The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[ThreeQtr]

That is slick ! You need to see if you can patent that hinge idea for a production model.
When are they going on sale, as everyone will want one (hint, hint).

In all honesty. really nice workmanship as usual.

[ryanroo]

That took what, 2-3 days?

I got to see it in person and it is a really nice piece!

Ryan

[chevy_mike]

Nicely done. One of the better solutions to the age old problem of 1 long swing out or 2 short ones.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by ThreeQtr

That is slick ! You need to see if you can patent that hinge idea for a production model.
When are they going on sale, as everyone will want one (hint, hint).

In all honesty. really nice workmanship as usual.

Thanks. If I NEVER build another bumper again it will be fine by me. This was absolutely ridiculous in the amount of time it took--both fabrication and planning.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

That took what, 2-3 days?

No, four. <flipoffsmiley>

So I get a text from this clown one evening. He asks how the bumper is coming along?? I said slow and painful--as usual. He says he is thinking about starting to plan out a bumper. The next day he shoots me a pic of his bumper tacked together and asks "what's my time??" I very politely called him a forking showoff and went back to slaving away on this.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

I got to see it in person and it is a really nice piece!

Ryan

Wow, thanks!! You're still an ass....

Originally Posted by chevy_mike

Nicely done. One of the better solutions to the age old problem of 1 long swing out or 2 short ones.

Thanks Mike. Like I said, I wasn't planning on doing it this way, but I'm real glad I did. I'm also real glad I hung it off the curb side as opposed to the road side. Not sure if I planned that initially, but it sure came in handy a few times....

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Thanks. If I NEVER build another bumper again it will be fine by me. This was absolutely ridiculous in the amount of time it took--both fabrication and planning.



No, four. <flipoffsmiley>

So I get a text from this clown one evening. He asks how the bumper is coming along?? I said slow and painful--as usual. He says he is thinking about starting to plan out a bumper. The next day he shoots me a pic of his bumper tacked together and asks "what's my time??" I very politely called him a forking showoff and went back to slaving away on this.



Wow, thanks!! You're still an ass....

He is a handy ass to have around, but yes, he should either share the toys or just keep it zipped about time frame lol. But remember this, yours is running on the road, not in your head like his lmao

[hgs_notes]

Nice. Completely over-built as usual, but well done, also as usual. I was wondering about what to use for a pivot. Might be stealing that idea. Where did you get the latch from?

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

He is a handy ass to have around, but yes, he should either share the toys or just keep it zipped about time frame lol. But remember this, yours is running on the road, not in your head like his lmao

Handy he is, that's for sure. Mine does drive and ironically, I've driven my truck, to his house, to check his truck out. On that note, he has posted many pictures of his truck, but after seeing it in person I can honestly say that the pictures do absolutely NO justice to the quality of work he is putting into that thing. I wonder what is taking him so long??

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nice. Completely over-built as usual, but well done, also as usual. I was wondering about what to use for a pivot. Might be stealing that idea. Where did you get the latch from?

Somewhere on the internet. I'll have to check. I'm not too sure I overbuilt this too much. I tried to select materials that were as light as possible, but still up to the task at hand. That being said, I'm still no engineer, so it probably weighs a bunch more than it could have if I had skills.

Ok, I just checked and it came from a place called Jergens.

[hgs_notes]

http://www.jergens.com/products/natu...Fadj7Aodvn0AAA

Who'd a thunk it?

[hgs_notes]

Ooooh, you meant this jergens...
http://www.jergensinc.com/site/sfg_toggle_clamps

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

He is a handy ass to have around, but yes, he should either share the toys or just keep it zipped about time frame lol. But remember this, yours is running on the road, not in your head like his lmao

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Handy he is, that's for sure. Mine does drive and ironically, I've driven my truck, to his house, to check his truck out. On that note, he has posted many pictures of his truck, but after seeing it in person I can honestly say that the pictures do absolutely NO justice to the quality of work he is putting into that thing. I wonder what is taking him so long??

to much time trolling the interwebs

Thanks guys.... i think

[rambler]

that looks awesome!!! you should think about building these for resell..

[Dieselwrencher]

Your bumper and swing out turned out awesome!

[Mr Pops]

Favorite truck on the whole forum. Just keeps getting more badazz every time I creep on this thread!

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by rambler

that looks awesome!!! you should think about building these for resell..

Thanks!! With the amount of time it took to build this I'd have to charge thousands to make even $1.00/hr. I am pleased with the results, but sure didn't enjoy the process of getting there.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Your bumper and swing out turned out awesome!

Thanks Ryan!! I also saw that you nominated the Suburban for Truck Of The Month. If anyone wants to vote for it, the link is HERE.

Originally Posted by Mr Pops

Favorite truck on the whole forum. Just keeps getting more badazz every time I creep on this thread!

Thanks man!! That is a pretty high honor to bestow upon the truck as there are some really sweet rigs on this site!!

[spacedebris]

Love the bumper. I've been trying to figure out what I was going to do for my spare and you have given me lots of ideas. Mine will be a bit different since you have a tailgate and I have barn doors, but if you dont mind, I think I may steal a few ideas from you.

Have you thought of drawing up plans and selling/trading those?


Until I found this board and saw your burb, I thought I was being original. I've got a '60 C30 panel that I'm putting a 5.9 Cummins into. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for great minds think alike, huh.


BTW, Question about the bumper, it opens 180 right? So when folded you can still get the gate down. or does it stop at or around 90?

[spacedebris]

Originally Posted by spacedebris

BTW, Question about the bumper, it opens 180 right? So when folded you can still get the gate down. or does it stop at or around 90?

NM, if I had looked closer I would have seen the pic with it opened a little more than 180.

But another question. Do you have problems with it wanting to swing into the car next to you when open? Or does it not swing that freely? Or do you have some kind of stop built in to keep it in place?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm no where near ready to build one for myself but when I get the ideas flowing I get excited. I've got so many plans it'll take years to get to them all. LOL

[ThreeQtr]

How about something like this to hold it open?

http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ion-quot/page7 Lower pic in #63

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by ThreeQtr

How about something like this to hold it open?

http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ion-quot/page7 Lower pic in #63

That's what Larry and Bill both use, but it is nowhere near strong enough for a single swingout with the weight I have on it--especially if the truck is not level. Also, I can't swing it out past 90* with that type of strut on it. Those do work great on a lighter unit though.

[mosesburb]

So after I finally get the bumper done, I have to turn it around and get after a couple things that needed attention in the front. When we went to Flagstaff for Overland Expo this year I was having a challenge keeping the truck where I wanted it to be in a lane. I'm not sure when I noticed it starting, but it had been getting worse lately. This trip was a real challenge. I had to DRIVE the truck the whole way up and back. It knew when I was looking out the side glass. If I did that, I would be greeted with the truck somewhere completely different from where I last looked at it. This is no good.

When we got home I was doing some looking around under the truck. The first thing I noticed is when the wheel is rotated radially through its freeplay, the pitman shaft would not move radially. It would move back and forth--a lot. Hmm, this can't be good. I also noticed the forward spring hanger on the left frame rail had lost a rivet head. That's not good either. the rivet head was new and I know exactly when that happened. Back to work I go here.

So I pulled the steering box out and pulled the sector shaft assembly out of it. Everything looked ok until I noticed the steel bushing in the four-bolt aluminum cap hanging out about 1/8". Hmm, never seen that happen before?? How in the world?? Well, then I turned it around and quickly answered all of my own questions:



Well, that explains a lot. It also puts me in a real bind. I'm still on a tight timeframe here--real tight by this time. I always build my own steering boxes, but I'm not too sure I'm going to have time to do this. If I find a great virgin box, build it, and everything is great, then I'm golden, but if something happens, or the box has internal issues, I have no time to hunt parts or deal with odd problems. So, buy a box from the local parts house, buy a box from a national builder, buy a custom box?? I spent many years in a previous lifetime selling parts at a mom and pop parts house and I have not forgotten selling a guy two or three to get a decent one--not necessarily a good one, but one that doesn't leak or isn't too loose or, or, or... That pretty much negates that option for me. The next option is a local builder who has great product. I contacted a buddy of mine to recall the name of the guy we dealt with at this establishment and he said the guy wasn't building any more and the last couple he got were literally thrown out they were so bad. So much for an easy option for me. I did some looking and settled on a box from PSC.



Now before everyone jumps on, I have heard all about their bad reputation AFTER I bought this one. Had I heard it before, I probably would have gone with a different vendor, but I had no time to worry about it now. They do some custom work inside the box, sleeve them if necessary, use a special torsion bar and use a billet end and top cap (which is hopefully crack-resistant). While I had the box out, I pulled the pressure fitting out of the back of the pump and enlarged the hole in the fitting a few thousandths and also removed a shim under the pressure fitting nut to hopefully get rid of the split second of no assist when slow wheeling and sawing at the wheel. Nothing that I would deal with normally, but being the system is apart, now is the time.

While I was at it I decided to change out the steering stabilizer for a little stouter one. I'm not aware of any issues with the original one, but it has been on there for over 40K and I salvaged it off of the truck that originally donated its guts to this truck, so its age is unknown. I forget what brand I got, but it is shiny white and bigger in diameter:



I have had a dropped pitman arm on this truck since I built it. I have had no obvious issues with the part, but with a cracked aluminum cover on the box, I figured that would be a good thing to get rid of. I researched steering blocks for the Dana 60 and found that most look like rough-cast dog crap. The one that Off Road Design sells is an exception to that finding though. It is a fully machined piece that is .250" shorter than the rest. It doesn't need a kingpin spacer like some because the cap is machined in such a way that it mimics the original cap height. They also sell an ARP stud kit to fit the block that uses tapered sleeves and steel lock nuts. From what I have seen available, this is the best piece available. So I bought it. I grabbed a stock pitman arm out of inventory here and installed it all in the truck. I ended up losing two degrees of drag link angle in the deal.



I drilled out the broken rivet and replaced it with a 7/16-20 grade 8 bolt and steel lock nut. I wanted to replace them all, but I am really running out of time at this point. I cleaned around the area where the bracket meets the frame and ran a couple beads along the joints about 3/4" long. I figured it would help the retention and also show me if anything is flexing or moving around.

The last thing on my list is to flush the cooling system again. I was still running green coolant and there was some trace amounts of oil in the reservoir. I pulled the radiator and flushed it clean. I flushed the block and got it clean too. I have a fairly complex heater system now and I didn't want to flush it with the hose and leave a bunch of hose water in the system to contaminated the new high-dollar coolant and or create a mineral problem down the road. Hmm, how to flush a heater system and not leave hose water in it?? I came up with a couple ideas and even bought some parts to assemble and make a flush apparatus, but then I looked at one of my Reliance water jugs and checked the large cap that the spout threads into. It is 3/4" pipe thread without the taper. Hmm, I can make this work. I put a fair bit of Teflon tape on the threads and put it together with a ball valve and heater fitting and came up with this:



I opened the valve and it was working, but needed a little help. I put a regulator on my shop air hose and applied it to the vent hole on the container and it worked great!! When I got done all that was left in the system was some distilled water. I changed the coolant filter and installed the Rotella ELC in it and I'm ready to go--I think....

[jbclassix]

more questions for the master. How do you like the 44" front springs wheeling with the cummins? Now that you have a gold plated steering gear are you sticking with push/pull steering until it needs to be replaced? (nothing against it) hold on... gotta go change a diaper....

[jbclassix]

...OK... is there anything you would do different with your suspension if you could? how do you like your rear drive shaft?

[ryanroo]

push pull is ideal for a front leaf spring set up. im not sure of Mr. 'Burbs plan for the truck, but with that flat of an angle and the front spring being nearly flat as well, i would run it. i have my concerns with steering blocks, but i doubt that it will ever become an issue.

ryan

[mosesburb]

I forgot that I also changed out the front shackles for the longer ORD HD front shackles with the 1/2" bolts instead of the 7/16 bolts that mine had in it.



I didn't need (or want) the extra length to raise the truck up any more, but instead I wanted the little bit of extra caster they would provide for (hopefully) better road manners.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

more questions for the master. How do you like the 44" front springs wheeling with the cummins? Now that you have a gold plated steering gear are you sticking with push/pull steering until it needs to be replaced? (nothing against it) hold on... gotta go change a diaper....

Don't worry about it. When you get to the age where the valves leak a little bit, sometimes the diapers are necessary. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Originally Posted by jbclassix

...OK... is there anything you would do different with your suspension if you could? how do you like your rear drive shaft?

Meh, maybe, then again, maybe not. It's a straight axle truck that is lifted. I'm not expecting '76 Sedan DeVille ride quality. But it's not bad either. I've ridden in and driven hundreds of these trucks over the years and for a lifted truck, it rides pretty good. I'd like it to be a little softer up front, but with softer comes more compression travel which then could be an axle/crossmember interference issue. With that being the case, I'm not planning on doing anything to it. Rear shaft seems to be just fine. It got rid of the vibration and that was all I was wanting at the time. Seems to be holding up well.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

push pull is ideal for a front leaf spring set up. im not sure of Mr. 'Burbs plan for the truck, but with that flat of an angle and the front spring being nearly flat as well, i would run it. i have my concerns with steering blocks, but i doubt that it will ever become an issue.

ryan

I'm not planning on any steering mods. Hell, I wasn't planning on these mods, but I had no choice in the matter. I think it drives just fine and with what I do with the truck I can't see crossover or anything else as a mod worth the time or money at this point.

[mosesburb]

Somewhere along in here my Chinese (read that as ****ty-ass copy of a quality part) inside door latch control on the driver side gave up. The spring that preloads the handle and returns it to its resting spot after release broke. That allowed the door handle to be raised with no effort whatsoever. It also allowed the door to close with the handle up keeping the latch from actually latching. Chinese parts suck. I really didn't want to put another chin part in it so I called a friend of mine and he had a NOS GM piece. The only problem was he had a pair, left and right, and he wasn't splitting them up. Ugh, I guess I'm buying a pair of them then. I really can't be too picky when even at the price I paid for them, they are worth more because they are domestic--and they work!!



I also asked if he had any NOS latch assemblies because the original one that I re-installed after the Chinese replacement broke (anybody notice a pattern here??) had been giving me some grief even before the latch control device broke. He said he did not have any, but he had a really nice original latch available. I got that too.





So I tore the door down and got to replacing the parts. It is so nice having parts that actually fit the way they are supposed to and not fighting some metric equivalent cheesy-ass copy with inferior materials and craftsmanship.

I got the door assembled and closed the door for a test run and I don't think it has ever closed that nicely. Just a light swing closes the door completely with a nice click now. Sooo much nicer than having to put a bunch of moe behind it just to get it to latch. Opening it is even better. The spring tension on the control device is heavier than the Chinese imitation and it works absolutely beautiful. So nice to have a door that latches and unlatches correctly. No fussing or fighting to get the door closed (or open--watch out for the Chinese latches). I think it's ready now....