gmc info

[JONSSTIHL]

does anyone know what year the gmc 2500's went to fuel injection

I'm looking for a pick up but would like to find an old school carburator, no power windows bare bones pick up with no electronics in it and was wondering.

I know the 1500's went to injection around 88 but not sure if the 2500's follow along

I found an 89 2500 with a 305 for cheap but i'm not sure if it meets my no electronics wish.

also found an 86 chevy diesel but I think I've heard that they are trouble.

I would like to have a gas engine as I'm more familiar with the technology and repairs

thanks for any help

 

[04ultra]

does anyone know what year the gmc 2500's went to fuel injection

I'm looking for a pick up but would like to find an old school carburator, no power windows bare bones pick up with no electronics in it and was wondering.

I know the 1500's went to injection around 88 but not sure if the 2500's follow along

I found an 89 2500 with a 305 for cheap but i'm not sure if it meets my no electronics wish.

also found an 86 chevy diesel but I think I've heard that they are trouble.

I would like to have a gas engine as I'm more familiar with the technology and repairs

thanks for any help

I would have to say 1987 ...Had a 87 that was TBI......


.

 

[spacemule]

Wasn't the 454 available as either tbi or carb for several years?

 

[2000ssm6]

Alldata is telling me various engine and fuel delivery options for 85-87. Older trucks like that may have a different motor or fuel system than what it came with. The 6.2L dsl were good motors, the 6.5L turbos had a few injection pump problems(still a good motor). Not a bad fix if you knew the gm parts guy, those were around $1500 last time I did one(plus 5 hours labor). Hard to beat a good turbo diesel though.

 

[chowdozer]

Some 87's. I've seen them both ways when I'm looking for a tbi donor for my truck. 88 all of them had it.

 

[pbtree]

I would have to say 1987 ...Had a 87 that was TBI......
.

Correct.

 

[ShoerFast]

You could just convert any year, but my .02 cents worth would be to run the TBI or FI , my opinion would be based on many reasons, but cold starts are right up there, drivability is a score also.

Roller lifters and Vortex heads in a FI is what I would look for.

If you do find one to convert, or find a Quadrajet/HEI modle, there are a few drivability and power tricks to make them haul the beans, and not be to bad on econimy.

Here is nearly a must,

Crane Cams makes a kit to re-curve the distributor, fallow the instructions to a "T" and that kit will pay for it's self in just a few hundred miles.

JEGS or Summit Racing, would be happy to sell you one, about $30 bucks.

 

[chowdozer]

There were two barrel and four barrels available on the 1987 GMC 2500. You can buy floats for them. M4MC is a Rochester Quadrajet which I know well. I should, at one time I had over 35 of them.

 

[chowdozer]

You could just convert any year, but my .02 cents worth would be to run the TBI or FI , my opinion would be based on many reasons, but cold starts are right up there, drivability is a score also.

Roller lifters and Vortex heads in a FI is what I would look for.

If you do find one to convert, or find a Quadrajet/HEI modle, there are a few drivability and power tricks to make them haul the beans, and not be to bad on econimy.

Here is nearly a must,

Crane Cams makes a kit to re-curve the distributor, fallow the instructions to a "T" and that kit will pay for it's self in just a few hundred miles.

That's a good unit. I'd also add a distributor recurve which will help alot. Bring in as much advance as you can as early as possible.

 

[ShoerFast]

That's a good unit. I'd also add a distributor recurve which will help alot. Bring in as much advance as you can as early as possible.

Yup!

Vac plugged, do a few full-power runs, swap the springs till your a change away from a ping at all speeds (filing a little on the advance wight stops may help)

With the best springs in there for an almost ping, or one step tighter then pinging, check and see if the ol-shoer is clairvoyant enough to tell you to use 1-heavy and 1-med spring?

With the vacuum adjustment all the way in, reconnect the hose and drive, taking 4 turns out at each drive, till it starts to ping at speed changes , or just slightly pings, back in 2 turns from there., better MPG and way better then stock drivability and power

Back in the day, I should have scored a bunch of Quadrajets, there were only about a half dozen under most mechanics bench.

I bet I worked 2 full days tinkering with the first one I had a problems with, but after figuring out there (loose term here) every trick, I really like them!

I wouldn't mind having a fist full of different sized primary and secondary jets and rods, and a few different length springs anymore. I hope they never go extinct.

 

[chowdozer]

Yup!

Vac plugged, do a few full-power runs, swap the springs till your a change away from a ping at all speeds (filing a little on the advance wight stops may help)

With the best springs in there for an almost ping, or one step tighter then pinging, check and see if the ol-shoer is clairvoyant enough to tell you to use 1-heavy and 1-med spring?

With the vacuum adjustment all the way in, reconnect the hose and drive, taking 4 turns out at each drive, till it starts to ping at speed changes , or just slightly pings, back in 2 turns from there., better MPG and way better then stock drivability and power

Back in the day, I should have scored a bunch of Quadrajets, there were only about a half dozen under most mechanics bench.

I bet I worked 2 full days tinkering with the first one I had a problems with, but after figuring out there (loose term here) every trick, I really like them!

I wouldn't mind having a fist full of different sized primary and secondary jets and rods, and a few different length springs anymore. I hope they never go extinct.

LOL, I have lots of primary and secondary rods, springs and jets and secondary hangars. I got into it because nobody wanted to work on them and nobody knew anything about them. Take it off and put a Holley on is all I ever heard. The cool thing about the QJet is that everything is adjustable. Especially after you drill out the air and fuel bleeds on the primaries and make your own bleeds. It's a pretty decent performance carb. It's main drawback is the smallish fuel bowl.

 

[JONSSTIHL]

thanks guys but I think I want to stay away from computers

I found a 1979 chevy 3/4 ton with a four speed granny low and part time 4wd.

it has a one ton rear axle 14 bolt and seems in good shape

atleast one hub is blown on the front 10 bolt because the lock just spins around and around

how easy are those to repair and are parts available if it turns out not to be just the hub. there is a little play in the wheel on passenger side.

hubs are 75 bucks for the pair which isn't too bad
but if the axle is stripped and it will cost 500 bucks then the truck probably isn't worth it.

it has a 350 v-8 in it

anything to watch out for in particular with this mechanical combo

thanks for the info

any good truck forums out there that don't just talk out cranking up the torsion bars and wondering why they can't get their truck aligned right after doing so.

thanks

James

 

[clearance]

thanks guys but I think I want to stay away from computers

I found a 1979 chevy 3/4 ton with a four speed granny low and part time 4wd.

it has a one ton rear axle 14 bolt and seems in good shape

atleast one hub is blown on the front 10 bolt because the lock just spins around and around

how easy are those to repair and are parts available if it turns out not to be just the hub. there is a little play in the wheel on passenger side.

hubs are 75 bucks for the pair which isn't too bad
but if the axle is stripped and it will cost 500 bucks then the truck probably isn't worth it.

it has a 350 v-8 in it

anything to watch out for in particular with this mechanical combo

thanks for the info

any good truck forums out there that don't just talk out cranking up the torsion bars and wondering why they can't get their truck aligned right after doing so.

thanks

James

I had an '80 truck just like yours, they are great. Check out Colorado K5 on the web.

 

[GASoline71]

anything to watch out for in particular with this mechanical combo


James

You should have the 14 bolt full floater with a 10 1/2 inch ring gear... Bombproof rearend.

Also should have the NP205 gear driven transer case... same as the rear end Bomb proof.

The weak link in the whole deal will be the 10 bolt front end. My '79 GMC has the axact same setup. I even have a 4" lift and 35" tires on it. But I'm not out hardcore offroadin' in it either. So the 10 bolt will last if you don't abuse it.

Another weak link will be the clutch adjustment linkage... a goofy 4 piece deal that can wear out and break easily... don't ask me how i know. The parts are avalable through LMC Truck Parts. EZPZ to replace. Replace them whether they need it or not.

Edit: I also had a custom one piece rear drive shaft made after i lifted the truck. No more driveline vibrations from the carrier bearing area. Cost my less than 300 bucks shipped.

Gary

 

[clearance]

You should have the 14 bolt full floater with a 10 1/2 inch ring gear... Bombproof rearend.

Also should have the NP205 gear driven transer case... same as the rear end Bomb proof.

The weak link in the whole deal will be the 10 bolt front end. My '79 GMC has the axact same setup. I even have a 4" lift and 35" tires on it. But I'm not out hardcore offroadin' in it either. So the 10 bolt will last if you don't abuse it.

Another weak link will be the clutch adjustment linkage... a goofy 4 piece deal that can wear out and break easily... don't ask me how i know. The parts are avalable through LMC Truck Parts. EZPZ to replace. Replace them whether they need it or not.

Edit: I also had a custom one piece rear drive shaft made after i lifted the truck. No more driveline vibrations from the carrier bearing area. Cost my less than 300 bucks shipped.

Gary

The clutch deal is not terrible, but can be pretty frustrating. It has to be adjusted as the clutch wears. It also has to be greased, there are fittings there, lots of them under the truck, better than the sealed stuff they have now. If you are in to hardcore 4 wheeling, a Dana 60 front axle is the way to go. Gary is right, they are tough trucks, and easy to work on, good choice.

 

[JONSSTIHL]

I don,t own the truck yet but I am getting it checked out on monday.

the body is in decent shape but the interior is a mess someone tried to put in a sunroof and then decided to take it out so there is a mess of putty and sealer on the roof but I don,t want a trailer queen I want a work truck.

I found an old buyers guide article from a 4wheeling magazine so I have the mechanicals pretty much figured out .

the rear axle is a one ton judging by the size of the studs 9/16 and I love the 4 lo in first gear the thing just crawls right along should be great for towing.

anyone have an idea how much it can tow?

the only thing I'm worried about is if the looseness in the front end turns out to be a bad axle. and like I said I know atleast one hub is bad or could it be that the axle is stripped. I'm assuming the hub is designed to break before the axle . the bad hub is on the same side as the looseness (passenger side) I think???

how hard are the 10 bolt front ends to rebuild. a guy at work told me the balljoints are impossible to change yourself and that only a large truck shop can do it but I have a hard time believing that.

he wants 1800 for it

one thing I found weird is that I'm not that tall (5' 9") but the clutch was a little far away when pushed to the floor, but the shifter for the transfer case was all ready hitting the padiing on the bench seat when it was all the way back.

thanks for all the advice I have a grease gun so fittings are not a problem

 

[chowdozer]

Mechanically, there're good trucks. There are two different floating rearends on those trucks. One for duallies and one for singles. The only difference is housing width. (Later models had a semi floater with a 9.5" ring gear. Stay away.) Some 3/4 tons had 11" rear brakes and a 6400 GVW. The 8600 GVW had 13" rear brakes. It is very apparent when you look underneath as the 13" brakes are almost the same size as the wheel. Front axles for those are easy to find, just match the gear ratio. They had 10 bolts and Dana 44's avaiable. If you find a 1 ton 4 wheeler it will have a Dana 60 and that's the way to go if you're going to really work it. Unfortunately the Dana 60's are going for +$1K about now, but keep your eyes peeled and you may find one. Ball joints shouldn't be a problem, but I can't remember too well either.

The only real problem those trucks had was the firewall. The seamsealer in the cowl under the wipers would crack and let moisture into the spotwelds where the firewall joins the cab. The firewall would rust out and the water would get in the cab, rot out the floor and the sills. Rust in the rear cab corners can be a problem too. The really good thing about those trucks is that parts are really cheap.

 

[JONSSTIHL]

well I guess I can forget about the 79 3/4 ton

it didn't check out well enough for the 1500 dollar asking price maybe for 500

both ball joints shot, rear u-joint shot, exhaust was a custom dual setup that hung way too low and when we finally figured out how to lift it without crushing anything the brake line going to the rear axle was up tight against the exhaust, and there was no fan shroud and the brakes were acting kind of funny and the radiator was about 3 inches low on coolant so who knows where that was going. and it had 5 springs on the drivers side front and only three on the passenger side front. that alone kind of turned me off the whole truck. who knows what else was tampered with.

it looked like he had already started to use it as a parts truck before I found it.

I found another one though , an 80 or 81 k10 automatic. but it looks like it is in better shape but it has the small axles probably 10 bolts, but the windsheild isn't cracked and the tires are new.

how much wood can a 1/2 ton handle can I fill the 8 foot box with wood 1.5 face cords approx. I figure the wood would come in around 1800 lbs

thanks
james

 

[chowdozer]

well I guess I can forget about the 79 3/4 ton

it didn't check out well enough for the 1500 dollar asking price maybe for 500

both ball joints shot, rear u-joint shot, exhaust was a custom dual setup that hung way too low and when we finally figured out how to lift it without crushing anything the brake line going to the rear axle was up tight against the exhaust, and there was no fan shroud and the brakes were acting kind of funny and the radiator was about 3 inches low on coolant so who knows where that was going. and it had 5 springs on the drivers side front and only three on the passenger side front. that alone kind of turned me off the whole truck. who knows what else was tampered with.

it looked like he had already started to use it as a parts truck before I found it.

I found another one though , an 80 or 81 k10 automatic. but it looks like it is in better shape but it has the small axles probably 10 bolts, but the windsheild isn't cracked and the tires are new.

how much wood can a 1/2 ton handle can I fill the 8 foot box with wood 1.5 face cords approx. I figure the wood would come in around 1800 lbs

thanks
james

1800 pounds is pushing the limit for a half ton. It will do it and it might do it for a long time. One of the things to consider on a half ton is the axles support the load and provide the power transfer. You lose a shaft and you're going to be in trouble. I like full floating axles much better.

Personally, I would go for a 3/4 ton.

 

[GASoline71]

Those 1/2 tons will sag bigtime... where you can actually rub the rear tires in the fenderwells... not good for haulin' anything...

Stick with a 3/4 ton... or look into a 1 ton.

Gary