How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by ajgriffin

Please don't finish two rebuilds before I finish my first....or do?

What are you cooking up?

Maybe, I’ve only got a year-ish before the USAF moves us again…

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Wth?

Wait, wait, wait, let me explain

Originally Posted by kehstr

Not enough power? Time for a rebuild and upgrades?

Yes, yes, and yes

[gringoloco]

See, what had happened was…

At last update, “Old Blue” was living out 3 years of an amazingly pampered existence with smbrouss70, where she was painstakingly and meticulously completed, then driven thousands of mostly worry-free miles all around the southeast United States. What a potentially beautiful end to that wonderful build story.

Unfortunately, the poor truck’s owner returned from years of galavanting in Germany with BMWs, Porsches, and F@rds, only to drive her 3 times before catastrophe struck. Early on that fateful Sunday morning, feeling the cool morning air, listening to the roar of the engine as I rowed through the gears, and pushing maybe just a little too hard on those empty backroads, it happened.

Clutch pedal dead. Banging clatter. Shudders, shakes, flickering lights, coughing, sputtering, maybe some crying… Carnage.

[gringoloco]

I limped her home with no clutch and carefully tucked her away in the garage while I contemplated a fix. Due to life stuff, many months passed before I had the time to finally tear her down to diagnose the failure mode.

What I found was not surprising: an exploded clutch disc, which was likely coupled with boiling clutch fluid and an over-extended hydraulic throw-out bearing. Could be worse…

[gringoloco]

So, why the total tear-down!? It’s a bad case of “while I’m in there” coupled with a “great deal on fb marketplace”. Honestly, the truck drives exceptionally well, thanks to the Porterbuilt equipment, but lacks in refinement in other areas. This round of upgrades aims to make it a more comfortable and pleasant ride, while still being powerful and carrying presence. Upgrades to the engine, transmission, rear axle, brakes, wheels, steering rack, pedals, shifter, driveshaft, and maybe a stereo are all in the plans, we’ll see how far I get…

First up is a complete tear down and rebuild of the rear axle, which had a loose pinion likely due to me probably not properly setting bearing preload. Probably could just tighten it up and run it, but what fun would that be?

The TKO went to Silver Sport for a checkup and received a clean bill of health, so it will be getting the Liberty Gears full shift improvement package with lots of carbon fiber and bronze internal bits.

More to come, soon-ish, pending time and money, which I never seem to have enough of together simultaneously.

[Palf70Step]

Glad to see you back on this side of the puddle. Good luck bringing the ole girl back to life.

[Steeveedee]

We had a saying in the Navy, "You have time (liberty), and you have money. Never together." My eldest son is in the AF. Not a car guy. Currently at Creech working on MQ-9s. Used to work on KC-135s, comm and RADAR. I guess just comm on those drones? Thank you for your service, in any event!

[fatbass]

Welcome back!
Your old 350 is still hauling a$$ in my C20.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad to see you back on this side of the puddle. Good luck bringing the ole girl back to life.

Thanks, I’m having fun working on her again, like the good old days…

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

We had a saying in the Navy, "You have time (liberty), and you have money. Never together." My eldest son is in the AF. Not a car guy. Currently at Creech working on MQ-9s. Used to work on KC-135s, comm and RADAR. I guess just comm on those drones? Thank you for your service, in any event!

Thanks to you, as well. I gotta figure out how to quit this job someday…

Originally Posted by fatbass

Welcome back!
Your old 350 is still hauling a$$ in my C20.

Heck yeah, that was a good motor. It was in the yellow blazer when I bought it, always a good runner.

[gringoloco]

Well, here we go again. This will be at least the second transmission I’ve opened up for this truck.

The TKO has received a clean bill of health and shipped back from Silver Sport, but I still want to crack it open to give it a once over and install some upgrades. It’s a bit of a chore finding parts for these, as Tremec has moved on to the newer TKX, but Liberty Gear still had carbon fiber synchros and modified shift rails available, which should help it shift smoother at high rpm (where this new engine will be making good power).

It’s coming apart pretty easily, with no real special tools required. No major issues so far, but I did discover a place where the shift linkage is rubbing the case when entering first gear. Maybe not an issue, as it has self-clearanced over time, but I’ll grind a bit in the case and lug to provide a little more wiggle room.

[gringoloco]

The shift improvement kit includes a new shift rail, bronze shift fork pads, carbon fiber synchros, a modified shift lug, and a stiffer neutral check ball spring. Everything came apart pretty easy and the new parts all fit like they belong there.

[gringoloco]

It got a little hairy once everything was apart, and I temporarily lost a needle bearing which had me frantically crawling on the floor. Thankfully everything inside looked great, the clearances setup perfect, and it’s all back together and sealed up tight.

Also installed the new shifter and hydraulic throwout, so she’s test to stab whenever I get all the other things sorted. For those wondering, yes, that is pink butcher paper for smoking meats. Sometimes you gotta work with what you have on hand…

[gringoloco]

Some minor progress while I wait for the rest of my parts to arrive.

The new MGW shifter I installed is technically meant for installation in a foxbody Mustang, so the handle is made for that application. It incorporates a gooseneck type clamp instead of a classic two bolt, so I had to get creative with mounting my Hurst stick.

Thankfully the MGW stick is a standard 13/16” and the Hurst stick is 5/8”, which means a standard heimjoint bushing reducer fits perfectly. Once I lopped the two bolt flange off, it clamped in like it belonged there. Check.

Also did minor repair and cleanup to the 2002 Camaro rear brake setup that will be using. This will use my existing Corvette calipers, but in a much more robust mounting that bolts directly to the axle flange. This should be a direct bolt on once my rear housing comes back from Moser narrowed, with 12-bolt car ends.

[gringoloco]

Chipping away… Replaced the 30-spline spider gears in the Yukon posi carrier with 33-spline versions, because, why not? The housing is getting narrowed, so new axles are in order, might as well make them bigger

Tear down and reassembly went pretty smooth. Looks like 33-spline is as big as this carrier will go without being bored over.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

At least ya have some progress..

[3767]

With this being narrowed, I assume you will be running 12 wide on the back? Along with a possible bigger ls version? Why not use the Ford 9 with it being so popular?
Glad you are back gringo

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by 3767

With this being narrowed, I assume you will be running 12 wide on the back? Along with a possible bigger ls version? Why not use the Ford 9 with it being so popular?
Glad you are back gringo

Popular & loud + added expense vs an existing 12bolt that he already had.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

At least ya have some progress..

A little, yup. I need more time and money, never seem to have both at the same time…

Originally Posted by 3767

With this being narrowed, I assume you will be running 12 wide on the back? Along with a possible bigger ls version? Why not use the Ford 9 with it being so popular?
Glad you are back gringo

Staying 10” wide on the wheels, for now, but with less backspacing for more dish If I do go wider at some point, it probably won’t be more than 11”, due to tire size choices. A 315/35-20 is a good fit, but looks stretched on a 12” wheel, in my opinion. Any wider, like a 335 or more, and the tires get stupidly expensive and hard to find.

Bigger LS, yes, I have a 383 on the stand waiting for me to assemble As far as the 9”, I contemplated it, but see SCOTI’s comments below, haha.

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Popular & loud + added expense vs an existing 12bolt that he already had.

I hate gear whine. 9”s are notoriously loud with aftermarket gears. This 12-bolt should be good enough for what I’m doing and save me around $1k vs building a F*rd unit.

[3767]

Gringo…when you got your spider gear set, are they Yukon specific or do you have a choice of manufacturers to chose from.Just curious if Yukon is made a certain way that’s not interchangeable with another manufacturer.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 3767

Gringo…when you got your spider gear set, are they Yukon specific or do you have a choice of manufacturers to chose from.Just curious if Yukon is made a certain way that’s not interchangeable with another manufacturer.

Yukon is supposedly a one-for-one direct copy of the Eaton, so they should work across any of that style. Probably good to call and ask them directly, they were super helpful on the phone with me.

The spider gears are the same for car and truck 12-bolts (all of the posi internals are, just the carrier itself differs). I do know that https://tomsdifferentials.com/contact-us/ also offers the 33-spline gears, I think made by USA gear and then hardened. I will caution you, if you’re not using a Yukon carrier, you will likely need to bore the through holes larger to accommodate the larger diameter axles. Yukon, I learned, uses the same casting for both 30- and 33-spline units.