87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb

[Jsfucttruck]

So the weather has been starting to change, and after my last backcountry road outing. It's time to get a matching set of gears in my Burb. I have been putting this off for too long. I think it has been a yr now since I swapped the blown out semi float for a 14bff. In the process I put the wrong ratio in.

So I need 3.73 gears. I have 4.10 in it now. With the 285/75/16 tires and the th400, the motor is running a tad high in the rpm band on roadtrips. I don't want to swap a 700r4 in, or go to a taller tire.


After looking into the cost of a re-gear. I decided not to re-gear. I have been looking for a complete used unit just to drop in. I had lined up a proper donor from a 86 C20 Burb(gray) that was a factory 454/th400 truck. It even had the proper length e-brake cables and connections. That was two yrs ago(yes I had a 14bff swap planned). Then I sold it a yr later. Sob!

[Jsfucttruck]

Fast forward. Came across this gem. I need to crawl under it and confirm, but for less than the cost of the re-gear. I could bring this home. It has more than just a 3.73 14bff.

I need to find out why he wants to sell... But if it is a runner, I might just have to swap my 4.10 unit into it and drive it. Or turn it into a donor.

[Jsfucttruck]

A few of my fave codes.
GT4 with G80
L19
MT1
ZW9 because I have only ever owned tailgate burbs.

This thing is pretty heavily optioned. The wood grain trim package matches my wife's 91. The blue seats in my 87 are pretty worn. My 70/68/78 Burb project needs a motor, f.i. BBC would be nice.

[Jsfucttruck]

Well, things sometimes to wrong. In my case, more than less.

My diesel has been slowly running worse and worse. I replaced the lift pump and that helped a little. I was not seeing any bubbles in the return. It would miss in mid range rpm, it was hard to start warm, and randomly roal coal.

I sent out the injectors and injection pump.
2 injectors failed the test and the pump looks to have water damage inside.

How is that possible with only 42k on new parts?
I run a racor setup with water seperator. I changed fuel filters with every other oil change. I rarely had water in the collection bowl. I wonder if my racor setup is not the best?



At around $1100. I am going to reevaluate my situation. I am getting tired of the constant battle with this motor. Parts are a pita to source.

Big D is going to get parked for a bit while I decide what to do. I am over spending $300-1000 every time something goes wrong.

Any suggestions on how to keep mice/rats out of the engine bay and heater ducting.

[Dieselwrencher]

Put drops of vanilla on the carpet. Maybe moth balls near the blower motor. Drier sheets have worked for me in the past but I've heard others say they had no luck with them. Sorry to hear about the 6.2 issues. Nothing diesel related is cheap these days.

[Jsfucttruck]

Good news.

I found a good used injection pump and 4 injectors off a j code motor for $200!

Score! I am going to try to get it back together in the next few days. I also scored another 3.73 g80 14bff! I found a guy that wanted a 4.10 unit. He suggested we trade. It looks fresh inside too.

Now I am itchy to go off road again.

[Jsfucttruck]

Wow. So much for a few days...

Well the used injection pump and injectors did the trick!

I ended up putting in a airtex E8053(?) lift pump and fuel pressure gauge. I had intended to put the pump down on the frame, but ended up on the pass side inner well. While I was looking up fittings for the fuel pump and guage, I came across a filter that would spin onto the 3/8" inverted flare inlet of the pump, with a 3/8" hose barb end. The whole combo is around 12" long.

I drove it down to Coalinga and back, roughly 300 miles. No problems.

While it was down, I traded a guy my open diff with 4.10 gears. He had a good looking G80 3.73 unit. He let me take his first and i was able to swap my backing plates, pinion guard and diff cover.


The G80 engages nice with the low hp n/a 6.2.
Let's hope it holds together.

[Irish1941]

Nice! Sounds like good deal all around.

[68Timber]

Good to hear you got her going again. I agree with you on the G80, it should last a long time and work well with the 6.2.

[Dieselwrencher]

That's good to hear the IP and injectors took care of it. That diff cover still looks sweet too.

[Jsfucttruck]

I am happy to have it back too and it didn't cost me a arm and a leg to fix it.


I got a call from a bud that buys storage lockers and such called me and said he thinks he has a 700r4 with adapter and 205. With his deals, it's a take it or leave it situation. The price was low enough to roll the dice.


Well, it's not a 700r4. It is a 2 yr only manual control 4l80e with a Mag hi Tec Pan, Converter, and flex plate. It has a 241 adapter on it but no actual matching t-case.

The T Case that it came with, is a racetrack pattern 205 with the 32 spline input and Th400 adapter.


Hmm. Do I sell it, or put a O/D in my diesel or wheeler.
Either way, score!

[68Timber]

Nice score! I would love to have one of those in my 6.2 Blazer, but the price of the trans, controller, and re-gearing the truck is a bunch of money I could never recoup. You've got a good head start though.

[Jsfucttruck]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

Nice score! I would love to have one of those in my 6.2 Blazer, but the price of the trans, controller, and re-gearing the truck is a bunch of money I could never recoup. You've got a good head start though.

I am a hoarder. I have a 4.10 ratio set of 3/4 ton axles to swap the 3.73 set out. I literally just got the 3.73 stuff worked out. It would be nice to get some low end grunt out of the 6.2 with a lower gear set and shorter 1at gear.

With a 91-92 4l80e, you don't need a controller. It is a manual shift setup.


That now leaves me with 2 manual control 4l80e trans.
1st one is 2wd. For the wheeler project. 205 and black box will go on that one.

2nd is the factory 4l80e/251c combo.


Score!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice score on the trans! Those mechanical ones have to be hard to be getting now I'm guessing?

[Jsfucttruck]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice score on the trans! Those mechanical ones have to be hard to be getting now I'm guessing?

With a 2 yr only application, I'd say yes.
They are getting rare.

I only know that the 91 3/4 Burbs had them either 2wd or with 241 T-cases
C/C 91's Came with 4l80e and a 205

I am not sure what they came in in 92

[Jsfucttruck]

Nothing major to report, I have just been cranking out miles.
We took a trip to Las Vegas for the last Monster Jam World Finals held there. Next yr they are moving it elsewhere. Somewhere in the East coast.

As we were muddling around in the desert, I was pleasantly surprised by my G80 rear working well and we spun donuts for the first time successfully! A few weeks later a bunch of friends went to Hollister Hills Svra and I was able to do every obstacle I took. Again, the g80 worked well. I think the low hp/tq will help with the lifespan.

[Jsfucttruck]

Actually, that pic from coming down from 5 fingers hill reminds me. When I am going downhill in 4lo in 1st gear of my th400, it will feel like it is uplifting into 2nd. The shifter is in 1st. After 20 seconds of downhill, it will start to coast, no engine braking until I burp the throttle.


I spoke with my tranny guy, and he suggested and vrv regulator adjustment and then unplugged the modulator and see what happens. After a few tests, he suggested I try a govener spring and weight kit to see if I could "fine tune" the shifts.

I also have a marginally weak vacuum punp, so I plan to swap that out first and see the results of a stronger vacuum.

[basher13]

Did I miss what 4” lift you’ve got? I’m looking at something for mine and had thought maybe 2-1/2”, looks like your suspension is working good. Nice truck 👍🏼

[Jsfucttruck]

Originally Posted by basher13

Did I miss what 4” lift you’ve got? I’m looking at something for mine and had thought maybe 2-1/2”, looks like your suspension is working good. Nice truck 👍🏼

It is a mixture of different parts. Mostly used stuff. The front consists of a pair of Rancho lift springs, extended length rubber hoses, longer bumpstops from the rear of a s10 blazer, and a raised steering arm.

The rear is rough country 4" lift, 56" long springs with a longer rear brake hose and clearanced shackle bolts to allow longer drop.

I have all poly bushings and I order shocks by length, not by the lift size.


14bff swap with a g80 was the best upgrade yet.

Happy wheeling.

[Dieselwrencher]

It's nice to hear the rear end is holding up nice and you're able to enjoy it!

[Jsfucttruck]

I am going to be swapping a Dana 60 front into my truck next month and I will be swapping to the 1ton Hydro boost unit and Brake master cylinder.
I have a hydro setup already but it covers the lighter gvw.
Has anyone run into problems swapping these?

I don't anticipate running into problems if I swap both the Hydro unit and master.

[68Timber]

I don't know about the swap, but that down hill pic into the valley? Wow.

[Jsfucttruck]

Looks like I have a JD7 brake system for my Burb.

I am going to get the matching pair for the same yr V3500 and go with it.
The part #'s are different between the 2 hydros and master cylinder.
Is there such a thing as JD8?

[cal30_sniper]

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the "JD8" might refer to the larger brakes that were available on some 1-tons. I'll have to check the RPO sticker on my K30 when I get home. I do know that the JD7 brakes on my '86 C20 Suburban (13x2.5" rear drums) are different than the brakes on my '86 K30 Crew Cab (13x3.5" rear drums). I haven't gotten the front end apart to see if the rotor size or caliper are different yet. I'm running the JD7 hydroboost with a master cylinder from an early 2000s 8-lug Chevy van, and have found that to be a really good combo. I went with the van master cylinder, because it had a reservoir about twice as large as the normal plastic squarebody master cylinder, and it was cheap in the salvage yard I was crawling through.

I'm planning to swap the larger rear drums over to the 14 bolt that is already under my C20 Suburban when I do the 4x4 frame swap. I'll swap over the front brakes also if they're beefier, or maybe do the '09-up Ram 3500 front disc swap on the Dana 60 while I'm at it. Still looking into whether or not that will fit into my 17" H2 rims.

[68Timber]

There is a member here that goes by SCOTI. He has a crew cab and I remember reading some good info from him once about the HD brakes. Might search posts from him related to brakes or shoot him a PM.