Creamsicle: My 70 K10 SWB is about to get sweeter

[derotoreut]

I decided to change out a leaking front differential pinion seal on my Dana 44 axle.

Removed old pinion seal. Beat it up pretty bad getting it out.


Pinion seal removed from front differential.


This is the new SKF seal part number.


New seal.

[derotoreut]

I'm sorry but I haven't updated in a while. I've been jamming away at completing the truck, so I'll try to give some quick updates here.

I finished the installation of the front Dana 44 pinion seal and installed a new differential cover.

[derotoreut]

I finished the routing of my heater hoses and AC lines. The AC lines, heater hoses and control valve are all going to be concealed inside the passenger fender.

Hoses will be hidden inside fender.


All the lines come through the fresh air vent.


Another picture of the routing

[derotoreut]

I installed a new Skyjacker drop pitman arm and drag link.

New pitman arm and drag link installed.


These are the parts for the drag link and sleeve.

[derotoreut]

After I installed the drag link I wanted to try to adjust my steering. I also installed a new Redhead steering gear. I checked the number of turns from lock-to-lock in order to find dead center. I was able to center my steering wheel right on. Once I had the steering gear and steering wheel right in the middle, I wanted to make sure my front wheels were straight. I'm not sure if this is the proper way to adjust them, but it made sense to me.

First I placed a level tight against the wheel studs.


Then I measured from the level to a point on the leaf spring toward the rear.


I also measured from the level to a point on the leaf spring toward the front.


I made adjustments from my tie rods to get both sides exactly the same. I think the reference measurement was 17-1/2" from the spring to the location on the level. Again, I'm not sure if this is the right way to do it, but it seemed to work.

[derotoreut]

So here I got my interior just about finished. My Dakota Digital RTX gauges are installed. My Retro Sound Long Beach is installed. I installed my Ididit tilt column. The passenger side seat is installed, which tilts forward due to the Blazer brackets I put in.

Passenger seat tilts forward. Underneath is my PCM and relay/fuse box.


RetroSound radio is installed. I used the cigarette lighter location for a USB and auxiliary port.


Console is installed, Ididit column installed and Dakota Digital RTX gauges installed.


Dakota Digital RTX gauges.

[derotoreut]

Here's a shot of work in progress. Some day I'll get back on my custom 71 SWB. For now I'm concentrating on finishing the Creamsicle.

[rsavage]

Super work Dan.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking real good!! Keep on going.......

[DeadheadNM]

Strong work!

[Richard]

Looking good!

[derotoreut]

Sorry again for no updates in a while. A lot has been going on with the build. About a month ago I pretty much finished up everything and got the truck back together. I started to go through my fluid fills (coolant, oil, transmission, gearbox). A bought a knock-off vacuum fill kit, which is identical to the Astro Pneumatic 78585 kit, but for less than half the price. Since I've heard horror stories about air lock and overheating in these LS engines, I thought I would give this a try. The kit draws vacuum on the cooling system and pulls all the air out of it. It then draws the coolant from a holding bucket into the system, eliminating any air pockets.

Here is the vacuum kit hooked up to the coolant system.



You use shop air to create a venturi effect to draw vacuum on the system.



I drew the vacuum down to about 23 inches of mercury.



It flattened my upper radiator hose except where I had the stainless steel tubing inside.



The lower hose was flat as a pancake.

[derotoreut]

I got all fluids in and had my first start up. It was a huge milestone, but wasn't without issues. The engine would run for a short period then start to run poorly and want to stall out. I posted a thread in the LS swap section to see if anyone else experienced issues like this. From what I can tell, it sounds like it might be due to the fact that my O2 sensors are right at the end of the header collectors, which are open to atmosphere with no exhaust system behind it. Hopefully once I get the exhaust system installed, the engine will run better. Here is the thread for those that are interested.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=806996

[derotoreut]

I was planning to send the truck out for my custom exhaust, when the roof caved in. I was noticing some transmission fluid on the floor, but didn't think too much of it. I thought maybe I had spilled some, or slightly overfilled it and it was coming out of the dipstick tube where it meets the transmission. I cleaned and wiped everything up, but later found more fluid. After looking closer with a light and inspection mirror, I couldn't believe my eyes... A crack in the transmission housing of my 4L60E. Damn!

The crack is located at the rear of the transmission on passenger side, just to the right.



Here's a close up of the cracked housing.



Another shot of it.

[derotoreut]

Luckily a neighbor of mine happened to have a tall transmission jack, which was perfect for using with my 13' high Bendpak lift. I dropped the transmission crossmember and left the transfer case hanging. I then pulled the transmission. Later I removed the transfer case.




Transmission now removed.



Another picture of the crack in the transmission.



My transmission was originally built by Bowtie Overdrives. They agreed to pay to have the transmission sent back to their shop, rebuilt and sent back to me. They were super great people to work with. Everything was coordinated by Nikki, and she did a great job. Here is the transmission ready for pick up.

[derotoreut]

I received the transmission back from Bowtie Overdrives on June 30th. Again I can't stress enough how great they were to work with. They turned around the rebuild in a matter of days. The longest part was shipping. About 8-days from Buffalo to California, and another 8-days back.

Transmission was received on June 30th



I used my Bendpak lift with this homemade lifting device to get the transmission up on the transmission jack.



I assembled the transmission, transfer case adapter and transfer case all together and lifted it onto the transmission jack. It was a real balancing act.

[derotoreut]

By the 4th of July I had everything back together. It was a lot of work. I got the transmission back in, crossmember reinstalled, shift linkage back together, air intake reinstalled (had to remove to get into engine compartment to reach bellhousing bolts), both driveshafts installed and fluids filled. During this time I also removed and reinstalled my radiator and fans. I thought I had a leak in the radiator, but it urned out to be leaky hose connection.

All back together!!

[derotoreut]

So here we are on July 7th getting ready to send out for exhaust. A very talented fabricator is making me a polished stainless exhaust system out of 304 SS. He custom makes the exhaust system including his own hangers. While it's there I'm planning to inquire about some other custom touches.

Truck is loaded and ready to go.



First time putting it up on my tilt trailer. I had to winch it up and the tires just fit between the trailer fenders.



It was a beautiful, but hot day when I took it.



Set to roll.

[57taskforce]

Nice work! That sure is a great looking truck. 02 sensors exposed will cause all kinds of fuel mixture problems, it will definitely be a big start in the right direction to getting it running right. It seems like you and I have similar luck, I once put a new engine in my 3100 only to start filling it up with antifreeze, and have a cracked freeze plug at the back of the block. Had to pull the transfer case and transmission to fix it. It definitely sucks when that kind of stuff happens. You over came it well though!

[Richard]

Bummer about the cracked trans case. Good to hear they stood by it. My brother had a trans built by them quite a few years ago and they fixed some minor problems. Hope all is well when exhaust is installed.

[derotoreut]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Nice work! That sure is a great looking truck. 02 sensors exposed will cause all kinds of fuel mixture problems, it will definitely be a big start in the right direction to getting it running right. It seems like you and I have similar luck, I once put a new engine in my 3100 only to start filling it up with antifreeze, and have a cracked freeze plug at the back of the block. Had to pull the transfer case and transmission to fix it. It definitely sucks when that kind of stuff happens. You over came it well though!

Thanks for the feedback. This kind of stuff never seems to go without some kind of issues. My wife actually motivated me to not give up. She told me I had no choice but to forge on and pull the transmission. I got right on it and here we are today. Hopefully there won't be too many more issues once I get it back. I'll try to be confident... but like I said, it's always something.

[derotoreut]

Originally Posted by Richard

Bummer about the cracked trans case. Good to hear they stood by it. My brother had a trans built by them quite a few years ago and they fixed some minor problems. Hope all is well when exhaust is installed.

Thanks. I hope so too. Fingers are crossed.

[rsavage]

Hang in there Dan. You have done a beautiful job on a tough project.

[derotoreut]

Originally Posted by rsavage

Hang in there Dan. You have done a beautiful job on a tough project.

Thanks Rick. I probably could've used your experience and expertise with some of this. You do awesome work.

[Ol Blue K20]

Keep going, youdoing great. Motivation is the hardest part. That's what we're here to help with......