Grumpy Bear

That is what I thought but didn't wish to assume. Okay that is a big step. 37% stiffer gear but only a 12.5% reduction. That is very good to know. That was also very good mileage from a bone stock 350. More impressive was the 454. Good job. I had a love hate thing going with the 700R until I found a guy that raced them. He built be one that was a dream. 76 Caprice wagon. Just on a percentage basis that would be something like Pepper exchanging her 3.23 for a 4.56 and that taking the life time average from 27 to 24 mpg. Still a good number. But we won't be going that low.

Okay I'm having a thick day. Decode please 350-350-273.

Looks like I figured right. It did make some passes. So question. Will you share your before and after highway MPG for this gear and what ratio you took out of her? Some reference points please.

Good old 30 spline 10 bolt open fitted with 3.23:1 the OEM GM gears. As generic as it gets. Stan has had them work nicely behind 454 BBS's driven sanely. As a heavy equipment operator his "sane" might be a bit more liberal than average. I am not unhappy with the Bridgestone Dueler HT D684 II at all. They get allot of bad press from the consumer review set but they have been very good to me. They are 255/70-17. This is the smallest diameter rim that will fit with the Bell 2" drop Knuckles she is wearing. The General HTS is also OEM fitment and 4 lbs. a tire lighter. The same weight at the Bridgestone in the 245/70-17, a size fitted to the previous generation. That size also opens up Pirelli and Continental. We have Continentals and like them. The Pirelli was a Consumer Reports best pick a few years ago. Fuel mileage was one of Pirelli's standout points in that review. We have Michelins on several vehicles here and while they are a great tire...they know it as it reflects in price. For my usage they offer nothing extra. On a warm windless summer day 30+ mpg is a given and that number is insane from something with this much frontal area. Much of that number has come from refinements that have reduced internal friction to the point the AFM is literally its default mode. It comes out when timed out, against moderate to stiff winds and hills over 3% in grade and longer than 1,000 feet. It turns very slow now at my preferred 55 mph. Mid 1300 rpm range. Rarely tips back to 5th gear and is overall well behaved. A 3.08 gear would slow the motor to under 1300 rpm. Take away the leverage that allows her to stay in AFM. A 3.23 gear is a known. A 3.42 gear adds a bit over 50 rpm to the cruse rpm, increases leverage and may help keep AFM active longer. Maybe. A 3.73 gear spins the motor fast enough to cover the stall speed of the converter taking load off the converter clutch but adds 12% to the operating speed and increases fluid temperatures. It's a pretty steep first gear. A 4.11 gear is like running in M5 and I've done this extended at times. I know this gear will reduce mileage. It will also stay in AFM up a pretty steep hill. I could swap the motor for a Briggs & Stratton with this gear. Just some early thoughts based on everyone's input and some rough draft research.

I haven't got eye in the program like 1SLOW1500 so I don't know what I don't know. What I do know is that above 100F my transmission is about as perfect as a mechanical device can be. Yes I notice the slight 'bump' in rpm between shifts but only if I'm watching the tachometer. Some see this as a negative. Before the days of TCM when automatics were shifted on vacuum and a governor there was programed into the hydraulics the condition where as the first gear clutch was disengaging the second gear band was starting to apply. Meaning for a fraction of a second you were both in first and second gear. They only thing that kept the box from breaking was 'slip'. But it didn't show up on the tachometer. It just felt like a very smooth shift. It would repeat going for the second gear band to the high gear clutch pack. This created excess friction that given enough time wore out clutches and bands. Companies like B&M made shift kits that eliminated or reduced this over lap and increased line pressures. The result was lower wear but a fairly abrupt shift and if you had your foot in it, it might bark the tires pretty good even if the motor powering it was under 200 hp. and the car over 3500 pounds. Either way, people complained and wear was traded for component failures and happy teenagers. Converters didn't have lock up clutches and slip overheated transmission fluids when towing or if stall speeds were too high. We added coolers and low slip fluids much like the old Ford Type F. Honda still uses a variant. B&M called theirs Trick Shift. So now we have a computer calling the shots and between gears the motor is allowed a bit of freewheeling, slip over demand, and to keep it from feeling like a train hits you each shift the timing and fuel are cut to reduce torque, thus called torque management. People hate that too. Bottom line every possible combination has been tried and all that changes is which people get happy. Yes a tune might improve your personal perception and tailor the shift to your specific taste. Question becomes...will the rest of the drive line like it? One of the things I love about machines is that they will do what they are told. Obviously a transmission must be able to work acceptably at any temperature it is expected to see and yes this includes -50F to 300F. What isn't expected is that it remain at either extreme for more than a transitory time. We still use coolers to clip the upper limit and now a thermostat to cap the lower limits of 'normal' operation. Do they get it perfect? Depends our likes and dislikes doesn't it? This is just offered as some additional material to help you determine what might be okay and what could be an issue requiring professional attention. We are not there and we are not living with it.

I've never had an automatic that wasn't a little flaky when it gets really cold outside and from every manufacture. Clears up in a few minutes when the fluid warms a bit. Does that should like yours?

Goals. Main one is the Eaton Truetrac. That's more of a want than a need. I mean it never goes off road and never will with my name on the title. She's never been driven in the snow, ever. Only once have I ever spun a tire on dry pavement. Curious if it would and yes she will. Wet weather. I get caught in that sometimes. I'd like to start touring this summer and I love the Rockies. Your drive the peaks long enough and snow will find you. Went to sleep on night in late June in Yellowstone. It was dry and 70F. Woke up to 3 feet of fresh powder and 25 F. I was on my Harley. Thing is with 86K on the clock a new ring and pinion is a must. The ratio is the optional part.

When this tread started it would be a year before I'd buy Pepper. July 2016 with a thousand miles on her. Now 86,000. Modifications? Some. Repairs? One, a pinion seal. Still have factory installed tires & wipers. Once I got my suspension sorted I've just enjoyed the drive. I'll have this one a long time....barring hail, deer, drunks, texters and other assorted road/weather hazards.

Didn't sound like a knock to me. Sounded like sage advice and happy to hear your thoughts always. Proverbs 15:22 (NIV) Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Good thoughts all. None of this is cheap so I need to research this more. Working with a fixed budget. DIYER2's plan is cheapest and likely safest. Luke 14:28-30 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' Here's a question. Last time I did something like this Richmond Gear was top of the shelf. Seems there is a shift to Yukon by several vendors. Why? Did Richmond go down hill? Did Yukon make some major break through?

Just started to look into doing some pumpkin smashing. I've wanted to install an Eaton Truetrac. Thing is to do this right I will need to replace the ring and pinion as well. If I'm going to do that then it seems fitting to fiddle with the gearing. Yes, lower and yes that will give back some efficiency. I have some to spare. So...what would I like to accomplish? What are my patterns. What are my expectations? What is Peppers future? Not much chance I will decide on a whole new driving style and my favorite speed is 55 mph and my favorite roads are the back roads. Factory converter has a stall of a tested 1520 rpm. That has to figure into it. I know spinning the motor faster, even a few hundred rpm will increase heat. That has to figure into it as well. She is getting new shoes sooner than later. There's that. New cover? Dutchman or Mosser axles? Steel driveshaft? Trans tune? Where will this end? Will it even start? Stock tire and a 3.90 gear locks up the converter right around 55 mph. So does a 3.73 and a 245 section 70R-17. In both sizes I can source tires 3 to 5 pounds each lighter. Both of those lower converter clutch wear and reduce slip heat. And both would provide a nice boost in acceleration. (I'm old, not dead! ) 3.42 would keep the AFM lit more and against higher loads of wind and grade with as little as a 50 rpm increase. I could also leave it as is and put my efforts towards the interior. Oh what to do....

That center seat belongs to Rex. Just try to take if from him. A 30 pound Rat/Pit mix who has is territory staked out and isn't bashful about letting anyone else know it. He goes with me everywhere and always. Wife comes sometimes too. She gets the 'other seat'. IF there would have been a TRUE flat bench seat option...I'd have one. Rex likes space.

Want to see a photo when you're done of the radiator connections please.

I love this. In America we see Mercedes-Benz as a big deal. In third world countries they are Taxi's. Love the 60's Impala SS. 61 to 67 and a 396 or 409 was even better. The 94 IMHO was a really good 'do over'. Great cars. The last gasp of full size super cars. A good four speed all that was lacking.

Love this one. I just found out while researching for new insurance that a 'NEW' car can be damaged up to 20% of its 'value' (whatever that means), repaired and still sold as NEW with no obligation to inform anyone about the repair. Damage like this occurs during shipping. The receiving dealer is under no obligation to accept the damaged car but IF they refuse receipt the OEM sells it to an auction house where is receives it's first title transfer thus no longer can be sold as 'NEW'. Then that car is sold at the dealers auction for whatever price it will fetch, repaired and sold on a dealers 'used' lot. Easy to spot cars. USED cars with a 100 miles on them and damage turns up in the title search. The OEM is reimbursed for 'lost value' and is made whole. The dealer gets a killer deal on a NEW car. Body shop makes some money and the buyer, if his eyes are wide open buy a cosmetically damaged low miler a deeper discount than otherwise could be negotiated. I bought a Scion iA like that a few years ago. Dirt cheap. Spent a few hundred in paint work repairing the awful repair the car had been given and TRADED a few weeks latter for more money that I had invested on a one year old Buyer Relinquished Silverado with only a thousand miles on it at just above auction price for the Scion and some cash. That would be Pepper. Did I game the system? No. I bought the truck for about a thousand under dealer auction after accounting for the money made on the Scion. A good deal alright BUT the auction price is still several thousand above manufactures to dealer sell price or salvage. It would have never been sold at auction if the salvage value would have been higher. None of these clowns are dealing for 'reasonable profit'.

If you pay cash there is an $11,250 upcharge? So what does a "Cash Allowance" mean? Means the truck is overpriced. Not compared to it's MSRP. Not compared to the 'customer invoice'. Not compared to the GM 'floor plan". Compared against it's pre- profit cost of production. Even the Insured 'gap value' is to high. Don't think so? Compare it to the salvage value v auction value. When you are forced to buy 'full coverage' to finance; it does more than protect you against losses. It protects the banks. In essence you to pay for the banks insurance policy on your truck. The insurance company is no longer a 'public pool' of our resources that we pay some administrator some 'reasonable fee' for his management services. It's a profit center. It will never structure a claim as a 'fair deal'. You will always pay more than you will ever receive. Their bottom dollar is the trucks real 'market value' because boys and girls that IS the market they are all MAKING, not it's cost. Point of this windy ramble is when a manufacture advertises a deal like this they LIE about it's value, discounts fully discounted are still well above any reasonable profit you will ever receive for your work hours. They sell you a nickel candy bar for an MSRP of a dollar, discount it fifty cents and we are suppose to get all warm and fuzzy over it. Put a GMC grill in a Silverado and jack the price higher. Put a Cadillac grill in a Yukon and jack it up again. And still we fall for it. Then complain to the wife about her Kohls 'bucks'. "Honey I just bought this hundred dollar blouse for 80% off"! Really?

Wish my 2015 had them.

Why does it need a rebuild with only 60K on the clock? Curious....

WHAT??? You love that truck!

Bad trade!

Yes there is a week of the month left but I'm calling this month and the winter quarter done. Haven't filled up since 1/11 and the forecast for next few days is freezing rain. They will just be adding to the salt coating and I have no expectations the roads will be clear of it anytime soon. Pepper doesn't get salt on her shoes. There isn't a February economy number to report but there is the 2018 winter quarter. Previous two year average was 25.1 mpg for December through February. Both years within tenths individually. Current winter quarter: 26.1 mpg, a 4% increase. The results of 0W20 v 5W20. Results rest on 3 years of data. 24 fill ups. 9800 miles and 387 gallons of fuel. 25.3 mpg life time winter quarter average. Best tank for season 28.3 mpg, worst 22.9 mpg. Current LIFE TIME AVERAGE 27.1 mpg

I do wish I had seen this when it was posted. Question. What is the opposite of 'loose'? How about tight. Are your nuts loose or tight? Not are your nuts loose or stiff. Loose or tight are opposites. Tolerances are looser in the driveline of a truck. Yokes splines etc. Stiffer was an adjective describing the chassis, springing and dampening. Here's the funny part and I don't mean ha-ha funny either. You knew this when you drafted it. You didn't need me to step on. You have your own soapbox. So what's the point?

Yes it will I dents in the floor are your only concern.

It's the simple things isn't it? Temperature drops to sub zero (F) and every washer system not under a roof freezes solid. Actually they were all solid by 25 above zero and I had just had the wiper system serviced. NOT fun and NOT funny. This will generate a conversation I don't like having. Be that as it may finding fluid good for -35F is not that easy local. -20 seems standard but did find some at Lowes and when weather allowed the system to thaw did a drop and fill. I need to find this stuff by the case.

The girl that prepped and shot my Line-X asked me how much I wanted done and did it. Full coverage plus the rear wheel wells. Stripped the wells, bed and tailgate, prep and shoot. Zero overspray on any exterior surface. Very nice job. She's moved on to another shop so I need to find a new dealer but the bumpers are next. Love this product. Not so much the dealer network granted, but there are good ones out there. Just have to find them. Job now three years old and looks new yet. Easy to clean. Did I mention I love this product?