Project Arrested Development

[DeanTX]

That's what I'll do, Thanks!

[DeanTX]

So I bought new weatherstripping for the doors, installed it, and now the doors won't close. What is everybody doing on your doors?

[northern 49]

Originally Posted by DeanTX

So I bought new weatherstripping for the doors, installed it, and now the doors won't close. What is everybody doing on your doors?

Some aftermarket weatherstripping is softer than others but most of them will make your doors more difficult to close until they break in. If you are sure you have them on the correct way you can speed up the break in process by putting at ratchet strap from one door to the other and pulling them tight to the cab when ever you aren't working in the cab. This will help the weatherstripping form to the cab thus making the doors close easier. Another option is to just set the latches tight for awhile, it just means you have to push them closed.

[nvrdone]

are you sure the weather strip I mounted the correct way. I got mine on backwards &the door wouldn't close. fixed that & now they close fine. did take some adjustment of the latch to work right

[DeanTX]

I mounted them according to a YouTube video that said most people put them on wrong. I Imounted them where the the wider edge is to the outside.

[jweb]

Originally Posted by DeanTX

I mounted them according to a YouTube video that said most people put them on wrong. I Imounted them where the the wider edge is to the outside.

I had the same problem. Bought new seals from Metro Moulded parts,
part# LP 40 A. They fit great, but cost a lot more then the Precision seals that I originally bought.

Here's a link https://www.metrommp.com/index.cfm?f...20Side%20Seals

[DeanTX]

I got mine from Classic. What you get from them varies according to what
mfg. they have in stock at the time. The Metro part shown in the link does look like a better fitting shape based on what mine looks like. They are pricey at about $60 per door (14' @ $4.00/ft.) I spent time shaving mine down for a better fit for now. Thanks for the link. I will probably replace mine soon.

[reaper71]

Dean, I have'd used from classic,LMC and Soffseal
And by far Soffseal was the best fitting and softest product!
Just my 2cents

Mark...

[DeanTX]

Thanks Mark, I'll check out Soffseal.

[DeanTX]

Got all the cab glass installed. Just finished installing one-piece power windows. Had to do a bit of fabrication since I was winging it with the motors I bought. This is my first AD truck build. Right now I'm fighting with the doors trying to align them. I thought my hinges were in decent shape but now I'm having doubts. Adjusting doors to line up the gaps and close properly is definitely more of an art than a science.

[reaper71]

Dean, I know the feeling.... with my truck I had the same problem. I had the doors all lined up (had holes drilled for alignment)and then I had removed the cab to work on the chassis and when we set the cab back on and the doors were Horrible!
We ended up having to take a porta power and push the door opening a bit in different directions to make it better. (These cabs will move on you when taken off) I could just trim,weld,grind as needed but I'm leaving the paint as is soI got them close for my liking and left it.

Mark...

[DeanTX]

Mark that explains a lot. I've had the cab on and off a lot, plus I've had it turned down setting on the firewall to get to the cab bottom. The doors are the ones that came on it since new, but you would never think that the way they don't want to align. Maybe I can rent the "Jaws of Life" from the fire department!

[DeanTX]

And on the windows....I saw a YouTube video so I thought I would try it. Nothing but frustration after an hour on the back window.
I was fortunate to find an old school window installer and he had all three back windows installed correctly in 20 minutes. The front was also a breeze for him. After all I went through I wanted to slap him, but I thanked him!

[reaper71]

Dean, These cabs and doors can be a real pain in the backside!
That being said just be patient with the pushing on the A and B pillars and check the fit and repeat as needed. Good luck hope it goes smooth.
Truck is looking good BTW.

Mark...

[DeanTX]

Got the doors adjusted. Drivers is good to go, passenger still hangs a little low even though it is pushed up the maximum it will go, so it needs to be kinda pushed up to close without slamming it. Now it's on to adjusting the hood. It has a slight case of overbite right now.
But I did take it out for it's maiden voyage around the block. It was nice to see it out under its own power after starting out as a bunch of rusty parts.

[iowaboynca]

Originally Posted by DeanTX

But I did take it out for it's maiden voyage around the block. It was nice to see it out under its own power after starting out as a bunch of rusty parts.

Not sure this happened without a video...

[DeanTX]

Ok I'll get a video up soon....

[joedoh]

outstanding!

[iowaboynca]

Making me a little nervous going with the FI tech system...

But all you guys that have them seem to like them. I'm sure I will too. Also, I love the look of your truck. It looks...right.

[reaper71]

Congrats that's awesome!!
Ill be in your shoes one day..

Mark...

[DeanTX]

So after a trouble free initial trip around block yesterday, today the gremlins showed up. Remember I have the new Fi-Tech EFI. Well today I crank the truck and it will not idle below 1,600 RPM. No one has touched it between yesterday and this morning. After trying to fix it by going back to base tune no luck. The idle speed is still set at the same 650 according to the ECU. Called Fi-Tech support and they told me to set the IAC Steps to a value between 3 and 10. I will try that ASAP and report back.

[reaper71]

Yes, the IAC steps will help we had to do the same thing on Dad's truck and it finally settled down.
Also you will need to put some miles on it so it will be able to "self tune"

[jkeating1]

Originally Posted by reaper71

...Also you will need to put some miles on it so it will be able to "self tune"

Drive it up here to Walnut Hill Ave and take me for a ride. Better yet--toss me the keys!

[DeanTX]

EFI update: I have the Fi-Tech EFI installed and I had some issues initially. It turns out these issues were self-inflicted. The reason it was idling too high was a vacuum leak on the intake manifold. I wondered why my power brakes were not feeling very powered. Once I found and fixed the leak the EFI is behaving fine.

Another EFI issue I had was bad hesitation on acceleration. This was during a test drive around the block. Tech support said not getting fuel, and advised me to check fuel pressure. I told him both the tank and pump were new. They repeated to check the pressure. I had a spare fuel pressure gauge so I plumbed it in the line after the filter and again right out of the tank. Only showed 5 lbs pressure. Bad pump I thought. After investigation it turned out that the pump was not getting fuel because there was not enough gas in the tank. I had only put a couple of gallons in it, but because of the way my 2001 4x4 Blazer gas tank works the fuel does not make it to the pump pick up until at least 2-3 gallons are in the tank, the fuel settles toward the front of the tank but the pick up is in the rear of the tank. So with the 2 gallons it really could only pick up a cup or two of fuel. Once I filled the tank with enough gas, the stock S10 pump pegged the needle way past the 60 lb. mark. After adding gas to the tank the EFI was fine. It turns out that on that test drive I probably would not have even made it back to the shop if I had gone another block due to being out of gas.

During my troubleshooting of these issues the support line was very helpful, in fact they told me my problems were not because of the unit. They told me it was likely a vacuum leak and they were right. On the hesitation they told me it was either not getting fuel or not grounded properly. They were right on that one too.

Once I got these two things figured out with the Fi-Tech EFI it screams with instantaneous throttle response and great driveability. No carbs for me ever again.

Now the next issue for the truck is the 700r4 tranny. This "newly rebuilt" tranny was given to me by a friend. It goes forward fine but will barely engage in reverse. On the slightest incline it will not move backwards. So now I gotta pull the transmission instead of cruising the streets and being awesome. Just part of working out the bugs I guess.

[HUSSEY]

Looking good, you've made a lot of progress in the past couple of months. Those bolt on throttle body unis from FI-Tech or Holley really seem to be the way to go anymore. I wish they were around before I committed to my stock Chevy TBI setup.