1990 Chevy K1500

[Second Series]

The block heater in my DD started leaking, so it’s in the shop for that and some overdue service. Meanwhile I’ve been driving this truck. It’s been awhile since my last update. One thing I did a few years ago was address this ground connection. One crusty wire was wrapped around another, now it is clean and crimped. That fixed the gauge issues.
I got this truck with 33’s and the p.o. cranked the torsion bars all the way up. It has been a stiff ride, there is interference when I’m turning while going out a driveway. I softened the ride by adjusting the torsion bars, each turn of the adjusting bolt lowered it about 1/8”. Eight turns and it lowered 1”. The ride was noticeably smoother, but there was interference when turning. I decided to shave off the end of the front bumper and the plastic piece there. While I was at it I replaced the shocks, one was bad. I also greased the ball joints. It looks like the upper A-arm may have been replaced as it is not rusty like everything else, and the upper A-arm ball joint has a grease zerk. The lower ball joint has no zerk.
This truck mostly just sits and is great for an occasional dump run, or a trip for lumber or gravel. Kind of a beast to drive for a commute, but I like it. It has always had a growl, Belching and farting while coasting down, and bucks when accelerating from a coast. Last night I was looking under the hood and found a crusty vacuum cap. There is a vacuum line that should go from the front of the throttle body to the charcoal cannister. There is not one on this truck. The rubber cap fell off when I touched it. It looks like it would take ¼” hose. I found some 5/16” hose, jammed a bolt in one end and hose clamped it to this port. Todays ride was much smoother, there is still some grumbling in the exhaust, but no more jerky drive.