Tranz Zam

I'm applying for "GETBNT" for one of my Trans Ams. Hopefully they don't read into it, and just approve it. lol We're only allowed to have six characters, and we cant mix letters and numbers together. The plate also needs to start with 2 letters before using any numbers. I hate those rules, because you can get pretty crafty with seven characters and mixing numbers.

What did your diff sound like? I have a noise in the front end under a load, almost like a wheel bearing, but when you take your foot off the pedal it quiets down. I have a feeling the front diff is tired in mine.

Sorry for the late reply. The passenger side was weak. I brought it to my buddies shop, and had him bleed the system with his scanned and a powerful vacuum bleeder. It got the passenger side working properly, and the pedal is much better now. The brakes on these trucks are a giant pain in the ass. When you open the system completely (like replacing all the steel lines), bleeding becomes your main battle. Bolting everything together is the easy part.

Sooooooo I replaced the proportioning valve with a new one, and now I have brakes. I decided to take the old one apart, and the internal valve was stuck in the closed position, blocking fluid from getting to the ABS box, which I guess was also supplying the rear brakes. It was full of terrible looking fluid too. I now have brakes, with a powerful stream of fluid exiting the bleeder screws. The passenger front has a weak stream compared to the rest, but its working because I can hear the pads moving when the brake is pressed. Strange, but at least the truck stops again.

I think ACDELCO 21998450 is the correct part # for these trucks, but I'm not 100% sure. The SS seems to have a hodge podge of parts that seem to be borrowed from other GM trucks, which can make things confusing. It was fun figuring out what master cylinder was the correct one.

I actually think that truck looks pretty good!

So I'm having issues getting my brakes to bleed. I installed all new stainless steel lines, new rubber hoses, and a new master cylinder. Right now I'm only getting fluid to the driver front caliper. The passenger front is getting a little fluid (just dribbles), and the rear aren't getting any fluid. I had a friend cycle the ABS with his scan tool, and still have nothing. I then tried to get the fluid to pull thru with a vacuum bleeder, but I still got nothing. So today I removed the two feed lines going into the ABS box, and noticed only one was pushing fluid. I removed the rear cap on the proportioning valve and noticed the pin was pushed out, so I pushed it back in. I still cant get anything out of one the lines. Does this sound like a bad proportioning valve? I replaced the ABS box with a good known unit, but I still have nothing getting to the rear calipers, and a very weak stream at the passenger front. This is driving me nuts, so any help is appreciated! Thanks guys!

My first personal SS, but my Dad owned an identical truck a few years before I picked this one up. It's definitely not the first time playing with LS based stuff. I actually have completed 3 LS swaps on other cars, including my 71 Trans Am, my Dads 69 Camaro, and my old 73 K10 truck. After I posted the other day, I looked up the mystery clunk. I immediately found info on the steering column, so that's where I'll look into first. I've owned two other GMT800 trucks, but they were both 99s, and as I understand it this clunk happens on 03+ trucks.

The originals are fogged up and look terrible, but I'll hang onto them just because they're original to the truck. I'm trying to track down a clunk in the front end right now. The tie rods, ball joints, and hubs seem to be tight. There's an obvious clunk when turning slowly, and you can feel it. It happens when you turn the wheel slightly in either direction, and doesn't need to be a good turn for it to do it. Any ideas where to start looking?

I know you're against painting the pieces, but I've painted countless pieces with SEM dye, and they come out looking great. They also hold up extremely well.

How's it going guys? I picked up an 03 SSS about 2 months ago. The poor thing was sitting in a driveway under a tree for over a year before I got to it. Surprisingly the paint and body held up great! The bumpers were scuffed and cracked from being bumped and backed into while it was in Boston for a few years. Ended up picking the truck up for next to nothing. I got the bumpers fixed and painted, installed new lower vents in the front bumper, ran new stainless steel brake lines and installed a new master cylinder. I also had the cluster rebuilt, as the gauges decided to have a mind of their own. Also installed some clear corner headlights. I currently have some long tube headers, a catless Y-pipe, and a Flowmaster exhaust waiting in the wings for the truck. I'm waiting to install them after I install my camshaft. I thought I had more pics, but I only have these two so far. I'll grab some more, but you've all seen a black SSS before lol.