Well in case you had not guessed from my facebook post a month or so back I bought a truck.
It runs and moves. Guy said sometimes it would shift and sometimes it wouldn't. Supposedly the engine has been swapped for a 1989 350 out of a suburban. I can tell you by looking at the truck it had a case of bad mechanic so I don't think the shifting is a major issue. Included with the purchase was the trans and transfer case from the 1989 sub the engine came from. BUT I think if I can't fix it I'll just let a professional do it. I got the truck cheap enough ($1150) I can afford a rebuilt transmission. It's a 700r4.
Basically I missed the Avalanche too much. I can't go to Home Depot and get wood in the impala, I can't go camping really in the impala (my favorite spot you have to cross a stream about 12" deep depending on the season). I can't haul or pull anything in the Impala.
If I decide I don't like the truck my brother Jay said he would buy it and use it as a plow truck. It has been had some body work done to it a while back but it has ZERO rust. It's simply amazing to crawl under these southern cars/trucks.
The exhaust was trashed so it now has Summit headers and Thrush glasspacks until it gets to the exhaust shop where it will get the flowmasters I have. I have all the tune up parts, so that is on the agenda for Sunday. then to check all the brakes etc before getting plates.
I feel like got a lot done today. New plugs, new wires, new cap, new rotor, new front brake lines (from frame to caliper, they were cracked and peeling). Removed all the tires and checked the brakes, they all looked good. Couple more under hood items and then some interior things and it should be ready for road test. The tires are pretty dry rotted so that's first once I get plates, then an exhaust because glass packs are loud. Then to evaluate the transmission.
Today was wet & cold. So I decided to visit the DMV. Title transferred. insured and plates. Now I can begin test runs on the road legally.
I also pulled it in the garage half way and changed the GMC grill to a chevy grill. It's not show quality but it will work for the beater truck. I really don't like the GMC grills.
A. brakes bled (although at the cost of a new caliper on the passenger side, I broke the bleeder).
B. fuse box corrected. I don't think the guy had a single fuse in the correct spot. 15amp spots had 30 amp fuses, 25 amp spots had 15 amp fuses. I think he used whatever he had.
C. got the interior blower motor / fans / heat working.
D. test drove it on the road and verified it does NOT shift out of 1st gear.
tomorrow.
1. double check the timing
2. crawl under it to check the transmission connections
3. maybe to pull a part for a passenger door window actuator
4. auxiliary gauges - amp - temp - oil pressure
Monday to stop by the transmission guy for a talk/estimate.
I was just reading a Q&A in one of my magazines recently where a guy had an '80 G10 van which wouldn't shift out of 1st gear. It had a TH350 tranny. The answer was:
"The reason that your Th350 transmission isn't shifting out of 1st gear is because the the gear on the governor is stripped. The governor is the device that monitors the vehicle speed by being directly geared to the output shaft of the transmission. As the speed climbs and the governor spins at a higher speed, the governor valve shifts and feeds back line pressure to overcome the shift valves in the valve body and time the shift properly. When the plastic gear strips, the feedback isn't there to the shift valves and the trans is stuck in First."
It's relatively easy to check out the governor. Might be worth a try. On the TH350, on the driver's side in front of the tail-housing flange is a dome shaped cover. The cover retains the governor and it is retained only with a press fit. Tap the cover off with a screwdriver and small hammer and the governor will slide right out.
While racing GMJohn with my Olds 88 with the 455 and th350 I snapped the rear drive shaft U joint.
Once I repaired the U joint I found the tranny wouldn't shift so I replaced it with a junk yard 350
and eventully went to the th400. But I later discovered that when the drive shaft was wiping
around that it broke the Governor gear. Eventually that tranny was put back into service and
I think it was in BP's TransAm.
1. triple checked the timing today. good to go.
2. removed the drivers door panel to find some mickey mouse wiring, fixed it.
3. fixed the dash cluster so the gauges appear to work.
4. fixed the gauge cluster lights, they wouldn't come on with the light switch, would have been hard to drive at night.
5. chased down the fittings to install the auxiliary gauges, got new sensors while I was at it. I am trying to keep the original dash ones working will adding the mechanical ones.
6. got new tires mounted and balanced. the old ones were so dry rotted and cracked they were unsafe.
I really think this truck is cool. I hope to see it sometime and hear the cool induction noise. I remember Dan Martin had the same vintage, same style, and the induction noise could be heard for miles.
The goal is for it to be my tow / camping vehicle. So you should see it sometime. I do need to pick up the Studster's seat. It's far from perfect but it easy to work on and should be very reliable once I get it squared away.
