85 GMC 2500 High Sierra

[treetop_73]

I have a clock in the dash and I can hear it running or I think thats what I hear constantly running. I hadn't drove the truck in 3 weeks and the battery was drained, took a while to jump it off the Taurus. So the question is what battery do you guys use? I had an Optima in my old Jeep but that was years ago and I never hear about them anymore. Is there something better?

Also, the power steering pump leaks, is it a pain to replace? Whats a good price on a new one and where should I get it from? Local parts store or online? And if I need to get it done by someone, whats a good price for the labor to install? I have limited time with work, baby, and sons little league I coach.

Back to the clock, is it something cool to have in the truck? I would hate to have it drain a new battery also if I don't drive it for a while.

And last question, whats the correct pressue reading on the oil gauge supposed to be? As soon as I start it, it pegs to the right at 60+. I NEED to change the oil, that I know but for it to be pegged to the far right, I think the gauge is broken or the sender or something.

Thanks in advance. I always wanted a 73-87 due to the body and finally got one but don't know much about them.

[Kalashnikov46]

first, im running a cheap wal-mart battery and its fine. unless your running accesories, these trucks dont take much, but if you want to go all out, red top optima is what you need.

second, can you post pics of your clock? lol, i have the same truck and thought i had all the options, i want to looky

third, my oil guage is going out to so half the time it reads i have no oil preasure all night ( which i know is false cause i deliver pizzas for hours and it hasnt seized yet ) so install a manual guage and see where your really at. I'd say anything over 40 is excessive in my opinion.

and finaly to your power steering. it isnt all that bad to install. taking the fan shroud out will make it alot easier and faster. you'll need to pull your belts and maybe your fan for a little more room. while it may seem unnessicary, it will make things less stresfull and painfull and price anywhere from 40 to 150 bucks. you get the quality that you pay for though so keep that in mind. as for the process. its all self explanitory, just make sure your using tubing wrenches to minimize stripping on your hi/low lines. the pully will be pressed on so youll need to be able to press/pull the old one off and the new one on. other then that, make sure you have a catch pan ready so you dont spill everywhere and go at it. deffinatly a saturday easy job

if however you decide to have someone do it, keep in mind shop labor is on average 75$ to 110$ an hour plus parts, so it may be cheaper to buy the pump before hand so your not paying for their price up as well. get the pump at like napa, any autostore will carry it though.

[treetop_73]

Thanks for the quick reply. I will buy the pump first as I am trying to install it myself but I have a family friend who is out of work so I give him odd jobs so I can pay him without it feeling like charity to him. I just don't want him to rip me off as he always tries to make more than the job is worth.

I'll try to remember to take a photo of the clock. Its in the lower left of the dash. What do you have in that hole?

[qu1cks1lver56]

I won't ever own another Optima, be it red top, yellow top, or blue top. I'm told they were much better but have gone downhill in recent years, I've never owned an older one but I've had 2 brand new ones, June '09, and they both are garbage. With nothing pulling on them, they will not hold a charge more than a few days it seems. I had one in my last daily driver, and I was out of town and it sat for a week, got back in town and had to jump it off, and it was resting at 12.7v when I left town. The other is in our RV for a starting battery and we have to use a charger to crank it everytime we go to move it. The onboard charger isn't hooked up to it, because AGM batteries charge differently than normal batteries.

Now I'm an XS Power guy. They make a battery for any application whether it be just a good starting battery or a deep cycle that can discharge 5000 amps in a burst, lightweight lithium racing batteries, and 12, 14, and 16 volt batteries. They aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for with their batteries, and they last 10+ years if taken care of

edit: I know, I sound like a XS Power salesman lol.

edit 2: to answer your other questions, when cold mine has 60ish pounds of oil pressure, and when at temperature at idle, anywhere from 10-20 pounds. And for the power steering pump, if it's the stock v belt setup, then it should be fairly easy to replace it.

[Kalashnikov46]

Originally Posted by treetop_73

Thanks for the quick reply. I will buy the pump first as I am trying to install it myself but I have a family friend who is out of work so I give him odd jobs so I can pay him without it feeling like charity to him. I just don't want him to rip me off as he always tries to make more than the job is worth.

I'll try to remember to take a photo of the clock. Its in the lower left of the dash. What do you have in that hole?

clicky to see my dash treetop.

[Kalashnikov46]

Originally Posted by qu1cks1lver56

I won't ever own another Optima, be it red top, yellow top, or blue top. I'm told they were much better but have gone downhill in recent years, I've never owned an older one but I've had 2 brand new ones, June '09, and they both are garbage.

i have a redtop in my car works fine. check the shelf date on the ones you buy, alot of places will hold an optima for 2 to 3 years before they sell it. at least here anyways cause no one wants to pay the price. i know the one in my dads car is over 5 years now and the one in his truck is 2 years and still holds a charge no problem.

[qu1cks1lver56]

Originally Posted by Kalashnikov46

i have a redtop in my car works fine. check the shelf date on the ones you buy, alot of places will hold an optima for 2 to 3 years before they sell it. at least here anyways cause no one wants to pay the price. i know the one in my dads car is over 5 years now and the one in his truck is 2 years and still holds a charge no problem.

See I know lots of people that say the same thing about the ones they own, I guess I've got the Optima monkey on my back or something lol.
The place I bought them from doesn't keep Optimas for more than a few weeks, they sell out of them nearly as soon as the truck drops 'em off because they sell them for lots less than the auto parts stores do. They get some kind of discount from their supplier I guess. Both of them I have had were brand new in June '09, had 06/09 stickers on the batteries and on the plastic they were wrapped in.

I could understand getting 1 dud, but what are the chances of me buying 2 duds back to back?

[Kalashnikov46]

lol, maybe the place your buying them from is getting them so cheap for a reason :p lol, but duralast redtops arent to bad either from what i hear.

[qu1cks1lver56]

Lol maybe idk. But I'm an audio freak, so I gotta have some serious juice, which is what steered me to XS Power.

[Kalashnikov46]

never heard of them. how are the for CCA?

[qu1cks1lver56]

Great, the group 34 starting battery is 1000 with a 135 min. reserve.

Here's the products page, I'll be using 2-4 D3400's in my truck dependent on my budget.
http://4xspower.com/products/

Their ratings are all somewhat conservative too, according to Scottie (the owner, I believe).

edit: I've had a few people with diesel trucks tell me they've started their trucks with a D925 or a S925, which are pretty small batteries.

[Kalashnikov46]

oh well, those are pretty good. those are max output style batterys to, great for audio. Only reason i care about cca is were frequantly in that sort of situation, but a 3000 amp max output battry is a damn good find. would be great for the rock krawlers running the winches and kc lights, what are they running price wise? i didnt see any prices.

[qu1cks1lver56]

Yeah they're great batteries, the S series is their starting batteries.
Price wise, not cheap, but in my eyes worth every penny, I've seen them perform over and over.
This is the only price list I've seen, and I think it's standard internet pricing.
D680-$109
D925-$139
D975-$139
D1200-$180
D5100/5100R-$235
D3400-$239
D2400-$279
D6500-$289
D2700-$299
D3100-$349

[Kalashnikov46]

ouch! no theyre not cheap. lol. but idk, you got me looking might be checking into one before next winter.

[qu1cks1lver56]

Haha, not cheap but worth it in my book. Talk to Nathan or Scottie and tell them qu1cks1lver56 from the SMD (Steve Meade Designs) forums sent you.

[treetop_73]

Originally Posted by Kalashnikov46

clicky to see my dash treetop.

So you have a blank guage? I'd rather have that than a drained battery.

[Kalashnikov46]

pull it and use that spot for something, like, say temp sensor or something, or just put a black piece in. everyone carrys cell phones today anyways and thats a good enough watch

[gchemist]

Nice truck. Slap on some late model aluminum wheels on it!!

[treetop_73]

Here's mine with the clock. I unplugged the clock so atleast it doesn't keep running. I bought a yellow top yesterday and now the truck starts without issue.

[qu1cks1lver56]

haha classic non functional clock, my uncle's truck has a clock in it and I used to set it all the time as a kid and never got why it didn't keep time, I thought it quit working when the key turned off lol.