drivabeater 4.0: what i should have built last time.

[TheAutumnWind]

Budget first:

previously: 3144.81



new money:

1998 2500hd parts truck (vortec accessories, 4l80e trans, crossmember, driveshaft, dash, ac syste, that held charge, door panels, a pillar, radiator, shroud, PS/trans/oil coolers, wiring, front sway bar, other stuff im forgetting) 250

window tint: 150

downfire box, tonneau cover, floor mats, rearview camera, trailer plug, brake controller: Christmas presents

plastic bedliner: 40

d rings: 12.69

rally armor mudflaps 26.90

torque converter bolts: 10.98

flexplate bolts: 11.82

prom adapter and chips from moates: 68.50

4l80e external seal kit 23.49

plug boot insulators: 19.25

thermostatic fan switch 21.35

copper header gaskets 13.43

rockauto order: o2 sensor, oil cooler gaskets, upper and lower radiator hoses, 170&180 thermostats, flexplate, trans mount, ac orifice tube/o rins/drier, trans filter, oil and trans cooler lines: 234.74

stage 8 locking header bolts: had





total to date: 4027.96



well, we have hit the ski jump portion of the slippery slope, I believe.



Lets see if I can do this in chronological order. No promises.



First off, got the truck tinted. Went 18 on the extended cab, and 35 on the front doors. Looks good!

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20201218_112444 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



then, I picked up a plastic drop in bedliner and tailgate protector piece. Used my heat gun to bend it a bit and make it fit properly, and installed a TON of d rings that are through bolted through the plastic with nylock nuts and large fender washers on the back side. Should be good!

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20201221_145926 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



them Christmas came. With it, truck goodies! My wife and daughter got me a downfiring sub box, trailer connector (7&4 pin combo) and brake controller. Mom and dad got me a backup camera system and tonneau cover. In-laws did floor mats. I'm blessed! All I have installed so far is the sub box (no picture, its under the back seat), trailer wiring, and tonneau.

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20201221_145933 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20201231_093507 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



so, everything was pretty awesome! Except that I keep popping the courtesy circuit fuses. No dome lights. That sucks. But could wait for diagnosis until it warms up.



And then, a few weeks ago, I was driving home with a bed full of girlscout cookies (wifes a girlscout leader, and its easier to put cookies in a truck than a minivan) when the 4l60e decided to commit suicide. Turned into a big bucket of failure and slipping and neutrals.

With this being a 95, it has a one year only valve body. Which is ludicrously priced. The 4l60e is also deserved of the reputation of failure. Its actually rumored that they may be made by dodge they're so bad! (flame suit on) regardless, im not going to pat 1500-2k to build a 95 only 4l60e.

So I started looking at options, such as converting to other years, other transmissions, etc. the 4l80e was the ultimate swap in my mind, but requires a LOT of parts. However, a parts truck would make that problem easier to overcome. So I called my scrapper buddy steve. He had a 1997 2500hd service body that was taken out by electrical issues. He said it was good, and hes never steered me wrong. So, for $250, I bought the drivetrain, most of the interior, the wiring, the exhaust, the front sway bar, that AC......



smoking deal. Even if the trans is junk, its STILL a good deal!

That $250 included him dropping iyt off at my house and picking it up. I love a friend with a rollback. Brother dustin came to help me get the engine and trans out. In the dark, uphill, in the rain. Not a fun pull, but we got it!

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20210212_160604 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210213_163547 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210216_172733 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



engine turned out to be seized from water getting in it. Which meant we had to get aggressive to get the torque converter off the flexplate. Between pry bars, BFH, and grinder, we got it. Destroyed the bolts and flexplate in the process though, necessitating replacements. Grabbed new flexplate bolts for good measure to go with the new rockauto flexplate....

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20210216_191405 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



pulled the oil cooler, heads, roller cam parts, accessories, and everything else I could save from the engine. Sold the sensors, emissions stuff, and other misc parts to stampie for $30

stuffed the garbage short block back in.

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20210217_080453 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



the dash and door panels and seat tracks and drivers side a pillar were all I great shape. So I got those too! Crack free no airbag dash is in storage for if I ever need it. Also, there were ducts to the rear sets for HVAC. I got them while I was in there, and the blower motor to replace mine that squeaks.

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20210217_083528 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210217_161814 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210217_175757 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



dad came by with the plasma cutter and got the doors off for the sheet metal for his 49 ford. We officially got all the good from this thing.

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20210217_094350 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210217_161758 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



so, this whole thing boils down to this:

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20210220_095056 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



after pressure washing:

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20210220_165734 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



I decided that since im in this deep, im going to do the headers, exhaust, trans and oil coolers all at the same time. So I orderd new lines, gaskets, filters, etc. headers are getting copper gaskets, stage 8 fastners, and por15 paint. Exhaust got some eastwood exhaust paint. Yes, the muffler is pretty scabby, and will probably be replaced with either a magnaflow or dynomax super turbo. But the price was SOO right.

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20210220_095051 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210220_095108 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



to finish out this update, well talk about the trans swap itself. To go from 4l60e to 4l80e (this is research, and internet lore. Not a completed swap yet) requires a shorter driveshaft (from parts truck), a few pins moved around in the wiring, different flexplate, different program in the computer, different cooler lines, and potentially a different crossmember. I have all these parts on hand except the computer. All the yards around here list them by ECM service code interchange, and without opening them up and checking the code, no idea what they are out of. I HAVE to have a 5.7 TBI 4l80E 7427 ECM code. Which is apparently unobtainuim from jet, hypertech, or www.car-part.com so I have to make my own. I dusted off my old copy of tunerpro RT and borrowed back my chip burner and ALDL cable from stampie, and ordered the parts to burn my own chips. This is a learning curve to re-learn how to do all this. Its been a long time. And honestly, the only part of the swap im really concerned about. However, im certain we can do it, as other people have proved its possible.

You have way better friends then I do!

 

[dusterbd13]

Im blessed with my friends, family, and folks i kinda know. Truly blessed.

Also, broken trans is on the ground as if tonight. Waiting on parts before i can install the new one though....

 

[dusterbd13]

Budget first:

previously: 4027.96



new money:

another, correct flexplate: 40, advance

exhaust clamps, amazon: 37.50

driveshaft rebuild and mods: 125

rear main seal: 24.99

billet wheels: 250

fluids, crimp connectors, locktite, etc were generally on the shelf.

Cooper discoverer HT tires in 245/75/16, pretty new: 100



total to date: 4605.45



the last couple of weeks have been pretty nuts, between work and trying to thrash this thing together.



However, ill do my best to cover the work we did. I may miss something, or a lot of somethings. So please, don't consider this comprehensive by any means.



Anyway, we took it down to dads, and disassembled. Drained the fluid, took the driveshafts to the shop for modification, removed the cooler lines, exhaust, manifolds, etc. this thing has been apart before. They RTV'd the converter cover on, missed half the bolts, etc. the cat was also gutted at some point, and the muffler replaced with a two inch in/out piece. Not a lot of pictures, so take my word for it.

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20210222_200425 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210223_201226 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



when we went to drop the actual trans, we learned that the truck is shaped exactly wrong for our lift and shop arrangement. The back of the cab lined up EXACTLY with the garage door opener, and we couldn't go up the whole way. Which meant that we couldn't get the trans jack and trans under and out of the truck. So, doing the trans swap on the lift resulted in me pulling it with a floor jack on my back after having dad lower the lift down once I was underneath. Not fun. But, we did it. Left the converter bolted to the flexplate when we did it to reduce weight id have to handle.

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20210223_201232 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



got the converter and flexplate pulled, found a leaking rear main. Replaced the leaking rear main. My those have gotten expensive from the FLAPS.

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20210224_190256 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210225_181059 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



went ahead and cleaned up the vortec oil cooler adapter, resealed all the threads, etc, really went the whole way on it in hopes of a long, leak free life. I even did it twice! Improper install first time, used the dorman kit from the FLAPS the second time, following some guidance I got online. Success! I also got the new hoses in, the hole in the motor mount for the line clips, cleaned the cooler out in the radiator, etc. you can also see the new trans cooler lines fo rthe 4l80. Well, one new line, one cleaned parts truck line.

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20210225_181046 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210228_171049 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



about this time we put the new trans in. we figured out that the two of us could move it from the tailgate to the rolling cart, roll the trans on the cart under the truck, get the trans jack under the truck, then manhandle the trans onto the jack from the cart under the truck that we couldn't fully stand up under. Yes, it was as sketchy and painful and difficult as it sounds. But that ************ went in!!!

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20210226_185254 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

 

[dusterbd13]

went ahead and got the long tubes in next. The drivers side fell in, passengers put up a bit of a fight but finally went in with brute force and leverage. Got the copper gaskets in, and the insulation on the plug wires. Getting all the header bolts in was definitely tough, especially with carpal tunnel. But after a few hours of aggravation, we got them all in and tight. After a few heat cycles, I put the locks on the bolts. Needed to tweak a couple, and there were two bolts that COULD NOT get locks due to tube proximity. But, done.

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20210226_204057 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210226_205513 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210228_151811 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210308_181210 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



the exhaust came next. Unfortunately, the y pipe met with the crossmember pretty hard. Solution was to cut the pipes, shorten a few inches, and clamp back together with the stainless band clamps. Worked out just fine. Sounds good as well! Seems like we make more power with the headers, but too many variables have changed for me to know for sure.

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20210228_171008 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210304_190307 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



im a little out of chronological order here. Sorry. Just too much going on at one time here to really do things justice. Sorry....



anyway, I resealed the trans. New o rings on the sensors, new output shaft seal, filter, trans pan gasket, etc. swapped out the wiring that needed changed and altered, extended the oxygen sensor leads to reach the new location. No sludge in the pan, and it seemed like a great trans. No concerns noted. Went ahead and pulled the grille and front bumper to hook up the auxiliary cooler, as well as the in radiator cooler. And I finally installed the sensor for the outside temp in the overhead console. I was there after all....

the behind bumper air guide was different to clear the cooler lines, FYI. Also the 2500 crossmember was significantly different fron the 1500, so I reused the 1500 piece. I also added the temp sensor in the test port on the trans, and reused the range switch from the 4l60 as I knew it worked.

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20210228_170959 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210301_183146 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



while I was in there, I went ahead and converted to the later AC system parts, except for the compressor and brackets. Just haven't gotten there yet. But its on the short list, cause im fat, live in the south, and drive a black truck....



anyway, getting stuff buttoned up, I noticed that the intake tube to the fender has a restriction at the end. My bet is for NVH reasons, and I could see it choking off power. So I cut it off.

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20210228_171109 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210308_181240 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210308_181336 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



some point in here, I trimmed up the new floor mats. Not mission critical, but felt good to do.

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20210228_172008 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



anyway, today the replacement chip burner came in. the one I had died of old age. Got the new prom burned, put in, and proceeded to do this:

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20210311_164521 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210311_164518 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



runs good, shifts FANTASTIC. Seems slower on takeoff, but thats probably due to the different gearing in the trans.



To finish out this update: I love billet wheels. Im a 90s kid, sue me.

Id been hunting a set for this truck, and came across a fair deal on some eagle alloy 206 wheels, 16x8, wrong center caps, dead tires, and scruffy. $250, which was CHEAP in my area. So I bought them.

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Screenshot_20210226-104309_Messages by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210226_144536 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



spent some time with some 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000, and various compounds, and got here.

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20210306_141211 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



mounted up, found the caps didn't even come close to fitting, and started hunting another set. Not about to spend 75 each on ebay, so I went trolling factory caps that may work. Came across these from impala ss. Well see....

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20210306_170736 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20210311_182609 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



negotiated a deal for the tires off the service body, which are cooper discoverer Hts, in 245/75/16. should fill out nicely on here with the mudflaps and such.



Stay tuned, more to come later.

 

[dusterbd13]

so, i apparently put the mother******* flexplate in backwards. no wonder it seemed like the bendix drive in the starter coincidentally started to fail.

so i get to pull the whole thing back apart. hopefully i can do it without too much hassle, but im not hopeful.

****.

 

[62barsoom]

Duster where'd you go? I hope alls well.