couple days.

The bottom line is, it works. I also wired it so I could flip the cargo light on anytime I want with the switch on the dash. None of that, having to have the interior lights on bs. **My wiring diagram in the background of one of the pictures is wrong**

All in all, I don't hate it.

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Bed lights are wired to a separate switch in the bed. Used the exact same kit as the bed for the chmsl though.

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[95C1500]

February 8, 2020
Mileage: 160,770

Rotated the tires. Changed the oil. Needs a bath too.

Next rotation/oil change at 166,000 miles.

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[95C1500]

March 9, 2020
Mileage: 162,002 (maybe?)

*Pic heavy*

AC Overhaul! I haven't had AC in this truck for probably 5 years now. I can't do another Texas summer without it. So, here I am.

Being me, I believe in doing it right or doing it twice. And I never want to do this again. I basically ordered every part in the system.

GM Air Distributer (GM 52467204) $66.68 from Amazon

GM A/C Control Lever (GM 52487131) $26.99 from Amazon

ACDelco Orifice Tube (ACD 15-5378) $5.18 from Amazon

ACDelco Blower Motor with Wheel (ACD 15-80213) from Amazon

ACDelco Compressor (ACD 15-20189) $233.07 + 3 year warranty ($43.40) from Amazon

ACDelco Condenser (ACD 15-63252) $158.98 from Amazon

ACDelco PAG Oil 16oz (ACD 15-118) $16.57 from Amazon

ACDelco Defroster Valve (ACD 15-50552) $22.79 from Amazon

Four Seasons ORing Kit (FS 26738) $10.45 from Amazon

Four Seasons Cap and Valve Kit (FS 26775) $9.67 from Amazon

ACDelco Accumulator (ACD 15-1613) $25.47 from Amazon

Four Seasons Evap Core (FS 54598) $55.89 from Amazon

ACDelco AC Control Valve (ACD 15-5737) from Amazon

ACDelco Blower Motor Resistor (ACD 15-8788) $13.49 from Amazon

GM Defroster Valve Link (GM 52487132) $28.18 from Amazon

ACDelco Fresh Air Actuator (ACD 15-72106) $48.56 from Amazon

ACDelco Mode and Temp Actuator (ACD 15-73627) $51.99 from Summit

Dorman Mode and Temp Actuator (Dor 604-107) $41.49 from Autozone

ACDelco Liquid Ref Hose (ACD 15-33170) $23.99 from Summit

ACDelco Manifold Hose (ACD 15-30281) $112.99 from Summit

Total (So Far) is $1267.60 which is $3232.40 less than a local shop quoted me for a compressor, condenser, accumulator, and ac recharge. $60 for a shop to charge the system and $15 (?) for foam tape to replace the seals in the hvac box.

Here's what's come in so far. Still waiting for the condenser and the air distribution box. Picking up the lines and actuators tomorrow.

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Started out with removing the interior (another project) and swinging the dash forward. Took me a solid 2 hours yesterday just for the dash. Haven't attempted to remove the hvac box yet. I think it'll be a chore.

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Only had a couple hours to work on it today before work so I was only able to remove the compressor, accumulator, and managed to get the condenser 99% out. A few years back, my dad and I made some brackets to mount lights behind the grille. Fast forward to now, we are paying for that. The brackets are welded to the core support so we can remove the hood latch bracket to get the condenser out. So, I'll cut those out tomorrow and get the condenser out. They're a pita now, but my dad and I spent quality time together making them so I'm not kicking myself.

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and this is how the truck currently sits. It looks like the trucks I pull parts from at the junkyard, minus the moldy headliners, busted windows, and dirt.

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Tomorrows plans include pulling the condenser, hvac box (tearing it down and cleaning/replacing parts), and possibly getting the box back in the truck. I think that's a stretch, but we'll see how far I get. I need to spray some degreaser on the compressor mount as well. I had a sqeuak that I thought was from the compressor years ago so I coated it in fluid film Highschool Scott was a jackass.

 

[95C1500]

March 10, 2020
Mileage: 162,002

Made decent progress today. Picked up my lines and actuators and managed to remove the condenser as well as the HVAC box.

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The box was worse off than I was expecting. Aside from the dirt and the usual worn 25 year old seals, one of my mode doors fell. I did not expect that. Another had a damaged seal, and the recirc door either has a weird shape to it or is warped/damaged. I can't find a replacment anywhere. @Cokeman95 Did yours look similar? Second pic below.

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I stuck my phone in the blower motor hole to look at the evap core. I expected it to be filthy but my God. No wonder my fan blows like ****.

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Also pulled the orifice tube out of the condenser and there's quite a bit of crud and what looked to me like metal shavings. I'm glad I opted to buy all new parts.

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Aside from the AC work, I started laying some Kilmat down as far up the floorpan/firewall as I care to deal with while the box is out and it's a little easier to get to. I originally planned to do the whole firewall but there isn't enough room and I don't have the patience to mess with it.

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Tomorrow before work I plan to keep installing Kilmat. Thursday, I'll hit the ground running with the hvac box disassembly, cleaning, and part replacement. Still waiting on the condenser (will be here tomorrow) and the upper air distribution box (between tomorrow and monday).

 

[Cokeman95]

@95C1500 My recirc door didn't look like that. Mine functioned fine and had a seal still. I left it alone since I couldn't find a replacement. Look for a part # on the door while you have the box apart is my suggestion.

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[95C1500]

March 13, 2020
Mileage: 162,002

Hit a huge milestone with the AC today.

The ACDelco condenser I ordered ended up being the wrong one. Mine has a sensor or switch located on the line running to the compressor. The one I ordered did not. Every part number I found (ACD, GM, Specra, etc..) for my truck is "currently unavailable". So, I returned the Delco unit and picked up a Spectra condenser Autozone claims is correct for my truck. It looks a little different but it looks like everything will line up okay.

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Also finished up my hvac box. Decided the "damaged" recir flap wasn't actually damaged. Seemed to seal okay. Tossed the recirc assembly back on the case and installed the new blower motor. Indexed the actuators with the current settings on my temp control panel. The recirc actuator over traveled and got stuck. So, after a heartsunk second and a few choice words I opened it up and reoriented the gearing inside until it worked like it was supposed to. Expanding foam tape finished off the hvac box and into the truck it went. I did it by myself and I bet it took me 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The interior bolt that I thought would be the easiest to get installed was the last one. It literally took me an hour. No joke. I'm pretty sure it's cross threaded too but tight is tight and I'll worry about it in 25 years (hopefully). Check out my extension!

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Also got the heater core hoses installed. Still need to pull the antenna gromet through the firewall (major pita). Also got my new corner lights in so I got the old sockets cut out and epoxied to the new uppers. Those'll go on with the grille after I pull a vacuum on the system.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the dash back together and the under hood components installed. I'm going to take it into the local dealer to have them charge the system. I'm not sure what I'm doing as far as oiling the system. I'm going to check the service manual in the morning.

 

[DIY95Guy]

Looks like a really thorough restoration in process. I need to do some similar work on mine. It has just north of 38K on the clock, but is in need of work similar to yours. Much of the original "soft" materials are perishing. Paint is beginning to de laminate in sheets too, down to primer in places. Like you said in your early posts: about to nickel and dime me to death.

You are doing well and enjoy watching your progress.

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