Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

I dug the leaking (but perfectly functional) pump out of my dad's steel bin for my '96 and put a kit in because the "NEW not REMAN" from the auto parts store one crapped out on me in less than a year. I disassembled the dead one to try and ascertain why it failed. What it appears is that the vanes weren't installed correctly during the rebuild. Since you mentioned getting everything back in the right place I thought I'd bring up position as well. ;) The rounded edge of the vanes face the pump housing.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

I think ElRae works just fine for yours. The female name thing is just my wife's way of looking at it.

Thanks, I'm going to have to look at those vanes again. I didn't notice that they even have a rounded edge. Mine look like little rectangles with what I assume are flat edges but maybe didn't look hard enough.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

It is subtle. Here is a pic of mine during disassembly. Note the rounded edges facing into the rotor. :( Also the documentation from my rebuild kit, Step 4.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

I was re-watching that video I linked earlier and he basically said the opposite on which way the rounded edges go. Your document says rounded edges toward the cam ring, which the picture shows as the large hollow ring that the shaft goes into which would mean rounded edges out.

Edit: Looks like you mean that the photo is intended to show how yours was originally done the wrong way.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

My document was from the rebuild kit I bought and, yes, my pic is of my pump that had eaten itself. The inside of the cam ring was quite grooved on that unit when I took it apart and I suspicioned it was from improperly installed vanes.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Well, drove my truck the 16 miles into work today for the first time:metal:

Hope I make it back home. Truck was telling me in no uncertain terms that I am NOT done with it yet! :lol:

It's been a long time since my last K10, but I'm pretty sure it didn't work so hard to bounce me off the road. The couple K10's I've had were LWB, maybe that makes a difference, or maybe I've just forgotten in the 30 years or so since :lol: I did get the front end aligned. I "think" it made some improvement in the truck trying to steer itself but jury is still out and I'm not satisfied yet.

I'd also forgotten how much fun it is to be stopping in traffic, have the engine die, and lose power brakes. The further I got from home, the more reluctant the truck was to idle by itself. So, I foresee more attempts at carb tuning in my near future.

All in all, even with all the puckering up it was an exciting adventure - the first of many I'm sure!

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Congrats Rick! Great to hear your working out the kinks. It does take a while. I just replaced my steering box after trying to avoid it for months. Hilarious. I have the same bounding me out of my s eat problem. I should have put on Cadillac shocks not the billsteins.

Anyway...good luck on the continued issue resolution.

Chris

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Thanks for the good wishes Chris. I'd looked into the Redhead steering boxes you mention in your thread that you got. Haven't found them for the 73-87 online but haven't called them either.

I will say that Tough Country EZ-Ride spring suspension is not an EASY ride!!! Will be researching how to improve.

I did make it home from work without nearly so much pucker factor as the ride to work. Truck didn't die at all!

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Very kool, Rick! Good to hear it started to mellow out on the ride home, drive that sucker and it will tell you what it still wants. :lol: Some things just need to get run in and the ride from an old 4x4 is priceless! :devil:

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Not much of an update, but it's been a while. Been doing a lot of researching how to deal with the issues I described from the 16 mile drive to work.

Called Tuff Country about the bouncing around. They're saying I have the right shocks, and the correct springs, so advised to check I hadn't over-torqued the bolts on the spring shackles, inhibiting spring movement. Checked those today and they seem to be about right.

For the steering being pulled by the road, I've ordered 2 degree shims to get my caster within specs, and a better steering stabilizer setup. Neither showed up in time for the weekend.

For the dying when stopping I'd been reading a lot of threads about vapor lock. One of them mentioned "Never Ever" put a fuel filter between the tank and the mechanical pump. Who'da thunk? Of course I'd put fuel filters between each tank and the tank selector valve. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm guessing that the mech fuel pump struggles to provide enough fuel pressure if dragging fuel through a filter?

In any case, I spliced in a bypass for one of the tanks. Started the truck and could barely get it and keep it running and clouds of unburned fuel out the exhaust. Hmm... maybe the inline fuel filter did make a difference. Spent a while readjusting idle fuel mixture and timing and got it running at least decent again. Mixture screws all the way in and still some smoke indicating too rich mixture. Guess drilling those fuel-mixture holes out in the baseplate of the carb wasn't needed without filters inline. Oh, well, at least I have 3 other Quadrajets to grab an unmolested base plate from.

I'd mentioned that I did get it running decent again, so was snugging the distributor hold down bolt and it just got looser, WTH? Then it fell out. Threads full of aluminum from the Edlebrock Performer aluminum intake. I swear I never torqued that down enough to strip it, aluminum or not. Well, I've got a couple original GM intakes I can use.

Sometimes you reach a stage where you just wish you knew what the hell you were doing instead of getting more "lessons".

It's all fixable and shouldn't cost much, but frustrating...

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

I would definitely run a filter before the fuel pump and have for years, fuel quality (E10) sux these days and non-ethanol fuel can really help. Added an on demand flow through electric helper fuel pump after a filter to Blue for those hot days. Got really tired of being stuck on the side of the road waiting for the steel fuel line to cool off. :devil: Now that temps have come down it runs just fine without it. Big heat source is the mechanical pump to a steel line, it radiates the engine heat and causes the fuel to boil before it gets to the carb. Lots of folks don't run the mechanical pump any more.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

One of the challenges is that so much of what you read gives conflicting information. Unless something else was going on, bypassing the filter seems to have increased fuel flow, but like you I'd prefer to keep the filters. Then again, I just selected some off the parts store shelf that looked like they'd work - correct ins and outs and a bracket to bolt them to the chassis. No thought to fuel flow or restriction.

I've read a number of threads suggesting swapping to an electric pump and that it should be placed as near to the tank as possible. The additional pressure keeps the fuel from vaporizing. Would I need 2 pumps, one for each tank between tank and inline filter? Or just one pump between the selector valve and the existing mechanical pump? Would I then need a regulator on the line? Guess I need to do more research.

This is my current setup, sorry - not too steady drawing with a mouse :)

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

One pump after the selector as low and far back as possible, electric pumps push better than pull is thought behind the placement. This is a good one for your application https://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRT-P4594, here is the same one installed on Blue http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...645614&page=42 it's installed using a key on circuit with a manual rocker switch in the cab so when not needed it's not running. Doesn't require a pressure regulator and can be your primary pump if you decide to remove the mechanical pump all together. Blue runs a filter before the electric pump, after the mechanical pump and one in the carb!! :metal:

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Thanks so much Brett! Sometimes it is just so nice that someone will spell it out and take out the guesswork.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

No biggie, a friend who has ran these pumps for many years pointed me in the same direction.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Had some time this weekend to start tackling some of the issues with my truck's handling. Got 2 degree steel shims to bump my caster up closer to 9 degrees on both sides. Installing the shims was a pain for this old guy - I've been stiff and sore the whole weekend from it:waah: I really need to invest in a good impact wrench. Nuts on the u-bolts fight you all the way after they'd been tightened down with threadlocker! But they are in and they did improve my steering handling quite a bit. Wheels were still a bit too easy to turn but the road wasn't yanking me around.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

After test driving with just the shims, I installed the new dual stabilizer setup. This wouldn't have been too bad a job, but the shocks were really tough to compress and line up with the center mounting bracket. Also the instructions didn't seem to account that about 8" of the passenger side on the crossover bar was for toe adjustment so I had to move everything from where the instructions had me put them originally in order to get it somewhat centered and even.

This also improved the driveability of the truck. It now takes some "intent" to turn the wheel which is what I wanted. The downside is that now after a turn you can't just let the wheel slip past your palm to center itself again. You have to turn the wheel to straighten up. Not a big deal, but something I'll have to see if I get used to. Would probably have been about just right to just upgrade the O'Reilly's OE stabilizer shock (top of pic).

I also got the helper fuel pump you suggested Brett, but haven't installed yet. Looks like I'm going to need to modify the steel fuel lines to mount the pump on the frame, and I haven't got a relay yet. I did re-install the fuel filter I'd removed from near the tank. Also put an unmodified baseplate back on my QuadraJet carb and retuned everything again. Truck ran pretty good on the 5 mile test runs to check out the steering improvements.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Good to hear it's getting sorted, looks beefy!

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

I have the same problem with bouncing around in the lane but not as bad as before the new lift kit, nice to know the shims made a difference, I'll have to get my toe and caster checked here eventually.

Yea them gas charged shocks are a royal pita to get compressed and installed, I'm still not sure if it was worth the added cost VS a good set of hydraulic shocks as it's a stiff ride, my stabilizer is still hydraulic.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Saturday I took the truck out on a road where I was able to get it up to around 65MPH for about a 30+ mile round trip. It handled pretty well, but I've decided to try removing the passenger side stabilizer - haven't driven again to test that yet.

Main problem this trip was wind noise coming past my new door weatherstripping and/or the new window rubber. Couldn't tell whether or not I was getting any other undesired noises. I'll have to do the trick where I tape it all up and start removing pieces until the noise returns. Also, at the halfway point I pulled into a station and cut the engine for a few minutes. It didn't want to start - very sluggish turning over. Then the same when I got it back home. Think I'm going to put in a new battery for starters. I'm using an optima I got 6+ years ago. It sat on a shelf for 3-4 years (after I decided to tear the truck all the way down), then was used in the wife's Tahoe for a couple more. I "think" I swapped it out of her truck because it was getting weak. Smells like the truck is running a little rich still, and a guestimate of my mileage on the 30 mile trip is in the neighborhood of 7 MPG - the guage is down a quarter tank and the tank is 16 gallons.

I expected that there would be bugs to work out when I got this project done, but I'll guarantee that in the years I did software development I never had this many bugs to deal with when the code development was done :lol:

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Your a brave man I haven't looked at mpg yet? :thud: Been messing with the auto choke settings on El Rae and it was still running a little rich according to the miss's when she followed us last. How many miles total on that new motor?

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Well, since I still haven't got my speedometer/odometer calibrated, I'm not sure on the number of miles. I'd guess I'm right about at 100 miles now.

I did decide to break down and get a new Quadrajet built specifically to the specs on my crate motor and cam. Should show up just after the new year. Keeping my fingers crossed that it does the trick and I can get the engine running smoothly. I feel like I've gone over everything multiple times although I still haven't installed the helper fuel pump, and the engine still surges pretty badly at idle.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

if your running mechanical speedO. Advanced Adapters has web page to figure out what you need based on gearing and tire size.

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Hope the new carb does the trick!

Re: My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble
 

Got a few things knocked off the list while waiting on the new carburetor.
- Installed relays into the headlight circuits. Not sure I can tell any difference, but I guess I'm ready for bulb upgrades if I choose to.
- Figured out why my washer pump wasn't working. After 1 new one that came on everytime the wipers ran and just kept squirting -even with no electrical connection to the pump! Then another new one that did what the original did, wipers fine but no squirt. Found that the terminal on the pump ground wire was slipped back in the connector where it plugs into the switch - no bueno!
- Got the clock working while I had the dash back apart. Had the wires reversed in the connector :crazy:
- Glued the rear-view mirror to the windshield for the 3rd time. Its already off again:devil: Permatex just ain't getting the job done!
- Used a chunk of 2x4 and some good shoves to persuade my driver side door window frame into better alignment with the A-pillar. That did get rid of most of my wind noise in the cab. Now I can hear my speedo cable chattering away in the dash - needle bounces around too, so something wrong there.
- Discovered that I could use 18" wiper blades - don't have to live with the 15.5" that the parts store gave me for a 78 GMC.

My new carburetor came in. It was built by quadrajetpower.com somewhere near San Antonio. I will say that the truck started up and ran without my having to make any adjustments. I don't notice the surge in rpm anymore in idle. I'm still doing tweaking, but I think I am getting closer :bann: