My 88 C1500 "The Go-Get-Mobile"

[PlayingWithTBI]

Wind noises that bug the hell out of me.
Ever since I bought this truck it had some issues with wind noise. The worst one was a whistling noise when driving against the wind fairly fast. I finally tracked it down to the windshield upper weatherstripping (it leaked there too in the rain). I got some self leveling silicone sealant and slathered that **** all over the top between the roof and the rubber - nailed it! then I moved to the passenger door. I could hear it and it bothered anyone riding with me. I started a thread about this a while back but, as I said, I just want to consolidate all this stuff. Anyway, I looked at the weatherstripping where most of the noise was coming from and saw a dirt/dust streak around the top rear corner.

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I bought some of this stuff at OReiley's

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Cleaned the original seal and stuck it around the top of the door seal and a little below the door latch post - this is some sticky sh*t.

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I drove around for a while - better but needs some more. So I went all the way around the front and bottom most of the way back until I ran out.

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Drove around some more - much more better! So I went back to Oreilley's and got another roll (~$12 IIRC) and connected the 2 ends and called 'er good. For a while it took a little more force to close the door all the way but, now it closes just fine and no more wind noise, at least way less anyway - yay!

 

[Garage Hack]

Door Locks Repair
It's been about 5 years since I was able to lock the doors, they got so stiff, my daughter broke off the key in the passenger side. It really didn't bother me much since all I used the truck for was to go get lumber/supplies and an occasional dump run. Oh well, why not? About the same time we did the muffler, I bought 2 lock switches, 2 lock actuators, and 2 door locks. Pulled the panels off, note the rubber flaps for the door vents (on the lower left) are still there and flexible after 32 years, ha ha.

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Drilled out the 3/16" rivets (2 ea) for the door lock actuators, the 3/16" (6ea) for the door handle and switch connectors housings. Then wedged the windows up and drilled out the 1/4" (4 ea) rivets for the regulators.

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Removed the inner panel, now we have room to get to the door locks and outside handles. You can see the upper rod for the door lock and actuator. The angled rod is for the door handle.

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We removed the outside handles and replaced the door lock tumbler in them. Now it's time to put it all back together. For the rivets, you need a big rivet gun, something like this from HF (for around $30).

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We bolted the inner panels back in after greasing the rod guides, manual door locks, and window tracks with white lithium grease (everything that moved). Then we riveted in the window regulator with the 1/4" rivets.

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To be continued...

I really appreciate you and others who post this information. I've got minimal skills but may need to attempt to do this on my own truck. How tough is it to realign everything and get the new rivets in? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

How tough is it to realign everything and get the new rivets in?

It's pretty easy, if you're drilling out a 1/4" rivet use a 1/4" drill bit and be careful you don't wallow out the holes. It's easier if you have someone to give you a hand, holding the parts together while you set the rivet, or at least the 1st one. Make sure you have all or at least 2 rivets in the holes to align the parts before setting one. When removing the regulator, one guy needs to hold the window and move it up/down to get the rollers out of their tracks. Then you can wedge the window up out of the way. I used a couple wood wedges wrapped in a rag and pushed them down between the window and the door frame. Just be careful not to ruin the brush (for lack of a better term) that rubs against it.

 

[Garage Hack]

It's pretty easy, if you're drilling out a 1/4" rivet use a 1/4" drill bit and be careful you don't wallow out the holes. It's easier if you have someone to give you a hand, holding the parts together while you set the rivet, or at least the 1st one. Make sure you have all or at least 2 rivets in the holes to align the parts before setting one. When removing the regulator, one guy needs to hold the window and move it up/down to get the rollers out of their tracks. Then you can wedge the window up out of the way. I used a couple wood wedges wrapped in a rag and pushed them down between the window and the door frame. Just be careful not to ruin the brush (for lack of a better term) that rubs against it.

Thanks for that. That was exactly what I was looking for. It is appreciated.

 

[93chevyluvr]

The trailer has Chevy wheels??? Haha

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

The trailer has Chevy wheels??? Haha

Yep, what a coincidence huh?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

The trailer has Chevy wheels??? Haha

Yep, what a coincidence huh?

I didn't mean to be flippant with that answer, the trailer came with the house we bought 3 years ago. I just recently adapted it to haul lumber and got it licensed, swapped my rear tires to its rims and bought a pair of Coopers 275/60R 15s. When the front tires wear out I'll get another pair of Coopers. I couldn't talk her into buying a set and storing semi-new tires for the trailer, LOL.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

We added grade 8 split washers to help keep the bolts from coming loose.

Well that didn't work very well! The same side blew out at the rear AGAIN! This time I ordered copper gaskets, grade 8 header studs, and "ultra copper" max temp RTV. The gaskets were ordered from Amazon so I could save shipping. Then I ordered the studs and RTV from Summit Racing. Those were delivered today and hopefully, the gaskets will show up tomorrow. Summit delivers again! New stickers too!

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We may have to use Stover nuts (I already have a bunch) and ground down washers on some studs depending on clearances. Or, as @Pinger suggested a piece of strap steel bent up to keep them from unscrewing. We'll try getting this done Monday. I'll post results next week.

 

[Pinger]

We may have to use Stover nuts (I already have a bunch) and ground down washers on some studs depending on clearances. Or, as @Pinger suggested a piece of strap steel bent up to keep them from unscrewing. We'll try getting this done Monday. I'll post results next week.

With nuts though - might the stud just walk through the trapped nut?

With bolts there's the option of drilling and lockwiring or a larger hole and a strategically placed pin - albeit at the expense of weakening the bolt head in future removal. But removal seems not to be the problem! (sorry).

 

[arrg]

Stage 8 locking header bolts are expensive and can be a pain to install, but they work.