Jump to content

GrumpyGhost Rusty 1999 GMC Sierra Z71 Ongoing build!


GrumpyGhost

Recommended Posts

New Brakes are installed!

Honestly this was the easiest time I've ever had doing brakes. Ill let the picture's speak for me this time.

I just have to fix the rears now. I know for certain now that I have a warped rotor and it's from the passenger rear that is sticky. Luckily I have new calipers to match these coming in the mail. The rotors are under warranty with autozone, so are the pads.

Callan brakes did a great job and I'll definitely buy from them again. The old clunky brakes are gone.

Tomorrow comes more!490c0598b8bfec18484235bf560aac87.jpg9fd908c0352c4dffeae22105baa2c4b3.jpg4c2a66b7132d050e270a3f32929eedb3.jpg05f1f7e6115a9ab321c360e9ebf3c3f2.jpga020f6ef2f2b650052982a70554b14e3.jpg40d13cb4c02a7de2ad81509ae05967f8.jpgf5649053cb1c0881939c0e4e05650d05.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I hate brakes, have I mentioned that before......

I have been super busy with work lately and have not had time to swap out the rear brake calipers with the new ones.

The past few days I have felt like something is loose with my front end....but I looked and felt everything underneath and didn't see or feel anything loose.

Kept driving it but I could tell something was off with the drive line.....then I had a hard stop because Florida....

Anyhow I stopped fine no accidents but the next time I hit the brakes I hear a rattle and then my left rear tire locks up.

Luckily I was only a couple blocks from my house and was able to put my truck in reverse and it unlocked the tire and I limped home going 10 mile an hour because I could not use the brakes.

It was late when I got home last night and I decided to wait till morning. This is what I found. I have an extra bolt from the junkyard set I took but I remember cleaning the brake bolts with a wire brush last year and I never put new locktite on them.

Completely my own fault, anyhow I'm going to slap this back together, run to autozone and buy new rotors and pads, swap everything, and then return the old rotors and pads under warranty. The passenger side brake pads are almost gone as that is the side that has given me problems from day one, but the good driver side caliper decided to let a bolt fly and scrape up my rim.

In all seriousness, I was very lucky and a best case scenario for something like this l.... I skipped a step as I was in a hurry. I gotta pull the fronts off too and put some locktite on them as well.

At least it decided to warm up to a scorching 85°F today ...

3e1284a982a9fc716107323795d5eee1.jpgf8373844e277ed8fed97b5e8ee4c09c8.jpga82d3ab33f821425f015f89f692c2c81.jpgb83250b384ab7f3e21e0e23f7dc75e3d.jpg8b7363a928c5dfec243e1213a5714824.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When in Mexico.....

Once upon a time there were zip ties and vice grips to lock out a caliper so said someone could drive to the parts store real quick like,......cause the required bolts to secure said brake caliper was not on hand as previously thought.....when in Mexico.......

In all seriousness I've seen guys do this to the rear brakes of old cars with leaking drum wheel cylinders and drive home 400 miles with kinda front brakes......e30be50d59cd2150fd7f04568883c1a0.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prepare for a three part book series I'm writing below on how much I hate brakes......


New rotors, new calipers, new pads, 2 new caliper bracket bolts, and red locktite on the old reused bolts after I cleaned them with wire wheel.

I also discovered on the passenger side caliper I was missing one caliper bolt to the caliper bracket. The missing bolt was the bottom one so it never let the caliper lift but it let the caliper pull into the rotor which was causing what I thought was a stuck piston when hitting the brakes.

The "loose" suspension feeling is gone now after my test drive and the pedal no longer pulses when braking. I also did the brake pad break in procedure. Basically get to 40ish mph then brake semi heavily down to about 10 or 15 mph about 3 to 5 times in a row on a "closed road" or in Mexico.

To be clear I was missing 2 bolts total, one on the caliper mounting bracket in previous post which caused my wheel to lock up, and then on the passenger side the caliper pin guide bolt was missing letting it "dig in" to the rotor causing issues since pretty much new.

Basically folks this is probably mostly or all my fault, the missing caliper bolt on passenger side was probably from me not using a wrench to hold the guide pin so I could tighten the bolt properly. If you don't holt the guide pin the caliper bolt will just spin and not tighten properly.

If you look closely on my new calipers, there are blue (look green in photo) dash marks on all the bolts to show that they have all been torqued to spec and the line will show if the bolt has backed off during shipping.

I feel bad that I used the warranty to "basically" get free new parts for something that was caused by my error, but its also on autozone for offering the awesome lifetime warranty on pads, and 2 year warranty on rotors. Lets see if I can make these last longer than a year. Yes they gave me grief about it, but its their policy and they tried to give me in store credit but I paid cash so I was like nope.

They warranty procedure at Autozone works like this......I bought the parts a year ago and registered the warranty under my phone number on their system and then no receipt is needed. Then to swap out the defective parts, you either bring them in and pay nothing, or if their still on the vehicle, you buy the parts, then change them out, and bring the old parts back in the boxes and they will refund the money. Part of the problem was I got brake pads they no longer sell, so I had to get the elite brakes, and then it said I only bought one rotor the year prior even though I showed proof I had purchased both. I actually pulled up the old post on here. It was a big hassle but I paid cash and they were trying to give me in store credit and I said no and eventually got cash. I shop there all the time and know the manager but its Sunday evening and they weren't working and it is what it is.

Its all fixed for now........I recently replaced the water pump, I now hear slight noise coming from the belt. I noticed when the old water pump was spraying water all over the engine bay, my idler pulley was soaked, I imagine I need to do the belt, idler pulley, and belt tensioner. Also I have never changed the a/c belt or tensioner for it. I wonder if its the original a/c belt that has lasted all these years!! So engine bay work is coming soon, as I still haven't touched the exhaust gaskets. (Still noisy but not knocking like when it was cold outside.)

These used calipers from the junkyard are going to a metal scrap bin where they can cause no one else problems, lesson learned...others may have luck with used parts, so far I have nothing but problems with brakes and probably always will.

Hope your all enjoying your evening. 0fc5f26e4227d3ee86cc7a986192b7e2.jpgcca1dafb1ed5d69a2f92b04fa3b13ffc.jpga9bb385b22f5585c25728a20059db309.jpgcaa499006a739ef33e4bea125bfa5279.jpg231624333012e23d00edd0f498421593.jpg378bd75632dfc699aa62a86679db2b53.jpg27825906dbbe2a4fc0a414dcd360e742.jpg4b57ad04a069cf97f31da3c54979c5b4.jpg824b8c27648d5a3556ba926d9480d048.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Haven't touched Grumpy in a couple weeks so here's a little update.

I took the "new" chrome grill off so I can start prepping it for paint and threw the original broken already painted grill back in with some zip ties to hold it in place for the time being.

The hood and roof clear coat is almost gone. The $5 black spray paint job I did 4 years ago on the front bumper is chipping away. I plan to wrap the roof in carbon fiber black and I'm looking for a 2001-02 chevy 2500 HD Hood.

The passenger side bed started flaking and I need to sand it down and primer it soon before it actually starts rusting. Its on the border of where most trucks that are two tone crossover so I may just paint the bottom half of my truck and two tone it.

On the driver side the giant dent behind the driver door I filled with about 1/2 inch of bondo is totally cracked wide open. Gunna fill it with super glue and walk away for now.

I checked the oil and its probably only about a half quart low since I did the the oil change. It also looks mighty dirty for not even 600 miles but I did carve out a lot of sludge in the oil pan and probably knocked a lot of sludge loose. I also added seafoam to the oil to help break up some of the sludge so I'll probably change the oil in another month or two just to drain out anything that may have been knocked down into the freshly cleaned oil pan.

In news of modifications coming up, I picked up a radiator and electric fan off a 2005 gmc yukon at the local lkq junkyard for $88.

I actually wasn't planning on getting the radiator or fans but instead saw a nice 2006 gmc sierra truck in a dark gray that looked as the though the doors were in great shape. I get there today and both rear doors were gone and from what I could tell the front doors had been repainted as I saw some paint runs and rust at the bottoms so I passed on them.

I did find about 3 vehicles with the electric fans in them which I thought was odd because usually they get pulled out pretty quickly here in the Florida yards. I did not pull the harness as I am just going to order a relay kit for the fans and will also be upgrading the alternator and other things.

I know full well the risk of running a used radiator but this radiator wasn't even properly drained at the yard and when I cut the bottom rad hose...... what looked like brand new rad fluid came gushing out onto the ground. I figured there might be a little radiator fluid but it was still full. I think they just sucked out the overflow reservoir and set the truck in the yard.

The reason I cut the hoses instead of using pliers and saving the hoses for the next guy is basically because I didn't have the proper tools and only had a small socket wrench set and electric sawzall to cut the door hinges as I was going for doors originally. Plus the hoses where soft and no good anyhow.

Also the radiator is already built for the electric fans and is actually like an inch or 2 bigger than stock. I could have probably used my current radiator but this new used one is in great shape and I feel confident it will serve me fine.(yes I know I said the same about the rear brakes but I'm hoping for the best and $88 is way cheaper than new. Worst case it fails and I buy a new one anyhow.)

I am still amassing parts for Grumpys engine bay refresh. New belts, alternator, tensioners, now some electric fans and wiring, and possibly new battery cables. Exhaust gaskets/maybe newish gone over heads with new head gaskets and arp bolts, new intake gaskets, upgraded injectors. Hp tuners......Basically I'm going to make grumpy 100% reliable before I do cosmetic stuff. But if I'm honest I know that the trans only has a limited life left.

Que the $1400 stimulus, I may use it to buy another 4l60e and then build it myself in my garage with all the upgraded parts for "high HP 4l60e" LOL its not a race truck so the trans will hopefully last like 20,000ish miles with a turbo. This way when my current one dies I can just swap in the built one. Also only part of the stimulus will go to that and the rest will go towards things I actually need so I won't feel to too sad about it.

Yes I still intend to turbo Grumpy but I no longer want to go crazy with horsepower. I just want a fun high revving Grumpy Turbo truck at about 400ish wheel hp for a daily driver. Make the blowoff noises and stuff but also not watch the gas guage go down every time I get on it. (Gas is $2.89 at this posting) A nice "street ripper!" Im thinking next winter grumpy will be ready for turbo stuff.

I know I say I am going to make grumpy 100% reliable before I do cosmetic stuff, but if I can get a set of doors which are needed now then I will. (Passenger window still doesn't work and my passenger side auto locks don't work.) I check Facebook marketplace daily and the junkyards that post photos once a week for a good set of not rusted doors. A lot of northerners have moved to Florida recently and I have only been running into rusty junk doors in truck part out posts. Im sure some will pop up eventually.

Business is booming here in Florida and I have been working 6 days a week for awhile now. I planned to have most of the maintenance stuff done by the end of march before it got hot again but here we are. The good news is I should have the money set aside to finally indulge into my Grumpyghost street Turbo truck dreams this winter.

As always sorry for the million and one grammatical errors and cheers for another day on this beautiful blue planet tumbling through space around a giant ball of fire that will blind you if you look at it too long. #facts 1d10a0eb88bf7f8f24f2f281e8a6c785.jpg30fcc60562b710284e4bd7b5e43d3b09.jpg8a82bd405cff5e050dfdffcc0c69cefa.jpgeb324a20b9d4bc810009871f96fa1581.jpg27ef01d0c9553f4845664039f1f1fd39.jpg0c67a41d253da424cba658c229d9b082.jpge4c0cd2d78c707239e06934cc8a015db.jpg4aad651b5252f1e012beb229696078c3.jpg9a95b9430ce7d57f0c1bc88a155c79c5.jpge50db07fea7fe915b3fa74815d06559f.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Grumpy is down!!! Actually I was still able to drive home. (Grumpy has never not gotten me home besides the one time the fuel pump failed, 22 years old now)...Sunday evening I was cruising around 50 mph when suddenly I heard a "clunk/tink" kinda noise and then my steering wheel started vibrating horribly.....I could barely hold onto it until I got Grumpyghost woahed down to a stop.

Long story short I figured it was a cv axle or something but found it to be one capped popped off one side of the rear ujoint. I was only 2 miles from home and was able to drive grumpy home at about 5 mph. It was not a fun drive but besides some bruising it looks like I didn't damage anything major. 

 

I did see my my rear diff cover leaking fluid and found some bolts loose on the cover when I got home. I'm pretty sure the vibrations from the high speed break probably caused them to come loose because there are no leaks on the driveway from grumpy anymore. (It leaks some oil but the skid plate catches it) Also I blue locktited the diff cover bolts over a year ago and I park in the same spot daily so I would notice a oil spot.

 

This weekend I will replace the ujoint again....feels like I keep going through a ujoint a year. I had no idea it was going to blow!

 

I ordered new hardware for the yoke and some moog ujoints and also bought a cast iron ball joint press off of Amazon for $52......its heavy but should never break. Finally just decided to buy one instead of renting parts store one...... which is usually bent slightly or threads messed up and missing parts. 

 

I haven't been posting because tapatalk doesn't work for this forum anymore and I haven't ordered the parts for the electric fans and bigger alternator. Im going to hardwire the electric fans with 10guage wire and not rely on the stock computer to control them.

20210527_203329.thumb.jpg.3ab011ce9fbe7f4c07fca0f1a82ead25.jpg20210527_204638.thumb.jpg.c5bed31b9a65ef57a963da18481cad18.jpg20210527_204620.thumb.jpg.61e34b62cdac81925d288999d61e5bda.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Finally got around to servicing the transmission, honestly doesn't look bad at all to me..... it definitely smelled burnt, still red and no real debris in the pan. ...the magnet had a layer of grease or felt like grease but i think the pan was way dirtier last time i serviced this transmission.....   anyhow the exhaust manifold bolts came loose fairly easy considering......

 

In fact i cant believe how easy this whole ordeal went. I even had time to drill out the stock pan drain plug and install the new one ive had sitting in my tool box for over a year now.

 

I have a severe oil leak going on though, definitely a rear main seal and probably the valley cover or somewhere up high...

 

My driveshaft still has a wobble so and i have moog u-joints to toss in on the driveshaft, i also plan to take my truck to the tire shop and get the tires rebalanced and rotated and some better lug nuts installed as i think the cheap ones i bought from the part store are too short causing my wheels to possibly not tighten properly.......i broke one of the cheap lug nuts awhile ago and swapped it out for an open acorn i had laying around it made me think hmmm........haven't dont much to grumpy as ive just been using it to putter back and fourth between work which is only 4 miles a day. Plus errands but the miles have not been racking up since i moved closer to work luckily.

 

Now thats it cool outside all thr parts stacked up in the corner will be installed over the next few months in my spare time. Tomorrow i may even scotchbright the roof, the clearcoat is gone but their is enough color left that I'm going to just clearcoat the roof and the hood and some of the body will be getting black vinyl wrap

20211127_135003.jpg

20211127_161511.jpg

20211127_164847.jpg

20211127_165001.jpg

16380578799055697103234579888689.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.