Gary Lewis

My question has to do with speed control. It appears that there is one "upper" cable of 24 3/8" for 1980 - 85, and that there are several "lower" cables of varying lengths depending on the application that go with it. But in '86 they changed to a one-piece design. So, what does the one-piece design look like? Does it have the transducer permanently installed in it? I pulled Huck, the 1990 truck, apart and thought that it still had a two-piece design. I'm confused.

Ok, those tables are on the page at Documentation/Driveline/Speedometer Gears & Cables. (And yes, I did a 301 redirect from http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/speedometer-gears.html to http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/speedometer-gears--cables.html.)

And on the speedo cable length, here's what the MPC says. And I don't have this in the documentation so will put it on the Documentation/Driveline/Speedo Gears page. But, I haven't gotten my mind around what these charts are telling me, so would appreciate it if someone would enlighten me. However, there is also the cables for trucks with speed control, which are here:

Dave - On the drive gears, I think they do interchange. Here's a snippet of the 1985 MPC listing of drive gears. Two things to point out. First, that they called out which tranny got what gear. Second, that the T-18 & 19 with 3.07 gears got C80Z-B. Now here's the 1981 listing. From what I read in the transmission application charts the T-18 wasn't introduced until 1983, so the 4/M/T was the NP435. And it used C80Z-B with certain gearing.

Really nice truck. Those prices are going up, despite the economy.

In reverse order, I've been around a carb that squealed and I never did figure out why. Sorry. On getting no O2 codes on KOER, that is an improvement, for sure. But I don't think the ECU can tell if there's a blown thermactor pipe. So I can't account for that code. As for the fault 15, are you saying the KAM wasn't getting power and you now have it fixed? I got lost there. Overall, I'd drive it a bit and test again.

Now that I have one coming the homemade one will last for ever Dave ----

It is gone now Dave ---- Well done, Dave! No more home-made pivot?

Cool! Glad you got it going, Dave! As for the whine, I'll bet it gets quieter as it breaks in. But, were it I, I'd put lots of damping material on the floor and the tranny cover.

You don't think those little strips could be inserted through the dome light hole, or even the cargo light hole if so equipped, and then pushed further in with a thin flexible object? Maybe, but that one is slotted like it is to go over an edge, and I can't see that happening in the dark of the roof.

Already sold. E2TA 1210-AB is not a part number. Perhaps it is part number E2TZ 1210-A.

David - I'm confused as to what that is. So I captured my thoughts on a new page: Documentation/Interior/Insulation. See what you think, please.

Ron - One of the guys on here, Ron/reamer, makes a dash patch. You can see one of them here. As for Okiehoma, we like it. But then we grew up essentially here, and most people like where they were raised. So it is surprising that you don't. Anyway, your dash repair looks good.

You might find that an AOD isn't any more expensive than changing out the front and rear gears. That can get very pricey.

Ok, Shaun & Scott, please go look at the page: Documentation/Body/Hood Latch. See if I did it correctly and if the pictures seem proper. And by that I mean all the same size and not "in your face". I think we are good but want to put the finishing touches on it so we can say it is done and dusted.

Yes, the later transmissions are better, but they require a controller. The AOD doesn't. And, while a stock AOD is said to be less than robust, I've read that they can be built to be very stout. This article from Hot Rod says they can be built to handle 1200 HP. Monster Transmission sells these: Quick Ship: $2199, but it doesn't say how much HP it'll handle HD: $1599 for a 4wd version capable of handling 450 HP. Or $1799 for a package to replace a C6. Super Duty: $1999 for a 4wd version and handling up to 600 HP

That works, thanks. So if you cut them you have to solder to the leads, but they come with 1 meter of wire? I wonder if one of those under the rear gunnel and one under the front would be enough. Would be less expensive than the roll because you don't have to buy the connectors. Or, you could buy three packs and use one under the hood and two in the bed and probably still be less expensive than the strip with connectors. Yours touts the 3M adhesive, and as you learned it works WELL. I wonder how well that on the roll works. The instructions for it says: The "for difficult installations" bit doesn't give me a warm fuzzy.

Yes! If you aren't towing an AOD might be an option. And with 4.56 gears you'll be turning 2152 RPM at 65 MPH. I've often thought that an AOD/4.11 or 4.56 combo would be a good one - except for towing.

Wow! I think you have 4.56 gearing! I used our calculator (Documentation/Driveline/Calculator) and plugged in 31" tires, 55 MPH, and 4.56 gearing and see that with 250 RPM of slippage the engine should be turning 2968 RPM with a C6. That's insane! When you get the gearing sorted you need to think about what usage you want for Espy. If you are going to tow, or offroad, or cruise. The vast majority of these trucks seem to have come with 3.50 gearing, but for me that is a bit too low for cruising as it still has you turning 2700 RPM at 65 MPH. And the MPG won't be all that good. I think I'd be looking at 3.23 gearing if all I was going to do was cruise. And even then you'll still be turning 2500 R's. But you'll still have some zip and could tow a light trailer if you wanted to.

I looked and didn't find the link. Looked and used the search function. But may have missed it. Anyway, I think there's room to sneak the wires past the stake pocket up under the gunnel. But I've not tried it. Yes, we tend to look at things differently, which is why working together gives good results. Early in my career I formed teams of people who thought like I did. But later I was shown that forming teams of people with disparate views gives better results.

And I thank you for that.

Ok, you used ~9" strips for a total of 3'. Assuming that the cut lines allow that on this roll then there would be 13.4' left over for the bed. And if my guess of 6' per side works that actually means you could go with 1' sections under the hood. As for running the full length of the bed, we may be thinking of placing it differently. I was thinking of placing it up under where it is hidden and out of harm's way. But doing it that way means you can't run it the whole length. And it also means the light will be shaded from your eyes. You are thinking of running it along the vertical face of the gunnel pointing in. Right? That would give a lot more light, but would be vulnerable to things being tossed around in the bed and would be "in your eyes"

The values are 22.5 ohms for Cold and 145 ohms Hot. But there's a mid-scale value in the Bullnose EVTM's that might come in handy. I think I have an '87 EVTM and know I have a '96 one, so can look that up for you if needed.

Oh, ok. I misunderstood. But again, please don't go to great lengths or expense on this.

ISWYDT So, is 16.4' of tape enough for a truck? I'll have to measure today, but my guess is that on an 8' bed you can't get more than 6' of tape given the stake pockets, spacing of the LEDs, and connectors. So that leaves 4.4' for the hood and I doubt that is enough. How long are strips you used, Jim? Maybe we can work backwards from those dimensions.