richard wysong

make sure you can get the bleeder screws open, if they don't open fairly easily don't force them or they will break off, hit them with penetrating oil and let them soak, if that doesn't do it you will need to heat the area around the screw being careful of the hose, caliper rubbers etc. try not to heat the screw itself. propane torch may not be hot enuff, try map gas or oxy acetelene. remove the screw, inspect the bleed holes not clogged, replace with a new screw if neccessary and never seize it when you reinstall. to remove the old tubing nuts cut the line with a pair of dikes as close to the nut as you can and use a 6 point socket on them

your first step should be to get it scanned. it will save much wasted time. the wiring goes from the pcm to the round plug on the drivers side of the trans. it could be as simple as the selector switch which is a common failure and is exposed to the elements on the side of the trans but you won't know without a capable scan tool

it is a very easy truck to work on and the parts are cheap. the fan ls quite a distance from the rad so the fan shroud is a crucial if you tow in warm weather. my local parts store had a few Astro vans with 4.3s that had close to 400k miles on them with kids driving them. very reliable power train! on the van I would put a set of quick struts in it if you keep it

a scan tool that does trans codes should show a bad solenoid. trans codes often do not turn on the CEL and trans codes may not show on your basic code reader. good chance its the solenoid or because it happened at the carwash wiring or ecm. a good scan tool is a neccessity to diagnose trans problems. you can watch LOTS of live data and get a good idea of what its doing

agreed 4.3 is bullet proof as you can get, its basicly the 5.0 small block with a couple cylinders chopped off

also I would use batteries with identical ratings, I don't have a reason it just seems like they will charge more equally.

safe travels

yes GM sells oem factory bent line kits also, but be aware when the brake lines are installed at the factory the body and engine trans haven't been installed yet so to replace them you will have to bend and cut some of them to get them where they are supposed to go. if you want to make your own the rears are 1/4 in line and a 25ft coil is plenty, use the copper/ nickel brake line and you will never have to do them again. you will need a tubing cutter, a flaring tool that does double inverted flares and a handful of inverted tubing nuts. that tubing bends easily so you won't need a bender the fronts are 3/16 line and you may want to go with the sticks instead of a coil. not sure if they make them in the copper yet. I would just buy 60in pieces and cut what I need if you don't want to buy a coil, 4 should be plenty of sticks. if the brake lines are gone the fuel lines may not be much better so be careful you don't open a can of worms doing the lines on the frame rail, I may be wrong on size of rear lines , some trucks use 3/16 to the rears as well but most run 1/4 from the abs to the rear hose then 3/16 on the axle

a second battery is factory installed with snow plow package and they just run a positive cable from battery to battery and add a ground wire from the auxillary battery to the block. if you are going to primarily run accessories when the truck is off you will want to add an isolator to the system so they just run off aux battery and the primary stays charged. RV stores carry them. the alternator has plenty of capacity to charge both bats and the voltage reg won't be affected. not sure how you would wire the winch if you use an isolator , you may not be able to run it off both bats without adding a switch to bypass the isolator. just add the circuit breaker to the load not the charging side of the system

Have a safe trip! I think its only the booster thats causing the problem, Its very possible you ran into a batch that were boxed with the wrong part # on the box or the push rod misadjusted at the factory. if it's working good now I would leave it alone, thats not an easy job changing the booster, I'm not sure I could even do it anymore trying to get up under the dash isn't as easy as it was when I was younger and skinnier

if it does I like Echlin, NAPA carries them, lifetime warrantee I believe

Welcome ,the trans is new design more equivilant to the 700r4, all electronic. they seem to be more durable but still not bullet proof. as for dist cap does it even have a distributor?

did you try it not bolted to the tc to see if it would cycle thru the modes?

also did you try the motor (old 1) off of the tc

maybe. did you try disconnecting the battery to reset the system?

sorry I never made it to my shop the last couple days, been out with a stomach bug. I did have a factory service manual for 89 c/k, not sure if I still have it tho. will let you know asap

make sure the pcv system is functioning properly as well. stock intake system? no K&N or cold air foolishness? clean air filter?

the maf may use 12v as well as the way it works is it monitors the temp of the resistor and calculates the air flow by that temp so ANY leak between the maf and the throttle will throw it off. check the crankcase vent hose and anything else connected to that hose. fix that code first and the others may not reset

agreed , check for 5v and ground voltage drop at the maf before firing the parts cannon. I've said many times here that codes don't mean the parts bad just thats where to start your diagnosing. if those check out go to the ecm and check the resistance between the maf signal wire and the ecm. you will need a diagram of the ecm pinout

master cylinders are easy if you bench bleed them often times you can just bleed them by cracking the lines at the master. pressure bleeder makes it so easy too. very often systems will gravity bleed as well if you leave the cap on the master loose and open the bleeders 1 ata time

not doubting you I was just curious . I haven't seen the tsb but I can see it in the pix. you must be a very patient person, I would be livid. have you inquired about labor reimbursement where you bought the heads? thats 1 advantage to dealing with a local independant parts store, they will usually go to bat for you when you have an issue like this

sounds like you got it under control, how did you determine which head it was? sludgy stuff will accumulate on the side with the pcv no matter which side leaks

or go to the boneyard and get a used 1, the things never go bad and if there is a spacer you can get it and save some $. in 50 years as a mechanic I have only replaced a couple for vacuum leaks

the spacer would be between the booster and the firewall, if they don't show 1 I bet its not the correct booster. think about it, the problem started when you changed the booster when you should have changed the master. there is NO way to suck oil from the engine to the booster or to make TOO MUCH vacuum. any fluid in that area has to be brake fluid from the master cylinder seal so that was bad advice from your friend. the only reason to replace a booster is a vacuum leak or lack of boost. all it consists of inside is a diaphram and a spring with a check valve on the end of the hose . check and see if the spacers missing and if not go with the gm part

he has already replaced the hoses so thats not it. the problem with the hoses is rust buildup in the bracket that holds it to the knuckle pinches off the hose