My 95 and its woes....

[lesterl]

Well, took a couple pix of the rig. Have run it many times in my shop for a while and never a problem, took it around the block today and found it leaking from the Drivers side of the radiator, the upper Rad hose was very hard and lukewarm (wasnt up to temp yet.) I saw the dripping after it had sat for a bit, and when I opened up the rad cap a tad, it let water into the overflow pretty forcefully. I dont want it to be a head gasket, would suck to have to replace the radiator too..... Any Ideas?

Oh, and a couple pix of the ugly old rig......

BTW the hood is ugly green for now, and I have been working on the dents and stuff on the drivers side, someone lowered it before I got ahold of it.....

 

[clkelley]

Looks like a good project. Unfortunately, from what you said I think you may be looking at a head gasket. Like in the other thread, pressure check it and see what is happening, you will definitely know from that if you are getting cylinder pressure in the cooling system.

 

[lesterl]

No need, rented a radiator pump, got to about 10 PSI and she started pissing coolant from the drivers side tank..... new radiator on order from amazon $128 shipped..... Thanks.

 

[clkelley]

Good to know you found it!

 

[lesterl]

Got the radiator installed last night after work, found out this sucker has an oil cooler, and a trans cooler in the radiator, and a stock transcooler infront of the condenser.... few more issues to work on later, i.e. no heat (control issue I think), AC is empty, misc other.

 

[clkelley]

lol, that is my luck, the list just gets longer as you get into them...lol

 

[lesterl]

Took 'er out for a spin yesterday and it was nice, definietly some more issues, (clunks when comming to a stop/ accelerating from rear often), Just tested/ repaired the AC, 38* from the vents idling in the garage now, shakes a bit on the highway (perhaps a bad tire - need 2 new ones on the front but may take the rotors off and clean/ repack the front bearings.... etc....

 

[clkelley]

As for the clunks, make sure to check your u-joints. But a common issue on Chevy trucks is the drive line "slap" or "clunk". I have actually found a WEIRD fix for this from an old school mechanic. First, start with removing the rear drive shaft and grease the yoke that goes into the transmission, greasing it heavily will help a lot. However, the "Fix" to this is when you grease it, and this is gonna sound CRAZY, but go find yourself one of those little "Jet Ball" bouncing balls, you know, the little ones that are mostly sold in the vending machines for kids, and when you remove the drive shaft and grease it, there is a "hole" in the end of the yoke, put the jet ball in there and reinstall it. I know, I know, it sounds like one of those bs things people dream up, but I heard it from a mechanic that has been working on GM trucks for more than 20 years and he swears by it. I also have done this on two customer trucks and it actually works!!!

As for the vibration on the highway, when you replace the tires, make sure they road force test them for being out of round and match them to the rim. ALL tires are out of round a bit, but it is rare for installation shops to road force test them and then actually FIX the issue if it is out just a little bit, but just a little bit can cause just a little bit of a vibration or shaking at speed. To match to the tire they actually have to dismount it and turn it on the rim to get it right.

 

[lesterl]

I think the clunk is a brake hanging up in the back and sticking when taking off, seems to matter how hard you brake and then take off.

First 85 miles checked MPG and got 15.7mpg

Replaced Cap/Rotor/Plugs and now it starts up easy.

Also evacuated the empty AC system, pulled vac for 90 min, and charged it, got 38* idling in the garage. We will see what future tanks net, the gap on the plugs had increased from stock 35 thou to near 50. First tank was on those old plugs and with a badly corroded cap/ burnt rotor. Put one of the red MSD kits on it for that.

I had to drop the driveshaft to replace the fuel pump and the U joints looked good, that being said anything could still be bad, so will keep in mind.

I knew about the torque lock on the yoke, Grew up in a GM shop..... Grandfather retired GM, uncle old GM techs.....

Still got the vibration, the front tires will be replaced as they were oddballs that were thrown on to drive it home so to speak, just dont have the bucks to replace them yet.

Pulls slightly to the right seems like and the steering wheel is off center going strait, one front tire is drivers front is 225 75 15, passenger front is 215 75 15. Rears were replaced with stock 235 75 15s new a month or two ago.

Still stuff to do, but list gets shorter everytime.....

P.S. she is very torquy and I love the way it runs, been awhile since I had a V8...... (last 3 were all GMC Sierra P/U's)

 

[lesterl]

Well, pulled the drums off last night, saw that drivers side wheel cyl looks like it may have been a little leaky, also looks like axle seals are leaky, cleaned crud off the shoes and drum friction surface and this morning only got a moan for a while instead of a clunk. Need to check diff fluid level next I guess.

 

[clkelley]

Sorry Lester, brain fart on my part. I didn't even think about the year being in the title...Duh.

There are a LOT of options for the single gauge pillars, but the one below is probably your best bet. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of them made in a full pillar for just one gauge.

http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/95-98-Chevy-Full-Size-Truck-Single-Gauge-Pod.aspx

 

[lesterl]

Never inquired about any pods, but thanks anyway (all of my stock guages seem to work very well), and as of 2 hours ago, the clunk is back, shifted from park to OD and saw a spike on the Speedo, so I will have to recheck the Ujoints/ etc......

 

[clkelley]

Never inquired about any pods, but thanks anyway (all of my stock guages seem to work very well), and as of 2 hours ago, the clunk is back, shifted from park to OD and saw a spike on the Speedo, so I will have to recheck the Ujoints/ etc......

This was my fault, not to make excuses, but I have been multitasking a LOT the past few weeks with the updates to our site and it caught up with me on that one. I apologize for bothering you.

 

[lesterl]

Your cool, never a bother.....

 

[lesterl]

Well had been having a hard pull to the right when braking, and excessive force to start from a stop, ended up finally replacing LF caliper and it stops good, starts good.

Had previously gotten a code 32, pulled the EGR and it did not hold vac. Purchased a Duralast (against my better judgement) EGR, and tried it, barely made it back into the garage with it. Put the old one back on and took the new one back for refund. Did find the TBI base gasket was blown at the same time, fixed that, but also some A$$HAT had cranked the IAC in and stripped the threads in the TBI and broke the IAC as well..... Gotta get a replacement for that someday, but it runs good for now.

 

[clkelley]

Sounds like there was a GREAT mechanic working on it before you got it...

Glad you got it running better though! :waytogo:

 

[lesterl]

Yeah, it sat in a field for AT LEAST 5 years before I got it, so that didnt help either. Little bit at a time I will get it all straightened out..... Rear end clunk I think is the leaf springs (or at least the 2 leafs that are left (2 are MIA, someone lowered it, kinda wish it were stock height.))

 

[lesterl]

Still havent gotten to the TBI or IAC yet, lost the tred on my RF tire the other day, ended up replacing the front set since they were old and didnt match anyway.

Truck has been recently pulling to the Left, so I replaced the Right caliper, still pulls, is a little squirly too, Idler arm doesnt look like it has much if any play in it, but perhaps the bushings in the control arms are toast? Looked like the arm may have moved laterally when I worked the RF tire back and forth seemed a little sloppy.... How hard are the bushings to replace, Ideas on that?

 

[iangeideman]

I have a 1995 5.7L (165,000mi) and my fruit coil blew, cost $85 at Autozone

 

[iangeideman]

Failed "E-Check" and have to spend at least $300 on shiny ****