barry G's 1996 gmc 4x4 5spd

barry G · October 20, 2017

purge can

was looking over little things, found my truck has no purge solenoid destination.. just spewed to the air.

no attempt at all...ever. No plugged barbs on intake, nothing above throttle either.

I am glad my old gmc is all clean, new tank, pump good fuel cap.

This can be a real monster in my locale. Autumn and spring mostly.

So, I ran a line over to air box.. and might add a bunch of little clamps to the silly weak connections.

and here is my 365k mile scary monster going to a VA hospital.

volunteered to take my neighbor there for his new wheelchair.

Edited October 20, 2017 by barry G

barry G · October 20, 2017

canister final

no matter what goofy direction this opens and closes and storms its way around..

it is now fixed. I am certainly adding 2mpg solid to the mileage.

Is this goofiness on canadian built trucks only?

solenoid 1 (#3 in drawing) had an open line, and it was active. Dirt and dust in it. I am sure this had a 2 way direction in the wrong environment.

I am calling that the killer for now. I ran a line to airbox (#1)

The other one was #6 marked "air cleaner" on the canister. It had an ac delco cheap hard plastic plug that wiggled around .

I merged that with purge - #7. (it is where little green line is)

Edited October 20, 2017 by barry G

barry G · November 26, 2017

small update..

no ecm codes.

truck regained speed limiter.

kicked somewhere just over 100.

smooth sailing. sounds very good.

I have some cheap microphones, will add them to my dslr and try recording.

this does not sound much like a 96 vortec.

I attribute it to equal length wires,(I noticed sound changed after that) and whatever mystery engine work by previous owner.

Very good truck.

..and that tube on the canister purge in previous post.. I am not supposed to need it.

I may run a whole other line just for the one marked "air cleaner"..

Edited November 26, 2017 by barry G

barry G · December 19, 2017

haven't been talking much lately.

got two LEDmap lights 13500 miles from maine delivered..

weird light bulbs they are... I paid 3 bucks for 2.

no need to spend $43 local american

now only 4 non-led left, and i am leaving them.

I counted 44 bulbs swapped...

went for a long ride.

the day started at 4 below. Lagrange maine.

I took my neighbor to his hospital appt.. that was the first 75 miles.

call it "seasonal affective disorder.."

but I took off again to make it 1050 miles in 24 hours.

got to farmington CT on I-84 about 1140 pm. stopped for ahotel.

I was simply headed to the big apple for no reason, but to turn around and come home.

here is a clip of coming back east through CT, RI.. into boston.

yes, that is the current odometer.

forgive the 32khz microphone..it does make the little 305 sound huge. this is simply high flow cat and full muffler, tailpipe and tip.

the mic is an idiot....

speaking of idiot. I declare this ride for real builders. the real mechanics. the real life and death military crew chiefs..and anyone else who has to put up with midget hands and big mouths declaring your project something it isn't.

A sure way to get over it is walk the talk.

merry xmas.. may all your trucks go the way you make them.

barry G · December 20, 2017

relays

it happened again this morning..

no fuel pump relay. I just leave the key on and cycle random.. I then know it going to start by the noise the pump makes.

reeling in some memories of the same dark time of year and the distant past..

I remembered power is thrown at fuse panels, then everything fights over it.. then they called that balanced.

so I browsed ebay and bought all the relays...so I can match up all of them.

I have mismatched and even different colors as of now..21 years can do a lot of things to a fuse box.

staying uniform is not much thought about.

these trucks twinned all the relays as photos show.

these are from unused fuse panels for the gmt400.

all brand new.

I opted for the taller denso kickers for the 5 pin. I have the short square fat version, some with no label..one is grey,one is black etc.

the four pin, I have had no trouble with...going to make them all the same anyway.

I finally deciphered a relay to be acting like a barometer.

not about wet or short circuits.. it relates to weather changes overnight.

I also dropped an incredible amount of amps for lighting circuit..and the new fuel pumps are of course more efficient.

you cannot make a relay come down, unless you trick it.

that is how my DRL relay survived... the LED swap is a different type of demand.

dropping amps is not the same as diode.. relays can't change easily to an amp drop.

this should do it.

the problem was so random I could not figure it out.. and then I realized the weather patterns at the root.

not cold or hot, not rain or dry snow...

the facts of barometer changing fast.

I can't wait to chuck the old relay in a dumpster.

we have been below zero several times already. It s rural maine, not many want to know or care.

I got this shot of katahdin in the background in November. I realized the forum sticker is still hanging onto my window...brightly.

I like this place, as i tinker with my brothers 2003 gmc, and my dads 2016. Talk about all 3 of them whenever. I keep my 96.. my favorite of 23 vehicles and 30 years.

Edited December 20, 2017 by barry G

Sean Ramnauth · December 30, 2017

Love these

barry G · January 20, 2018

I was gone for 9 days, in florida. Came back to one sloppy cold wet iced truck.

it hit 58F and below zero. 1.5 inches of rain to 7 inches of snow.

But it was a blessing in a way.. the starter died, after whirling it over for half a minute.

the random no start condition was kicked in as well.

Terrible day for it. I was just four hours prior in orlando florida.. now under the 12F truck in an ice puddle dropping a starter.

I then finally found the elusive random no start as I slapped the old start on the parts counter..

cracked starter solenoid. It even gained iron dust. I have only seen this 3 times in 30 years.

it kept right on working. The random no start was just had to loop a ground, probably to arching the block, kept it from full fire, or fuel relay to full pump. One or the other, it never got both.

It needed perfect conditions to do the weirdness.

It is funny, I described it "like a relay that accepts air to a barometer change"

that was very close, my first guess.. but as it turned out, it was a solenoid with a whole lot more amps than a relay.

it has been doing this for about 2 years.

So, I got a new starter, and my bro-n-law swapped in 8 of the LS iridium spark plugs for a 2008.

simply a hotter value.

the wet sleeve 305 likes the LS 5.3 plugs.. I would not install them on a 350.

tomorrow is a 39F day in the sun. Going to give it a very thorough wash.

the most abuse I have given it yet.. it is now a rough idle to calcium chloride and salt..and 2000 miles of it since december.

a video I got of sebring .. on the 84F day.

Edited January 20, 2018 by barry G

barry G · January 21, 2018

cleaned up

cell phone pic. This will not be my new bad habit. I have pro SLR for a reason.

8 weeks went by this time.

4 states, 1300 miles, 58F to 24 below. 3 feet of snow total, many below zeros, 2 inches of rain, ice, and then 9 days sitting in the shade (no sun)

could not wait to get it through the car wash with the big scrubber wheels. I idle up the engine as the big sprayers get the front, this gets an engine the same way poop gets in... this truck has the engine driven clutch fan. Always working.

that is my 87 subaru in the back. that one goes several weeks at a time to a quick 2 send whirl on a 40 yr old rochester monojet. I still laugh out loud to this day.. every time it starts. Needs no jump. Needs nothing.

The LS spark plug idea was my bro-n-laws, I had spoke of the truck being so cold in the ten below in the sun that it went air cooled block going down the road. thermostat could not open. I had to sit by the side of the road and wait.

a good argument for electric fans... arctic air.

So this 305 is going ahead with the LS 5.3 spark plugs. Does very good.

now at 369k miles.

Edited January 21, 2018 by barry G

barry G · January 24, 2018

a little embarrassed

rte 16 lagrange maine - jan 24

hell of an ice event, hovered at 31F, now going way down to single digits by tonight with wind.

hard time starting last night, new starter a few days ago, new plugs.

went back in the house wanting full warm to the phenomenal dew point...as if water invented itself in every direction.

windshield cracked by itself...started at a rock chip in the middle, spanned out. the contrast of thermal pressure.

It wasn't about frigid this time. It was about the weight of the wet cold...

have new glass coming through insurance, they call back with an appt.

Random no start .. wet isn't necessarily the culprit.

po420 code to new cat and plugs, a flowmaster suv50..

oh my god.

the air filter. Can't see much light through it even referring to single layers.

It was used when I bought the truck 3 years ago.

I'm gonna go look in the mirror and slap myself.

I swapped for a new microgard filter. I like these for looking like the donaldson tractor trailer filters. That was my chore in dads rigs growing up.

these gmt400 have a mini version, and they do go a very long time.

the problem with this is not clogs, but the color of oxides being the only clue.

grey means get rid of filter most often, especially the north.

Salt dries up, then moisture triggers it, especially cold starts.

this may fix random no start and po420 code.

will wait and see.

incredible winter thus far.. truly a double decade reference. This truck has never seen one like this, and it is a 1996.

for reference, my last go with a winter this bad was an 84 monte carlo (and it did survive)..also a 305.

staying alive with my 305.

Edited January 24, 2018 by barry G

barry G · January 25, 2018

new windshield

$185

not bad.

it started off at $233.. could not quite understand what the other end of the fuzzy line was saying.

Down to $185.

I also learned in maine, safelite changed 122 windshields for my model of truck in just one year.

the newest one is 20 years old.

I find that amazing.

The glass was so old in my truck, welding, years, chips, the general grinding fuzz of sand..24 below to 145F cabin in the 90F sun...

I wanted new before the rock chip gave way to a 31F ice storm and hot defrost anyway.

it went on for a long day..31F and rain... extremely heavy.

no complaints.

The last windshield i broke was in 1994, a 74 chevelle....

an ice storm and defrost taking over.

strange? hardly a coincidence.

I found the glass is an original oem piece..but dated april of 1999.

still a long run for my locale.

Edited January 25, 2018 by barry G

barry G · January 27, 2018

random hard start again this morning.

too cold.

counting on the gadgets wasn't enough.
random high trim almost flooded the cold start again this morning.
3 below at 7am a surge now to near 40 by 1pm.

the trim is nearly pegged counter acting a sticky FPR.
Glad it started.

I then removed lid for air filter, increase IAT.
This is what they called todays CAI (its a hot AI morons)
and watched intake air temp finally rise above 40F.. it has not seen 90 IAT since september.

MAF cleaner by CRC, some marvel fule additive for the upper cylinder lube, and some other injector cleaner.

I let it idle until i saw 180 on the coolant.. again not seen since september.

Coldest winter for me and this truck, and we got 6 weeks of getting even colder.
Air temps do not matter anymore.. unlike Minot and an ice box queen, maine is just getting started as it heads to buckling a 6 foot frost.
short story: it gets even colder.

when air intake hit 90F I opted to go down the road.
a most impressive noise, like the old rochester four barrels in good tune.
rowing the gears to boot... you might think it was an old hot rod coming.
Very impressive sound.

I'll put the lid back on in April.

Not enough air intake heat.. could be choking on car wax for all I know.

the random no start is indeed an FPR getting too sticky.
no cure but a heat gun or a mallet smacking the intake in the right spot... like an old carb engine.
still random, no cause, no cure, n o leaks, no abnormal anything, no codes.

the dome light over ride helps keep ground down to gain a start as well.

non-arctic people would have no clue what I just said.

barry G · January 28, 2018

monster ground

first warm day since july, I decided to poke around and diagnose the random no start.

the turning off of dome lamp on dome lamp over ride helped gain a start.

So I beelined to engine to frame ground and chassis to frame ground.
very brittle.

both broken.

if something breaks once, you gotta go 100 times bigger to fix it.

I rummaged through my cable bin and grabbed my subaru starter cable.
two eyelets, high grade copper.. why not.
bolted into factory spot behind passenger head.. they even used a fancy brass looking nut on a stud.
it "un-ironically" shares a ground coming from distributor.
I will wager random no start is fixed.

the camaro door dinger is super smooth.. only thing to notice thus far.

I bolted into a spot about ten inches from original

I have confessed, as insanity pursues it, that I am a strange nuclear problem with my hands.

No joke:
within seconds of touching the broken ground, my towns power went out.
spooky. Ghostly.... mythological.

Edited January 28, 2018 by barry G

barry G · January 30, 2018

followup monster ground

12F puddle. Yesterday hit near 40F.

freezes fast. The low was single digits.

The LT tires think nothing of this.

well the ground fixed it. back to the feisty cold starts that keep me liking this truck alot.

one of the things I had been nearly boasting of for 3 years now.. the cold starts are extremely impressive.

21 below whatever..ice storms, soaking sopping wet, frozen, hurricane, blizzard.. nothing matters.

it starts. It starts big.

it must have been using a header zap off motor mount to eventually snap a start.

the sad thing is.. I have done this 3 times to my GM v8. my first with my own truck. The rest was cars.

that cheap ribbon ground coming from engine.

the last problem was not hot enough for the engine, I had plenty of heat in the cabin however.

That gained a simple fix.

removing air lid and snapping it back down with a gap raises IAT with some engine heat. this truck was pegged at 30F on the IAT for months.

finally got coolant moving around. this 305 can stay air cooled for weeks in maine. Barely opening thermostat.... for weeks.

now that the ground is frozen, air temps do not help much. Truck has to be arctic proof. It has to use its own heat to raise intake temps.

Edited January 30, 2018 by barry G

Grumpy Bear · January 30, 2018

Barry I almost hate to post and spoil the flow of your thread. I find it most delightful. Something about the way you craft a missive perhaps or your willingness to continue when most others would have cashed in and moved on. Almost like you delight in the next challenge. Your fearlessness is amazing. Thank you for sharing you journey with your baby. Hope I'm still reading your column when you have a million miles on her.

barry G · January 31, 2018

13 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Barry I almost hate to post and spoil the flow of your thread. I find it most delightful. Something about the way you craft a missive perhaps or your willingness to continue when most others would have cashed in and moved on. Almost like you delight in the next challenge. Your fearlessness is amazing. Thank you for sharing you journey with your baby. Hope I'm still reading your column when you have a million miles on her.

the odometer is actually a reference.

the engine is so young, I add oil in half quarts at 2k intervals.

it is less than 14 in a quarter..and does 1100 miles in 24 hours...

at 19mpg, and in the fast lane, 80 is 2300 rpm.

it passes my fathers 2016 with giggles.

I post this for you.

people give up too easy.

My dad drives me nuts. He has given vehicles away to a carb tune needed (I grew up with that)

My crew chief days, war monger as it was.. I took it home.

I was assigned to a 50 year old plane that finally went to junk 10 years ago.

Still has the plywood floors I installed.

my thoughts on what is bad is a bit different. It does start with a damn good previous owner. Dealer history, business owner, ASE specific to GM. My truck was gone over, very detailed.

He gave up on a broken shock mount.

It is MUCH younger than the odometer.

the hero of this truck is the nv3500.. the only original piece left.

no one believes it until a ride. My neighbor slept as i sailed past 110.

relax or go fast giggles.. what more could anyone want.

I also found the mystery of the engine ground? it was not even old..

something like a squirrel or chipmunk gnawed at it...and it was indeed the autumn.

maine drops its first cold bombs in september/october. They love my truck.

The ionization odors are like burnt wal nuts. It must have got a taste for the copper ribbon.

the new shielded cable only made the perfect cold starts even bigger.

Edited January 31, 2018 by barry G