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crawlinss

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Everything posted by crawlinss

  1. im going to try and keep my SS and do a long, over budget resto to it for the next 3 years. rust has taken its hold. in the mean time I need a work truck. im looking for (and having little luck finding): rust free/very little surface rusty GM full size pickup that will make it back to Illinois without any issues. 7000 max. firms. flights are cheap, ill fly anywhere within a 12 hr drive of Chicago. prefer anything but standard cab. prefer 2wd. prefer anything with a 4l80. other than that, im pretty flexible. I found an ideal 2500 in Georgia but the dealer is kinda being a choad. dings and dents ok. don't care about color. id love to not have a black or red truck for awhile. id love a 4dr with leather, but my budget is limiting, I understand. am I pissing in the wind here?
  2. i for sure agree, and that was an idea i kicked around but 2500s are expensive when theyre in good shape. i liked the idea of heavy duty everything but no diesel. currently i think that would be playing my weakest hand as i would have to keep all SS stuff for myself instead of selling for a running truck, as well as buying a rust free 2500, and still need to part out the SS. if i had the money i think thats the route i would go, but for now just having a reliable vehicle is the most important part. the sheet metal for the cab is less than 300, id need maybe $20 in sand, but paint will be fairly expensive. i wont be cheaping out on product, that is what killed the bed of the truck. i had it down to bare metal and fixed the wheel arches, painted with kirker products, and the spot where the plastic bed rail cover touches the bed had a rust line in weeks, and by the time i could get to it, it already had bubbles. thats when i quit, and the wheel arch failed soon afterward. i hate battling the rust demon, but when done properly is better than oem. im learning that annual reapplication of wax and stuff like that is crucial, there is NO 'use once and its fine' product, even por15 and that stuff needs to be maintained in the salt. thanks for the reply!
  3. hey guys, I need some advice. ive been wrestling this decision since the brakes went out in October. I don't know what to do with my truck. 03 ss, mostly stock, runs great except for transfer case bushing issue and now needs every single brake line, fuel line, and hard trans line under the truck. every last line is questionable. I am also completely unwilling to just stab ni-cop through all the rust and stuff and kinda hope for the best. the truck also needs inner/outer rockers, cab corners, and most of the bed is rotten. I have the time, I have most of the skill, I have the room, and I have access to most equipment I need to actually fix it right. I wish I had actual shop space, but the driveway will suffice. I have a daily driver car, so I can take my time to a point. im not rich, I would most definitely prefer to not be tethered to a car payment, nor do I have much interest in newer trucks. so that being said, the clearest paths I can take are as follows: sell off all the ss stuff that sells really quick, sell the driveline, do a quick partout, cut it up, and send it to the junkyard. this is my least favorite idea. I don't want to butcher up this truck. it may not be a GTO or something, but it is a 2 owner, never wrecked genuine SS. might net 3000 bucks to spend on/towards a less rusty truck. sell as is. the lowball offers ive gotten so far have been insulting, despite it being able to run through gears etc. no one wants rusty trucks. do a mild restoration. pull the bed. pull the cab. clean/grind/sandblast frame and undercarriage. brakes in rear need rebuild axle to axle, and all parking brake cables. replace rockers/corners, and repaint. this is the point where I veer off track. that part is easy enough, but then you realize, its the perfect time for a hydroboost swap, that a 4l80 swap wouldn't be TOO expensive and the 4l65 is reliable but tired, and t-case needs work, so theres no better time for a 2wd swap as I wont drive it in winter again. then again, my finances would really strain to cover an extra few grand in those swaps, so getting that fancy might not be realistic. I could leave the bed crappy for the time being, its only 6 bolts so no big deal taking it off/putting it on a few times. the whole truck needs paint and minor dings worked, but is very workable. at that point, I could put the cab back on, and have the worst of the rust handled (that being the underside of the bed, the frame, the underside of the cab) rock it as is for the rest of the year, working on cosmetic stuff as I can, then maybe next year rebuild the bed (all sheet metal is available, and this is still the cheapest option if you can do it, at least in Chicago rust free beds are 1000+) and paint and finish it. the engine runs great, but if I came this far, I would guess that at this time I could actually put in the garage and work in the winter, so I could pull the fenders off/pull the engine out, and sandblast/rebuild the front section from firewall forward, regasket whatever needs it, and have a very clean and tidy rust free truck. I understand the concept of rust removal and sealing, and trust me product selection is still up for debate. I did paint/body a while back, I still have everything I need (except I might try out the harbor freight spot welder), and could use a hobby to focus on, as the SS turned into a work truck/daily 10 years ago. I know that the spare tire winch section is rotted out, but all body mounts and the rest of the x members look intact. so that being said, is it worth it to do this to a truck that is not likely to appreciate in value? its been the best vehicle ive ever owned, but I don't want to go down the financial rabbit hole of 'doing it for the love' and being broke for it. honestly, the perfect truck for me for the forseeable future would be a 2wd arrival blue 4l80 swapped Silverado SS, little baby cam. now would be the time to make that happen. im a mechanic, and I know how slow I work when im doing it for enjoyment, its very sporadic. I can haul ass for an hour, or several hours, or a day, or a week, and just totally lose steam. or the weather goes to crap. or whatever. I don't want to be 'that guy' with a rotten out vehicle hes 'gonna fix someday'. the plate sticker is about to expire so its decision time. any thoughts welcome.
  4. hey guys, in the middle of a situation with my ss. a few weeks ago i started getting a rumbling throughout the truck on coast/decel. i checked under the truck and found tons of slop in the drivetrain that appeared to be at the input yoke of the rearend. so i limped it up to my friends shop, he started getting into it, and he found that the output of my transfer case had damage, the seal was shredded, (which explained the oil marks on my driveway) and there was some gouging into the housing. so we pulled the transfer case, it wasnt all that bad on a lift with some long wobble extensions and some flexing ratchet wrenches. got it on the bench and found it had been running dry. everything inside seems fine at this point so were proceeding with replacing the seal, and the rear transfer case housing which i found for like $110 on fleabay. it showed up quick, and looks to be the correct part, its allegedly a 'problem solver' part so the output bushing looks different, we need to verify its going to work, but so far this common failure has only cost about 250 in parts and a few hours labor thus far. however if the trans craps the bed, that looks like a job ill farm out. its buried under the truck pretty tight.
  5. so which transfer case is in the 03 ss?? turns out my issue wasnt the axle, the transfer case output bearing/bushing has had it.
  6. so my rear end has a ton of slop in the pinion and unfortunately we have to rebuild the thing. i dont have 1600 bones laying around to replace the axle, and thats what theyre going for around here. question is as follows 2003 silv ss, g80, 4.10's. what SIZE RING GEAR IS IN THE AXLE?! i cant find any other way to narrow it down without measuring. from my searches the 10 bolt can have either a 9.5" or there is a smaller one too?? wtf? any help appreciated.
  7. im tired of this truck sitting in my driveway. i love it, but i just dont drive it enough to warrant letting it keep falling apart. this is the longest ive ever held onto a vehicle, and the most mileage ive ever put on a vehicle with no major issues. i love my baby. gotta love her enough to let her go to someone who will bring her back to where she needs to be. the good: i would drive this truck cross country RIGHT NOW if the exhaust didnt fall off on NYE. we sent it from chicago to georgia in like october, towing a car back, and got 14.8 mpg. this truck does everything well except pass gas stations. u-joints just done. up to date on all maintenance. im a diesel mechanic by trade, i have taken very good care of this truck. mobil 1 in engine/axles, autotrac II in t case, correct trans fluid always. comes with tons of extra parts. the bad: has chevy rocker/bed rust. ive restored a bunch of vehicles, the rust is not terrible. you cant even see it unless youre under the truck, but i would be doing inners/outers and cab corners. sheet metal is about $300 for all parts needed. bed should be replaced, but you can fire some bondo into the gape above the passenger rear wheel, rattle can it black, and still get compliments. i just dont like operating like that. the bed is rough by my standards. steering wheel controls dont control the head unit. the LED on the adapter flashes, it may be miswired, it may be bad out of the box. for the money, the boss head unit is awesome. i would recommend hooking it to dimmer or whatever as the gps screen is too bright at night. exhaust fell off. i will be replacing on saturday morning if no one shows serious interest. truck has pipes where cats hang out.....no idea why still passes illinois emissions. never wrecked. i bought it at 53k, now has like 166k. since i bought it, ive done a water pump, belts, tensioners, plugs, wires, headers (short edelbrock) tuner, cold air intake. its run in this configuration for almost 10 years. it has slotted front/rear rotors and good pads. the brakes still suck, dont worry. its gotten u-joints, transfer case output shaft seal, tie rod ends, other wear items. its been greased every 3k. freshly rebuilt cluster with white led's. newer starter/battery. i do not have factory wheels. comes with 20" polished gm truck wheels with good tires. good spare. bad spare winch. airbags for towing. these will allow you to be an idiot, so dont be an idiot. you can put 3k in the bed and only your tires will sag. but dont be dumb, we did it just to test the limits of the bags. you would not want to drive on the street like that. i towed a small enclosed trailer for my race bike and the airbags helped out big time. has a gauge/switch in cab. newer digital hvac controller. bottom seat cover drivers seat could be changed. headliner isnt sagging, but its dirty. im a mechanic, not a detailer. 'brake cooler' ducts have been glued, stapled, filled, reinforced, and patched together many times. they sit straight but the left one has no more repairs left in it. rear axle just serviced, i thought it went out, but it was just bad u-joints. no pix right this second as im at work, but i can send pix to serious buyers/traders. im motivated to trade/sell, but im not going to give it away for 3k, so please, save your lowball offers. they will only be spread around car forums to be mercilessly flamed. i will trade for a chevy/gmc 1500hd, 2500, 2500hd, anything that doesnt have a 4l60/4l65, i looking for a snow plow/work truck. 773-206-1968. text any time, i will respond asap.
  8. i have one in a frame. everythings for sale for the right price LOL.
  9. Need the g80 w 4.10's, preferably disk-to-disk. Will pay for crating and shipping if you are more than 200 miles from Chicago and willing to ship. I am desperate to get this thing fixed please post up if you have one or call or text 773-206-1968 thank you very much John. I have access to a million and a half rear ends with 373s but nothing with 410s. Could I just install a different gear ratio in an all wheel drive Silverado? I can adjust the speedo with my tuner. Would that hurt the truck?
  10. Need the g80 w 4.10's, preferably disk-to-disk. Will pay for crating and shipping if you are more than 200 miles from Chicago and willing to ship. I am desperate to get this thing fixed please post up if you have one or call or text 773-206-1968 thank you very much John. I have access to a million and a half rear ends with 373s but nothing with 410s. Could I just install a different gear ratio in an all wheel drive Silverado? I can adjust the speedo with my tuner. Would that hurt the truck?
  11. I know theres a million people that do it, who is the sss member that does it and upgrades with led's and all that stuff? also interested in having the headlight switch panel etc upgraded to led's. any help appreciated!
  12. 99 escalade 16"s fit, with a bit of clearance to the rear calipers . And they look way better than what I had. Yay!
  13. were due to have 3-6" of snow on Saturday, and I currently have my 20" chrome ss wheels were re-chromed, so the inside of the wheel is bare aluminum, and im deathly scared the salt will destroy them. I have a set of snow tires/wheels that ive used for many years, but the tires have had it, and I think i'd rather just buy a new set of wheels/tires (used) instead of new tires for those ugly wheels, and the price seems to be about the same. my questions are as follows: I bought a set of these, powdercoated them, added tires, and went to install them, and they don't clear the rear brakes. http://www.originalwheels.com/chevrolet-wheels/tahoe1996rims.php so, I bought a set like these (only they are older, black/machined, and not very good looking) instead (long story) http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/wheels/mb_wheels/vehicle/viewProductDetail.do?v=011672|2003&pc=47062 and they fit just fine, and that's what ive been using. my question is this: can anyone tell me which OEM Chevrolet/gmc wheels, 16" or larger, will bolt right onto my truck? everything I see gives me diameter, width, and backspacing, but no internal clearance info. I am talking to several craigslist people, and want to make sure I don't have fitment issues. also, why do 2011+ wheels not fit our trucks? everything I have read says that they should? thanks!
  14. 2003 ss. does anyone know which brake package code(s) would work with no reprogramming?
  15. well, its getting cold here again, which means my HID's will be acting up again. I'd like to switch to LED's, for obvious reasons, but was very underwhelmed with the set I bought last year. they were fairly cheap, so I wasn't too upset, but i'd like to get some serious wattage in this cottage. that, and I cant flash my high beams at people with HIDs. stupid warm up time. any help appreciated! links get extra credit.
  16. i currently have the same code. again. this will be the 3rd time ive changed this cursed thing. you get what you pay for. it only takes a few minutes to replace, its under the drivers front corner of the bed. gm/ ac delco or bust.
  17. I remember it being much better in the summers before this one. does anyone know of a location I could find specs and accurate wiring and troubleshooting materials for this truck? I remember being able to see my breath on humid days. I miss that LOL.
  18. im posting because I am out of ideas. I am a transport refrigeration tech for a living, so i'd like to think Im halfway knowledgeable on a/c systems, but this one has me really stumped. my a/c has been flawless up until this summer. earlier in the year it started acting up, and I attributed it to the fact that up until about a month ago, my truck had a bad parasitic amp draw (aftermarket stereo) and I deleted the cats, and with that, I had a tech at a gm dealer give it a tune so I would not have a check engine light on and still pass emissions (which it does.) the problem with that, is that when the battery is disconnected, the pcm has to relearn so it is very lopey at idle and just off idle for about a week. so lopey to the fact that it sounds like it has an insane cam in it, and you have to build rpm's on the brake coming up to a stop light and while parked. I assumed that the SS a/c system with the transducer and digital display had the ability to watch rpm, and turn off the clutch below a certain rpm threshold. so now the truck is running well, but a/c clutch still does not engage until driving about 15mph give or take. I have been swamped at work, so I threw a clutch cycle switch on it to see if it would work. not only did it not work, I must have overtorqued the switch, because the plastic threads stripped, and leaked out all the refrigerant. ok, no big deal. so I evacuate and recharge the system, and put the original switch back in (the one on the accumulator.) the condenser is perfectly clean, and pressures are optimal while someone holds the rpm's above 1500 or so. it still does not work at idle. it will occasionally, but not consistently as it should. I have a temp probe in the dash outlet, and on the highway it will put out air as low as 52 degrees. at idle the output is ambient. I am very curious what the function of the 3 pin transducer is. if youre standing in front of the passenger side headlight and look down, you can see it on a line just above the compressor. any thoughts?
  19. My passenger side. Has happened this summer for the fourth time since vied owned it.
  20. what is the best, most reliable way to get mid 13's out of an SSS? im very curious what it takes. I have basic bolt on's and truck goes 15.0 as it sits. CAI, short tubes, cat delete, hypertech. thanks!
  21. so, ive been battling a battery draw issue for about 5 years, mainly because I was driving the truck every day so I didn't really care, but I got a work beater and it became an issue. after a bunch of research, and reading some very informative posts on this forum, I worked on it a bit last night, and im pretty sure it wont be an issue anymore. ill know for sure in a few days, but it seems much better. my setup is as follows: factory bose deluxe system, with a pac sub adapter and an adaptor for ipod/aux input. the amp turn-on went to the pink wire as every wiring print seemed to show. every now and then i'd get a THUMP from the subs when opening the door, keying up the truck, etc. never thought much of it. so last night I rewired it to the brown acc wire behind the driver's knee bolster, and the problem seems to have gone away. if the stereo is on, and I key off the truck, the aftermarket subs turn off, but the stereo stays on until I open the door, so it is acting much different, and definitely have 12v key on, 0v key off, verified with a meter, so im pretty confident. will report back in several days, but I believe its straightened out.
  22. several questions: paintchip, where in Illinois are you? im in south Chicago. how much did he charge you for this? I have bulbs out and want it repaired. what is his turnaround, and what is his contact info? thanks!!!
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