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What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

Well as a temporary repair I swapped out the oil cooler for the shorter one. I ended up reaming out the inside of one of 3/8" npt fittings to two drill bit sizes below 1/2" since the two I had were different. now they are the same size inside diameter. cleaned it out from any burrs and cleaned out the cooler though it was already clean, I wanted to make sure. ran the truck till it was up to normal temp and the oil at the cooler was at 162 degrees making sure there were no leaks. oil pressure started out cold at about 60 psi and slowly decreased down to about 30 as it has been doing normally, so don't see any pressure loss there. This will work for now until I order another cooler.

This truck does not have a trans cooler external to the radiator, only the internal one. I was thinking and wondering if I should install one or not.

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on another note. I am curious if there is a device made that would grab hold of the front of the fender on the passenger side along the spot weld seam and allow me to pull to try and get it straight again. other than using a pair of vice grips and a chain hook, is there something I can get cheap to use a come-a-long to pull this area straight?

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While I was at it today I gave Black Betty a touch of class by installing the wheel well aluminum trim pieces that came with the truck.

I have been trying to come up with a good name for the 93 truck. all I can think of is Black Betty. Yall have any suggestions??

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dbrannon79 said:
Something like this... I found this on amazon for $35 it's jaws are about 4" in length. I wonder if that will work.

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This
jrsavoie said:
We've welded eyes off of eye bolts on many vice grips.

If you have some plate around, maybe you could make a clamp similar to the picture.

I like the idea of steady pressure and then maybe giving it a few wallops with a hammer and dollie bar
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And this
 
I have a random question for you guys... Trans temp gauge. my 93 has one plumbed into a tee up by the radiator in one of the trans lines. not sure if it's on the delivery or return side, but is this as good as any place it should be installed at?
 
If it is T’d into the transmission output to the auxiliary cooler in front of the radiator, I guess it beats drilling the pan and welding a bung.
Transmission lines output (HOT) side run to the auxiliary transmission cooler, feeds back to the lower radiator transmission cooler fitting and then back to the transmission through the upper connection.
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Mine doesn't have an aux cooler, only the one in the radiator. both lines are cut and spliced with a rubber hose just before the radiator and I believe the top connection on the radiator is the one that has the tee with the sensor probe. I would need to trace them back to the trans to make sure the connections weren't swapped at the radiator since they are cut and spliced with some hose.

which port on the trans is the hot side or output going to the cooler?
 
At the transmission, the pressurized / hot or output is the forward most line. W/o an auxiliary cooler, I’m hard pressed to say if it should run to the lower radiator port or the upper. My guess is it doesn’t make a real difference but someone more transmissiony guru will have to chime in on that. Still, given GM Bean counter economic factors of producing two different sets of lines….
This diagram is from an old project plan so it still includes the aux cooler.

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Paveltolz said:
If it is T’d into the transmission output to the auxiliary cooler in front of the radiator, I guess it beats drilling the pan and welding a bung.
Transmission lines output (HOT) side run to the auxiliary transmission cooler, feeds back to the lower radiator transmission cooler fitting and then back to the transmission through the upper connection.
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I believe there's an aluminum transmission pan available with the temp sensor port ready to.go.

Different application, I bought the deep aluminum pan for the Jeep.

.there was a lot of applications available.

I've been told by many that the cross member has to be moved to drop the pan on our vehicles.

Balderdash. I've removed about all I ever owned with the right combination of short sockets and 1/4" drive wobble extensions
 
Thanks guys, I will trace the cooler lines sometime this week and see which one the temp sender is on. I have thought about adding the aux trans cooler to this one since it doesn't have one. I have a factory style one that has been fitted with hose barb fittings on the threaded ports. I will just need to source the brackets to mount it. The factory nut inserts are there in the radiator support behind the grille, just nothing there to hold the cooler.
 
I traced the line that has the tee and gauge probe and it is in fact the forward facing port on the trans along with that line is going to the bottom port of the cooler in the radiator. I just wanted to verify this so I know I am getting the most accurate temp reading from the trans. I think I have seen the gauge get up to maybe 180 but never any higher. no issues with it but considering doing a fluid and filter change since it was sitting so long. the trans apparently only has about 2k -2500 miles on it since it was rebuild back in 2018.

I'm gathering a parts list for some TLC maintenance like belt, diff oil, GV-OD oil and what not. eventually I am going to need to pull the thermostat crossover since it has a coolant leak where it bolts to the drivers side head. I also want to flush out the radiator and engine like I did my 95.

so far it's been very reliable even though it has blowby and drinks oil!
 
Well... blow me away! I was digging in behind the rear bench seat and ran across a new engine belt along with what I think are the two brackets to mount a trans cooler in front of the radiator support. Not sure the age of the belt but you can tell it's never been installed. I might as well use it and buy me another new one to put back behind the seat! Might as well install the trans cooler too since I have it in the spare parts bin. I will clean it out before hand though.
 
Well, today I pulled my 95 in the driveway again to re-do my hillbilly driveway alignment job. this time I got the truck as level and straight as possible, then used two small jacks on the LCA's up close to the ball joints to get the tires up off the ground. re-checked the level of the truck going off the radiator support. then with my magnetic torpedo level that has a level bubble with increments on the brake rotor hubs, adjusted the camber to as close to zero as possible. also checked the caster by placing another level behind the spindle lining up with the center of the lower ball joint and the upper. verified both sides were at a positive caster and at the same increment mark.

lastly I took two straight edge levels resting on the lower section of the rotors and a tape measure front and back of the rotors to set the toe. got it to 1/16" toed in. (at work we set the big trucks to 1/16 to 1/8" in) took the truck out for a drive and this made a huge difference. tracks straight and no pulling to ether side other than when your on a road with a steeper crown. I drove on a couple roads in town that I knew had a steep crown in both directions. I had to correct the wheel the same amount both ways left and right. so I will call that good enough.

I'm still getting some clunks and clanks turning sharp. I think this is from the coil springs since when I did the LCA bushings the rubber on the top of the springs were mostly gone. need to take to a shop to verify this. as for the gear box.... well I'm sure it's shot. I still feel the truck shift a little side to side as if the front tires will turn slightly when I hit a bump or rut in the road, but it's not near as bad as it was before I did this today. when the tires are up off the ground you can lock the steering wheel and still turn the tires side to side a little. I need to see what the best and affordable option is for a good gear box. RA wants around $400 for a new one, they show two brand but I'm not sure if these are good ones or not. for the red head ones, I have heard some folks have issues and others don't but theirs are all reman units. I would like to get new if possible.


 
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