Restoring Rusty

[hatzie]

Gregski
Have you seen this BS about Sacramento County Zoning coming after homeowners for doing work in their garages? Hopefully it's a bad joke or internet baloney.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/s...our-own-garage

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Gregski
Have you seen this BS about Sacramento County Zoning coming after homeowners for doing work in their garages? Hopefully it's a bad joke or internet baloney.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/s...our-own-garage

I really don't know why people still choose to live in that state.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

I really don't know why people still choose to live in that state.

More & more are moving to TX. I went to look @ a house (that was set-up w/the car guys needs in mind) yesterday morning only to find out they got a cash offer from someone coming from Cali using internet pics/info only.

This is the 3rd time it's happened to me . . …..

[Gregski]

the reason my LS Swap is taking so long is because I decided to change out my entire exhaust system, I used to run headers, dual 2.5" pipes, Magnaflow mufflers, and dump down right before the rear axle, and it was loud, and I did not like the flimzy Walker pipes you get at Pep Boys, lol

So I decided to piece my new exhaust, all from donor GM vehicles at the local Pick and Pull, and half a dozen short trips later, we got ourselves a complete new (to us) exhaust from the Cylinder Heads to the tailpipe tips

let me take you on this journey... I think you already saw my downpipes, so here are the intermediates (this might be a Trilogy)

[Gregski]

used denatured alcohol from Home Depot (cheap) to clean the grease off of the pipes prior to painting them with engine paint

the step up zig zag follows the frame beautifully

I will not win any awards for those fugly downpipes, they may be getting replaced soon...

used old O2 sensors to keep the paint off of the O2 Sensor bungs - cause I'm a semi Pro

[Gregski]

for my dual tail pipes I used two Suburban passenger side exit over the axle pipes which I cut off with a sawzall at the junkyard just aft of the stock muffler keeping both factory hangers

I wish I took pics of the process of converting one of them to a driver side exit, it was genius I tell you, I removed the silly heat shields off of them first, and I think it took 4 cuts to make one right side be a left side

worth mentioning is that I also bought two Tahoe over the axle tailpipes and tried those first, I liked them better cause they have flatter arches above the axle and their side exits don't swoop down as the Suburban ones do, however I could not run those cause they interfered with the rear leaf spring hangers, I mean they wanted to exit out the side at the exact same spots, ha ha

[Gregski]

'99 Chevy Suburban, yes both sides are passenger side exits, one of them had to be massaged into exiting on the driver side, stay tuned...

[Gregski]

below I show you the Suburban ones with the stock hangers still on, I cut those off and grinded the pipes smooth and used U clamps with the stock hangers in the spots I wanted this allowed me to makes small adjustments unlike the factory which welds them on in a fixed location (amateurs I tell ya, jk)

[Gregski]

In the final pics they aint mounted, they are just resting on the rear axle for the photo shoot, I still need to clean them up and paint them some semi flatness rattle can black

they are simetrical, that's a bad angle, also they are not mounted in this pic hence the clamps on the ground, the pipes are just resting on the rear axle to show you how they came out

they look a bit off in this pic but trust me they is even when properly hung

[Gregski]

Top Tips on making your own steel braided lines hoses fittings etc...

1. use both ends of the newly bought hose first, the manufacturer / seller most likely has given you two nicely cut and tapped off ends so use them, I don't care if you bought 100 feet of line, start your projects from both ends and measure in, hope you follow

2. once you commit to twisting on a hose end, do NOT quit, I don't care if your thumb feels like it's going to fall off, or if dinner is ready, or your baby mama is hollerin' at you... if you stop and remove the end cap the line will be already frayed just enough to prevent you from re capping it, please heed my advice - You Can Do It!

3. get comfortable sit on the floor if you have to, unwind the line in the reverse direction a bit so when you start twisting it in to the female end cap it wants to spin already naturally returning to it's regular unwound position

4. I put my end caps on dry, you can use lubricant if that works for you, some folks use WD40

this was not meant to be all inclusive just some quick advice on putting on hose end fittings as I had to do some and the idears were fresh in my noggin'

[Gregski]

not all hose ends are created equal, I think I got lucky with these FRAGOLA brand ones, I think Summit may rebrand them and sell them as their own Moniker too

[Gregski]

In my earlier posts I mentioned not all hose ends / fittings are created equal, so let me give you an example. As you know I had good luck with the FRAGOLA brand, however in order to save money on 90 degree hose ends (Fragola 90* 229006-BL were $18) I tried the EVIL ENERGY 90* ones (which were only $8 bucks on Amazon). (I guess it's in the name, cause they sure was evil ha ha).

[Gregski]

Make this short, there is just too much meat around the female portion of the Evil Energy fittings making it impossible to fit the steel braided line inside them. You can see that in the stare and compare pic below (Evil on the left, Fragola on the right).

I even proved that point by first trying to fit the line inside the Evil Energy fitting (tried about half a dozen different hoses - ruining them all) and then although the hose was now a bit frayed I tried the Fragola fitting and even with the messed up hose end I still managed to insert that line into the Fragola fitting.

Since I needed 90* hose ends I ended up using the Evil 90s part with the Fragola female hose coupling but I will not be buying the Evil ($7.99) ones any longer and may return the unused ones I got back to Amazon.

I hope this helps some of you out, if you are struggling with your hose ends, try a different brand, it's not you, it's never you, ha ha, blame the part!

[Gregski]

I don't usually remove broken exhaust manifold bolts, but when I do I make sure to drop the engine in the truck first, don't need all that unnecessary easy access.

Say what? Removing the brake booster/master cylinder assembly is not one of your LS Swap steps? Well maybe it should be, ha ha

Man this bolt kicked my donkey!!! even tried drilling it out, no joy, broke a bit inside of it, it was honestly in the hardest location it could have possibly been.

[Gregski]

After many many hours... Victory, victory!

[Gregski]

sometimes you have to treat yourself to keep the motivation going, am I right?

Introducing the Lokar X ATS 6 4L60E B B

(pronounced: "Black Transmission Mounted 4L60E 16 Inch Long Single Bend Lever with the Black Mushroom Knob")

Now I really wanted the Bench Bend lever aka stick but they were on back order so I did what any patient car enthusiast would do, I ordered the next available model, ha ha

Level of Excitement (LoE) = Front Porch Unboxing aka High!

[Gregski]

My new Lokar shifter for the 4L60E does not clear the Manual Lever Position Sensor (MLPS) plastic module thingie on the driver's side, I think some may call it the neutral switch

the shifter comes with a neutral switch however it does not offer a backup lights switch

the MLPS has a backup light switch, and it feeds info back to the PCM and it also has a Transmission Range Sensor plug in my wiring harness that goes to the MLPS, so it's not something I want to delete.

Update: Emailed Lokar Tech Support and Travis asked to see some pictures, fair enough, so I sent him some, can you see how in the first two pics that top hole is not above the black plastic box behind it, aka the MLPS, well that's the problem the darn rod end needs to go between that shift lever and the black box and there's no way it's gonna fit. Their instructions show it installed without the MLPS, however clearly state you do not need to remove it.

Thanks for feeling my pain you all, I expected more from a glossy page catalog outfit, ha ha.

[Gregski]

heard back from Lokar Tech Support, Travis said reverse the bolt on the transmission shifter, (um ok, that's exactly precisely what the instructions tell you NOT to do, but ok)

I also tried extending out the shifter rod by using a 3" long pivot bolt on the shifter lever side but still no dice, the angle of the shifter rod still rubs against that black switch box

[Gregski]

fellow Square Body enthusiasts let me ask for your biased opinion.

If you paid almost $300 bucks for a part that claimed to be a direct fit for your make and model, would you agree that it was so, if you had to buy additional parts and cut, grind, and WELD - to make it work?

The Lokar XATS64L60EBB shifter (please note the 4L60E in the part number!)

please no need to hate on the welder, ha ha he forgot to adjust his spark machine settings from welding something much thicker (that's my excuse anyway, in addition to that I sux)

[Gregski]

after going back and forth with Lokar tech support, they basically said put a Z bend in it, I asked them if they have any examples (pics) of this thing being installed on a 4L60E transmission with the Neutral switch module on it, and they said NO.... (Great)

so I decided to take matters into my own hands...

[Gregski]

Layed out the 4.8L thinned out wiring harness and plugged it all in, not a fan of the factory routing, it's like going from LA to SF via NY, ha ha.

So going to re route the crank position sensor to hit that from the back, know what I'm sayin'

Also going to re route the passenger side injector bank to run towards the firewall, ie backside.

Would like to see the main trunk run along the firewall behind the brake booster and over to the driver side inner fender, but we'll see how it goes.

Allow me to bring you around the engine bay! getting excited

[Gregski]

a sign you've completely lost your mind

Pic 1 - diaherea

Pic 2 - Group Dingus

this is a view as if you were standing on the driver side right at the front fender wheel well and the connectors were at your waist, so the two strands on the left are the injectors, then the MAF at the top, and the Trans to your right

Rules of The Game:
Allow yourself to fail!
Don't mind doing things over to get them right
... I forget!

[Gregski]

I realize this seems like Overkill and maybe slightly unconventional but I can't explain what happens between the living room and the garage which is 20 feet away, stuff just gets dangled beyond recognition, if you know what I'm sayin'

[hatzie]

Go to the Borg and get the 1,000 count bag of 4" cable ties. I use them to neaten up and bundle wiring harnesses.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...00MB/203531926

I use the Paladin/Greenlee 1828 cable tie gun but you can cinch them up by hand and use a pair of sharp good quality flush cutting electronics dikes to cut the tails off flush with the tabs. Split poly will slide right over the small wire ties.
The Paladin 1828 tool is around $25. It puts the exact same tension on every tie and cuts them off flush in one fell swoop but they're pricey.
A good set of dikes like Hakko CHP-170s are $6. The Xcelite 175-M dikes are $20 but they aren't any better than the Hakko dikes.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Gregski
Have you seen this BS about Sacramento County Zoning coming after homeowners for doing work in their garages? Hopefully it's a bad joke or internet baloney.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/s...our-own-garage

oh god no I haven't as if I could hate California more, but I already live in an HOA community so that sucks already