2002 2500HD - Solid Axle Tow Rig

jeepinmatt said:
So have you removed something that limited the shape of the stock one? I can't see any engineering or manufacturing reason to have made it the stock way unless there was a major clearance issue on both sides.
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Kinda looks like an engineer really wanted to use Hydro-forming for that part and came up with a way to do so.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I dig the 295s. I can still keep the nice WeatherTech mudflaps and not rub. I'd have to crank the front up some more and lose the flaps with 315s more than likely. Then again...the way they're making tires now, they might be the same height once they're installed :D

I'll definitely run Chevy center caps, but I'm leaning towards the late 90s set I have because it's black around the bowtie in the center and it breaks up the brightness of the wheels along with matching the truck.

@77GreenMachine I DID get spotted by @Lurch830 two weeks ago when I was on 64 on my way home from Pax River, MD with a bed full of 40s! I will totally let you buy me lunch too :D
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The tires gave it away!
 
I was right. Definitely needed an orifice tube. Wish I had done it when I had everything else apart, but oh well. It's cold and consistent now....I'm happy :D

I'm pretty sure that hard line came out of my donor truck after the wreck, so I'm not surprised at how nasty it was. Most of the other crap fell off of it when I took it out.

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Croatan_Kid said:
I was right. Definitely needed an orifice tube. Wish I had done it when I had everything else apart, but oh well. It's cold and consistent now....I'm happy :D

I'm pretty sure that hard line came out of my donor truck after the wreck, so I'm not surprised at how nasty it was. Most of the other crap fell off of it when I took it out.

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Mine was real nasty too when I got it out the other day. I also got a quick lesson on how the AC works, so knowing how that works I understand the importance of the orifice tube needing to be clean and functioning.
Some are right in front of the Evap coil requiring dash removal, we’re pretty lucky ours is easily accessible!
 
I kinda kicked myself for not changing it any of the other times I've had the system open....it was 1.79 after all. I just kept forgetting about it.

I just knew it had to be clogged up. It was the only thing I haven't replaced since I've had the truck, other than the compressor itself. If it ever acts up, then it'll get a new one. I ain't playing games!
 
Gotta have them to put another set of tires on my CUCV.

I might have a set of 16x8 Weld "outbacks" for sale soon though. We'll see.

They've got 11.00R16 Michelin XZLs on them.
 
I got my center caps cut out and the tires dismounted from the Dodge wheels. I think I might swap them on Friday after my doctor appointment. I've got some hub centric rings for them too, just for shits and giggles. I just need to stop by a tire store, grab some high pressure valve stems, and I'll be good to go!

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Oh...almost forgot. I'm working on adding an external oil cooler. It should be pretty simple, but kinda spendy. The plan is a sandwich adapter off the oil filter, -12 AN lines, and a cooler of some sort mounted...somewhere.

I don't know if I feel like bothering with a cooler/fan combo and mounting it back by the fuel cooler...or if I want to get a thinner/longer cooler with no fan and mounting it up under the front bumper so air is pushed through it.

Max flow on the oiling system is 18 GPM....that seems like quite a bit. The oil in these also gets pretty toasty. I can't believe they don't have a better oil cooler on them from the factory. It's just a small oil to water cooler that's about the size of a pop tart.

Here's the adapter:
Mocal Oil Cooler Sandwich Plate - Fits GMC Duramax Diesels

I've been looking at coolers from Derale and Fluidyne mostly. I guess I just need to look under the truck and decide how much room I have to mount something.

Stay tuned.
 
New rims and center caps today. It was a lot like work... The width (both rim vs tire and overall track width) is to my liking and they're nice and smooth, although I do have some hub centric rings on the way just for warm fuzzies.

The rims are off of an 09 Dodge 2500 and center caps are 95-98 Chevy 2500 according to the back side of the center caps.

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I finally broke down and got the windows tinted. I also washed it this afternoon. My hub centric rings should be here by the end of the week. Not much else to report on besides that stuff.

Looking through the front windows
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Looking through the back windows
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From the inside, looking out
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Oh, and Invisible Glass is a damn good window cleaner!
 
Crank your torsion bars down a little so it's got some positive rake, that way when you load your trailer you sit level :D unless of course you ride unladen 98% the time,.. Just my take.
 
"Torsion bars"... I'll get right on that :lol:

I don't have any yet, but at some point I'll get some air bags and it won't squat as much with the trailer hooked up. It doesn't do too bad as is, but it could be better. It'll hit the overloads and stop.


That's not bad for a 4k trailer and 11.5k excavator.
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I've been having the 1/4 tank issue for a while now and I've just been dealing with it. However, losing 6 gallons of my tank's capacity is getting annoying....especially when towing.

So, I'm going to drop the tank tomorrow and install a new fuel pickup. I'm hoping to find a cracked or disconnected accordion hose, but we'll see. Since I absolutely refuse to go with a sump, I'm hoping this works out for me.

It's pretty simple. A new fuel bowl pickup, a piece of 5/8 hose, a hose clamp, a -10 AN bulkhead fitting, and a 90 degree -10 AN to -8 AN hose barb.

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Well, it seems that it worked. I'm not sure if it was starving because of the screen on the bottom of the factory pickup OR if the inlet hole was too small. Maybe a combination of both, perhaps? Either way, I'm satisfied!

Measured the depth of the tank, added 1/4", cut the hose, and put everything together after a good cleaning. I was going to replace the fuel level sender, but couldn't get one in time. It still works and is actually pretty accurate for a GM.

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Finally did some stuff just because I wanted to.

Picked up an AAM 11.5 diff cover. They were used on the Max Tow packages in Dodges. It's a nice piece that comes with new bolts and (basically) a Lube Locker gasket. Everything says factory fill is 3.17 qts, but if it didn't take every bit of a gallon, I'll kiss your ass! I guess the cover adds a little extra.

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I had also been wanting to change the exhaust since I got the truck. So I finallllly got a 5" stainless Flo Pro setup with a muffler. Sounds good and looks pretty good too. They use really nice band clamps as well. Now I just need to decide if I want to put a tip on it or not.

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I swear, one of these days I'm going to get a front driveshaft from @Junkyard Dog and swap that damn transfer case!
 
Where did you get the cover? Everywhere I've looked has been out of stock or ridiculously overpriced.

Duane
 
They must have just recently come back in stock. I had resigned to getting a Yukon copy of it that was more expensive, but figured I'd check the AAM ones out again. CM Gear Works and a place on Ebay have them for about the same price after shipping. They'll both pop up if you Google "AAM 74030017"

It seems to work fairly well. After my drive home today, I got under the truck and felt the housing and the cover. It's definitely drawing some heat out of there and I'd guess shedding it faster too. Plus, it looks good and has a kick ass gasket!

@skyhighZJ I really wanted a 90 degree exit and this was the best option. I had seen a few in person down at Diesel Addiction and that's what they stock/sell, so I figured it must be pretty good stuff. No complaints here...except when the front pipe fell and hit me in the face. That definitely hurt...and bled.
 
Wasn't it you that said you didn't want to do a sump for the fuel because you didn't want it to get caught on anything because you use the truck?

Then you go and put an aluminum cover on the axle so when you back up over a stump you'll bust the cover and not realize it till your rear axle locks up at about 80 on the highway.










:popcorn:
 
No...I'm pretty sure I said I just don't want to drill a big ass hole in a perfectly good fuel tank. I'm not worried about tearing the sump off, they're pretty secure, but I feel like they're a bandaid for a bigger issue.

In the event I did back in to something, I'm not the type to just go on about my business and assume it's fine. I do use the truck, but I can't think of a time that I've ever backed in to anything square in the diff cover or a time that I've ever backed over a stump.


:popcorn:
 
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FINALLY swapped the new transfer case in the truck. It works perfectly! I just need a front drive shaft and I'll be back in bidness! :D

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I finally shortened the front driveshaft I bought and got it installed a week or two ago. However, after putting some miles on the transfer case, it appears that the output seals want to leak. It's seeping out of the front one, but the rear one is slinging it all up under the truck. That'll get looked at tomorrow. I want to change the oil in it anyway.

Just did a 762 mile round trip with the trailer up to Leesburg, VA and back to pick up a free 4 post lift for a buddy. Ran like a raped ape, got 13 mpg running anywhere from 65 to 78 mph with the AC on. Wasn't a bad trip, but I'm damn glad to be home and I'll be happier when the transfer case isn't leaking anymore.

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For the record, the front shaft needed to be something like 36.5". I think that's 4" shorter than stock. I didn't rebuild it either. Everything still felt tight, so I'll do that later and shoot some paint on it.
 
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