A few problems...

[benscool1]

I'm having a few problems with my burb. First off, surprisingly after 8 years and after cleaning the gas tank and letting the lines pump themselves out, it started right up and purred. Only when we shut it off and tried to start it again, it didn't have the juice. Obviously its not charging, the battery is brand new, just bought yesterday, what is the most likely problem and the easiest/best way to fix it? New alternator?

The brakes also don't come back up all the way when you push them down. Considering how long the truck has sat, it could just be that the brakes need cleaning, so what could I do about that? Take the wheels off and just lube everything up really good? If that doesn't work then what would it be, could it be the master cylinder?

And most likely, does the A/C need recharged? It actually worked, but it only blew cold for a few minutes...

[Smokie55]

After 8 years you could have some corrosion in the wires. If the battery was hooked up all this time, then the corrosion could actually be down inside the actuall cable. Check all your wires good. Sometimes little varmits will get up close and nibble them a bit. just a possibility.

As for the brakes, it could be condensation built up in the lines. After sitting for long periods in vary tempatures. Water will build up in the brake lines. ANd you know water and brake fluid don't work together. Try flushing the system completely. I would then look close at the master cylinder. it could be dried and not holding pressure.

Sorry no help with the A/C, I am not familiar with trouble shooting A/C stuff.

[benscool1]

I took the alt. in to advanced auto parts to have it tested and it was good. So I bought some battery cables and a bunch of other stuff. Installed everything, put in a new u-joint, actually, just new u-joint parts. The ends came off the old one when I took the driveshaft out to pull it so I was going to put the new one in, but that proved a lot more difficult than I had thought, so to make things easier what I decided to do was just put the ends of the new u-joint onto the old one. Probably not the best idea but it got it done. Started and ran great after I put the new cable in, brakes need to be bled though. I first put it into gear and nothin happened. Needless to say I was pissed, I wondered if the tranny was bad and then realized that that it was probably low on fluid, turned out it was BONE dry. 3 quarts later it went into gear and ran and drove good, although if you're not careful going around turns stuff will fall out through the holes in the floor, lol

[Sublvr72]

lol, glad to hear you got her going, cover up those holes and drive on!

[benscool1]

No kidding, I'd have no problem at all driving it everyday as soon as I get the holes filled up, even with the way the exterior looks, by that time though I'd have some of it in primer, of course I still need to get all the electrical squared away. Got some body filler, sand paper and all that good stuff this morning too so hopefully I can put that to use tomorrow.

After driving it awhile today I think it might have a cooling problem, it seemed like the engine was putting off A LOT of heat, enough to heat up the inside of the truck as well as the floor noticeably. What could I do to fix this? My temp gauge never got really high, could I need a new thermostat? Whats the most likely problem and the best solution?

[Smokie55]

Not to try and be funny, but the heat is coming fom the holes in the floor.

My 56 panel didn't have holes in the floor. but they were not covered and had no firewall insulation. the floor would get so hot it would burn your bare feet. And you would ride around sweating like a "Ho" in church. After some firewall heat shield and a good covering of carpet. It dropped 30 degrees in the cab of that ol truck.

Seal those floors, and add some of that padded firewall stuff with the foil backing. it will do wonders for your tempature problem. This is not to say it couldn't be a bad thermostat also. but I lean more towards the holey floor.

Good luck.

[benscool1]

OK, but I'll probably wait to put new carpet and insulation in until after I get the holes all fixed(duh), so thats definitely a main priority. By the way, my rubber mat that came in the suburban was really tore up and when I took it out it basically disentigrated. Where can I get a new one, I've looked in LMC and all over the net and can't seem to find one? And could I just get some generic insulation or would it be necessary to get one specially made for the burb?

I THOUGHT I had the electrical problem squared away...I took the burb up to the gas station to put a few bucks in so I know I don't get too low(the gauge doesn't work, another problem I'd like to address) and after I filled up and paid i went to start it and all I got was a click, dead battery. good thing my friend was up there too w/my other truck and a set of jumpers. Could it be that the negative wire needs replaced too?(Keep in mind that the truck did set all night w/the battery charger on it too, so that could be why it started OK for most of the day) I got both cables but only replaced the positive because it seemed to work great after it was put on, and it worked great and started easily the whole day until then...and if I put on the neg. cable and it still doesn't work...then what? Like I said, my alternator tested good. BTW, I do plan on installing the negative no matter what tomorrow.

And finally my gas gauge. The gauge always points straight to the right, past the full mark. Could this mean that I need a new sending unit to tell how much gas, or could it be a bad ground or...?

Help!!

[racedvl]

www.gmcpauls.com

He should have the carpet for your burb. If not you can also check

www.classicheartbeat.com

[Smokie55]

I also had a similar problem. You will definately want to change out the negative cable. I bet it has interior corrosion also. be sure that you have the engine ground strap on and it has a good clean surface to ground to. I went through 4 batteries in 3 years before I got my problem fixed. The battery could have a dead cell. it can be tested at any local parts store. but I would change the negative cable and also make sure your engine is grounded to the frame. Sometimes the straps will break or not get a good ground. It will drain the hell out of that battery and eventually kill it.

[Sublvr72]

I have the same gas gauge problem right now, check the sending unit on the tank. make sure the positive runs all the way to the interior of the cab and to the gauge cluster. Make sure the ground on the tank is secure.

[benscool1]

Changed the neg. battery cable and the wire that grounds it to the fender and still not better, I'm gonna let the battery charge all night and see if it helped any but I doubt it will. It still won't start unless it is jumped or put on a charger.

Where is the engine ground cable at? I think I'm gonna start cutting and patching the big interior holes tomorrow.

[lngbed71]

Starter maybe?

[benscool1]

Could that be it? My buddy has an 85 f-150 and it would do the same thing mine does when the battery gets real low which is just click, after a new solenoid and 2 batteries we finally figured out that it was the starter, sure enough as soon as he replaced it, it worked fine until one of the starter bolts came out, lol Too bad I have to work tomorrow, I won't have as much time to work on it as I have the last few days. Hopefully I'll at least have time to fix the tire & brakes before I go to work.

[benscool1]

Cool, I got the charging problem fixed, turned out to just be a loose wire in the harness somewhere from the alt. to the firewall. Took off all the electrical tape around the wires, cleaned em' all off, and it started charging. Greased the front end up real good and took my dad for a cruise in the burb(he came home today because he couldn't get unloaded and he hadn't ridden in it yet). He thought it was pretty cool. I think I'm gonna work on getting all the rear lights to work, I dunno if there is a bad ground or if the bulbs are all bad but the only light in the back that works is the pass. side brake light, the reverse lights don't even work. Thanks for all the help. Hopefully it'll be licensed and a driver w/new rockers and no holes in the floor in the next month-2 months...hopefully...

[benscool1]

How do you remove the lower side trim? I decided to start sanding the good body panels this afternoon but ran into a problem when removing them. Do you just get a pry bar under the trim to get them off? Then what about the little clip-things that hold the actual trim on?

[benscool1]

How do you get the lower trim clips off?